2012-03-01 Calvert Gazette

Young Scientists Honored at First Ever STEM Fair

GazetteEverything Calvert County

Calvert

Page 8

March 1, 2012

Priceless

Thursday, March 1, 2012 2The Calvert Gazette

Also Inside

3 County News

6 Community

6 Business

8 Feature Story

9 Newsmakers

10 Obits

12 Education

13 Letters

14 Entertainment

15 Sports

communityLuck at the gaming tables gave more opportunity for the chance to win first class prizes at the Calvert Marine Museum Society’s Bugeye Ball. Pictured at the table is Lori Cole, Keith Presley, and Harold Gill.

On The Cover

Ben Harris and Mitchell MacAdams take the top prize for the Junior Division at the county’s first ever Science and Engineering Expo. The Southern Middle School students will advance to regional competition with their project.

In Calvert Marine Museum’s Paleontology lab, Paige Fischer, 15, cleans a whale skull she discovered in Calvert Cliffs.

newsmaker

Thursday, March 1, 20123 The Calvert Gazette COUNTYNEWS

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By Sarah MillerStaff Writer

In an effort to make energy bills cheap-er, there has been a movement toward wind energy. A problem with this, as outlined to the Board of County Commissioners at their Feb. 28 meeting, is wind turbines in-terfere with the radar systems of various military aircraft.

“The Department of Defense has rec-ognized this as a problem,” said Southern Maryland Agricultural Development Com-mission member Greg Bowen.

In the face of such land use issues af-fecting Naval Air Station Patuxent River and the state, the Department of Defense and the Office of Economic Adjustment (OEA) is requesting a Joint Land Use Study (JLUS) to be led by local jurisdic-tions. Bowen explained the OEA has seen an opportunity for a JLUS in jurisdictions in Maryland and Virginia and has asked to form a JLUS policy committee and sign a resolution to join together in the effort.

The counties involved in the project include Calvert, Charles, St. Mary’s, Tal-bot, Somerset, Caroline, Wicomico and Dorchester in Maryland and two others in Virginia.

Issues with growth affect more than Pax River NAS. Areas growing up around the base are affected by the noise and the traffic from the base, Bowen said, and counties on the Eastern Shore are affected by sonic booms and tests from the base. While most of the tests go on over the water, Bowen said some are conducted on land, which can adversely affect the residents in the area.

Commissioner Susan Shaw talked about wind turbines planned to be build near Ocean City, and the effect they could have on the Atlantic Test Range. She said the turbines could be beneficial in one way, but if they limit or eliminate the usability of the test range could hurt NAS Pax River, and possibly see it shut down by the Depart-ment of Defense. She said it is “critical” to take action and preserve naval activities in

Southern Maryland.The OEA is requesting Southern

Maryland counties to contribute to a 10 per-cent match to OEA grants awarded to the JLUS. The actual dollar amount has not yet been determined and Bowen assured the

commissioners that agreeing to support the JLUS did not constitute an immediate mon-etary promise. The commissioners voted unanimously to support the JLUS.

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By Guy LeonardStaff Writer

Calvert County law officers are in-vestigating the sudden death last week of a 15-year-old male student of Calvert High School, but they do not believe he died from anything other than natural causes, they say.

“He had an unknown heart issue,” said Calvert Investigative Team Commander Lt. Steve Jones.

Jones said that prescription drug over-doses among Calvert teens is reaching seri-ous proportions but he does not believe that such is the case in the death of the student.

“There’s no reason to believe prescrip-tion drugs were involved,” Jones said. “This is something no one saw coming, especially the family.”

Kim Roof, executive director of ad-

ministration for Calvert County Public Schools said grief counselors were dis-patched to the school the morning of Feb. 23 after learning of the student’s death.

“The team was there for a couple of days,” Roof said. “It does change the face of a school day.”

Jones said the student was seen by a physician the day before he died for heart concerns but was released from the hospital.

The county coroner requested that the Medical Examiner in Baltimore perform a toxicology screening on the student to of-ficially rule out any prescription drug in-volvement, Jones said.

Police are still waiting on the results.“You don’t want to rule anything out

in a preliminary investigation,” Jones said.

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Calvert High Student Death Under Investigation

Thursday, March 1, 2012 4The Calvert GazetteCOUNTYNEWS

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By Guy LeonardStaff Writer

Calvert police say a Lusby man was fa-tally crushed after being trapped under a tree Feb. 25 at an address on Rousby Hall Road.

According to the sheriff’s office, some of their deputies and members of the Solo-mons Volunteer Fire Department and Res-cue Squad responded shortly after the call for a man trapped under a tree, and found Brian W. Buck in a hole left by a fallen tree’s roots.

Buck had been cutting the downed tree when a log rolled into the hole.

Buck climbed into the hole to pull the log out when the root ball fell back into the hole and trapped Buck, police say.

Two witnesses to the accident tried to extricate him from the hole but could not and called in emergency responders, police

reported.Responders had to bring in a back hoe

to get Buck out by removing the root ball, which they estimated to weigh 10 tons, but he was pronounced dead on the scene, police reported.

Police believed no foul play was in-volved, nor was there any indication that drugs or alcohol were a factor in the accident.

Lt. Steve Jones, commander of the Cal-vert Investigative Team with the sheriff’s of-fice, said that Buck was helping to clear out forestry debris that had been left from Hur-ricane Irene’s wake from the summer of last year.

“People are still cleaning up the mess from that,” Jones said. “Basically it crushed him.”

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Solomons Island bar owners gathered at the Feb. 23 liquor board meeting to dis-cuss their plans for the Tiki Bar opening weekend, beginning April 20, and the fast-approaching summer season.

Effective Oct. 1, 2011, there are stricter noise regulations, and county officials will be using decibel meters to measure the sound level coming from the bars.

The board’s alcohol enforcement of-ficer told bar owners they are responsible for keeping amplified noise under control. Establishments will get one warning to get the noise level under control. For a second offense in the same evening, they will be shut down for the night.

Representatives from Stoney’s and Calypso Bay discussed filling the gap left by Catamarans without inheriting the prob-lems associated with the bar.

They also talked about security mea-sures planned for the opening, which in-clude having additional police patrolling the island. Bars intend to communicate with each other and the police to prevent problem patrons from simply going from establish-ment to establishment.

Tiki Bar owners are planning to make their opening weekend bigger than ever.

The owners intend to have King Tiki arrive by helicopter to toast the opening, as well as adding serving space to accommodate the increased attendance.

Dr. Ronald “Chip” Ross and his wife were in attendance to voice concerns about the Tiki Bar’s plan for additional bar space and plans for having music during the summer.

“You are aware that’s a zoning viola-tion,” Ross said, in reference to the weekend music.

“We’ll deal with that later,” Tiki Bar co-owner Terry Clarke responded. “This is not a planning commission meeting.”

In other business, the board made a decision to allow temporary liquor licenses for special events beyond the annual limit of six, on a case-by-case basis.

Board Member Beth Swoap made a motion to delete a section from the guide-lines and replace it with the following: “The board shall have discretion, upon request by an applicant, to determine the number and frequency of temporary licenses allowed in any calendar year.”

The motion was approved unanimous-ly, and members of the public have 10 days from Feb. 23 to submit comments and con-cerns abut the change.

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In a show of solidarity against the state’s plan to move the cost of teacher pensions to the county level, members of the sheriff’s office, volunteer fire departments and rescue squads and the Calvert County libraries, came to the Board of County Commissioners meetings to speak out against the pension shift.

Commissioner Susan Shaw discussed the pension shift as a representative from the Maryland Association of Counties (MACO).

There are proposed offsets for the first year, though Shaw said “I think passage is unlikely for most of them.” The counties are expected to increase taxes to support the additional spending on pensions.

Shaw said the only way to make supporting pen-sions sustainable would be to go from a defined ben-efit model to a defined contribution model, though the change has not yet been approved by MACO.

Sheriff Mike Evans also spoke out against the pen-sions being moved to the county, saying the additional requirements would likely see funding cut from other areas, such as public safety. The problem with that is when the economy slows down, crime has a tendency to increase, he explained. The pension payments would cut into the sheriff office’s ability to cope with the increase.

“I don’t want the demands of one to undermine the other,” Evans said.

Director of Calvert County Public Libraries Pat Hoffmann said the library employees are under the same pension plan as the school employees. While the libraries haven’t had to furlough employees, she said she worries about the pension shift and it’s affect on the funding for the libraries.

College of Southern Maryland Director of Finan-cial Aid Chris Zimmerman said the pinch the county would feel would also affect students at the community college, who would wind up “paying hundreds of dollars more for less.” He said a cut in funding would mean a cut in the classes and services offered, while students would have to pay more to compensate.

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Lusby Man Crushedin Tree Accident

Solomons Bracing for Tiki Bar Opening

County Rallying Against Pension Shift

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Discussion continued at the Feb. 22 Planning Commission meeting about allowing farm own-ers to have public events and rental facilities on their properties and selling non-plant items out of green houses.

Members of the Agricultural Commission, the Farm Bureau and the Soil Conservation group, among others, joined the members of the Planning Commission to dis-cuss various questions about alter-native land use in agriculture pres-ervation districts, historic district and registered farms.

All sides agreed that public events, such as fundraiser concerts, and rentals, such as wedding recep-tions, should be allowed on farms. What needs to be decided is what limit to put on the number of rentals and public events during the year.

There was also discussion on whether there should be different definitions for events for profit and events for non-profit organizations.

Director of Planning and Zon-ing Chick Johnston said the two should not be separated, because the road use and impact to the sur-rounding areas will be the same no matter what group is benefiting

from the event.“What’s the point in separat-

ing the two?” Johnston asked the assembled group.

They also discussed allowing the sale of non-plant items at retail nurseries and greenhouses. These items are not necessarily unrelated to plants and planting, but include such items as larger pots and tools such as trowels and spades.

They discussed how much land should be allotted toward the sale of non-plant items. General consensus was there should be a set percentage of land that can be allot-ted to the non-plant merchandise.

Nothing was decided at the meeting, though future plans in-clude going to the Board of County Commissioners and further discus-sions between stakeholders.

Craig Mask with the Agri-cultural Commission said it was a good thing to get everyone together to discuss the issues. He said be-tween the Agricultural Commis-sion, which aims to preserve farm-ers and their livelihoods, and the Agricultural Preservation advisory board, which aims to preserve the actual land, they need to work to-gether to find solutions that are best for the farmers and the land.

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By Corrin M. HoweStaff Writer

Two residents from Solomons Nursing Center are long on years but short on words.

This weekend, Healing and Deliverance Community Experi-ence of the Holy Spirit collected residents from the local nursing home and brought them to their church for their Fourth Annual Senior Love Celebration.

Both Hattie Livina Brooks Gross and Caroline Kendrick are 104 years old and the oldest residents in the home. Gross will be 105 on April 22.

When asked if they wanted to share anything with a room full of church members and nursing home residents, Gross said, “I en-joyed watching.” Kendrick said, “Thank you.”

Gross’ daughter had a little more to say, “On behalf of my mother and myself, this has been fabulous. This is what a church is supposed to be doing. Going out and serving the community.”

Another speaker said it was an honor to acknowledge the con-tributions of the nursing home residents to the community. “I’m here today because of the teaching of my grandmothers, grandfa-thers, great-grandmothers and great-grandfathers.”


Debate about box stores in the New Town District of Prince Frederick and a docu-ment that hasn’t fully seen the light of day dominated conversation at the Calvert Coun-ty Planning Commission meeting Feb. 15.

Discussion of the proposed expansion to the size limits for box stores evolved into discussion about a county economic develop-ment report titled “Retail Purchasing Power and Space Demand Analysis.”

“It’s something that will be very useful to you, one way or the other,” said Planning Commission Attorney John Yacovelle of the report, although he has not seen the complete document.

The partial report given to the planning commission contained references to pages in addition to the ones furnished – there were three or four pages that were not made public. Yacovelle said he went searching for the com-plete document at the request of the Planning Commission.

“I went to the typical sources and couldn’t obtain it,” Yacovelle said. “No one seemed to have it or know where it was.”

Eventually, Yacovelle said he discovered that the Department of Economic Develop-ment had the entire document, and was not releasing the additional pages because “there were concerns that there is information in there that shouldn’t be made public, that might have, for example, the different propos-als of the people who are making proposals.”

Planning and Zoning Director Chuck

Johnston echoed Yacovelle’s comments, tell-ing commission members that he too has not seen the additional pages, but they contain information about specific businesses that the department of economic development did not feel comfortable releasing publicly.

Yacovelle said the missing pages are be-ing treated as a “treasure map,” and it was suggested to him, after getting the county attorney involved, than an executive session be held in which the pages would be handed out, discussed with economic development officials, and collected again before the ex-ecutive session ended.

Yacovelle said such treatment is “a trifle insulting.”

Commission member W. Michael Phipps suggested they get the additional pages with information like company names redacted so they can see what charts and in-formation to which the released pages refer.

Commission member Malcolm Funn suggested the same, adding that the pages should not have been referred to if they were not to be released for viewing.

A citizen in the audience also spoke up during the meeting, saying she also wants to see the additional pages released, even if there are parts redacted.

Mark Volland, spokesperson for the Department of Economic Development con-firmed the additional pages have information about parties interested in the former Calvert Middle School property, and the department doesn’t want to release such information while they are still accepting proposals from potential developers.

Mystery Document Only Partially Revealed

Church Honors Local Centenarians

Farm Use Discussion Still on The Table

Caroline Kendrick, 104, had her great grand-daughters with her at the Senior Celebration. Sarah Brown, who takes care of her at the center, is enjoying a dance.

Hattie Livina Brooks Gross will be 105 years-old in April.



In July, “linkblots” implemented its beta program for helping businesses take ad-vantage of the Quick Response (QR) Codes sweeping the marketplace. As of last week the local company has over 800 clients from a company in Dubai to the Calvert County Chamber of Commerce.

Brian Raines and Fred Bechbiel, co-founders of Envidient, Inc. which created linkblots, recently explained what their com-pany can provide during a Chamber of Com-merce seminar.

Raines told a dozen local business repre-sentatives that by 2013 more people will use mobile phones than desktop computers to go online. Mobile users scanning QR Codes has increased by over 800 percent between Janu-ary 2010 and January 2011.

While any business can create its own two-dimensional matrix code, which han-dlesmore data than the traditional UPC bar-codes, most businesses are not using the tech-nology effectively, according to Raines.

Acting as the intermediary between the created code and the business owner, link-blots provide mobile user friendly mobile web pages and marketing campaign management. The linkbots platform provides clients with unlimited QR Codes, point-and-click mobile web pages, dynamic ad insertion and tracking, analytics, social sharing, branding solutions and affordable pricing. The live demonstration showed how this can be done in minutes.

Raines said he tracked the success of QR Codes from Japan, where the technol-ogy originated, through the Pacific Rim, to Australia, up through Europe and over to the United States. These codes have been around nearly 20 years, first developed by a

subsidiary of Toyota to track manufacturing of automobiles. Only in the past year or so have American businesses caught onto using the technology to drive mobile users to make purchases, according to Raines.

In eight months, clients have launched over 2,000 campaigns. Raines said link-bot client, the Washington Capitols use QR Codes the most and most effectively.

The business started off with invest-ments by friends and family. Now the com-pany is seeking additional investors.

“I didn’t anticipate this would go around the world,” said Raines, whose PowerPoint presentation boasts having clients from ev-ery continent except Antarctica with names like The Salvation Army, Century 21, Hamp-ton Inn, Scottish Government Library and The Calvert Gazette.

For more information go to www.link-blots.com or call 410-231-4664.

In 8 Months, Local Biz Has 800 Clients Worldwide

Locals Learn How QR Codes Boost Business

Bugeye Ball Raises Funds For Museum

Fred Bechbiel demonstrates the linkblots platform to Ashely Cook, from Calvert Memorial Hospital.

Luck at the gaming tables gave more opportunity for the chance to win first class prizes. Pictured at the table is Lori Cole, Keith Presley, and Harold Gill.

Scan this QR code with a smartphone to be taken to a video promoting last year’s United Way Mardi Gras.

People are beginning to use their smartphones more than their desktop computers which means businesses not taking advantage of the technology offered in Quick Re-sponse (QR) Codes are going to lose business, according to Brian Raines, co-founder of “linkblots.”

At the invitation of the Calvert County Chamber of Commerce, last week Raines spoke to a dozen local busi-nesses about QR Codes.

Raines rattled off a number of statistics to highlight the impact of QR codes on both local and international businesses.

“It’s leveling the playing field between a start-up and international businesses. Take Mama Lucia’s for an exam-ple. She is now able to compete with Dominoes for pizza delivery,” said Raines.

“Customers are using their smartphones to connect with businesses in their local area. 95% of smartphone users have used their phones to find local businesses. 61% call the

business and 59% go to the location after lo-cating it on their phone. 90% will act within 24 hours,” he said.

QR Codes were developed in 1994 by a subsidiary of Toyota to track a vehicle through the manufacturing process. The black and white box with unusual patterns of blocks inside are popping up everywhere. What makes them useful is that smartphone users can download scanners to read the code that takes them to a website.

Not all QR Codes are effective, accord-ing to Raines. Mobile phone users are look-ing for a “mobile friendly” experience when taken to a company website.

Companies like linkblots offer a way to design a “land-ing site” for a mobile phone which is different than their desktop website. Successful companies design both a tra-

ditional website for desktop computers and a mobile website for smartphone users and then offer a way to easily link the two sites together.

A business can go to the Internet and create its own QR code for free, but if the mobile user gets a full website on her phone, she will not be as pleased. Studies show that mobile users want the mobile websites which don’t involve zooming, can navigate with only the thumb, is easy to read and easy to convert.

The key to increasing sales through these QR codes is to offer value. Make it easy to call and locate the business in a click or

two, offer a mobile coupon and provide engaging content, like a YouTube video, according to Raines.

For more than 20 years, the Cal-vert Marine Museum Society’s Bug-eye Ball has entertained guests with fine cuisine, music and dancing, rais-ing funds to support the museum’s preservation and education efforts.

The theme for this years event, held Saturday, was the mystery and music of a 1920’s Speakeasy. Guests wore vintage inspired outfits to add to the mystique of the evening and were surrounded with the fun and excite-ment of numerous gaming tables, jazz music from The Hot Club of DC, and the distinctive cuisine of Ken’s Cre-ative Kitchen.

Ticket holders received $10,000 in chips to try their luck at poker, craps, and roulette. Winners cashed in the chips at the end of the night for chances to take home first class prizes, which included an iPad 2, a Kate Spade purse, matching his and her watches and an original Solomons Scene necklace from Maertens Fine

Jewelry and Gifts, dinner for 10 from Ken’s Creative Kitchen, and a selection of fine spirits from Port of Call Liquors.

The drawing of the raffle winner is another one of the exciting events at the ball. This year’s prize of a romantic trip for two to Italy was won by Carly Rutherford of Hollywood. The Ruth-erford’s will receive $2,500 toward airfare and the use of a private three-bedroom villa in Cetona, Italy for one full week.

Over the years, the Bugeye Ball has been the source of funding for numerous upgrades and additions to the museum’s exhibits and programs, according to museum marketing spe-cialist Traci Cimini. The Lore Oyster House, Patuxent Small Craft Center, Cove Point Lighthouse, Discovery Room and so many other museum as-sets have benefited from the generosity of those that have attended and spon-sored this event over the years. The Ball gives the Board of Governors and

CMM staff the chance to actually meet and thank the people behind those very important donations.

Last year, the Bugeye Ball raised over $40,000 in support of the Cove Point Lighthouse preservation project. Much of the stabilization and preser-vation work of the site has been com-pleted and the museum is on pace to re-open Cove Point this summer. Projects like Cove Point are a prime example of what the museum is able to do as a re-sult of the Bugeye Ball.

This year’s supporters included: ARINC, AMEWAS, Incorporated, Steve and Eileen Bildman, Chesapeake Highlands Memorial Gardens, Heron Systems, Inc., Top Hat Party Design, Wyle, PEPCO, Quality Built Homes, Inc., Nancy Wieck, John and Mari-anne Harms, Maertens Fine Jewelry and Gifts, SMECO, Washington Gas, Don and Jean McDougall, Zenetex, Celebrate!, Comcast, CSC, Zelma Mar-gelos, and The Patuxent Partnership.

Thursday, March 1, 20127 The Calvert Gazette

Maryland legislators are considering the Governor’s proposal to reduce tax deductions for many Maryland homeowners.

The most important deductions for Maryland homeowners are the Mortgage Interest Deduction (MID) and the property tax deduction, which have never been reduced in Maryland.

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STORY

First-Ever STEM Fair Showcases Tomorrow’s Talent


“Welcome to the 21st Century,” exclaimed Yovonda Kolo, Calvert County Public Schools Supervisor of Science and STEM, in her opening remarks during the awards following the school’s first Science and Engineering Expo this weekend.

Kolo was so excited she didn’t need the mi-crophone to address nearly 300 people in Calvert Middle School’s gymnasium. She explained to the audience how the science and engineering exhibits displayed between the library, auditorium and gym are only an example of what students are learning in schools and in after school activities.

“How many here today stopped by the Rubix Cube club table?” Kolo asked. “As simple as the task appears to get all the colors together, it takes perseverance to keep working to solve it; vision to see where you are trying to go and innovation be-cause there is more than one way to solve it.”

The real world problems facing scientists and engineers today take similar skills, which are em-bedded throughout the curriculum from preschool through high school, according to Kolo.

Chespax, the environmental educational experience gives elementary-aged students hands on experience and access to living laboratories. Next year all the middle schools will have the “Gateway to Technology” curriculum for design and mod-eling, energy and environment and automation and robotics. High schools have “Project Lead The Way” with a four-year pathway to biomedical and aerospace engineering programs.

CCPS Superintendent Jack Smith told the audience “there are reasons for separating out STEM (Science, Technology, En-gineering and Mathematics) in school. There are reasons why schools and politicians are paying attention.”

Smith said currently many high school students are gradu-ating and going on to college, but are unable to compete because they have no foundation in science and engineering compared to international students.

“Fine Arts don’t have the corner on the market of creativ-ity. From what I’ve seen today, you are the most creative people in the county. Be proud of it and pursue it,” Smith told the stu-dents who participated in the Science and Engineering Expo.

College of Southern Maryland STEM Director and Profes-sor of Mathematics Robert Farinelli agreed. “You will be taking jobs that don’t even exist today. I encourage you to take as much (STEM) as you can throughout middle and high school so all the doors are open to you when you leave here.”

While CCPS has displayed winning science fair projects from each of the schools in the past, this is the first time it has decided to showcase its STEM program at the same time.

“This is an opportunity for more middle school students to

see the new exciting cool projects they will work on. We need to start generating interest in STEM in middle school to get stu-dents started on the pathway in high school,” said Dawn Balin-ski, school board member.

The Calvert Middle School library displayed winning sci-ence projects covering such topics as “Antimicrobial Effects of Allium sativum on Escherichia coli” to “Which Day is the Loudest at Lunch?” All together, 25 projects represented all four high schools and five middle schools. Southern Middle School sent 10 of the science entries.

The auditorium had Robotics displays. Julie Tomasik, one of the County Robotics Coordinators, said they were there to demonstrate the robotics field. This year the middle school students will compete with other middle school students at the regional competition March 3 at the College of Southern Mary-land La Plata campus.

“It’s Body Forward. The students research a real world problem with (human) bodies, propose a solution and present their research and solution to engineers,” said Tomasik. The teams gain points by programming a robot to complete a mis-sion. The team with the most points wins.

Middle and high school classes displayed projects from this year. They gym also had displays from afterschool clubs and local companies and organizations related to the science and engineering fields. The Naval Air Systems Command from Patuxent River NAS brought in a flight simulation program which was very popular, according to Kolo.

The displays included a “green” house starting with collec-tion of rainwater all the way through recycling waste. Another

display proposed a “floating house” as the solution to hurricanes. Balloons under the house founda-tion would automatically deploy when it sensed a certain amount surging water. The solution would also provide electricity until the regular power was restored.

Josh Henson, a ninth grader from Patuxent High School, engaged visitors in an experiment showing how hydraulics work. Not only did he en-courage them to use the hands on display, but he explained why the results occurred.

A large and small plunger filed with water, similar to ones used to dispense liquid medica-tion, connected to each end of a clear plastic tube. One might think the larger plunger would be the stronger.

“The little one is always going to beat the big one,” said Henson. The reason why is that it has less area and therefore more leverage than the larger plunger.

Grand Prize Award Winners:Senior Division: David Burns, Maurice Harris, Rahul Na-dendla, Patuxent High SchoolJunior Division: Ben Harris and Mitchell MacAdams, Southern Middle School

Awards of Excellence: Repre-senting top 15% of all projectsDanielle Szynborski (SMS), Surjo Bandyopadhyay (PHS), Ronald Forster (PHS), Nora Keller (HHS), Tyler Grover (CSH)

Awards of Merit: Represent-ing the top 30% of all projects.Nora Windsor (SMS), Casey Beall (HHS), Tyler Sullivan, Zach Switzer David Alman (team from PHS), Nathan Scherer (NMS), Abigail Moller (SMS)

Special Awards:Calvert County Agricultural Commission: $50 to Gabriella Green “Effects of Acid Rain on Plants and Sidewalks” representing CMS.$25 to AllisonWorth “Methods of Water Purification” repre-senting NHS$25 to Surjo Bandyopadhyay “ntimicrobial Effects of Allium sativum on E-coli” represent-ing PHS

American Property Consul-tants, Inc.:$50 to Kimberly Lopez “Proj-ect Title: Oil Spill Clean-up! Natural vs. Synthetic” repre-senting CHS$50 to Gabriella Green “What is the Effect of Acid Rain on Plants and Sidewalks?” repre-senting CSM

Calvert Soil Conservation District:$50 to Gabriella Green “What is the Effect of Acid Rain on Plants and Sidewalks?” repre-senting CSM$50 to Allison Worth “Methods of Water Purification” repre-senting NSH

Water and Waste Operators Association of Maryland, Delaware and District of Co-lumbia, Southern Section:$50 to Casey Beall “Poof! In-stant Water” representing HHS$25 to Nathan Scherer “Mr. Green Clean” representing NMS

Southern MD Resource Con-servation and Development Board, Inc.:$50 to Allison Worth “Methods of Water Purification” repre-sentatives NHS$25 to Kimberly Lopez “Oil Spill Clean Up” representing CHS$50 to Gabriella Green “Effects of Acid Rain” representing CSM$25 to Ben Harris & Mitchell MacAdams “Gauss Rifle” representing SMS

The Patuxent Partnership Inc.:$100 to each Senior High School project listed belowKimberly Lopez (CHS), Team Maurice Harris, Rahul Nadendla, David Burns (PHS), Ronald Forest (PHS), Surjo Bandyopadhyay (PHS) $50 to each Middle School project listed:Ben Harris, Mitchell MacAdamsAbigail MollerTrevan RocarekTrevor Penix

Southern Maryland Audubon Society:$50 to Nathan Scherer “Mr. Green Clean” representing NMS$50 to Abigail Moller “The Effect of Magnetism on Plant Growth” representing SMS

Washington DC Chap-ter-Meteorological Society(DC-AMS):Certificate of Outstanding Achievement plus an Invitation to their BanquetTeam David Burns, Maurice Harris, Rahul Nadendla “Ethanol Synthesis from Vari-ous Biomass” Gabriella Green “Project Title: Effect of Acid Rain on Plants and Sidewalks” Kimberly Lopez “ Oil Spill Clean-up, Natural vs. Synthetic”

Johns Hopkins Engineering Alumni:1st Place Award $100 (gift card) + invitation to campusRonald Forster “Practicality of Eddy Current” represent-ing PHS2nd Place Award $75 (gift card) + invitation to campusTyler Grover “Properties of Current Produced via Change in Magnetic Flux” represent-ing CHS3rd Place Award $50 (gift card) + invitation to campusSurjo Bandyopadhyay “An-timicrobial Effects of Allium sativum on E-coli” represent-ing PHSHonorable Mention + invitation to campus Casey Beall, Adam Hogen-son, Nora Keller, Ben Harris, Mitchell MacAdams, Trevor Penix SMECO:$100 Gift Card to Nora Wind-sor “Sticky Stuff!” represent-ing SMS

Wyle:Senior Award 1st Place $175Ronald Forster “Project Title: Practicality of Eddy Current” representing PHSSenior Award 2nd Place $125 Tyler Grover “Properties of Current Produced via Change in Magnetic Flux” represent-ing CHSJunior Award 1st Place $175 Trevor Penix “Project Title: The Effects of Liquids on Duck Eggs” representing SMSJunior Award 2nd Place $125 Ben Harris & Mitchell Mac-Adams “Gauss Rifle Experi-ment” representing SMS

Educate and Celebrate:$50 to Lily Hensler “How Sweet it is to be a Banana!” representing SMS

Cove Point Natural Heritage Trust:Senior Award 1st Place $100Maurice Harris, Rahul Na-dendla, David Burns “Ethanol Synthesis from Various Bio-mass” representing PHSSenior Award 2nd Place $50 Alison Worth “Methods of Water Purification” represent-ing NHS Junior Award 1st Place $100 Nathan Scherer “Mr. Green Clean” representing NMSJunior Award 2nd Place $50 Trevan Rocarek “Oil Absorp-tion” representing SMS

Southern Maryland Associa-tion of Realtors:Grand Prize Senior Winner $750 scholarship Maurice Harris, Rahul Na-dendla, David Burns “Ethanol Synthesis from Various Bio-mass” representing PHS

Winners of the Science Fair:

Photos by Corrin M. HoweJoey Melcher, fifth grader from WHES, plays with the robotic displays during the Engi-neering Expo. His brother, Ryan, had a display about solar houses for the expo.

Grand Prize Winners for Senior Division David Burns, Maurice Harris and Rahul Na-dendla from Patuxent High School stand by their project.


NewsmakersBudding Paleontologist at Work


Paige Fischer is proving that a person doesn’t even have to be out of high school to start living their dreams. The Huntington High School freshman is working at Calvert Marine Museum to clean and prepare a whale skull she discovered in Calvert Cliffs for display.

After two years and more than 60 hours of work on the main part of the skull alone, Fischer’s discovery is nearly ready for display.

Fischer found the skull Aug. 20, 2010 when she was walking on the beach between Dares Beach Road and Plum Point Road. She said she happened to look back, and saw a bone sticking out of the sand. At first she thought it was a dolphin skull, having seen three of them excavated before making her own discovery.

Calvert Marine Museum Paleontology Collections Manager John Nance came out to identify the skull and told Fischer it was a 16 million-year-old Baleen Whale skull. Specifically, it is the top part of a skull. Fischer said the skull would have been the end of the skeleton the way it was laying, and, between erosion and the tides, the rest of the animal’s remains are long gone.

On Aug. 23, 2010, excavation of the skull began. Fischer said she was in charge of the GPS so the people from the museum could pinpoint the exact location of the skull and get permission to extract it.

The group approximated the size and location of the skull and began digging in a semi circle around it, wid-ening the circle when the skull turned out to be larger than they thought. Fischer said she helped with the dig-ging, which lasted a few days. Because of its location, the group had to stop when the tide came in. On the day they removed the main part of the skull, the group left behind two smaller pieces that they came back for later. Currently, Fischer is working on cleaning the smaller pieces of the skull, a job she said will take between four and six hours.

Before removing the skull, it was wrapped in plas-ter bandages to keep it intact. It took three men to carry the 200-pound fossil up the cliffs. Fischer’s grandmoth-er, Patricia Fischer, donated a wagon to the cause, which Fischer said helped the men get it uphill more easily.

Fischer has been working on her find for the past

two years and, with some help and instruction from Nance and other employees and volunteers at the muse-um, she has taken the lead in cleaning and preparing the fossil for display. She uses a dental pick to scrape sedi-ment from the bone, and a paintbrush to clear it away. She also uses a hardening compound along the cracks to reinforce the bone and keep it from falling apart.

So far, she has discovered 14 shark teeth in the sedi-ment on the fossil, suggesting the predators fed on the whale after it died. There is also a peccary tooth in the sediment, which Fischer said is unusual. A peccary is a type of wild pig, a land-based animal that should have had no interaction with a baleen whale.

Once she is finished with the fossil, it will be fitted with a professional jacket and become part of the mu-seum’s collection, though Fischer doesn’t know where

it will be displayed yet. Visitors to the museum have the chance to see Fischer at work and ask her questions through a window in the lab.

She said it is her dream to get her master’s degree as a paleontologist and work for either the Calvert Marine Museum or the Smithsonian Museum. She said she also intends to continue to volunteer at the museum and sum-mer camps to teach children techniques she has learned.

“I kind of want to do everything,” she said.The 15-year-old has been bringing her discover-

ies to the Calvert Marine Museum since she was 9, and she said she has a collection of 1,000 bones and 4,000 shark’s teeth that she hasn’t had time to bring into the museum yet.

[email protected]

Photos by Sarah MillerPaige Fischer cleans the whale skull she discovered.

A peccary tooth discovered in the sediment with the rest of the fossil.


William Bourne, 93

William L. Bourne, 93, of Saint Leonard, MD passed away on Feb. 19, 2012 at his residence. He was born April 30, 1918 to the late Draper Ed-ward Bourne and Annie Rebecca Howe Bourne in Calvert County, Mary-land. He was the seventh of nine children who all preceded him in death.

He attended school in Island Creek which at the time was called “Pink School”. After attending school he worked as a farmer, con-struction worker, and an oyster shucker at the oyster house.

On Nov. 9, 1940 he was united in Holy Matrimony to Henrietta Virginia Jackson. From this union seven children were born.

William, affectionately called Buncie, Daddy, Daddy Buncie, Grand-Pop, and Dit Do was well known throughout the community for his gardening and his giving heart. You would find him sitting outside guarding his garden.

He was a member of Brooks United Meth-odist Church, where in his earlier years he sang in the choir. His favorite hymn was “What a Friend We Have in Jesus”.

Buncie really loved his family. He en-joyed the many family gatherings, especially Thanksgiving, Christmas, Fourth of July and the Labor Day weekend campout.

Buncie was preceded in death by his daughter, Marilyn Bourne Johnson, grandson, Michael Leroy Harris, great-grandson, Rodney Barry Gray Jr. ”Rudy”, great granddaughter, Angel Gray and great-great, Grandson An-thony Plater.

He leaves to cherish fond memories his loving wife Henrietta; two sons, Clinton Bourne (Maude), Gary Bourne; four daughters, Gertrude Whitby, Mae Harris (Lester), Olive Gray and Marietta Bourne; seventeen grand-children; thirty-one great grandchildren; seven great-great grandchildren; one sister-in-law; Mary Bourne and a host of nieces, nephews,

cousins, devoted friends and a spiritual adopt-ed son; Warren Gray “Gray”.

Funeral service was held on Friday, Feb. 24, 2012, at Brooks UM Church, St. Leonard, MD with Pastor Jason L. Robinson officiating.

The interment was at Brooks United Meth-odist Church Cemetery, St. Leonard, MD. The pallbearers were Kevin Brooks, James Gray Dwan Johnson, Jr., Bruce Gray, Ryan Gray and Glen Johnson. The honorary pallbearers were Lamont Bourne, Rodney Brooks, War-ren Gray, Rice Bourne, Jr., Rodney Gray and Rodney Jones.

Funeral arrangements provided by Sewell Funeral Home, Prince Frederick, MD.

Deanna Brooke, 40

Deanna Renee Brooke, 40, of Dunkirk, MD passed away at her residence on Feb. 17, 2012. Deanna was born Oct. 2, 1971 in Cheverly, MD to Janice Marie Lloyd.

She lived in District Heights, MD until the age of 5, when her family moved to Dunkirk. Dean-na attended Mt. Harmony Elementary and Northern Middle and High Schools, graduating with the class of 1990. She was employed as a school bus driver for 16 years with the Prince George’s County Board of Education. Deanna was a lifelong member of Mt. Harmony United Methodist Church. She enjoyed spending time with her three boys and the activities they were involved in, including Little League, T-Ball, Boys Scouts and R.O.T.C. She also enjoyed traveling with her grandparents, watching movies and listening to music.

Deanna was preceded in death by her grandfather John P. “Jack” Lloyd.

She is survived by her sons Bradley Lloyd and Patrick and Kyle Brooke; mother Janice M. Lloyd; grandmother A. Genevieve Lloyd all of Dunkirk; God- mother Patty Mayhew of Upper Marlboro and God-father Robert Warunek of Wilkes Barre, Penn.

Services for Deanne were held Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2012 at Mt. Harmony United Method-ist Church, Owings, MD. Interment followed in the church cemetery. Arrangements were by Rausch Funeral Home, P.A., Owings, MD.

Memorial contributions in Deanna’s mem-ory may be made to the Memorial Fund for Deanna R. Brooke, Community Bank of Tri-County, P.O. Box 373, Dunkirk, MD 20754.

Arrangements by Rausch Funeral Home, Owings, MD.

Mary Doss, 77

Mary Elizabeth Doss, 77, of Lusby, MD formerly of Covington, VA passed away on Feb. 22, 2012 in Prince Fred-erick, MD.

She was born on November 11, 1934 in Covington, VA to the late George Dewey and Lu-cille Grady Tingler.

She was the loving wife to Linwood Beau-ford Doss whom she married on Sept. 8, 1952 in Covington, VA and he preceded her in death on Dec. 19, 2009.

Mary graduated from Covington High School in 1952 and moved to Calvert County from Kettering, MD in November 1995. She was always a loving person who always put others before herself. She was a perfect role model as a wife, mother, grandmother, and friend. All who knew her will miss her deeply.

She was preceded in death by her parents and siblings, Gordon and George Tingler.

Mary is survived by her children, Dennis Lee Doss and wife Sherry of Waldorf, MD, Gary Doss and wife Becky of Salisbury, MD, and Kenny Doss and wife Kerri of Waldorf, MD; brother, Benny Tingler of Covington, VA; 7 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren.

The family received friends on Monday, Feb. 27, 2012 in the Olivet United Methodist Church, Lusby, MD where funeral services were held with Rev. Faith Lewis officiating. In-terment followed in the church cemetery.

Memorial Contributions may be made in Mary’s name to the Olivet United Methodist Church, 13570 Olivet Road, Lusby, MD 20657 and / or Calvert Hospice, www.calverthos-pice.org , P.O. Box 838, Prince Frederick, MD 20678.

Arrangements provided by Rausch Fu-neral Home, P.A., Lusby, MD.

Tina Hillegas, 48

Tina Marie Hillegas, 48, of Lusby, formerly of Ellicott City, MD., passed away suddenly on Feb. 18, 2012 at her residence.

She was born on Sept. 6, 1963 in Cheverly, MD to Jean Viola Rich-ards Powers.

Tina graduated from Bowie High School in 1981, the University Maryland in 1996 and from the University of Phoenix with a Masters

Degree in Information Systems in 2007. She married her devoted husband Daniel J. Hillegas on Nov. 18, 1990 in Chevy Chase, MD. Tina worked for the Department of Defense as an Auditor in Ft. Meade, MD for the past 13 years.

Tina is survived by her husband Daniel J. Hillegas of Lusby, MD; sons, Joseph Brandon Hillegas and his wife Ashley Lynn of Lusby, MD and Christian Tyler Hillegas of Lusby, MD; mother Jean V. Powers and her husband Harry Powers of Murrells Inlet, SC and her grandson, Junior.

The family received friends at the Rausch Funeral Home, Lusby, on Feb. 25, 2012 until the time of the service celebrating her life at 12 p.m., with Father Micheal Wilson officiating. Inurnment followed at Chesapeake Highlands Memorial Gardens, Port Republic, MD.

Should friends desire contributions may be made in Tina’s memory to Cure Pancre-atic Cancer, The Lustgarten Foundation, 1111 Stewart Avenue, Bethpage, NY 11714 www.lustgarten.org or to Alzheimer's Association, Southern Maryland Office, P. O. Box 1889 La Plata, MD 20646 www.alz.org/nca.

Bourne Howes, 88

Milton Bourne Howes, 88, of Owings, MD passed away at Cal-vert Memorial Hospital on Feb. 22, 2012. He was born in on the family farm in Owings on Aug. 25, 1923 to James Mil-ton and Grace (Bourne) Howes.

Bourne attended the former Chaneyville School, learned farming from his father, and farmed the family land that has been worked by his family for more than 300 years, raising corn, hay, tobacco and cattle. Bourne participated in farm preservation pro-grams in Calvert County, and was an active member of the Calvert County Farm Bureau.

He was a lifelong member of All Saints Episcopal Church where he served on the Ves-try and on many other committees. He and his friend Leroy Dowell spent many years as the dishwashing team for the church’s annual sup-per. He was also a member of the renowned All Saints Softball Team in the 1930’s.

Bourne was preceded in death by his par-ents, by a sister Maria Elizabeth Howes, and by his life-long friend Leroy Dowell.

He is survived by his sister Willie Ann McKenzie and her husband William of Frost-burg, MD; his devoted companion Laurie Coleman of Owings, MD and her children Stephen Coleman, Jr. of Huntingtown, Jason Coleman of Greensboro, NC, David Coleman of Sunderland and Amanda Coleman of Ow-ings; two nieces and two nephews and their spouses, Nancy McKenzie and husband Ned Landis of Westminster, MD, William F. and Karen McKenzie of Green Spring, WV; Den-nis and Shannon McKenzie of Ijamsville, MD and Kathryn Golightly of Ijamsville, MD. He is also survived by two grand-nephews and seven grand-nieces and spouses, Matthew Shilman of Westminster, MD, Jennifer and Jim Toothman of Mt. Juliet, TN, Jason McKenzie of Green Spring, WV, Elizabeth McKenzie and fiancé

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Friends and family were received at Rausch Funeral Home, Owings, on Friday, Feb. 24, 2012. Funeral Service and celebration of Bourne’s life were held Feb. 25, 2012 at All Saints Episcopal Church, Sunderland. Inter-ment followed in the Bourne family lot in the parish cemetery.

Expressions of sympathy in Bourne’s name may be made to All Saints Church, P.O. Box 40, Sunderland, MD 20689.

Skip Hutzler, 69

Raymond Edward Hutzler “Skip”, 69, of Huntingtown, MD passed away at his home Feb. 22, 2012. He was born Dec. 23, 1942 in Pittsburg, Penn., to Raymond Edward and Doris Mae (Zimmerman) Hutzler.

He was a Graduate of Parkville Senior High School class of 1960. Raymond married Mary Frances Miller March 17, 1962.

Skip was employed by Maryland State Highway Administration since 1961 as a tech-nical aide and advancing to Assistant District Engineer Maintenance District 5. He was in-volved in the construction of the Thomas John-son Bridge in Solomons, MD. In 1995, he was hired as Chief of Road Operations for Anne Arundel County and retired from that position in 2004.

Skip was a man of discipline and determi-nation. He believed in honesty, integrity and hard work. Commitment and attention to detail were his hallmark. Despite his doggedness to-ward tasks, Raymond possessed a sense of hu-mor and jovialness that showed forth in wildly imaginative stories and nonsensical songs. He had lifelong passions for his home, his dogs and automobiles, spending countless hours meticu-lously caring for his own. Generous by nature, Raymond drew family and friends together with him warmth.

Surviving are his wife of 49 years Mary Francis Hutzler; a son Daniel Hutzler and his wife Karen and a daughter Renee O’Brien and her husband Jeff all of Huntingtown; six grandchildren Kyle and Justin Hutzler and Kate, Megan, Bryant and Taylor O’Brien; a sister Barbara Andrews of Glen Cove, MD and brother Charles Bocklage and his wife Theresa of Hanover, Penn.

Friends were received Feb. 24 at Rausch Funeral Home, P.A., 8325 Mt. Harmony Lane, Owings, MD, where a funeral service and cel-ebration of Skips life were held Saturday, Feb. 25, 2012. Interment followed at Southern Me-morial Gardens, Dunkirk.

Marsha Jinnette, 57

Marsha Ann Jinnette, 57 of Lusby, MD passed away on Feb. 25, 2012 at Calvert Memorial Hospi-tal, Prince Frederick, MD.

She was born on Nov. 4, 1954 in Bellwood, WV to the late Alma Ruth and Ivan Merciful Jinnette.

Marsha worked for Safeway as a Sales Associate.

Marsha was preceded in death by her par-ents and her sister Mary.

She is survived by her sons, David Fallin and his wife Tisha; Robert Fallin, III and his

wife Lisa and Brian Greathouse all of Lusby, MD; grandchildren, Kevin, Brandon, Lisa, Ashley and Robert IV; sisters, Julia, Dora, Deb-ra, Donna and Susan and her brother Edward.

The family will receive friends at the Rausch Funeral Home, Lusby, on Saturday, March 3, 2012 at 10 a.m. until the time of the service celebrating her life at 11 a.m. with Pas-tor Matt Hall officiating. Interment will be private.

Should friends desire contributions may be made in Marsha’s memory to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, 14 Pennsylvania Plaza, Suite 1710 New York, NY 10122, www.ocrf.org.

Margaret L. Langley, 89

Margaret L. Lang-ley, 89 of Solomons, MD passed away on Feb. 21, 2012 at Calvert Memo-rial Hospital. She was born on March 29, 1922 in Glen Burnie, MD to the late James and Lucy Lockerman.

She was the beloved wife to James Leroy “Pep-per” Langley whom preceded her in death on Aug. 12, 2001.

Margaret will always be known as a great mother who devoted her life to raising her chil-dren and as a loyal member of the Solomons United Methodist Church.

She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, and son, Lee Langley. Margaret is survived by her children, Linda Beauregard of Solomons, MD, Jim Langley of Solomons, MD, Billy Langley of Lusby, MD, Carol Stin-son of Georgia, and Tommy Langley of Lusby, MD; 17 grandchildren, 27 great grandchildren, and 9 great great grandchildren.

The family received friends on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2012 in the Rausch Funeral Home, Lusby, MD. Funeral Services were held on Fri-day, Feb. 24, 2012 at 11 AM in the Solomons United Methodist Church with Rev. Meredith Wilkins-Arnold officiating. Interment will fol-low in the church cemetery.

Sis Robinson, 84

Yvonne Margueritte “Sis” Robinson, 84 of Huntingtown, MD passed away Feb. 26, 2012 at LaC-asa Assisted Living in An-napolis, MD. She was born May 30, 1927 in Wash-ington, DC to Carroll and Margaret (Soo) Mack and received her education in Washington, DC schools.

Yvonne married Gerald H. Robinson in 1947 and they made their home in Adelphi be-fore moving to Huntingtown in 1970.

Sis worked briefly as a bookkeeper for the former McNay Motors in Prince George’s County, but was primarily a homemaker. She was a member of the Deale Elks Lodge 2528.

Sis was preceded in death by her husband Gerald H. Robinson, a sister Sue Schellenberg and brother Albert Mack.

Surviving are her son Terry Lee Robinson of Libertytown, MD and a daughter Deborah L. Martini and her husband Jeffrey of Churchton, MD.

Friends may call at the Rausch Funeral Home, Owings, MD on Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012, from 4-7 p.m. Funeral Services and cel-ebration of Sis’s Life will be held 10 a.m. Thurs-day, March 1, 2012 at the Chapel of Maryland Veterans Cemetery, Cheltenham. Memorial contributions may be made to Calvert County Humane Society, P.O. Box 3505, Prince Freder-ick, MD 20678.

Micky Schaeffer, 62

Marionlee “Micky” Schaeffer died on Feb. 18, 2012, at her home in Prince Frederick, MD, at the age of 62.

Micky was born on Nov. 5, 1949 in Youngstown, Ohio. She has lived in Calvert County since 1989 and worked for the Genson Insurance Agency as an Insurance Agent since 1989.

She is the loving mother of Levi and Noah Thomason and the daughter of Jeanne Schaeffer and the late Don “Pap” Schaeffer. She is the sis-ter of Don Schaeffer, Jr., Clem Mitchell, Barbara Payne and the late Stewart Schaeffer.

Micky had a love of flower gardening, walk-ing on the beach, looking for shark’s teeth and listening to a wide range of music. She enjoyed watching movies, playing cards and absolutely lived for spending time with family and friends. Mother’s Day tradition was spent with the fam-ily at Camden Yards taking in the Orioles game.

Funeral Services were held at Lee Funeral Home Calvert. P.A. on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2012. Interment was at Wesley-Trinity Church Cem-etery in Prince Frederick, Maryland.

Memorial contributions may be made in Ms. Schaeffer’s name to: Chesapeake Bay Foun-dation, 6 Herndon Avenue, Annapolis, MD 21403.

Ruth Wachs, 83

Ruth Wachs, 83, of Huntingtown, MD passed away Feb. 21, 2012 at Cal-vert Memorial Hospital. She was born March 3, 1928 in Pittsburg, Penn., to Samuel and Esther (Wak-ser) Weinstein.

She was a 1944 gradu-ate of Taylor Alderdic High School in Pittsburg and at-tended the University of Pittsburg majoring in history.

Ruth was married to Dr. Harry Wachs in Pittsburg in 1959. They moved to Huntingtown in 1977 when they purchased and restored Hunt-ingfields Manor, a historical home built in 1670.

She was an administrator for the Vision and Cognitive Development Center in Washington, DC. Ruth served as a docent for the Corcoran Gallery in Washington for over 20 years and was a member of Alpha Epsilon Phi Sorority.

Surviving are her husband Dr. Harry Wachs; children Bruce J. Weissman of Park City, Utah, Sherry W. Schweitzer and her husband Harvey of Bethesda, MD and Hallie W. Cohn and her husband John of Hong Kong, China; a daughter in law Tia Weissman of Mill Valley, California and grandchildren Sarah E Cohn of New York City, NY, Rachel A. Cohn of St. Louis, MO and Hanna C. Schweitzer of Bethesda, MD.

A Memorial Service was held Feb. 24, at Temple Sinai, Washington, DC. Inurnment will be held at Arlington National Cemetery at a later date.

Memorial contributions may be made to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Maryland Chapter, 11350 McCormick Rd., Executive Plaza III, Suite 100, Hunt Valley, MD 21031

Arrangements by Rausch Funeral Home, Owings, MD.

Bernie Wood, 68

Marshall Bernard (Bernie) Wood originally of Calvert County Mary-land, died on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2012 at Providence Hospital in Anchorage, Alaska.

Bernie was born on March 1, 1943. He was

the son of the late Herman and Nellie Wood of Prince Frederick, Maryland.

Bernie is survived by his wife of 41 years, Marianne Wheat Wood, four children, Randy and Crystal of Alabama, Kelsey and Kyle of Alaska and eight grandchildren. He is also survived by his brother, Herman Reese Wood (Verna) of Merritt Island, Florida and sister, Esther Wood Anthony (Robert) of Prince Frederick, MD and many nieces and nephews.

Bernie served in the U.S Navy for four years and in the early 1990s he and Marianne moved to Alaska. He worked in the building trades as an electrician and plumber for many years.

Contributions may be made in Bernie’s name to Hospice of Anchorage, 2612 East Northern Lights Boulevard, Anchorage, AK 99508, American Cancer Society or American Heart Association.

Memorial services will be held at a later date in Prince Frederick.

Don Wooldridge, 66

Donald Robert “Don” Wooldridge, 66, of Dunkirk, MD passed away Feb. 20, 2012 at Calvert Memorial Hos-pital in Prince Freder-ick, MD. Don was born Oct. 21, 1945 in Boston, Massachusetts to Fran-ces (Rice) and Milo A. Wooldridge.

He lived with his family in various Naval installations all over the world where his father was stationed, including China and Morocco, and settled in Maryland in 1961. He attended Surrattsville High School and entered the US Navy in December 1963, serving aboard Po-laris guided missile nuclear submarines. He was honorably discharged in November 1969 after having his term of service extended at the request of the US Navy, and was awarded the National Defense Service Medal and Sub-marine Deterrent Patrol Insignia.

He married Beverly Ann Crawford in 1966 and they lived in Camp Springs, MD and the Apple Green and Twin Shields communi-ties in Dunkirk, MD. Don was a businessman and entrepreneur, and held more than a dozen patented designs. Along with his wife he co-founded Batching Systems, Inc., an automa-tion machinery manufacturing company that he began as a home based business that has expanded to its current location in the Calvert Industrial Park in Barstow, MD.

Don was a member of Jesus the Good Shepherd Parish in Owings, MD, the NRA., and Safari International, a hunting organiza-tion. In his leisure time Don enjoyed travel, spending time with his grandchildren, invent-ing things, Harley Davidson motorcycles, and dirt bikes.

Don was preceded in death by his par-ents and by his wife Beverly. He is survived by sons David B. Wooldridge and wife Kath-leen of Dunkirk and Russell J. Wooldridge and wife Lora of Owings, MD; grandchil-dren Sierra, Luke, Elijah, Talon and Kaia Wooldridge; a brother Milo A. Wooldridge, Jr. of Juneau, AK , and sisters Rosemary A. Staudt and husband Ed of Leesburg, VA and Kathleen F. Farrell and husband Kirk of Staf-ford, VA.

Friends and family were received Feb. 26, at Rausch Funeral Home, Owings, and Feb. 27 at Jesus the Good Shepherd Parish, Ow-ings, where a Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated.

Inurnment will be held at a later date at Lowelltown Cemetery in Clarksburg, Iowa.

Expressions of sympathy in Don’s name may be made to Calvert Hospice at www.Cal-vertHospice.org.

Thursday, March 1, 2012 12The Calvert GazetteSpotlight On


Our Lady Star of the Sea School recently held its annual science fair. The judges were civilian employees of the Naval Air Warfare Center, Air-craft Division (NAWCAD) located at Naval Air Station Patuxent River.

Brian Quinn explained that the judges come from an Education Part-nership agreement between the orga-nization and school for the purpose of encouraging and facilitating “an early interest the in the sciences and engi-neering by young people at all stages of their academic careers and to facilitate stu-dent interest and expertise in science, mathematics, and engineering, particularly as these fields relate to the real world technical applications required by the U. S. Navy.”

The agreement benefits both parties. The NAWCAD promotes and facilitates science and engineering in education while OLSS receives experience and access to state-of-the-art facilities and technology.

OLSS School 2012 Science Fair Winners

Saturday School Gives Students Needed Boost

Our Lady Star of the Sea Science Fair Grandchamp winners Abigal Halterman and Megan Mulford.

Grandchamps:Grand Champion: Middle School DivisionAbigail HaltermanGrand Champion: Secondary DivisionMegan Mulford

Sparkle Awards: Teachers combined all grade levels together and awarded students for eye-catching, neat and fun backboards: Dominick Richardson, Nolan & Erin Balderson, Bryce Callis, Colin Lombardi, Colin Quinn, Evan Puc-ciarella, Nick Steele, Matthew Worch, Nathan Smith and Isabella “Biz” Lynch.

Primary Division: K-4th grades:Chemistry: Patrick Lynch: 1st grade: 1st place;Chemistry: Ellee Ward: 3rd grade: 1st placeMicrobiology: Corbin Seek: 3rd grade: 3rd placeEarth Science: Isabella (Biz) Lynch: 4th grade: 1st place

Middle School Division: Grades 5 and 6:

Chemistry:1st Ciara Ward2nd Meghan Allen2nd Dominick Richardson3rd Colin Lombardi

Microbiology:1st Abigail Halterman2nd: Maleah Smith3rd Matthew Worch3rd: Dakota Seek

Environmental Science:1st Madalynn Billings2nd Charae Young

Earth Science:1st Richard Hough2nd: Bradley Quinn3rd: Andrew Beckman

Botany:1st: Mary Oster2nd: Erin McKenzie3rd: Nathan Smith

Physics & Astronomy:1st Nolan Balderson

Energy & Transport:1st: Evan Pucciarella2nd: Kathryn Cecil3rd: Marcus Lloyd

Secondary Division: Grades 7 and 8:Physics & Astronomy:1st: Erin Balderson2nd: Kyle McCarthy3rd: Bryce Callis

Chemistry: 1st: Matthew Richardson2nd: Jessica Thompson2nd: Carolyn Allen3rd: Cara Smithburger: Spray it onEnergy & Transportation:1st: Eric Gronda: Heavy Metal2nd: Cameron Dziekiewicz: All of the Lights

Environmental Science:1st: David Neff2nd: Nick Steele3rd: Molly Abell

Botany:1st: Megan Mulford2nd: Christine Wagner

Earth Science:1st: Claire Ruble2nd: Sarah Sears

Microbiology:3rd : Azara Seek

Life Science:1st: Brian Quinn

Engineering:1st: David Martin


Calvert’s middle schools are offering students who need time to look at a problem from a different angle an opportunity to do so with twice-monthly Saturday school classes.

Unlike the Saturday school portrayed in pop culture, where only bad kids get sent there as a punishment similar to detention, Calvert’s program has been going on for at least five years and is a way to get “reluctant learners” actively involved, Calvert Middle School (CMS) Learning Specialist Steve VanRees said.

He said during a given session, the CMS teachers get between 40 and 50 students in to work on reading and math, with a basketball tournament to round out the day. He said there are generally a lot of the same faces coming in, and they can work on specific skills they are learning in the classroom and independent classroom projects.

He said Saturday school classes have a smaller student-to-teacher ratios and a dif-ferent structure, allowing for more hands-on work and the time to approach problems from a different angle to help students who are struggling with a concept.

He said the school has sent out fliers and e-mails to promote Saturday school, and even called parents. All that effort is paying off, as the program has been steadily growing, VanRees said.

Most of the students in CMS’s Saturday school sessions are in sixth grade, though they get some others from the higher grades.

At Southern Middle School (SMS), the students come in for a one-hour session for math tutoring, Principal Cheryl Johnson said.

Johnson said they start Saturday school in the second half of the year to help students prepare for the MSAs and the rigors they will face when moving up into high school. This is the first year they used their specific model, with the students coming in for one-hour blocks instead of coming in for an entire morning.

Some of the tutors come in from the high school, which Johnson said helps the students learn what to expect in the transition and the gives the students a familiar face when going into their freshman year.

SMS Special Education teacher Ryan Crowley said data proves the math “power hour” is working. He said it is also useful that the students are in small groups instead of a full class setting.

Brooke Grubbs, one of Crowley’s Saturday students, said her math grades were “terrible” but after being in the Saturday school sessions, she’s getting As and Bs in math.

The Saturday school programs are funded by a $26,790 Calvert County Family Network grant, administered to Calvert, Mill Creek and Southern middle schools, ac-cording to Supervisor of Instruction (Title I and III) Laveeta Hutchins.

She said the grant goes with the fiscal year, from July 1 to June 30, allowing each of the schools to use the money and the Saturday school program in a way best suited to the school.

[email protected]

Photo by Sarah MillerRegina Sullivan tutors Alice Pritchard in math at Southern Middle School.


Recently, I talked about the devastat-ing effects of shifting the teachers’ pen-sions from the state to the counties and Baltimore City. Every county in Mary-land, without regard to political party, has joined an effort to Stop the Shift. Calvert County, along with many other counties, will have hosted a Press Conference on Tuesday, Sept. 28th, in an effort to alert the public that the teacher pension shift would be BAD for our #1 rated schools, BAD for public safety & other county services, and BAD for public employees. Shifting teacher pensions from the state to the Counties will undermine our fragile Maryland economy and put Marylanders out of work. The shift of teachers’ pen-sions will make Maryland an unaffordable state in which to live because it will force counties to raise county taxes at the same time that the state is proposing to raise a slew of fees and taxes, including the gaso-line tax. The shift of the teachers’ pen-sions is a way for the state of Maryland to avoid meeting its financial obligations, because it allows the state to spend $240 million more dollars than it has, despite the proposed tax increases.

The state is counting on the fact that

you, the public, will not get involved enough in the details to understand the budget shell game.

Here is what you need to know in a nutshell:

• The state still owes money for Medicaid from past as well as present budgets, because the Medicaid bud-get ballooned.

• The state is bonding operating costs which increases the debt service on the bonds by 6% annually between 2012 and 2017.

• State property tax revenues, which pay for the debt service on the bonds, are projected to decrease through fiscal year 2015, then grow by 1% until 2017.

• 6% annual increase in costs vs. less than 1% annual increase in property tax revenue over 5 years creates a compound-ing deficit.

Rather than address this unsustain-able situation of a rapidly compounding deficit, Governor O’Malley and legislative leaders wish to pass the buck to county governments, which is YOU!

However, the hole is much bigger

than the $240 million teacher pension shift. All of the mon-ey spent by the state of Mary-land is increas-ing by $1 billion per year.

H o w e v e r , unlike the federal government, Maryland can not print money. Maryland can only raise taxes, shift the deficit to the Coun-ties, or cut spending.

One writer has stated that we, as a citizenry, do not wish to give up any of the current spending initiatives. What she fails to realize is that either the state is going to have to sacrifice and scrimp on its budget, or YOU, individually, will have to sacrifice through higher state and local taxes that leave you less money to spend on your own family’s budget and priorities.

Please let the Governor and your legislators know that you want to control your own spending, not the state, and to Stop the Shift of Teachers’ pensions.

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 McGuireSusan ShawSherrod Sturrock

The Calvert Gazette is a weekly newspaper providing news and information for the residents of Cal-vert 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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More on State Budget FollyBy Susan ShawCalvert County Commissioner, 2nd District

Classifieds

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Important

To Place a Classified Ad, please email your ad to: [email protected] or Call: 301-373-4125 or Fax: 301-373-4128 for a price quote. Of-fice hours are: Monday thru Friday 8am - 4pm. The Calvert Gazette is published each Thursday.

Deadlines for Classifieds are Tuesday at 12 pm.

Employment

St. Mary’s County Health Department

Send Resume:St. Mary’s County

Health DepartmentPO Box 316

Leonardtown, MD 20650

Fax: 301-475-9425

EOE

“PROMOTE HEALTH”Coordinator

Special Programs HS I

Closing Date: March 19, 2012

Providing advocacy services for persons with developmental disabilities

Requirements: Bachelor Degree Salary Range -

~ $32-37KEmergency/Contractual

position

Attention Experienced Roofers!

Tecta America is looking for a crew of 10-15 experienced roofers

who are willing to work for the next 24 months on a highly

publicized nuclear power plant in Lusby, Maryland.

We offer superior pay, benefits, temporary housing and per dieum.

Candidates must be willing to relocate and able to pass a thorough background check, drug screening, and homeland security clearance.

No phone calls please. Send resumes or work history to

[email protected] EEO/M/F/D/V

Maryland Has Made HistoryMaryland has made history. With the vote in the Senate it

became one of only 8 states to recognize marriage equality and one even fewer states to legalize same sex marriage via its leg-islature and not through a court order. There will no doubt be a petition drive resulting in a referendum in November 2012, but the General Assembly and Governor O'Malley deserve credit for defending the basic civil right to marry. One local delegate de-serves special recognition for making a tough choice and casting a courageous vote - Delegate John Bohanan.

Bohanan stands out from most other supporters in very sig-nificant ways. Bohanan represents southern St. Mary's County. The county is the fatest growing county in the state and home to the Patuxent Naval Air station. The large military presence has steadily changed the political dynamic of the county. Once a solidly Democratic area (in local elections), St. Mary's has been trending Republican. Since 2008 the GOP has added 4,000 vot-ers to its rolls - twice that of the Democrats. At present, Demo-crats and Republicans claim an equal share of voters. In 2010, Republicans swept all but one seat on the county commission and Bohanan won a narrow re-election against a very novice challenger.

For Bohanan, the safe bet would have been to vote against same sex marriage. He would have paid no penalty. When asked about his decision to support the bill, Bohanan said “Once I be-gan to look at this through the eyes of my own kids and other young people, it became pretty clear... You want them to have love, and if that’s how they want to express it, you want them to be able to do it openly.” Bohanan is likely to see serious political fallout in his home district. What he deserves is recognition for making the right call in an era when too many politicians care only about winning the next election.

As a people we need to ask, should our representatives sim-ply serve as mirrors elected to reflect the demands of a majority of their constituents or should they serve as a lens through which the needs and demands of all the people they represent can be refined and focused? In other words, should they stick their fin-gers in the wind or should they use their own best judgment?

The framers of this great country wanted our elected representa-tives to serve as a lens. That's an awesome responsibility and one that John Bohanan lived up to with his vote in favor of marriage equality.

Todd Eberly, Ph.D.California, MD


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].

Area Fundraisers Provide Varied Options for Fun

410-FYI-DUCK www.RuddyDuckBrewery.com

LIVE Irish Music! Specialty Irish Food Specials Green Beer & Drink Specials

Get Ruddy to party at the only brew

pub around!!

Celebrate St. Patty’s Day at the Duck!

SOLOMONS, MARYLANDDowell Rd and Route 4


Citizens on both sides of the bridge have several opportunities to get out, have fun and help charitable and political causes at the same time.

• The Calvert County Republican Central Committee will be hosting Cal-vert Comedy Central at the Elk’s Lodge in Prince Frederick on March 24 at 7 p.m. The price is $30 per person and includes appetizers, dessert and a cash bar in ad-dition to performances from ventrilo-quist Tom Crowl, comedian hypnotist Brian Sanders and Commissioners Steve Weems and Pat Nutter.

Weems is a “closet Elvis imperson-ator” and said he looks forward to helping “relieve some stress in a world full of it.”

Nutter will be performing a magic show, which, according to a press release, he has been doing in Maryland and Vir-ginia for years.

For more information, call Bob Arscott at 301-855-8039 or e-mail [email protected]. RSVPs are due by March 19.

• In St. Mary’s County, there will be a May 3 Sudoku Championship at St. John’s School. The cost for entry is $10 for novice level, $15 for intermediate, and $20 for advanced and expert level entries. The qualification rounds begin between

9 and 10:30 a.m. and championship rounds begin between 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

Last year, par-ticipants had to com-plete five puzzles to get through the cham-pionship round. This year the number is down to three, coor-dinator Mike Thomp-son said, one to qual-ify for the tournament and two to get to the championship round. Only expert level players looking to earn the top slot will be asked to complete a fourth puzzle. Coffee and refreshments will also be served during

the tournament.“We’re trying to make it

more of a fun thing for people than an intense thing,” Thomp-son said.

For more information, call Thompson at 301-373-8545. All proceeds benefit the St. John’s School scholarship fund. For more information, visit www.sjshollywood.org.

• March 3 there will be a night of dancing at the Chesa-peake Beach American Legion Post 206 from 8 p.m. until mid-night. Entry is $25 per person which buys rail drink, sodas and snacks. Proceeds go to benefit programs run by the Sons of the American Legion.

• There is also No Limit Hold’ Em poker tournaments and cash games at the Bennett Building on Old Three Notch Road in Hollywood at 7 p.m. every Thursday. Price for entry is $50, with $40 going to the prize pool and $10 going to the charity. The initial entry buys $5,000 in chips, and an op-tional $10 buys entry into a 50/50 raffle and another $5,000 in chips. There will be 20-minute blinds. Dealers will be pro-vided and there will be an award for the nightly high hand. Players can earn entry into a $250 tournament with a $5,000 guarantee. For more information, call Jim Bucci, Sr., at 301-373-6104 or 240-298-9616. Proceeds go to benefit the Special Olympics of St. Mary’s County.

• There will also be a March 17 Tex-

as Hold ‘Em Tournament and Cash game in Huntingtown to benefit the Patricia Rogers Educational Scholarship Fund. Doors will open at 6 p.m. and buy in will be $125. Seventy-five percent of the buy in goes to the payout and 24 percent goes to the scholarship fund. Buy in purchases $10,000 in chips and free food, soda and adult beverages. For more information, or to pre-register, call Tommy Rogers at 443-398-5223. The tournament will be at 4120 Old Town Road in Huntingtown.

[email protected] Sanders, comedian hypnotist.

Tom Crowl, ventriloquist.

Thursday, March 1, 201215 The Calvert Gazette Sp rts

By Ronald N. Guy Jr.Contributing Writer

D e s p i t e my stubborn inclination to consistent ly feature a sin-gle subject, sometimes the sports world’s cup of topics runneth over. This week was one of those “sometimes.” My normally

effective idea-reduction efforts stalled with two options standing - so you’re get-ting both “thing 1” and “thing 2” (good enough for Dr. Seuss, good enough for me). Don’t worry, there’s no charge for the second one; it’s on me.

Thing 1…A few weeks ago, the New York

Knicks were mired in the stench envelop-ing the bottom half of the NBA’s Eastern

Conference. Having acquired perennial all-stars Amar’e Stoudemire and Carme-lo Anthony last season, the Knicks were expected to compete for a title, not for a tee time with Wizards immediately after the regular season’s conclusion. To make matters worse, New York’s two stars - An-thony via a pulled groin and Stoudemire due to a death in the family – were to miss considerable time. The situation seemed hopeless and, being as we’re talking big-time sports, it fueled speculation that head coach Mike D’Antoni’s job could be in jeopardy.

D’Antoni, with an embattled coach’s angst showing all over his face, certainly resembled a coach occupying an uncom-fortably hot seat. With a severely under-achieving team and minus two all-stars, a nearly out-of-options D’Antoni gazed down his bench and called on an undraft-ed, NBA Development League entity to turn his frown upside down. From this desperate act, “Lin-sanity” was born.

A month ago the name “Jeremy Lin” would have moved the national sports needle only marginally more than “Ronnie Guy.” Alas, our paths have di-

verged…ever so slightly…in recent weeks. Lin’s historic stat-compiling start to his NBA career has shoved the Knicks back into contention and his multi-layered, rags-to-riches story has captivated the nation. With so much attention being paid to his on-

court superlatives, Lin’s peripheral impact - specifically his apparently successful against-all-odds rescue of his head coach – hasn’t yet been adequately considered.

Pre-Lin, D’Antoni had become something of an every-person’s sympa-thetic figure: the leader responsible for accomplishing a complex task, one whose scope far exceeds any individual’s abil-ity to control, without several critical re-sources. D’Antoni neither forgot how to coach before Lin nor learned how to once Lin was inserted into the starting lineup. D’Antoni is merely the latest to prove a leader’s creative vision and sound strat-egies mean little without the executers: the right people in the right place at the right time. “Lin-sanity” has left NYC in a craze, but it has injected some much-need-ed sanity into the professional existence of Mike D’Antoni. He’s wearing a much more pleasant expression these days.

Thing 2…On Saturday, October 25th, 1986,

I was at my parents’ house hanging out with a good friend. No, I’m not so hopped

up on gingko biloba that I maintain vivid memories of obscure, 26-year-old eve-nings. October 25th, 1986 offered one of those “where were you when” moments in the form of Game 6 of the ’86 World Se-ries. After scoring two runs in the top of the 10th and recording the first two outs in the bottom half of the inning, the Boston Red Sox seemed poised to exorcise “The Curse of the Bambino” and win its first championship since 1918. The New York Mets and their ever-smiling catcher, Gary Carter, had other ideas. Carter broke the ice with a base hit. A few more followed, and after Mets outfielder Mookie Wilson hit an innocent dribbler that infamously rolled through the legs of Red Sox first baseman Bill Bucker, the Mets had se-cured a miraculous win and went on to win the series in Game 7.

Gary Carter, 57, died on February 16th. He took his physical smile with him but, like his rally-starting base hit in the ’86 series, it remains in the memory of those who had the good fortune of his infectious optimism’s influence. If I had to come up with Carter’s epitaph, it would be this: he made people believe that the semi-filled vessel was half full. When your legacy is a contagious smile and the proliferation of optimism, you lived well.

Send comments to [email protected]

BleaChersA View From The read One, Get One Free

Fur andFeathersFur and

FeathersBy Keith McGuireContributing Writer

On Thursday I relapsed into “Fur and Feathers” by joining nine of my hunting friends for a long-awaited snow goose hunt on the East-ern Shore. Our guide put out 1200 decoys, gave us white suits, and had us lie in the field among the decoys. It worked! Flock after flock of the birds passed by overhead and many came closer to investigate the fake snow geese in the field. We finished by 10:00 AM with nearly 50 geese to clean and

share with friends.Under the heading of “Ordinary Angler,” fishing is still

the hottest news in town. The cold winds of this past week-end, however, kept many of us off the water and away from the shore line.

Yellow perch and crappie dominate fishing re-ports. Yellow perch are being caught in many of the tidal creeks and rivers off the Potomac and Patuxent in Charles, St. Mary’s and Prince George’s coun-ties. Some are being caught at the tidal boundary after spawning, but many are still being caught in deeper water from boats. It is a bumper year for the yellow perch in our area.

Crappie fishing has also turned on big time. Some of the crappie are being caught in the same creeks, streams and rivers as yellow perch. Now is also a great time to catch crappie in local freshwa-ter impoundments, like St. Mary’s Lake. Check the regulations for size and creel limits before you go.

Saturday’s wind forced me into a different pattern for the weekend. The Annapolis chapter of the Maryland Salt-water Sportfishermen’s Association had a show in Edgewa-ter on Saturday complete with seminars and vendors sell-ing all manner of fishing gear. To me, the more interesting items included “Fish Bomb” and “Oozzie Jig.”

Fish Bomb is an aerosol can of menhaden oil that can be sprayed on lures to sweeten their appeal, or attached to a heavy weight and set-off underwater to lure fish to your fishing area deeper down. When it is set-off like this, the entire contents of the can are expelled similar to the way “Buck Bomb” works to blast scent into the air for deer hunt-ers. This product is available at local tackle shops and is purported to work very well for stripers, bluefish, flounder and other species in the Bay.

The Oozzie Jig is a metal lure with a wick inside and holes in the lure. It is being marketed with Bio Edge fish oils. The concept is to “charge” the lure by squirting fish oil onto the wick inside the lure. When it is put in the water and worked like a typical jig, the lure expels the fish oil to attract feeding fish. The lure is available in weights from 1 ounce to 18 ounces in a variety of colors and decorations. Check

their website for details at www.oozziejig.com. After the MSSA show, I headed over to the Kent Nar-

rows Yacht Club for the Coastal Conservation Association’s “Tie Fest.” This was mainly a gathering of saltwater fly fishers who were exhibiting their latest hand-tied lures for rockfish and other species commonly found in our waters. I’m not a fan of the whippy stick, but there’s always some-thing to be learned. There were several vendors and guides at the show catering to all manner of light tackle anglers, so I wasn’t completely out of my element.

[email protected] has been a recreational angler on the Chesa-

peake Bay and its tributaries for over 50 years; he fishes weekly from his small boat during the season, and spends his free time supporting local conservation organizations.

lying With Decoys

Keith, nine hunting friends and 46 geese!


MHBR No. 103

QBH Fall County Times Full Ad_BASE 10/27/11 3:29 PM Page 1

2012-03-01 Calvert Gazette

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