The County Times -- April 15, 2010

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Photo By Sean Rice

Photo By Frank Marquart

Twain Centennial to Mix Comedy and Punditry

Deceased Waterman Receives Fitting Memorial

Unemployment Insurance Taxes Up 400 Percent

Volunteers To The Rescue WAllAcE FAmily OPEns DOOr

tO christmAs in APril

Thursday, April 15, 2010 2The County Times

Your Paper... Your Thoughts

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“I would say advertising and promotions, and they should have sales to get the word out what their

products and services are, and how much of that

is close in St. Mary’s County,” said

Hans Welch, Business De-

velopment Manager for St. Mary’s County. “They should use the differ-ent mar-keting

vehicles they have

available to them,

including your newspaper.”

What do you think small businesses can do to compete with chain stores coming into

this area?

Grace Fuller, who supplements her volunteering ac-tivities in the county with work at the new Leonardtown Winery, said that she always preferred to go to small busi-nesses with employ-ees who knew a lot about their product. “Sometimes when I’ll ask questions people will tell my ‘I don’t know about that product’ and I don’t like to hear that,” she said. “Always know what you’re selling, and then I may come back.”

“Small businesses have the benefit of being able to meet and talk with everyone their business serves,” said Jane Bachman, man-ager at Traditions of Loveville. “Ev-ery person that comes through our door we say hi to, we smile and we offer personal service … and that’s what’ll make the difference.”

Thursday, April 15, 20103 The County Times

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ON THE FRONT

WeatherWatch

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

Blue Crabs shortstop Travis Garcia takes a swing during batting practice on Wednesday.

Also Inside4 County News7 Editorial8 Money9 Defense and Military10 Obituaries12 Crime and Punishment14 Education16 Cover Story19 Community21 Newsmakers22 Community Calendar23 Columns24 Entertainment26 Games27 Sports Desk29 Baseball30 Blue Crabs31 Lacrosse

What’s InsideWhat’s Inside

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Delegate John Bohanan (D-Dist. 29B) said this week: “We’ve passed the leanest budget we’ve ever seen.” Others say tax increase are certain to follow after this year’s election. SEE PAGE 6

Great Mills’ Anna Sparr and the Knights’ Kaley Over-street battle for possession of the ball during Fri-day’s girls’ lacrosse game. SEE PAGE 31

Michaela, left, Micherle and Mike Wallace will be one of more than 20 families getting home renovation help from Christmas in April this year.

“They didn’t want a traditional casket,

we’re celebrating this gentleman’s life … He’s in his boat.”

- Edward Brinsfield, talking about the celebration of life

services for Carl Kopel, who died April 9.


ews FactunThe Eisenhower interstate system requires that 1 mile in every 5 must be straight.

These straight sections are usable as airstrips in emergency situations.

By Sean RiceStaff Writer

Brinsfield Funeral Home has taken celebration of life memorials to the next level.

Just as technology and human com-munication continues to move ahead with the times, the staff at Brinsfield is working to redefine what it means to hold a visitation after a loved one passes on – from a gathering of mourners to a true celebration of life.

The Leonardtown funeral home held services this week for Carl Kopel, owner of the Fromer Kopel’s Marina in the 7th District, who died April 9 at 85. Mr. Kopel’s service serves as an example of how the industry is moving toward in-timately personal services that celebrate the life of the deceased.

As a marina owner and boat-builder, being on the water defined Mr. Kopel’s life. The Brinsfield staff, upon discussing service options with his family, learned of the family’s desire to fully celebrate this aspect of his life.

The result was a memorial service fit for a true waterman.

Instead of a casket for Mr. Kopel during the funeral home viewing, his body was laid reclining in a boat that Mr. Kopel built during his lifetime - sur-rounded with many other pieces of his nautical memorabilia.

“There’s a rocking horse he built for the family, some other little boats that he built,” Edward Brinsfield Jr. said, pointing to items in the viewing room. “There’s his nets, his fishing rods, his crab pot.

“They didn’t want a traditional casket, we’re celebrating this gentle-man’s life,” Brinsfield added. “He’s in his boat.”

Brinsfield said Mr. Kopel’s life cel-ebration marks a progression of funeral home viewing service – from a somber occasion to an uplifting celebration of life. Mr. Kopel’s unique casket is only part of the personalization of his service.

As guests arrive at the funeral home, they would pass through several rooms with memorabilia celebrating the life of the deceased. At Mr. Kopel’s service this included a large-sized portrait cre-ated from the family’s favorite picture, a looping DVD slideshow of pictures and music, his drawings and woodworking crafts, personalized prayer cards, a six-page colorful memorial pamphlet and a personalized register book.

“The newest thing we’re doing is called ‘event by wire’,” Brinsfield said, pointing to a camera in corner of the viewing room that allows distant family members to watch the service on a secure computer network as it happens.

[email protected]

A Memorial Service Fit For a True Waterman

Photo by Sean Rice

Kyle Simons, a funeral director at Brinsfield Funeral Home in Leonardtown, stands in front of Mr. Kopel’s personalized casket shortly before the family arrived for his celebration of life services on Tuesday. Simons is blocking the view of Mr. Kopel, who is laid reclin-ing in a boat he build by hand.

Family Chooses Boat Instead Of Casket


ewsToday’s Newsmakers In Brief

Open House: Monday, April 194-6 P.M. in the State House

Public Meeting: Wednesday, April 217 P.M. in the Auditorium at HSMC

WHY:The CDA will present information to the community about a number of capital improvements planned by the College and HSMC. Included will be an update

of the replacement of Anne Arundel Hall and the new Maryland Heritage Interpretive Center (Visitor’s Center), the relocation of Margaret Brent Hall, a new HSMC woodshop, Chancellor’s Point, and an update on the proposed

traffic calming for Rt. 5. Feedback from the community is welcomed.

You’re Invited to an Open House and a Public Meeting on Current Capital Improvement Projects

For more information on the CDA, visit http://smcm.edu/cda/Or call 240-895-4412

WHO:The Capital Design Advisory Committee (CDA)

of St. Mary’s College of Maryland (SMCM)and Historic St. Mary’s City (HSMC)

Will Host Two Events:

WHEN & WHERE

On the legislature’s decision to quadruple the unemployment

insurance tax on most businesses.

“If you’re marginal now, any increase [in costs] is hurtful.”

Bob Schaller, director of the Department of Economic and Community Development

On the town council’s vote and mayor’s support to go to a constant

yield on property tax rates

“I think the big issue here is we’re not raising taxes.”

Mayor J. Harry Norris

Businesses See Quadrupling Of Unemployment Insurance Tax

By Guy LeonardStaff Writer

The Leonardtown Town Council ensured that town residents would see a small break on their property tax bills this year once they passed the fiscal 2011 budget complete with a constant yield provision.

The constant yield provision keeps the property tax revenues steady from year to year even when state property assessments increase.

The budget and constant yield provision passed by a 3-to-1 vote Monday afternoon, with Council member Leslie Roberts the sole opponent.

She argued that at a time when the town was socked with a more than $90,000 loss in state highway user fees that it sent the wrong message to the state and county that the town had more money to give away with property taxes.

She said that a house that was assessed at $300,000 that would see just $30,000 of its val-ue taxed, would give its owner just about $30 a year in savings with the new .1257 constant yield rate.

“Going to a constant yield is fiscally ir-responsible,” Roberts said, adding that cuts in property tax rates contrasted sharply with no cost of living increases for town employees.

“I think we’re making the wrong state-ment,” she said.

The rest of the council and Mayor J. Harry Norris disagreed, saying that tough economic times had to be shared by the town govern-ment and residents alike.

“The town does not have plenty of mon-ey,” Norris said. “I think the big issue here is that we’re not raising taxes.”

Council member Dan Burris said that while the county government chose not to go to the constant yield this year, their situation was different.

The county could lose close to $6 million through constant yield, Burris said, but the town would lose just $30,000 to $40,000.

In a general fund budget of about $1.1 million, that loss could be made up from taxes garnered from more construction expected in town. The entire budget of the town, includ-ing services paid for by charges, comes to just about $3 million.

Council member Tom Collier said that any savings the tax payers could get from con-stant yield, even if it was just $30 a year, was important.

“They hold dear to their dollars,” Collier said.

[email protected]

Town Council Passes Budget With Constant Yield Tax Rate


The recession has nearly wiped out the state coffers that were set aside to provide unemployment insurance for those who lost their jobs, and now the state has approved a nearly 400 percent increase in how much businesses must pay into the fund to replenish it.

The new tax rate for most businesses statewide will be set at 2.2 percent, which is up from just 0.6 percent for 2009, according to the Maryland Chamber of Commerce.

Del. John Bohanan defended the increase, which he said was locked in back in 2005, as better than what would have occurred.

“It actually avoided a much larger spike, which is better than what they [the rates] would have been had we not taken action in 2005,” Bohanan said.

The depletion of the state’s unemployment fund best illustrated the situation.

“It’s reflective of the [increase in] the number of unemployment claims,” Bohanan said.

Dan Rebarchick, owner and operator of Lenny’s Restaurant in California, said that the hefty increase he and other business owners face could have something of a reverse affect than what law mak-ers intended: the tax increase could cause employers to shed workers, thus increasing the drain on jobless benefits.

“Any tax on labor can be a potential job killer,” Rebarchick said. “Maybe a business has five employees and they’ll do it with four.”

But in the end equation, Rebarchick said, the consumer will have to bear the brunt of the increase, which could force them to reduce their spending.

“What it does is it’s a tax that gets passed on to the consumer,” he said. “You wind up raising prices.”

Sean Berry, owner of TSB Technologies LLC in Hollywood is

also the sole employee. During the recession he had to let employees go until he was the only one left, he said.

The new increase in taxes does not hurt him right now, but it also makes it difficult to hire any new employees.

“I don’t have anyone on payroll because the economy sucks,” Berry said. “This [tax increase] won’t help me.”

House Minority Leader Anthony O’Donnell (D-Dist.29C) said that the insurance tax increase could be a job killer, since employers will have to payout more profits that could have been used to hire employees.

“I voted against it,” O’Donnell said. “It was a bad business vote at a bad time.

“It just shows Maryland’s hostility to business.”The Tax Foundation, a group aimed at educating the public in

understanding tax policies, listed Maryland recently as among the 10 worst states in the nation for its level of business taxes. Maryland ranks 45th out of 50 states for its overall tax climate according to the group.

“In the long run businesses will have to figure the extra costs into their overhead,” Rebarchick said.

Small businesses were the ones who would eventually turn around the economic turmoil, he said, but that path would likely be fraught with frustration.

“Small businesses take the hit on just about every-thing,” he said. “It’s just sad that we’ll get penalized the most.”

[email protected]

Photo by Guy Leonard

Sean Berry, his company’s sole employee works at his Hollywood com-puter repair store.


ews


House Minority Leader Anthony J. O’Donnell (R-Dist. 29C) believes that the bud-get that passed the House and Senate in An-napolis means that the state’s money problems will continue for the foreseeable future.

It also means that the state and counties will likely have to raise taxes to compensate for lagging tax revenues, he said.

“We did little to nothing to solve the state’s overspending problem and reliance of federal aid dollars,” O’Donnell said of overall efforts in Annapolis this year. “Massive tax increases are being planned by the majority and they’re also planning to shift the burden of teacher pensions to counties which will force them to raise taxes.”

The fiscal 2011 budget passage was predi-cated on the state getting a projected 3.6 per-cent increase in revenue, O’Donnell said.

“It’s highly unlikely that will materialize,” he said.

But Del. Sue Kullen (D-Dist. 27B) said that the budget, about $32 billion with $2 billion in deep cuts, was “responsible and forward-looking.”

Kullen said that every budget year is dif-ferent, and that it is difficult to speculate on the state’s fiscal standing in 2011.

She does not believe that this year’s bud-get would necessitate having to raise taxes.

“I don’t see it that way,” Kullen said. “We

may need to make deeper cuts next year.”Kullen said that in voting for the budget,

she and other delegates rejected some of the deeper cuts that Republicans wanted to make in education and public safety.

“We held fast to our priorities,” Kullen said. “Those areas to me are sacrosanct.”

Kullen said that voting to cut those critical budget areas would have been “short sighted.”

Del. John Bonhanan (D-Dist.29B) said that the current administration has dealt with an inherited $5 billion structural deficit admi-rably and that this year marked the first time in more than 40 years the state budgeted less than the prior fiscal year.

“We passed probably the leanest budget we’ve ever seen,” Bohanan said. “But we pro-tected priorities like education without passing teacher pensions down to the counties.

“In all government is smaller by 4,000 employees.”

Bohanan also touted much needed capi-tal project money for St. Mary’s County to include funds for expansion of the California Bay District Volunteer Fire Department sta-tion, $765,000 for planning a new library in Leonardtown or renovating the old and $5.5 million towards construction of an expan-sion of the county detention center aimed at overcrowding.

[email protected]

O’Donnell: Budget Will Force Tax Hikes Next Year


Gov. Martin O’Malley announced Wednes-day that recent dredging surveys of the Chesa-peake Bay show that the native hard crab popu-lation has increased by a whopping 60 percent.

O’Malley, making his announcement from a crab house in Kent Island, said this was the second straight year of increases.

“Today, we can see firsthand what progress looks and feels like on the Chesapeake Bay,” O’Malley said in a written statement. “The… crab population is estimated to be 658 million crabs, a 60 percent increase over last year and the highest total population estimate since 1997.”

O’Malley claimed that partnerships be-tween Maryland and Virginia, which includes tough restrictions on the amount of crabs that can be harvested, helped spur the massive esti-mated increase.

Both Maryland and Virginia enacted mea-sures over the past several years to decrease the amount of egg-laying female crabs that water-men could take out of the bay by about 34 per-cent, according to information from the Gover-nor’s office.

The most recent estimates on the improv-ing health of the crab population come from the 2009-2010 conducted by the state’s Department of Natural Resources and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.

Last year’s survey estimated 400 million crabs were inhabiting the bay over the winter, according to the Governor.

The Governor’s office also touted the in-creased estimates of the number of adult female and male crabs this year at 315 million, which

exceeds the immediate goal of having 200 mil-lion in the population.

Robert Brown, president of the St. Mary’s County Waterman’s Association, said that the announcement was good news, but that water-men still had to wait and see if it would have a lasting impact.

The tough restrictions on crabbing, espe-cially of females, was sometimes difficult to live with, he said, but Virginia’s decision to stop dredging up of females last year probably had more to do with the increase in the population than Maryland’s restrictions.

“With the [restrictions on harvesting] she-crabs in the fall it makes it kind of tough,” Brown

said. “We need to see what this sea-son does.”

O’Malley Announces Big Gain in Crab Population

than Maryland’s restrictions.“With the [restrictions on harvesting] she-

crabs in the fall it makes it kind of tough,” Brown said. “We need to see what this sea-son does.”


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Guest Column:By Delegate Anthony O’Donnell

Every year about this time, millions of American’s across the nation race to make sure their federal and state tax filings for the previous year are complete and timely filed. Some U.S. Post Offices even offer extended operating hours on this date to accommodate last minute filings. The day often becomes a poignant reminder of how much we pay to sustain the cost of government services at various levels of government.

Let there be no doubt that we enjoy many good things that make our country our state and our community stronger and safer which are paid for, in whole or in part, by our hard earned tax dollars. Pub-lic safety initiatives including police pro-tection and fire and rescue and emergency medical services are easy examples. Good schools and universities, good roads and transportation systems, good public health services and a strong national defense sys-tem are some other examples of the many services our collected tax dollars pay for. As long as these dollars are spent wisely and sparingly, most people are willing to pay their share or contribution.

The problem many people have with government spending and related tax col-lection is when people feel there is an un-checked raid on their hard-earned tax dol-lars by various levels of government who seem to forget where those dollars come from. Often times spending becomes a social effort to redistribute hard earned monies from one group of earners to other groups who did not earn those monies. This type of unfair taxation and redistribution goes right to the motivation for us creating our own country and breaking from Eng-land. The creation of our own system of self-governance, private property protec-tions and free enterprise in the latter parts of the 18th century was largely fueled by a sense of the people that the government at the time (England) was unfairly taxing and redistributing those taxes back to the government without the consent of the governed.

Today I sense a similar rise in the anx-iety, and outright anger, of the people that government at various levels, especially at the state and federal level, are spending money without restraint and redistribut-ing that money in a way that is unfair and harmful in the long run. As people find it increasingly difficult to make ends meet, with gasoline prices and food prices and electricity prices through the roof, people do not want government spending to con-tinue increasing in ways that make addi-

tional tax increases a certainty. Job creat-ing small businesses either are not hiring, reducing positions, or worst of all are clos-ing their doors because they cannot afford the tax burden in a down economy. There are indications that Marylanders are actu-ally relocating to other states with a more tax friendly state government.

Just three years ago we were told by Governor O’Malley that the state needed to dramatically increase our state taxes to pay for government programs and put our fiscal house in order. This included increases in sales taxes by 20%, increases in income taxes, increases in car excise taxes, and tobacco taxes and many others. Yet today Maryland state government is in a worse situation than it was just three years ago with respect to its budget. When the bailout of the state with federal tax dollars ends, and it must due to federal over spending and redistribution policies, Maryland simply will not be able to pay for its obligations created in large measure by continued over spending.

In 1995 the state operating budget was about $13 billion. Last week, the Gover-nor and General Assembly passed a state operating budget of over $32 billion. This means the state budget is almost 150% larger than it was just 15 years ago. Cur-rent spending levels indicate state budget deficits far in to the future. This type of government spending growth is simply not sustainable by the taxpayers. There are almost certain tax increases planned by the majority in Annapolis next year, conveniently after the elections, to pay for this unchecked and unrestrained level of growth in state spending. The only way to end this cycle of tax and spend is to send a message to our state and federal govern-ment that we can’t afford unrestrained government spending.

Although April 15th may present the taxpayers with a poignant reminder of our tax burden, we also reserve the right to send government its own little reminder. In November we can emphatically dem-onstrate that we feel over taxed, we don’t want our money “redistributed”, and that ultimately the people will make changes in the make-up of the government if it can’t change its spending habits on its own. This was another right of the people included at our country’s founding back in the late 18th century.

As always, feel free to contact my lo-cal legislative office at (410) 326-0081 or email at [email protected] with questions, comments or concerns regarding these items or other matters.

April 15 Tax Filing Deadline a Poignant Reminder

A lot of things have happened over the past couple of weeks that will call upon voters in St. Mary’s and Calvert counties to carry a larger burden in this year’s mid-term election. Mid-term elections typically bring out a smaller percentage of voters because there is no national candidate, no presidential election. Voters, especially those which jobs are connected to the federal govern-ment are much more active in the election of the President of the United States than they are the Governor of Maryland.

But this is no ordinary year, these are not ordinary times, this year’s mid-term election will be this generation’s crossroads, this generation’s legacy, this generation’s burden to deliver Mary-land’s future as we see it for our children and grand-children. It will also set the stage for a similar generational legacy vote to come in the 2012 presidential election.

Here in Southern Maryland, we understand that our government, federal, state and local have left us. We know the danger out of control governments represent to our future and our children’s future. We know the “change” that President Obama and Maryland’s Governor Martin O’Malley have given us is not the change we want for our country, our state and our future. The question is do we understand our unique opportunity to play an important role in change we can believe in?

Bob Ehrlich will be visiting St. Mary’s County this weekend as a featured speaker at the annual Lincoln-Reagan Day Dinner. Ehrlich has been a good friend of our county, visiting St. Mary’s often while governor and continuing his presence often since leaving office four years ago. More important is the solid record of good public policy that greatly benefited Southern Maryland while he served as our governor.

His announcement last week that he would again seek election as governor has created a new hope that we can reset the course of Maryland. That the past four years of huge tax increases, high unemployment, and a nanny state government might be undone, and Maryland put on a path of fiscal management, results-based government, and individual freedoms and responsibilities.

Maryland’s current governor, Martin O’Malley just recently was ranked as the worst gov-ernor in the nation. All 50 governors were ranked by the CATO Institute, a Washington, D.C. public policy think tank, using statistical data to grade the governors on their taxing and spending records. The governors received a score from 100 to 0 which was then translated into a grade from “A” to “F”. The grading mechanism is based on seven variables including two spending variables, one revenue variable, and four tax rate variables.

O’Malley’s score of 23 was the lowest in the nation, earning him a grade of “F” along with seven other governors, three are Republicans and five are Democrats. Three governors received an “A”; two are Republicans and one a Democrat. Fourteen governors received a “B”, nine are Republicans and five are Democrats. CATO did not use a political bias to achieve its ranking, just pure statistical data. And our governor proved, as we in Southern Maryland already know, he is the worst governor in the country.

Worse, we are headed toward the distinction of being the worst run state on the East Coast, a designation in the past largely reserved for New Jersey. But with the recent stunning election of Republican Chris Christie as New Jersey’s governor, things are quickly changing. Christie in his budget reductions for 2011 has called for “shared sacrifice and fairness” as he attempts to correct the course for previously bankrupt destined New Jersey. He actually cites Maryland’s “crisis that will be large in the future” as he leads New Jersey in the opposite direction from Maryland.

But for now, most important to Ehrlich and most important to the future of our state, is the importance of the voters in St. Mary’s and Calvert Counties. Voters must remember two things if they truly want to leave a legacy of change, change in the right direction. First, we must show up this election year in greater numbers than ever before. It is not enough that only 60% of us vote, rural Maryland; including Southern Maryland will need to have 85% or more of its voters show up on Election Day to vote.

And second, for this change to work, it’s more than just Ehrlich, it demands that we change our legislature. O’Malley is the worst governor in the nation through the support of our tax and spend legislature. One of the most liberal legislatures in the nation, change will only work if we throw the nice guys out and elect people who will deliver on the promise of responsible govern-ment for Maryland.

Ehrlich’s Entry Signals a Different Kind of “Change”


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“People have changed the way they spend their money,” said Casey Wilson, Retail Industry and Sus-tainability Programs Man-ager for the Maryland Small Business Development Center, describing younger consumers as shrewd and discriminating buyers at the Small Business Roundtable meeting at Lenny’s Restau-rant on Monday.

“Nobody goes into a store uninformed. They re-search to death your prod-ucts and your business before they come through the door and show up,” usually using the internet to find deals, and making brand-specific lists to direct their spending. On the whole, Wilson argued that there were no more impulse shoppers.

So far though, according to local business owners, what’s worked best for them has been diversification and attention to detail.

“We have open lighthouses that nobody can get to them except by water,” said Phil Lan-gley, owner of Fish of the Bay Charters, adding that he had researched new destinations for his charter business to draw in more customers this year.

Rayner Blair, owner of Blair’s Jewelry and gifts, said he had been focusing on bringing in less expensive jewelry items with recognizable brand names to draw in customers.

“We’ve brought in name-brand lines like Pandora. That’s a sterling silver line with add-on charms that’s really helped us tremendous-

ly,” he said, adding that the store’s new engrav-ing machine would help them add customers as well.

Jane Bachman, manager at Traditions of Loveville, said that foregoing huge markups on items had helped her gain customer loyalty over the years, but she was going to use more social networking to draw in customers for sales.

Monday marked what may be the last of the old-style Small Business Roundtables, as has been set up over the last few months by Bob Schaller, St. Mary’s County’s Director of Eco-nomic & Community Development, and Dan Rebarchick, owner of Lenny’s Restaurant.

Both men said that the groups that had been brought together by these meetings would be welcome to join the St. Mary’s Independent Business Association, which will come up with its own meeting schedule in the next few weeks. For more information, call the Department of Economic & Community Development at 301-475-4200, ext. 1400.

Roundtable Discusses What’s Worked So Far

The 15th annual run and fun walk for Hos-pice of St. Mary’s will be held on Saturday, April 17 in Leonardtown.

The best reason to participate is that 100 percent of the money raised will help Hospice of St. Mary’s in providing in-home care, comfort and support to terminally ill patients and their families, said Patty Belanger of Hollywood.

“I believe that everyone in their lifetime will know someone who will receive a heartbreaking diagnosis of cancer or a diagnosis of a terminal illness. Hospice will be there if you need them,” she said. “They’re there to offer comfort, com-passion and support to the patient and family.”

See www.runforhospice.org for more information.

Come Out and Walk/Run For Hospice

Casey Wilson, Retail Industry and Sustainability Programs Manager for the Maryland Small Business Development Center, was the keynote speaker at Monday’s Small Business Roundtable at Lenny’s Restaurant.

Photo by Andrea Shiell

Photo by Andrea Shiell

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The first P-8A Posei-don test aircraft arrived at Pax River, April 10.

The aircraft, recently assigned to Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX-20), arrived after a six hour, 55 min flight from Boeing’s Seattle facilities. VX-20’s Government Flight Test Director, Cmdr. Jim Rein-ing, along with VX-1’s Operational Test Director, Cmdr. John Verniest, and Boeing’s P-8A chief pilot, Chris Dobb, delivered the aircraft referred to as T1.

“It was an exciting moment to watch the first P-8A Poseidon touch down at Pax River today,” said Capt. Mike Moran, Mari-time Patrol and Reconnais-sance Aircraft program manager (PMA-290). “The maritime patrol and reconnaissance platform is in great demand throughout the world and this flight put us one step closer to delivering Posei-don to the Fleet. I cannot be more proud of our team as they work to ensure this aircraft will meet our warfighters’ requirements.”

T1 began formal Navy flight testing at the Boeing facility in October 2009. The Integrated Test Team (ITT) spent the past six months ex-ecuting ground and flight tests while maximiz-ing the expertise of Boeing P-8A engineers and technicians.

Moran said that the program continues to meet all performance criteria and is on track for initial operational capability in 2013.

“The ITT, along with all Boeing’s Seattle production and maintenance team has worked very hard to get the aircraft to Pax River to complete the planned test program,” said Rein-ing. “The ITT is grateful for the strong support

from PMA-290 and Boeing management and is excited to get to work testing at Pax River.”

The Poseidon ITT, comprised of Navy test squadrons (VX-20 and VX-1), and Boeing, will utilize T1 to evaluate the P-8A’s airworthiness and expand its flight envelope.

The program’s other two flight test air-craft, T2 and T3, will transfer to Pax River later this year. These aircraft will focus on extensive mission systems and weapons system testing, ensuring the P-8A’s ability to carry out the anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations.

The Poseidon will replace the P-3C Orion as the Navy’s premier maritime patrol and re-connaissance aircraft. Its advanced mission sys-tems, software and communications technology will allow the Fleet to carry out the same mis-sions as the Orion, but with greater situational awareness that will enhance mission success.

The first P-8A Posei-

P-8A Poseidon, The New Kid in Pax Town

Almost 300 peo-ple recently took time out to say farewell to Ed Greer, the Execu-tive Director for the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Divi-sion (NAWCAD) and Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Deputy Assistant Commander for Test and Evaluation (T&E).

Greer accepted a new position at the Pentagon and, is now the director for Development, Test and Evaluation for the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Greer resigned his career civil ser-vice position to accept this political appointee position.

State and local elected officials, admirals, senior executive service members and members of the community attended the farewell dinner to honor the man with whom they had worked with for more than 30 years in various roles here at NAWCAD.

“He is the genuine article,” said NAWCAD Commander Rear Adm. Donald Gaddis in his remarks during the presentations. “You made NAWCAD home.”

Maryland State Delegate John Bohanon

commended Greer for his work in supporting the Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) initiatives with students and schools in the area. Additionally, he lauded him for the programs like initiatives to work with Veterans and people with targeted disabilities that Greer promoted.

NAVAIR Commander Vice Admiral Da-vid Venlet bid farewell to Greer, and recalled a fishing trip the two had made together.

As Venlet compared Greer’s love for fly fishing to his approach to his work, he said, “He’s a real worker. There’s a lot of work in casting — action is involved. A lot of thinking. You have to read the river.”

Then, Venlet recalled line for the movie “Hunt for Red October” as he described Greer’s ability to prioritize. “When it comes to filling a bucket, you have to put the big rocks in there first.”

When Greer took the microphone, his pride in the people and their abilities was obvious as he talked about the importance of the work they perform.

“The professionals at Patuxent River, the military, civilian and contractor team, are ex-ceptional. I owe a lot to the United States Navy. I will be forever grateful for having had the op-portunity to work in this world class organiza-tion, with you remarkable people,” he said.

Pax Pros Bid Farewell to Ed Greer

Ed Greer

The U.S. Navy’s newest maritime patrol and reconnaissance test aircraft, P-8A Poseidon, left, flies with a P-3 Orion along side, prior to landing at Naval Air Station Patuxent River. The P-8A is replacing the P-3.

U.S. Navy photo by Liz Goettee


George “Dickie” Arndt, Jr., 70

George Richard “Dickie” Arndt, Jr., 70, of Dameron, MD died April 8, 2010 at his residence. Born June 2, 1939 in Baltimore, MD he was the son of the late George Richard and Della Ecker Arndt, Sr. He is survived by his stepchildren Amy M. Anderson of Dameron, MD, Betty Lou Reece of Lex-ington Park, MD and Bobbie Jo Dorais of Waldorf, MD as well as two grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his companion Louella Mae Har-rell. George was a truck driver and served in the U.S. Army in 1957. An inurnment will follow in Maryland Veteran’s Cemetery, Cheltenham, MD at a later date. Condolences may be left to the family at www.mgfh.com. Arrangements pro-vided by Mattingley-Gardiner Funeral Home, P.A., Leonard-town, MD.

Joseph Aud, 80

Joseph Combs Aud, 80, of Great Mills, MD died April 7, 2010 at his residence.

Born November 6, 1929 in Great Mills, MD he was the son of the late Clarence M. Aud and Estelle A. (Coombs) Aud.

Combs owned and operated Aud Sheet Metal for forty-two years. He loved being with his family, and was an avid NA-SCAR fan. His favorite driver was Dale Earnhart, Sr.

Combs is survived by his children; Darlene E. Sweeney of Hollywood, MD, David E. Aud (Angie) of Great Mills, MD, Daryl J. Aud of Harwood, MD, Dana L. Aud (Mike) of Great Mills, MD, Douglas M. Aud (Karen) of Clements, MD, and Danny A. Aud (Joyce) of Great Mills, MD, grandchil-dren; David Sweeney, Ross Sweeney, Laura Sweeney, Kyle Tubbs, Mindy Tubbs, Reilly Aud, Mackenzie Aud, Baileigh Aud, Cassie Aud, Derek Aud, Jace Aud, Kristen Bowen, Joey Aud, Allen Aud, Ryan Aud and Kayla Aud, and great-grand-children; Caden Sweeney, Kade Bowen and Kaelyn Bowen. He was preceded in death by his wife, Peggy Ann (Chambers) Aud and daughter, Dianne R. Aud.

Services will be private.Memorial contributions

may be made to the American Heart Association, P.O. Box 5216, Glenn Allen, VA 23058-5216.

Condolences to the family may be made at www.brins-fieldfuneral.com.

Arrangements by the Brinsfield Funeral Home, P.A., Leonardtown, MD.

Mary Brien, 71

Mary C. Brien, 71 of Lex-ington Park, MD passed away at the Hospice House of St. Mary’s on April 8, 2010 after a long battle with cancer.

Born May 14, 1938 in Roch-ester, NY she was the daughter of the late Francis Costigan and Suzette MacDonald Costigan.

Born and raised in Roches-ter, NY, Mary earned a Bach-elor’s of Art Degree in Social Work from Nazareth College. She married in 1960 and raised her two children while volun-teering in community organi-zations and her church. She moved to St. Mary’s County in 1976 and taught in parochial and public schools here. After retiring, she continued to sub-stitute teach and tutor young children and adults. She was a skin care consultant for 25

years.Mary is survived by her

husband, Tom Brien, and her son, Michael Brien. Her daughter Patricia Shade passed away in 2003. She has five grandchildren: Krista Gaspard (married to Donovan Gaspard), Nickolas Shade, Garret Shade, Calvin Brien and Elvis Brien all of St. Mary’s County, and one great-grandchild, Adonis Gaspard.

A Mass of Christian Burial was held on Monday, April 12, 2010 at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, Lexington Park, MD.

Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society, St. Mary’s County – Unit 350, P.O. Box 1032, Lexington Park, MD 20650 or Hospice of St. Mary’s, P.O. Box 625, Leonardtown, MD 20650.



Thomas Combs, Sr., 86

Thomas Nathaniel Combs, Sr., 86, of Leonardtown, MD died April 8, 2010 in Washing-ton, DC. Born September 17, 1923 in Great Mills, MD he was the son of the late Charles and Agnes Eva Aud Combs. Thom-as was the loving husband of A. Marie Combs, whom he mar-ried on May 1st in 1947. He is also survived by his children Thomas N. Combs, Jr. (Sudy) of Callaway, MD, Bennie Combs (Bernadette) of Chaptico, MD and Glenda White (Jeremy) of Lexington Park, MD; his six grandchildren, Shelly Wathen (Danny) Thomas Combs III, Ashley Combs, Dane Hanson (Hannah), Brad Combs and Amy Hanson; Three great-grandchildren; Olivia Buzzur-ro, Boston Hester and Brock Hester; as well as his siblings Kitty Clark of California, MD, Roger Combs and Mary Hall both of Callaway, MD, Julia Ty-ler of Leonardtown, MD, Irma Hayden of Great Mills, MD,

and Leona Lucas of Pennsylva-nia. He was preceded in death by his brother Gilbert Combs. Thomas was a lifelong resi-dent of St. Mary’s County and was in the United States Army for four years and is a WWII Veteran. Thomas belonged to the VFW of California, MD and the American Legion Post 255. He was an avid gardener and enjoyed canning vegeta-bles and building birdhouses. The family received friends on Monday, April, 12, 2010 in the Mattingly-Gardiner Funer-al Home, Leonardtown, MD, where prayers were said by Fr. Joseph Sileo. Services and In-terment were private. Contri-butions in Memory of Thomas may be made to Hospice of St. Mary’s, P.O. Box 625, Leonar-dtown, MD 20650 and/or the Second District Vol. Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 1, Valley Lee, MD 20692. To send a condo-lence to the family please visit our website at www.mgfh.com. Arrangements provided by the Mattingley-Gardiner Funeral Home, P.A.

John Fagerberg, 61

John Arnold Fagerberg, 61 of Drayden, MD died April 8, 2010 at his residence.

John was born on Octo-ber 8, 1948 in Tucson, AZ. He was a telecommunications engineer.

John is survived by his wife Linda J. (Rutherford) Fagerberg and his stepchildren, Devan Rutherford of Drayden, MD and Jessica Rutherford of Phoenix, AZ.

Family received friends on Wednesday, April 14, 2010 in the Brinsfield Funeral Home, 22955 Hollywood Road, Leon-ardtown, MD 20650. A Me-morial Service was conducted.

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



Marion “Regina” Hammett, 80

Marion “Regina” Combs Hammett, 80, of Ridge, MD died April 7, 2010 in Lexington Park, MD. Born January 10, 1930 in Callaway, MD she was the daughter of the late William Parran and Blanche Victoria Redmond Combs. Regina was the loving wife of Michael Ed-ward Hammett, Sr. whom she married on October 15, 1949 at Holy Face Church in Great Mills, MD. She is also survived by her children Michael Edward Hammett, Jr. of St. Mary’s City, MD, Donald Franklin Ham-mett of St. Inigoes, MD, Mary Blanche Hammett Kalmus of Virginia Beach, VA, Anne Ma-rie Hammett of HI and Mark Ignatius Hammett of Fort Col-lins, CO. She is also survived by her sister June Margaret Hope Dutton of Callaway, MD as well as nine grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her siblings; William Elmer Combs, Garnett Cecilia Red-man, Frances Loretta Wise, Mary Rose Kohl and James Nathaniel Combs. A lifelong resident of St. Mary’s County, Regina graduated from St. Mi-chaels High School and then from St. Mary’s College in 1964 with an AA degree and then again in 1972 with a BA degree in History. She was a life mem-ber of the St. Mary’s County Historical Society and was the Official St. Mary’s County His-torian since 1988 and was also the Editor of St. Mary’s Chron-icles from 1984-1995. She re-ceived the St. Mary’s College Distinguished Alumni Award in 2006 and the St. Michaels High School Distinguished Alumni Award in 2007. The family received friends on Fri-day, April 9 2010 in the St. Mi-chaels Catholic Church, Ridge, MD, where prayers were said . A Mass of Christian burial was celebrated on Saturday, April 10, 2010 in St. Michaels Catholic Church, Ridge, MD with Fr. Lee Fangmeyer offi-ciating. Interment followed in the church cemetery. Contri-butions in Memory of Regina


may be made to Hospice of St. Mary’s, P.O. Box 625, Leonar-dtown, MD 20650, Ridge Vol-unteer Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 456, Ridge, MD 20680 and/or St. Michael’s Catholic Church, 16567 Point Lookout Road, Ridge, MD 20680. To send a condolence to the family please visit our website at www.mgfh.com. Arrangements provided by the Mattingley-Gardiner Funeral Home, P.A.

Carl Kopel, 85

Carl Victor Kopel, 85, of Colton’s Point, Maryland died April 9, 2010 in his home on St. Patrick’s Creek. Born October 10, 1924 in Washington, D.C. to Harry G. Kopel and Elsie Hammel Kopel. He is survived by his wife of 30 years, Monika E. Kopel; his brother, Bob Ko-pel; his daughters, Jaye Ander-son and Dita Cooke and son, Jim Kopel; his grandchildren, Ebalena Bell, Vic Anderson, Weylin Anderson, Caten Cooke and Piper Cooke; as well as his great grandchildren, Cecil Bell III, Sophie Anderson, Pheobe Tate Anderson and Weylin An-derson Jr.

A World War II veteran, Carl served in the Army Air Corps as an electrical spe-cialist. After World War II, he worked as the manager of family owned “Hammel’s” res-taurant in Washington, D.C. In 1960, he and brother Bob opened Kopel’s Marina in Col-ton’s Point, Maryland close to where his family’s hotel once stood before being devastated by a tremendous storm in 1933. Over a 40-year span, Carl and Bob built their marina from the ground up, building boats in the winter and acquiring a rep-utation for quality repair work at a reasonable price. In 1999, Carl and Bob retired and sold the marina.

Carl was an avid boat lover and wood worker, an artist and storyteller. This community, the marina, and the Potomac River set the stage for Carl to be in his element. Not only loved but liked by so many, he will be missed greatly. The celebratory ceremony of Carl’s life began

last evening at Brinsfield Fu-neral Home and his funeral will be today, April 14 at 10 a.m. at Holy Angels Church in Avenue, Maryland. His burial will be at Charles Memorial Gardens in Leonardtown, Maryland. Pall Bearers will be Weylin An-derson, Vic Anderson, Mike Kopel, Sam Cooke, Dale Law-rence and Andy Bell. May our beloved husband, father, broth-er, uncle, grandfather and great grandfather rest in peace. We love you.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated, Wednesday, April 14, 2010 in Holy Angels Catholic Church, Avenue, MD with Father William Gurnee officiating. Interment followed in Charles Memorial Gardens, Leonardtown, MD

Memorial contributions may be made to the Seventh District Vol. Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 7, Avenue, MD 20609 and/or Seventh District Vol. Fire Department, P.O. Box 206, Avenue, MD 20609

Arrangements provided by the Brinsfield Funeral Home, P.A., Leonardtown, MD

Robert Marks, 52

Robert Leroy Marks, 52, of Lexington Park, MD died April 7, 2010 at his residence.

Robert was born on August 18, 1957 in Garfield Heights, OH. He worked in the f looring industry and was a Civil War Historian.

He is survived by Rose Kenney and William Marks.

All services are private.Condolences to the family

may be made at www.brins-fieldfuneral.com.


Joseph Shelmon, 45

Joseph Anthony Shlemon, 45 of California, MD passed away suddenly on April 10, 2010 at his residence.

Born September 9, 1964 in Virginia Beach, VA, he was the son of Sara Shlemon Vinson of California, MD and the late Jo-seph Shlemon.

Joseph graduated form

Leonardtown High School with the class of 1982; he was em-ployed at SSI in California, MD for 13 years. He loved mu-sic and was an avid sports fan, and especially liked the Miami Dolphins and Dale Earnhardt.

In addition to his mother he is survived by his best friend and mother of his children; Tammy Shlemon Jameson, children; Kristina M. Russell of Leonardtown, MD, Kayla L. Jordan (James) of Califor-nia, MD, Krystal A. Carter, (Charles) of Callaway, MD and Valerie R. Shlemon of Califor-nia, MD, grandchildren; MacK-enzie Jo Russell, Kevin S. Rus-sell, Trevor C. Russell, Jarrett W. Russell, Logan W. Russell, Madison J. Russell, Hunter Carter, Breanna Carter, and Scott Carter, uncle of Andy Sh-lemon, Bryan Shlemon, Britta-ny Shlemon, Chelsea Shlemon, Michael Abell and Josh Lopitz, siblings; Deborah Lopitz of Leonardtown, MD, Larry Sh-lemon of Hollywood, MD and Kenny Shlemon of Irving, TX. Joseph was preceded in death by one brother the late Michael A. Shlemon.

Family will receive friends for Joseph’s Life Celebration on Thursday, April 15, 2010 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Brinsfield Funeral Home, P.A., Leonar-

dtown, MD, where a Funeral Service will be conducted at 7 p.m. Interment will be private.

Condolences to the family may be made at www.brins-fieldfuneral.com

Arrangements provided by the Brinsfield Funeral Home, P.A., Leonardtown, MD

Opal Trossbach, 95

Opal Lacey McMillian Trossbach died April 7,2010, she was born July 24, 1914 in Pax, WV. She was the daughter of the late Lacey B. McMillian and Minnie Aliff McMillian

McNeil. Opal was the loving wife of George D. Trossbach, Sr. of Scotland, MD whom she married on December 5, 1958 in the Arlington Method-ist Church an Arlington VA. She is survived by her children George, Jr. (Connie) Trossbach of St. Inigoes, MD and Vio-let E. Halton of Cottage City, MD; 8 grandchildren, 10 great grandchildren and 4 great great grandchildren. She is also sur-vived by her brother Bruce (Joan) McNeil of Berlin, MD. Opal was preceded in death by her son Larry Berns Col-vin and her son-in-law Joseph Francis Halton, 4 sisters and 5 brothers. The family received friends on Friday, April, 9 2010 in the First Friendship United Methodist Church, Ridge, MD, where services were held with Pastor Keith Schukraft offici-ating. Internment followed at St. Michaels Catholic Church Cemetery, Ridge MD. Con-tributions in memory of Opal can be made to Hospice of St. Mary’s, P.O. Box 625, Leonar-dtown, MD 20650. To send a condolence to the family please visit our website at www.mgfh.com. Arrangements provided by the Mattingley-Gardiner Funeral Home, P.A.

Continued

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Briefs11-Year-Old Girl Charged In Theft Of Game Console

On Tuesday, April 6, 2010 at 12:28 pm, a female juvenile, 11, of Hollywood was arrested for theft under $1,000 after Tpr. N. E. Gresko responded to the 23000 block of Halford Lane in Hollywood for the incident. Upon his arrival, contact was made with the female complainant, 40, of Hollywood who advised on March 16, 2010 she noticed her Sony Playstation, valued at $229 was missing from the residence. On April 6, 2010, the complainant was informed by an unknown source that the juvenile had acquired a new Playstation. On April 7, 2010, Tpr. Gresko made contact with the juvenile’s mother and asked her to bring the juvenile to the Leonardtown Barrack for questioning. Once at the barrack, the juvenile confessed to taking the Playstation, police state. The juvenile was arrested and charged for theft under $1,000 and released to her mother pending further action by the Department of Juvenile Services. The Sony Playstation was returned to the complainant.

Troopers Charge Man With Assault, Child AbuseOn Wednesday, April 7, 2010 at 9:44pm, Tpr. M. J. Pitcher responded to the 41000 block of

Norris Circle in Leonardtown for a reported assault. Upon arrival, contact was made with a juve-nile complainant, 14, of Leonardtown who alleged she was assaulted after a disagreement in the residence. Following interviews with the complainant, suspect and witnesses, Thomas Howard Johnson, 39, of Leonardtown was charged with second degree assault and child abuse. Johnson was transported to the St. Mary’s County Detention Center and held pending a bond review with the District Court Commissioner.

Women Arrested On Shoplifting ChargesOn April 10, 2010, Dfc Jason Maletto responded to the Kohls department store in Lexington

Park for a reported theft. Maletto learned Jolie M. Allen, 31, Lexington Park and Trisha K. Jones, 33, of Lexington Park were observed by store staff allegedly concealing merchandise. Allen and Jones were confronted by store employees and merchandise belonging to the business was recovered from both subjects, police state. Allen and Jones were both charged on criminal cita-tions for theft under $1,000.

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A Lusby man arrested last year on charges of soliciting a minor for sex over the Internet pleaded guilty Tuesday in county Circuit Court, according to a statement from State’s Attorney Richard Fritz’s office.

Scott Gerard Hunter was sentenced to the maximum penalty of 10 years of incarceration in the Maryland Division of Corrections, the release stated.

Hunter, 45, was arrested last May af-ter detectives with the vice/narcotics unit of the Bureau of Criminal Investigations set up a sting operation after investigat-ing alleged money-for-sex schemes on the on-line social site known as Craigslist.

Their investigation was sparked by a Dec. 2008 incident where a man who was allegedly responding to an on-line offer for sex was beaten and robbed after arriving at a predetermined apartment to complete the transaction, according to police reports.

According to law enforcement infor-mation from the investigation at that time, detectives began an on-line conversation with a suspect on Craigslist that quickly turned to talk of soliciting a “young boy” for sex.

The suspect, Hunter, was arrested after he arrived at a prearranged meeting

site set up by a detective who had prom-ised a fictitious 11-year-old boy for him.

Scott was originally charged with an attempted second-degree sex offense and perverted practice.

[email protected]

Lusby Man Pleads Guilty To Soliciting Minor


Following last weeks’ raid by detec-tives at St. Mary’s Landing restaurant for alleged gambling machines, St. Mary’s County Sheriff Timothy K. Cameron said any other businesses that might have the same kind of electronic devices should get rid of them.

“If there are any other establishments with illegal gaming devices I hope they remove them,” Cameron said.

The raid occurred April 8 after a short investigation by vice/narcotics de-tectives with the Bureau of Criminal In-vestigations, Cameron said, which found that the four electronic gaming devices banned by the legislature in 2008 were being operated.

Cameron said that citizen complaints about the alleged illegal gaming machines led to the investigation by police.

Detectives seized the four machines and $12,000 in cash, police reports stated.

“It appears the machines are illegal and the manner in which they were used was illegal,” Cameron said. “It’s a gam-bling operation.”

Billy Hill, the owner and opera-tor of St. Mary’s Landing, declined to talk about why the machines were in his establishment.

“I can’t say anything until I get charged,” Hill said. “When I get charged I’ll talk to anybody.”

Capt. Daniel Alioto, head of the vice/narcotics unit, said charges are pending against Hill and at least one other person

allegedly involved in the operation of the machines.

Alioto declined to release the second name.

“This is illegal gambling and he’s going to be charged accordingly,” Alioto said, adding that investigators heard re-ports of other gambling machines being operated in the county but so far have not found any.

“There have been a couple of places we’ve been contacted on but if they were there before they’re gone now.

“The days of giving warnings are over.”

Tamara Hildebrand, administrator for the county’s Alcohol Beverage Board, said that Hill’s liquor license could be in jeopardy if he is prosecuted.

“He could be brought before the board to discuss a violation,” Hildebrand said. “It depends on whether charges are brought against him.

Some county businesses faced scru-tiny in 2008 when an opinion from the At-torney General’s office stated that gam-bling machines they were using to help make money for charities were being used improperly.

Later court testimony showed that while charities were getting money from the operation of the machines, which the legislature later outlawed here in St. Mary’s but left legal in Calvert County, the operators were making more.

“They made a fortune off of it be-fore,” Cameron said.

[email protected]

Sheriff Issues Warning After Gambling Machine Raid

Scott Gerard Hunter


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Thursday, April 15, 2010 14The County TimesKnowIn T

he Education

FactunThe phrase "Often a bridesmaid, but never a bride," actually originates

from an advertisement for Listerine mouthwash from 1924.

Katherine Frederick, a music teacher at Leonar-dtown Middle School, was recently named St. Mary’s County Public Schools’ recipient of The Washington Post 2010 Agnes Meyer Outstanding Teacher Award.

Frederick, who earned her Bachelor’s degree in K-12 music education from Alderson-Broaddus Col-lege, and her Master’s degree in curriculum and in-struction design from McDaniel College, began her teaching career in St. Mary’s County Public Schools in 1987, and has taught general music, band, and cho-rus. She also served as the choral director at Spring Ridge Middle School from 2001 to 2003, and has served in that same capacity at Leonardtown Middle School since 2003.

“In the classroom, Mrs. Frederick makes learning so much fun,” wrote third year chorus students in their letter of support for Ms. Frederick. “She makes me-lodic sight reading and rhythmic sight reading seem fun and interesting even though they are anything but. Mrs. Frederick has terrific knowledge about singing and chorus and teaches us everything she knows, one step at a time so we thoroughly understand… She con-nects the material to things that we can relate to.”

Frederick and the other recipients, representing 19 local public school districts and one representing the area private schools, will be recognized on May 11, 2010, at a ceremony hosted by The Washington Post.

Frederick Named Agnes Meyer Outstanding

Teacher

Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD) an-nounced that his office is currently accepting U.S. Service Academy applications for the 2011-12 school year. For students’ convenience, Service Academy Application packets are available online on Congress-man Hoyer’s website: http://hoyer.house.gov/services/academy.asp. Included in the packet are all informa-tion and materials needed to complete and submit the application, which must be postmarked for delivery to Hoyer’s office by October 15, 2010.

Every year Congressman Hoyer nominates can-didates from the 5th Congressional District for admis-sion into one of four United States service academies: the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York (Army), the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the U.S. Naval Academy in An-napolis, Maryland, and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York.

This year, Rep. Hoyer nominated 26 students for consideration. Accepted nominees for the 2010-11 school year will be announced later this spring.

In order to pursue appointment to one of the acad-emies, students between the ages of 17 and 22 must be nominated. To begin the nomination process, students can obtain the application packet online on Congress-man Hoyer’s website at www.hoyer.house.gov or can contact can contact Ms. Betty Rogers in Congressman Hoyer’s Greenbelt Office at (301) 474-0119.

Hoyer Accepting Academy Applications

Sandra Kerner, principal of Ridge Elementary School, has been selected as St. Mary’s County Public Schools’ recipient of The Washington Post’s Distin-guished Educational Leadership Award.

Kerner joined St. Mary’s County Public Schools in 1986 as a classroom teacher at Lettie Marshall Dent El-ementary School. From 1996 to 1997, she served as an instructional resource teacher at Leonardtown Middle School, followed by a year of service as a leadership intern at Lettie Marshall Dent and Park Hall Elemen-tary Schools. She was named assistant principal at Benjamin Banneker Elementary in 1998, and assistant principal at Hollywood Elementary in 2004. In 2005, she was promoted to the position of principal at Ridge Elementary School.

“Mrs. Kerner works very well with her staff, com-munity, supervisors, and faculty,” wrote Joseph Shade, Ridge Elementary building service manager, in his let-ter of support for Ms. Kerner. “She has a very pleasant attitude, no matter what the situation, and is willing to assist with a smile. She is very supportive, dependable, honest, creative, and committed to her profession. Mrs. Kerner has very strong leadership skills with a very pleasant approach. She values everyone no matter what their career or status.”

During the last week of April, The Washington Post will present the award to Ms. Kerner and the other principals representing public school systems in Mary-land, Virginia, and the District of Columbia, as well as a private school principal in the Washington metropoli-tan area.

Kerner Wins Educational Leadership Award

St. Mary’s County Public Schools announces the selection of Ms. Arlene Sachs, a first grade teacher at Leonardtown Elementary School, as its 2010-2011 Teacher of the Year.

Sachs earned her Master’s degree in remedial reading from the University of Maryland in 1981, and a Bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Tow-son State College (now Towson University) in 1976, and has served as a classroom teacher at Leonardtown Ele-mentary School since joining the school system in 1976. Over her 33 years of teaching, she has served as a fifth grade teacher, kindergarten teacher, resource teacher, first/second grade combination teacher, and first grade teacher

This award will be announced at a banquet held in Baltimore on October 8. All county Teacher of the Year representatives will be honored by the Maryland State Board of Education at a recognition luncheon held May 26 in Baltimore.

The Maryland Teacher of the Year will be presented with several prizes, will speak at numerous conferences and events, and will act as an advisor to the Maryland State Department of Education. The Maryland Teacher of the Year is also a candidate for National Teacher of the Year.

Sachs Selected As Teacher of the Year

Senior Brendan Walsh and junior Zach Griffitt from St. Mary’s Ryken won two of the top spots in the Rotary Club of Lexington Park’s annual “Four-Way Test” speech contest. Griffitt earned third place for his speech on the interroga-tion of terrorist suspects and Walsh won second place for his speech opposing the death penalty. Both received cash prizes from the Rotary Club and presented their speeches at the club’s meeting on March 22.

The Rotary Club of Lexington Park hosts the annual contest for area high school students. The “Four-Way Test” refers to the questions that guide the Ro-tary in their service to the community and that Rotarians ask themselves before embarking on any endeavor: “Is it the truth?”; “Is it fair to all concerned?”; “Will it build good will and better friendships?”; and, “ Will it be beneficial to all con-cerned?” Contestants can select any topic which they feel is timely, interesting and important; however, the topic must be specifically subjected to the Four-Way Test.

Ryken Students Take Top Honors in Annual Speech Contest

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One would have seen stars walking into St. Mary’s Hall at the campus of St. Mary’s College of Maryland on Friday, where students from Fairlead Academy were visiting with college students to discuss strategies for graduation.

The group started by watching foot-age of famous actors like Charleze Ther-on, Will Smith, Tom Hanks and Johnny Depp talking about heir dysfunctional childhoods, and the obstacles they had to overcome to achieve their success. After this, Fairlead students got a chance to talk with St. Mary’s College students who had suffered similar setbacks.

“A lot of the stories I hear are simi-lar,” said Fairlead Principal Wendy Zim-merman. “A lot of these children have lost a parent, some have left or they’ve divorced, some are dead, and some have drug and alcohol problems. Some are incarcerated, too, so they’re not there but still part of the picture … but most people don’t see the struggles they deal with,”

Zimmerman said the day’s activi-ties were “mostly about transition,” be-cause ninth graders would be leaving

Fairlead to go back to their home schools shortly, “so this is just an opportunity to remind them of their trip to college last year … we want them to realize how important high school graduation is, be-cause it can lead not just to college, but to trade school, to some path.”

Lenny Howard, Assistant Vice President of Academic Affairs at the college, said this was the second year for the college’s partnership with the public school system, bringing “at-risk” students to workshops and tours at the campus to encourage interest in enroll-ing after graduation.

Fairlead Transition Coordinator Charlottis Woodley said she had seen students share a great deal during the opening stages of that day’s program, which also included lectures from Jef-frey Smith, SMCM’s Admissions Direc-tor, about how to prepare for college.

“I’ve seen a lot of great conversa-tions today,” she said. “We’ve had some children whose parents are deceased, grandparents are deceased, and they may not believe college is possible, but it is … and we’re here to help them see that.”

SMCM Hosts College Workshop for At-Risk Students

Michael Durant, a residential staffer at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, talked with Fairlead Academy students on Friday about continuing strategies for high school graduation.


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Mike Wallace said he has trouble talking about the Iraq War, having served two tours in the country (his first in 1990) and wanting desperately to go back, though he’s promised his family that he’ll stay in the States.

“I’ve been told time and time again in this life that … we have our own children to deal with.” But Mike said that he didn’t see his own children wounded and killed like those caught in the middle of the cur-rent conflict, and he’s felt the weight of those memories every day since coming home from his second tour five years ago.

Home can be a difficult sub-ject, he said, but help is fast ap-proaching, as team leader Ralph Guenther will be directing crews as they renovate the Wallace’s mobile home during their blitz of repairs scheduled for Sat-urday, April 24.

“I don’t think people real-ly see how much our reservists have done,” said wife Micherle Wallace, 42, ex-plaining that Mike had served his first tour before they were married, and his second tour had come about unexpectedly.

But this assistance from Christmas in April couldn’t come a moment too soon, she said, explaining that Mike had answered his call to duty right as her health problems began to get bad.

“We had a lot more people here then,” she said, explaining that along with having five small children to care for, she also suffered from degenerative disc disease, which had caused her significant pain in her lower back and legs, “and that’s what kind of started it,” she said, explaining that complications from steroid therapy to treat those and other problems had made her a full-blown insulin dependant diabetic, and she had also found that she had a rare genetic blood clotting disease that was causing chronic problems in her lungs and requiring her to take blood thinners.

Though she said some of her conditions have improved, her medical bills have not, and some of her medications cost her hundreds of dollars a month.

In their mobile home in Lexington Park, where they have stayed for the last decade, Micherle said things around the house had started failing, too, from the plumbing to the house’s energy efficiency, and their lot rental fee and electric bills were climbing over $1,000 a month.

“We’ve gotten [the electric bill] down to about $430 a month now,” she said, adding that she hoped crews would be able to weatherize the home enough to make long-term savings possible.

“It’s the homeowner who does the wish-list, and I get a little bit of this before I’m selected for the job,” said Guenther, who has volunteered with Christmas in April for 19 years. “And we’ll typically ask ‘if there were only three things you’d want done, then what would those three things be?’”

For the Wallace family, whose 14 year-old daugh-ter Michaela cannot sleep in her own room or use the house’s second bathroom for risk of flooding, those three things are simple; windows, weatherization and

plumbing.For Christmas in April St. Mary’s County, however, wish lists are not

so easy to estimate, since funding sources are declining.

“It’s interesting, be-cause donations are about

the same as last year. We had a fantastic Farm Life Festival in No-vember, so that took the place of some of the money we would have gotten from ADF Bingo,” said Christmas in April director Mary Ann Chasen, explaining

that the closing of ADF Bingo had put a

large dent in the orga-nization’s funding and

some school groups fund-ing sources are down. Even

so, she said that comprehensive data on the current decline would

be hard to finalize until this summer.“I know I’m still working hard and so

are the rest of the people, trying to arrange funds for this year … What we’re really worried about is next year,” because the Farm Life Festival would no longer be held, she said, adding that she and her cohorts are currently planning a golf tournament to make up some of the difference.

“We’re going to start planning a golf tournament … and it’ll take place during the same time as the Farm Life Festival would have been,” said Chasen, explain-ing that funding losses would not ultimately keep the organization from helping their neighbors.

For the Wallace family, this year it is a matter of accepting help and strengthening their resolve to give back when they can.

“I just feel they’ve been so amazing,” said Mich-erle. “I almost feel bad because I think there are a lot of families worse off than us right now … but I want to get involved with Christmas in April in the future. I might not be able to swing a hammer, but I will pitch in.”

[email protected]

Volunteers To The Rescue - Wallace Family Opens Door to Christmas in April

“I just feel they’ve been so amazing … I almost feel

bad because I think there are a lot of

families worse off than us right now.”

- Micherle Wallace

Mike, Micherle and Michaela Wallace will be one of more than 20 families getting home renovation help from Christmas in April this year.

Photo by Frank Marquart

The County Times Thursday, April 15, 2010 18

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The County TimesThursday, April 15, 201019

• Library seeking customer’s opinionsThe library is conducting a survey

of its customers to find out their opinions of the libraries and their suggestions. The online survey can be completed at www.stmalib.org through May 3. Print-ed copies are available for those unable to complete it online.

• Children’s author to speak at Lex-ington Park

Meeting an author and hearing her read from her books makes reading come alive. Pamela Duncan Edwards, author of “Warthogs Paint,” “Roar,” and “Some Smug Slug,” will do just that at this year’s BooksAlive! celebration on Sunday, April 18, at 2 p.m. at Lexington Park. Book sales and signing will fol-low the program. This free program is funded from proceeds of the sale of the cookbook, “300 Years of Black Cooking in St. Mary’s County Maryland.”

• Riordan presents Tales from the Crypt

Dr. Timothy Riordan, Chief Ar-chaeologist at Historic St. Mary’s City, will present a special program at Leon-ardtown Library on April 28 at 7 p.m. on the forensics of the 17th Century graves found around the Brick Chapel. He will discuss what the bones reveal and their connection with the Smithsonian Ex-

hibit, “Written in Bones”. The program is free.• Libraries offer free family movies and gaming fun

Leonardtown will show a PG-rated movie about two kids who release a man trapped in an old board game for decades along with an array stampeding jungle animals on April 24 at 2 p.m. Charlotte Hall will show a G rated movie about a brother and sister who set off in search of their missing sea captain father on April 30 at 2 p.m. The movie about the Man in the Yellow Hat who travels to Africa and adopts a chimpanzee named George will be shown at Lexington Park on April 30 at 2 p.m. Snacks will be provided at each movie.

Leonardtown will host an afternoon of gaming fun on April 30 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. for gamers of all ages. Snacks will be provided.

• Master Gardeners offer gardening help

The Master Gardeners will resume their drop-in plant clinics starting April 17. They will hold the clinics from 10 a.m. to noon on the first and third Satur-days at Charlotte Hall, and from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the first and third Tuesdays at Lexington Park and the second and fourth Tuesdays at Leonardtown.

L ibrary Items

CommunityRanch Club Board to Appeal Whale Fossil JudgmentBy Guy LeonardStaff Writer

The property owners associa-tion of Chesapeake Ranch Estates in Lusby won their lawsuit last week against the Calvert Marine Museum for its trespassing on their land back in 2008 and taking a whale skeleton that was encased in the cliff side, but the judgment was unsatisfactory, according to the board’s president.

“It was a hollow victory,” said John Eney of the $10,000 they re-ceived for the supposedly 10 mil-lion-year-old whale skeleton and $1 award for the trespass. “The dam-age award was an absolute insult.”

Circuit Court Judge Warren Krug made his decision after both sides had presented their case over a two-day trial, Eney said, who said that the skeleton was valued between $8,000 to $20,000.

“The losing side was celebrat-ing,” Eney said, who confirmed they would appeal the judgment.

Joseph Cunningham, a Vir-ginia-based lawyer representing the ranch club, said they would take their case to the Maryland Court of Special Appeals.

“The award of damages was inadequate,” Cunningham told The Southern Calvert Gazette. “There was a significant degradation of the cliff side where the whale dig took place.”

Last week’s judgment was the culmination of two years of legal wrangling between the ranch club board and the marine museum, with the board claiming that mu-seum scientists and excavators trespassed on ranch club property for five months to extract a whale skeleton found deep inside the cliff face.

The museum staff claimed during the dig that they had per-mission of a single property owner who they believed had claim to a portion of the cliff face where the skeleton was lodged, but later it was determined that the ranch club owned the property.

Daniel Karp, attorney for the marine museum, said that the rul-ing was fair.

“The ruling was proper in ev-ery respect,” Karp said. “The ma-rine museum acted in good faith.

“It was an innocent mistake.”

[email protected]

A view of eroding cliff face near where the fossil was removed from Calvert Cliffs.


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Fourteen volunteers paddled the St. Mary’s River Water Trail from Great Mills Canoe/Kayak Launch to St. Mary’s College of Maryland on Saturday, April 9, collecting trash during the 2nd Annual St. Mary’s Riv-er Cleanup. Volunteers collected 12 tires, 20 bags of trash and recyclables, and 300 lbs of loose trash.

“It was beautiful,” said Elaine Szym-kowiak who had never paddled the portion of the river between Great Mills and Adkins Road. She was surprised by the presence of small-class-1 rapids adding, “It is really im-pressive how many tires you can put in one canoe.”

The St. Mary’s River Cleanup is hosted by the St. Mary’s River Watershed Associa-tion (http://www.smrwa.org), and is part of the Alice Ferguson Foundation 22nd Annual Potomac

River Watershed Cleanup. There were nearly 500 cleanup sites in Maryland, Wash-ington DC, Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. As of 4 p.m., with 107 sites reporting, volunteers had collected 10,558 cigarette butts, 599 tires, 14,073 plastic bags, 61.4 tons of loose trash, and 63,555 recyclable beverage containers from the Potomac River Watershed.



“Humor,” Mark Twain said, “must not professedly teach, and it must not profess edly preach, but it must do both if it would live forever.” With these words, Twain has given the charge: “We must live forever” through humor.

Such is the function of the St. Mary’s Col-lege of Maryland Mark Twain Lecture Series on American Humor and Culture, which this year will mark the 100th anniversary of Twain’s death with a panel discussion featuring the wit and wisdom of CNN’s Amy Homes, NPR’S Peter Sagal and humorist Mo Rocca (formerly of the Daily Show with Jon Stewart).

All told, it promises to be quite an affair, celebrating the life of what Twain biographer Ron Powers once called “the most recogniz-able American author, our nation’s first rock star.”

In the process of planning this year’s homage to the late great American superstar, SMCM Professor Ben Click said he had want-ed to emphasize Twain’s relevance today, particu-larly since he had worn so many hats over the course of his career.

“Because he was so varied in the kinds of things he wrote about, the panel discussion is set up to highlight four of the things he’s most known for writing about … race and identity, re-ligion … politics, which he was always asked to comment on, and human nature,” he said, adding that he felt Twain would have a lot of criticisms of today’s culture if he were alive today.

“I suspect that he’d be astounded by the di-vision that exists in our political party system. It’s so clearly divided to partisan politics, and you can’t get reasonable peo-ple on either side of an issue sometimes, even if it’s something they’ve agreed to discuss,” said Click. “Then of course, as he got older, he wouldn’t be surprised about that because it’s something he would see as human nature.”

This year’s panel discussion, of course, will focus on how Twain’s work has kept all of these issues at the forefront of American life. The board will include several notable names, including conservative political contributor Amy Holmes, noted Twain scholar Dr. John Bird, NPR’s Peter Sagal (star of National Pub-lic Radio’s Wait, Wait...Don’t Tell Me!), and author and humorist Mo Rocca.

Amy Holmes, (formerly of CNN and Fox news), who is co-host of Talk Radio Network’s ‘America’s Morning News,’ was first invited to participate as a speaker and panelist by the col-lege last fall.

“Really I think my connection is through politics … being in the D.C., Maryland and

Virginia areas and kind of marinating in the culture and the social and political issues that Twain was exposed to,” she said, adding that she felt Twain would find a lot to comment on were he alive today.

“I think he’d have very witty insights into pundits on television, people like me. And they may not even be flattering,” said Holmes, laughing. “I wouldn’t dare to suggest what Twain would think of today’s modern political scene, but I do think he’d be enormously enter-tained by it.”

While Amy Holmes mirrors Twain’s ob-session with his day’s political culture, come-dian Mo Rocca says he’d definitely get today’s humor.

Mo Rocca, a contributor to the CBS Sun-day Morning with Charles Osgood and host of The Tomorrow Show with Mo Rocca on CBSNews.com, is also a panelist on NPR’s hit weekly quiz show Wait, Wait...Don’t Tell Me! He spent four seasons as a correspondent on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and four seasons as a correspondent on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He has also

made regular appearances on Larry King Live and Iron Chef America (as a guest judge).

Rocca told The County Times he was looking forward to proving himself “a real crab stater.” And as for his own exposure to Twain, he said he’d come to know the author as so many others had – by force.

“I’m trying to think of how Twain would say ‘I had a gun to my head’ … I should say that I was forced [to read Twain] but now I’m glad that I was forced,” he said, adding that Huck Finn had reminded him of his own life, “even though riverboat adventures were kind of in short supply when I was growing up.”

Twain’s own wit was so dry, said Rocca, that he would fit right in with modern comedy.

“He had such a great sense of humor about himself … that I think he’d fit right in. He was also such a great appreciator of the ridiculous.”

And Rocca’s own comments about Twain

were also a com-ment on what may very well be his own mission

as an entertainer. “At the end of the day if you can tell peo-

ple something, and have them delight in it, then you’ve really done something,” he said.

It seems pretty evident, too, that Twain would agree.

The college’s Twain centennial celebra-tion will take place at 7 p.m. Saturday, April

24, at the Michael P. O’Brien Athletics and Recreation Center at St. Mary’s College of Maryland (SMCM), A panel discussion in-cluding Peter Sagal, Mo Rocca, Amy Holmes; and Dr. John Bird, will be free and open to the public. There will be a tented waterfront din-ner at 5 p.m. on the lawn of the state house be-fore the show. Special reserved seating for the dinner and the night’s lecture is available for $100. For information and to purchase dinner tickets online, visit www.smcm.edu/twain or call 1-800-458-8341.

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TICKETS ON SALE NOW AND AT THE DOOR$25 per person • Must be 21 to attend

50/50 Raffle and Door Prizes(tax deductible charitable contribution receipt provided)

Race, Religion, Politics and “the Damned Human Race”Twain Centennial to Mix Comedy and Punditry

Mark Twain


Thursday, April 15• Cheesesteak Sub NightVFW Post 2632 (California) – 5 p.m.

• The Koinonia Academy Concert ChoirHoly Angels Sacred Heart Church (Ridge) – 7:30 p.m.

Music, sharing and skits by Catholic choir from Plainfield, NJ.

• No Limit Hold’EmDonovan’s Pub (California) – 7:30 p.m.

• VOICES Reading Series: Lee K. AbbottSt. Mary’s College (Auerbach Audito-rium) – 8 p.m.

Award-winning short story fiction author Lee K. Abbott will read from his works as part of the St. Mary’s College of Maryland VOICES Reading Series at 8:15 p.m.

Abbott is the author of seven collec-tions of short stories, most recently All Things, All at Once: New & Selected Stories. This event is free and open to the public.

Friday, April 16• Kids Consignment SaleSt. Mary’s County Fairgrounds (Leonardtown) – 9 a.m.

Leprechaun Lilly’s 2010 Spring/Sum-mer Children’s Consignment Sale April 16-17. Over 20,000 items expected from 225 consignors, check and cash payments only.

Call 301.672.9543 or visit www.Lep-rachaunLillys.com for more information.

• IHRA Pro AmMaryland Int. Speedway (Mechanics-ville) – 4 p.m. Admission. 301-884-7223. www.mirdrag.com.

• Steak and Shrimp NightAm. Legion Post 221 (Avenue) – 5 p.m.

• FOP-7 Texas Hold’EmFOP-7 Lodge (Great Mills) – 7 p.m.

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

Saturday, April 17• Multi-Family Yard SaleForrest Hall Farm (Mechanicsville) – 7 a.m.

Fundraiser to support Chopticon band. Space is available for rent $15 (need to bring your own table).

• 15th Annual Run for HospiceSt. Mary’s County Governmental Center (Leonardtown) – 7:30 a.m.

Registration 7:30 AM - 8:30 AM. Race at 9 AM. Registration fee. Go to www.runforhospice.org for more information.

• CERT TrainingDep. Of Public Safety (Leonardtown) – 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Classes on April 17-18 in disaster pre-

paredness, fire safety, disaster medical op-erations, light search & rescue operations, CERT Organization, disaster psychology, terrorism & CERT, etc. o attend a CERT Training class or for more information, please call the Department of Public Safe-ty, Emergency Management Division at 301-475-4200 Ext. 2124 or 2125 or email [email protected].

• FREE Carwash & Bake SaleCiCi’s Pizza Buffet (California) – 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Local Scout Ship 548 will be washing cars for free and accepting donations, and Homemade Goodies will have a bake sale table offering confections.

For more information go to www.sea-scoutship548.com.

• Kids Consignment SaleSt. Mary’s County Fairgrounds (Leonar-dtown) – 9 a.m.

Leprechaun Lilly’s 2010 Spring/Sum-mer Children’s Consignment Sale April 16-17. Over 20,000 items expected from 225 consignors, check and cash payments only. Call 301.672.9543 or visit www.Lep-rachaunLillys.com for more information.

• Appraiser FairMechanicsville Vol. Fire Department – 10 a.m.

Fine Arts - $5.00 per item (or set). Jewelry - $5.00 per item (or set) for the first two items and $10.00 per additional item. Coins - $5.00 per 10 coins. Food and drinks available for sale. Evaluation times: 10 – 12:15 and 12:45 to 3.

• Pet AdoptionsPetco (California) – 10 a.m.

• Chicken Drive-ThruBay District Vol. Fire Department (Lex-ington Park) – 12 noon

• Try Tennis For Free Block PartyCecil Park (Valley Lee) – 12 noon

All ages are welcome. Visit stmarys-tennis.org and call or text 301-475-5888.

• Steak NightVFW Post 2632 (California) – 5 p.m.

• Lincoln/Reagan DinnerJT Daugherty Conference Center (Lex-ington Park) – 6 p.m.

Keynote Speaker: GOP Chairman Audrey Scott. Special Guest Speaker: Former Gov. Robert Ehrlich.

Also attending are GOP Congressio-nal candidates Charles Lollar and Collins Bailey. Cocktail hour, followed by sit-down dinner and speeches.

$60pp or $75pp for priority seats. RSVP 301-373-4334 or [email protected].

• DanceLittle Flower School (Great Mills) – 7 p.m.

$8 per person, $15 per couple. Be-ginner-level ballroom lesion from 7-8 p.m. Dance from 8-11 p.m. Sponsored by Knights of Columbus of Holy Face Church.

• No Limit Hold’EmDonovan’s Pub (California) – 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, April 18• CERT TrainingDep. Of Public Safety (Leonardtown) – 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

• IHRA Pro AmMaryland Int. Speedway (Mechanicsville) – 8 a.m. Admission. 301-884-7223. www.mirdrag.com.

• Spring BreakfastMechanicsville Vol. Rescue Squad – 8 a.m.

• Garden FairSotterley Plantation (Hollywood) – 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Informative topics, demos, vendors and hands-on activities about all things garden-related in Southern Maryland. Admission. 301-373-2280. 800-681-0850. www.sotter-ley.org.

• Earth Day CelebrationLeonardtown Square – 12:30 p.m.

Live music, entertainment, eco-friendly vendors, environmental displays, live plant sale, canoe & kayak rides at the Leonard-town Wharf, and more. For more informa-tion, call 301-475-9791.

• Discover U Children’s Museum – Mu-seum on the GoLeonardtown Square – 12:30 p.m. to 4:40 p.m.

Event for children of all ages, as part of this year’s Earth Day celebration in Down-town Leonardtown. For more information go to www.discoverusm.org.

• Dedication Ceremony/Open HouseRidge Vol. Fire Department – 1 p.m.

The membership of the department will be honoring its deceased members and host-ing an open house for those interested. Light refreshments will be served. For more infor-mation call 301-872-5671.

• Deepstack Texas Hold’EmBennett Building, 24930 Old Three Notch Rd (Hollywood) – 2 p.m.


Monday, April 19• SMCM Open HouseSt. Mary’s College (Historic State House) – 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

• $1 - $2 No Limit Texas Hold’EmSunshine Oasis (St. Inigoes) – 7 p.m.

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

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

Tuesday, April 20• MOMS Club General MeetingMechanicsville Firehouse – 10 a.m.

The MOMS Club of Mechanicsville, MD, is a support group for stay-at-home moms who stay at home with their children,

including those who have home-based busi-nesses and those who work part-time but are home with their children for some portion of the day. This event is open to the public for prospective members interested in join-ing the fun. Children are always welcome. Our club includes all stay-at-home moms zoned for the following Elementary schools: Dynard, Mechanicsville, Lettie Dent, White March and Oakville. Email: [email protected] for addi-tional information, or call 301-290-0694.

• 9th Grade Transition FairGreat Mills High School – 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Ninth grade teachers and department chairpersons will be available to discuss course selections. Special presentation topics include Advanced Placement (AP) and Honor courses, taking Certificate of Merit vs. standard courses, special educa-tion at GMHS, preparing for High School Assessments (HSA’s), and navigating the St. Mary’s County Public Schools’ website. Coaches will also be on hand to discuss various sports, and after school activities and clubs will be available to provide infor-mation on their programs. For more details, contact the Great Mills High School main office at 301-863-4001.

• Special Olympics No Limit Hold’EmBennett Building, 24930 Old Three Notch Rd (Hollywood) – 7 p.m.

Wednesday, April 21• Nature Time at GreenwellGreenwell State Park (Hollywood) – 10 a.m.

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

• Why Snooze When You Can CroozeArby’s Restaurant parking lot (Leonard-town) – 5 p.m.

Bring your custom car, truck or bike for cruise night.


• Capital Improvements Public MeetingSt. Mary’s College (Auditorium) – 7 p.m.

St. Mary’s College of Maryland will host a public meeting on current Capital Improvement Projects at the campus in His-toric St. Mary’s City, including an update of the replacement of Anne Arundel Hall and the new Maryland Heritage Interpretive Center (Visitor’s Center), the relocation of Margaret Brent Hall, a new HSMC wood-shop, Chancellor’s Point, and an update on the proposed traffic calming for Rt. 5. Feed-back from the community is welcomed.

• Special Olympics No Limit Hold’EmBennett Building, 24930 Old Three Notch Rd (Hollywood) – 7 p.m.

• St. Mary’s County Camera ClubSouthern Maryland Higher Education Cen-ter (Hollywood) – 7 p.m.

This is our competition night at the camera club. Tonight’s theme is “ZOO”. We also have three other class competitions - novice, intermediate and advanced.


Factun

All porcupines float in water.

By Shelby OppermannContributing Writer

Mom–mobile or purse? Let’s see, which will take the shortest amount of time. I thought maybe today I would try and clean out and organize one or the other. They are both formidable tasks. The mini-van really needs a good cleaning and detail-ing to get the layer of pollen off of everything. I sneeze every time I open the door. But that means I have to take out everything I have in there; every-thing which is ready in the event of any emergency. My purse could really use a paperwork and receipt purge, so I could find pens and IDs when needed. Though I don’t sneeze every time I open my purse. I guess the van should be the priority. Maybe I have time for both.

We are surrounded by water here, so I have always had this fear of the van careening into deep water. My worry is that I have electric windows and won’t be able to get the window down to get out; hence I keep a large hammer under the seat to smash out the window. More than likely I will careen off the road into one of the huge mosquito infested drainage ditches and use the hammer on the mosquitoes. The hammer has all sorts of great uses besides saving my life underwater. I use it for hanging Strawberry Festival signs, or knowing that I could whack someone with it if necessary.

I keep a queen size blanket and small fleece blanket in a Rubbermaid box in the back. Well, the reason for that is obvious. We had all that snow this past winter so I was prepared to be stuck some-where for an extended time and I could keep warm. On the other hand, you always have a picnic blan-ket or a moving blanket. The little fleece blanket is Tidbit’s traveling blanket to cover the seat. Also in the back is one of those mini three tiered pullout Rubbermaid bins which holds everything from pic-nic supplies, sunscreens, and ice melt.

Then there is the square Rubbermaid box,

which holds the emergency tire sealant, antifreeze, oil, and jumper cables. Actually all that fits nicely in a line right behind the back seat, and I still have three feet of space in the lift area for anything I need to pick up or for groceries. That’s because we took out those pesky third row seats as soon as we got the van.

The second row of seats usually carries extra jackets towards the non-working electric sliding door (see why I carry the hammer). During soft-ball season I normally can bring out enough extra sweatshirts and light jackets on a chilly night to outfit all spectators in the stands. The floor area has my basket containing quick files, and there is usually an extra pair of shoes and an extra purse or two. Isn’t every woman prepared like this? I do try to keep everything in baskets or Rubbermaid. In the front I have my catchall basket. Thank good-ness, my sister-in law is a Longaberger lady. In that basket there is always hard candy and gum in a poly bag (you know for when I’m stuck in all those feet of snow). There is aspirin, and earrings, extra keys, camera, pens, pushpins, blinker lights, batteries, hairbrush, chargers - all in my handy little basket. Someone always needs something. Moms know this. How could you live without all this? You can never be too prepared. I learned a lot when my sons were Scouts.

Of course this all drives my husband crazy. I try to explain that this is my work van and comfort zone, and I’m in it A LOT. It all drives him crazy until he says, wow, I wish I had an extra pair of socks to change into after the softball game. Wala! Let me check in my emergency box. So, if you see me at a ball game, and find you need something, before you head to the store, check with me first – I might have what you’re looking for.

To each new day’s adventure, Shelby

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

of anAimless Mind

Wanderings

By Linda RenoContributing Writer

Part 2 of 3War preparations

continued. A meeting of the General Assembly, which had been scheduled

for February of the following year, was pushed forward to October 20. The Sheriffs of the Coun-ties were instructed to post a public proclamation to their inhabitants that a levy would be assessed for the protection of the Colony.

In the meantime, other murders were being committed by Indians. Three Englishmen were found dead on the east side of the Susquehanna

River. David Williams and his family, of Somer-set County, had been killed. These murders had happened about the same time as Cunningham family and a Nanticoke Indian who had been found guilty of murder, had escaped and was said to be among the Rappahannock Indians in Virginia.

This unnamed Indian was the prisoner of Capt. Gerard Slye, High Sheriff of St. Mary’s County “out of whose custody the said Indian prisoner, through negligence of his keeper es-caped.” Capt. Slye was ordered to take two Chop-tico Indians and go to Virginia, retrieve the pris-oner and take him to his (Slye’s) house and keep him securely there until the Governor signed a warrant for execution and then “he is to be imme-

A Journey Through TimeA Journey Through TimeA Journey Through TimeThe Chronicle

Van, Sweet Home

diately put to death without any further respite.”Additional troops were called out in Calvert,

Cecil, Kent, Baltimore and Dorchester Counties, “sufficient in number to let the Indians know that we are awake and watchful.” Inhabitants were in-structed that upon the appearance of any enemy, they were to fire three shots, “after the ancient manner” and that every house answer the alarm by firing one gun and then immediately go to the place where the three shots had been fired to ren-der assistance. Extra guards were put into place at Mattapany to guard the weapons and ammunition stored there for the defense of the Colony.

The General Assembly convened on Octo-ber 20 with Charles Calvert, Lord Baltimore (who had been in England) in attendance. It was agreed that Lord Baltimore would meet with the Indians himself to remind them that when he left Mary-land they gave him assurance of their friendship to him and the people of this Province and he gave the same assurance to them.

On December 13, 1678 a new peace treaty was concluded and agreed upon by Charles,

Lord Baltimore, the Emperor of Assateague, the Kings of Pokomoke, Yingoteague, Nuswattax, Annamesse, and Acquintica, Morumsco and all of the Indians under their control to last to the “world’s end.” This treaty had a number of inter-esting provisions:

--Since the English cannot tell one Indian from another, no Indian was to come into an Eng-lish plantation painted.

--All Indians were to call out loud before they came within 300 paces of any Englishman’s ground and lay down their arms.

--Any Englishman who kills an Indian who complies with the above provisions shall die for it, as well as an Indian that kills an Englishman.

--If an Indian and an Englishman acciden-tally meet in the woods while hunting, the Indian must immediately throw down his arms. If he re-fuses, he shall be deemed an enemy.

--If any foreign Indians come into Maryland and commit any crimes, the parties to this treaty are responsible.

To be continued.

Photo Courtesy of Helen Carroll Beavers Patterson

Book Review“This Is Not How I Thought It Would Be:

Remodeling Motherhood to Get the Lives We Want Today” by Kristin Maschka

By Terri SchlichenmeyerContributing Writer

The screaming started three-point-five seconds after you put the baby down for the night and it made you want to scream along. How can this 12-pack-of-soda-sized human make her mother so colossally miserable?

You’re sore, exhausted, you can’t put together three intel-ligent words; you’re frustrated, lonely, and feeling guilty. The baby’s beautiful, shouldn’t you be hap-py? Didn’t you have a college education once? Didn’t you used to wear clothing that wasn’t covered in spit-up? Isn’t moth-erhood supposed to be blissful?

In the book “This Is Not How I Thought It Would Be: Remodeling Motherhood to Get the Lives We Want Today” by Kristin Maschka, you’ll see that the answer to all of the above is “yes, but….”

For most of your life, you’ve been bombarded with happy-happy articles and images of cooing babies held by flaw-lessly made-up mothers wearing lovely peignoirs. The truth, as any mom knows, is a few dozen miles away. Motherhood is exhausting, babies scream, make-up is a distant memory early-on, and thinking about those images just makes you feel worse.

The question is, why don’t mothers talk about those realities of new mom-hood? Why, when women get together with their babies, do they talk in plati-tudes and avoid real issues? Why is it shocking to say you love your husband and you adore your baby but you’re strug-gling with both?

Maschka says that we – men and women alike – are raised with a set of “mind maps” that make us believe a lot of things that are no longer valid. We’re told that women can “have it all” but the other half of the sentiment is missing. We often think that only a mother knows what’s best for her child. There are a lot of “supposed-to’s” that we buy into, and Maschka says it has to stop.

But how? First of all, moms need to learn to ask for what they need from friends, family, and bosses. Join a group like Mothers & More. Find a friend who will let you vent, and be someone else’s shoul-der. Talk to govern-ment representatives about changing Social Security laws. And be patient with yourself and your husband be-cause this, too, surely shall pass.

I m p a s s i o n e d , blunt, and reading much like a Moth-erhood Manifesto, “This Is Not How I Thought It Would Be” is one of those books

that obstetricians and midwives should recommend to first-time parents, plural.

Author Kristin Maschka is assertive and strong-minded, and she asks a lot of hard questions about how society and in-dividuals perceive motherhood and how we got this way. While she admits to be-ing obsessed about certain topics, she’s also quick to find thoughtful rebuttals to issues of isolation, perceived lack of help, and the kind of error-filled thinking on which exhausted brains tend to focus.

Now in paperback, be aware that parts of this book may be controversial and there may be bits you don’t want to think about at first. Still, if you’re a new mom, “This Is Not How I Thought It Would Be” could be a sanity-saver.

c.2009, Berkley Books $15.00 / $18.50 372 pages, includes notes


Wha

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

In Entertainment

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

entertainment section, e-mail [email protected].

Calvert Country Diva Makes GoodBy Andrea ShiellStaff Writer

Several musicians took to the stage recently to lift their voices at a Christian Community Center in Waldorf, in a concert to benefit the Southern Maryland Food Bank. One of these voices belonged to Liz Chambers, 17, of Lusby, whose performance along with the likes of Scat-tered Leaves, the Waldorf SDA Singers and Russ Dean, echoed area talent with a spiritual edge.

Taking the stage at such a venue just seems natural for Liz, as she said she’s pretty much been training for a singing career since her earli-est days.

“I sang in chorus, I sang in middle school, and I sang solos every now and again, and na-tional anthems. And then it just kind of hit me that this is what I wanted to do with my life,” she said, going on to describe her current career as a mix of national anthem performances (she’s a regular at local stadiums across the region), per-formances with the band Scattered Leaves, and her own solo stylings, which she said are heavily influenced by country.

“I love Carrie Underwood and Martina Mc-Bride. I really love country music and I sing a lot of their stuff,” she said.

As for what made Liz jump into a career in music, she said it had always been a dream of hers, ever since she was two years old. When asked why she wanted to focus on Christian mu-sic, she said that part of her inspiration had come from a bout of illness she suffered when she was younger.

“When I was younger I got diagnosed with Addison’s disease – a very mild form of it – and it gave my whole family a scare,” she said, add-ing that more recently she’d had a staph infec-tion which spread to her spine and kept her out of school for several weeks, during which time she said her mother gave her some good words to live by.

“I couldn’t really do anything, so I would just lay there,” she said, “and my mother said ‘you won’t get better laying there on your own. You’ve got to give it to God.’ Well at the time I didn’t really know what that meant, but after

a while I realized you don’t have control over everything that happens to you, so it’s in God’s hands.”

After that she said it had been a natural de-cision for her to make faith an integral part of her songwriting.

“God has been a huge part of my life, ever since I was 7 years old, when I went through medical issues and stuff like that,” she said. “He’s just always been a part of my life and when something happens in my life I always relate it back to God, and he’s just always there. So why not sing about God?”

Liz, who is a student at Patuxent High School, said she would be taking her musical mission on with her to college, and she’s cur-rently searching for scholarships and a school that will help her flourish.

“I hope to make this a career, because I’ll be starting to apply for colleges in the fall, and I’ve been looking at Belmont University right outside

of Nashville,” she said, explaining that their musical program stressed a flexibility with styles other than “just classical,” a fact that made the school all the more attractive. “I’m hoping that will provide me some opportuni-ties and I want to pursue it into a career, but if that doesn’t happen I have a fallback plan,” she said, explaining that she plans to major in communications in college “just in case.”

In the meantime Chambers said she’s been happy to collect her credentials across the region. She has performed at the Calvert County End Hunger concert for the last two years, and she regularly appears with Scat-tered Leaves on their tour dates. And even though she’s been performing for a long time, Liz said she still has some anxious moments just before each show.

“I don’t usually get nervous until a few minutes before I’m about to go on, and then I start getting the butterflies and the clammy hands,” she said, “but when I start singing and getting into it, that’s when the nerves just go away.”

Singer Liz Chambers, 17, of Lusby, after a perfor-mance greets one of her fans, Kayleigh Coppins-Dutton, 4, of Lusby.

Thursday, April 15

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

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

• Seaweed DuoToot’s Bar (Hollywood) – 6 p.m.

• Billy BreslinCheeseburger in Paradise (California) – 7 p.m.

• DJ McNa$tyBig Dogs Paradise (Mechanicsville) – 8 p.m.

• Ladies DJ Dance NightHula’s Bungalow (California) – 8 p.m.

Friday, April 16• Dave NorrisDB McMillan’s (Califor-nia) – 5 p.m.

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

• DJ Charlie ThompsonToot’s Bar (Hollywood) – 7:30 p.m.

• DJ ChrisBig Dogs Paradise (Me-chanicsville) – 8 p.m.

• Live Jazz NightChef’s American Bistro (California) – 8 p.m.

• Wolf’s Blues JamFat Boys Country Store (Leonardtown) – 8 p.m.

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

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

• Full SteamVera’s White Sands(Lusby) – 9 p.m.

• KaraokeClub 911 (Mechanicsville) – 9 p.m.

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

• Turtles on SpeedBlue Dog Saloon (Port Tobacco) – 9 p.m.

• ImpactDrift Away Bar & Grill (Cobb Island) – 9:30 p.m.

Saturday, April 17• Roadhouse BandTown of La Plata – 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

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

• Bob Wire and the Fence PostsRuddy Duck Brewery (Solomons) – 7:30 p.m.

• DJ Charlie ThompsonToot’s Bar (Hollywood) – 7:30 p.m.

• Creole Gumbo Jazz BandWestlawn Inn (North Beach) – 8 p.m.

• 24/7 BandCryer’s Back Road Inn (Leonardtown) – 9 p.m.

• Captain WoodyApehanger’s Bar (Bel Al-ton) – 9 p.m.

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

• Cat’s MeowBlue Dog Saloon (Port To-bacco) – 9 p.m.

• CrossfireVera’s White Sands (Lus-by) – 9 p.m.

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

• DJ RobHotel Charles (Hughes-ville) – 9 p.m.

• KaraokeApplebee’s (California) – 9 p.m.

• Mike MeadLisa’s Pub (Indian Head) – 9 p.m.*

• NakedHotel Charles (Hughes-ville) – 9 p.m.

• ReckoningScott’s II (Welcome) – 9 p.m.

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

• Sam GrowSunshine Oasis (St. Ini-goes) – 9 p.m.

• Three Sixty Dunkirk Firehouse (Dunkirk) – 9 p.m.*

Sunday, April 18• Country Memories BandAm. Legion Post #206 (Chesapeake Beach) – 2 p.m.

• Down River BandVera’s White Sands (Lus-by) – 2 p.m.

• California Ramblers Bluegrass BandToot’s Bar (Hollywood) – 3 p.m.

• Spoken Word Poetry and Live Music NightChef’s American Bistro (California) – 8 p.m.*

Monday, April 19• Mason SebastianDB McMillan’s (Califor-nia) – 5 p.m.

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

Tuesday, April 20• Fair Warning Irish Pub BandDB McMillan’s (Califor-nia) – 5 p.m.

• Dylan GalvinRuddy Duck Brewery (Solomons) – 7 p.m.

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

Wednesday, April 21

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

• Captain JohnDB McMillan’s (Califor-nia) – 5:30 p.m.

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

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

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

*CALL TO CONFIRM

Liz ChambersPhoto By Lisa Dutton

Photo By Lisa Dutton


Prime Rib • Seafood • Sunday BrunchBanquet & Meeting Facilities

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

301-737-0777

Classifieds

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

Important

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

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Deadlines for Classifieds are Tuesday at 12 pm.

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Accepting All Major Credit Cards

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

Rada Cutlery, Potpourri OilsGift & General Merchandise

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Hours: Monday thru Saturday: 9am – 5pm

Real Estate

Cozy water front cottage located on Whites Neck Creek in Avenue, MD. New kitchen, new bath, new paint, new patio with fire pit. Hard-wood floors throughout home with ceramic tile in Kitchen and bath. All brick home with pro-fessional landscaping. Back up generator with deeded access to Potomac River. Call 301 904 3451 for more details. Price: $385,000.

Price: $326,900 or Rent $2000. Great low main-tenance Wildewood home. Offered at a great price when compared to other like homes. Better than new condition. Close to shopping, NAS Pax River and community swimming pool. Original owners. Built June 2006. Features 9’+ ceilings. MBR Suite is 25’x16’ with vaulted ceiling, and his/her walk-in closets w/organizers. Open floor plan. Extra large laundry room. Spacious and open kitchen, granite counter tops, travertine backsplash and maple cabinets. Some of the over $70k plus in upgrades include.. monitored home security system, low maintenance custom landscaping, natural gas fireplace, hardwood floors, large walk-out basement/recreation room wired for surround sound, large, fully tiled master bath, with separate shower, jacuzzi tub, and dual sink vanity. 80 gallon hot water, in-ground sprinkler system, outside storage shed and large deck. Selling at $80k + loss. Potential buyers must be under contract before 30 April 2010 to receive tax benefits. Home located in Dahlia Park subdivision of Wildewood. Drive by and pick up a flyer. Contact for pictures. Call 240-298-9023 or 240-298-8723 for showing! Renters, No Pets Please! - No Agents/Brokers. Monthly rent - $2000 - Prefer minimum of a 1 year lease.

Real Estate Rentals

Furnished, 3 bedroom/2 bath home in Colonial Beach. Other rooms include: full length front porch, kitchen, breakfast area, enclosed breeze-way, laundry area, spacious living room. Great layout for room mate situation... *Rental Fee in-cludes Cable TV, town water, lawn care, trash service and an electric bill allowance. Wake up on the water every day ! Call Susan and don’t let this opportunity slip by. $1,800 per month for 6 month lease or longer. 804-224-1454.

Help Wanted

Leading Eyecare provider in Southern PG/Charles County seeking a mature retail spe-cialist with optical business experience. We are searching for people with excellent retail skills, exceptional communication and love interacting with people. We offer a comprehensive benefit package and competitive salary. If you have a passion for service, are well organized, a team player and desire an environment where hard work and quality performance is rewarded, please e-mail your resume to [email protected].

Vehicles

1989 Nissan 240sx. Automatic, $1500 or best offer. If interested, please call 240-925-9717.

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CLUES ACROSS 1. Distress signal 4. Number, in base two 7. Automobile10. Test12. Expression of sorrow 14. Flower petals15. Schenectady hospital17. He fiddled18. Macaws19. 13th President22. Plural of pons23. Ninth month (abbr.)24. No longer are25. Type genus of the Gliridae26. Public promotion 27. Actor __ Harris28. Observe secretly 29. Of she31. Indicates position32. Aluminum33. 8405735. Enlarge hole

38. Incentive payment40. Of the lower back42. Incandescent alternative46. A young girl 47. Hang glide48. About Sun49. Goddess of blind folly50. Not crazy51. Gambling town52. A layer of rock53. Golf score54. Popular average

CLUES DOWN 1. Appear 2. Primula elatior 3. Unhealthy looking 4. Rubber rings 5. A musical notation 6. ____ng: venturesome 7. Artery

8. Warning signals 9. Tear down11. Winnie the Pooh author13. Spanish suns16. Ancient Persia governor18. More abundant20. Tall & thin like a twig21. Support appendage28. They take dictation29. _____gue: a tirade30. Selects by votes31. Awakened33. Pumpkin-shaped34. S.E. Austrian river36. Supports climbing plants37. Sledgehammered39. As____: evaluate40. More dried-up41. S.A. grassy plain 42. Loose body fat43. Cleansing agent44. Site of Jesus’ 1st miracle45. Ridge over the eyes

Last Week’s Puzzles Solutions

erKiddieKor n


By Chris StevensStaff Writer

I think we can all agree that after an overly oppressive winter that will go down as the worst in the Metro area’s history, spring is a welcome sight.

Aside from pollen tap-dancing in the sky, it’s been nice to get outside and see some sports that were meant to be played outdoors and fol-low the developments in the larger sports uni-

verse as they’ve hap-

pened over the last few weeks. And believe me, a lot has happened.

Locally, the high school sports teams are close to halfway through their seasons, and af-ter the early spring rain, we’re starting to get an idea of who will make some noise come playoff time in each sport.

In baseball, the story of the county this year without question is the dramatic turnaround of the St. Mary’s Ryken Knights. Led by first-year coach Clarke Rollins, a Chopticon graduate, the Knights have bashed their way to five wins so far after not winning a game in 2009. Their hit-ting line-up from top to bottom is the best in St. Mary’s County, terrorizing pitching in and out of the WCAC.

On the softball diamond, Ryken hasn’t had much of a drop-off after graduating a major part of last year’s second place team, including shortstop Erin Leddy. The Knights won the Grand Strand Softball Classic in South Carolina during their spring break, and return to conference play with a tough stretch of games this coming week (O’Connell, Paul VI and Elizabeth Seton – all at home). Two out of three wins in that stretch makes the Knights a problem for perennial champion O’Connell – just as they were last year, losing 1-0 in the championship game.

Leonardtown meanwhile has emerged as a potential top five team in SMAC, thanks to the outstanding arms of pitchers Veronica Peters and Kylee Woode. Starting two good pitchers every week is a good bet to win some

ball games, and with only North Point head and shoulders above everyone in the 4A East region, the Raiders have a chance to go far in that bracket.

In boys’ lacrosse, we look to be headed for another St. Mary’s Ryken-DeMatha WCAC championship showdown, as the Knights’ only league loss (8-7 back on March 26) came from – you guessed it – DeMatha. With a suffocating defense and timely goal scoring, Ryken looks poised for a 2007 reprise – wrestling the confer-ence title away from DeMatha and continuing to make their mark as a top program in the state of Maryland.

On the girls’ side, Leonardtown hasn’t had much of a challenge from inside or outside of the SMAC, averaging 18 goals a game while holding opponents to just three goals per con-test. The conference title may no longer be a question for this team, but if they can navigate through the treacherous 4A east bracket and make an appearance in the state tournament.

Along with competitive teams in track and field and mixed tennis, St. Mary’s County high school sports offer an interesting outing for anyone who’s disgusted with the Nationals and Wizards and aren’t quite ready to hop on the Capitals’ and Orioles’ bandwagons just yet.

And besides, it’s better than being stuck in the house all day.

Questions? Comments? Complaints? Send ‘em all to Chris at [email protected].

Thurs., Apr. 15

BaseballGonzaga at St. Mary’s

Ryken, 4 p.m.

Boys’ LacrosseGreat Mills at Leonard-

town, 6:30 p.m.

Girls’ LacrosseSt. Mary’s Ryken at

Bishop Ireton, 4:15 p.m.Leonardtown at Great

Mills, 6:30 p.m.

GolfGood Counsel at St.

Mary’s Ryken, 3:15 p.m.

TennisSt. Mary’s Ryken at

Bishop Ireton, 4 p.m.

Fri., Apr. 16

BaseballChopticon at Calvert,

4:30 p.m.Great Mills at Patuxent,

4:30 p.m.

Boys’ LacrosseBishop Ireton vs. St. Mary’s Ryken at St.

Mary’s College, 4 p.m.

SoftballBishop O’Connell at St. Mary’s Ryken, 3:30 p.m.

Chopticon at Calvert, 4:30 p.m.

Great Mills at Patuxent, 4:30 p.m.

TennisCalvert at Chopticon,

4 p.m.Patuxent at Great Mills,

4 p.m.

Sat., Apr. 17

BaseballMcDonough at Chopti-

con, 10 a.m.Huntingtown at Leonar-

dtown, 11 a.m.St. Mary’s Ryken at Paul

VI, 12 noon

Boys’ LacrosseChopticon at Pikesville,

12 noon

Girls’ LacrosseSt. Mary’s Ryken at St.

John’s, 11 a.m.Chopticon at Pikesville,

2 p.m.

SoftballMcDonough at Chopti-

con, 10 a.m.Huntingtown at Leonar-

dtown, 11 a.m.Paul VI at St. Mary’s

Ryken, 3 p.m.

Track and FieldSt. Mary’s Ryken at North Point, 11 a.m.

Mon., Apr. 19

BaseballLa Plata at Chopticon,

4:30 p.m.McDonough at Great

Mills, 4:30 p.m.Thomas Stone at Leon-

ardtown, 4:30 p.m.

Boys’ LacrosseGreat Mills at Hunting-

town, 6:30 p.m.

GolfGonzaga at St. Mary’s

Ryken, 3:15 p.m.

SoftballElizabeth Seton at St.

Mary’s Ryken, 3:30 p.m.La Plata at Chopticon,

4:30 p.m.McDonough at Great

Mills, 4:30 p.m.Thomas Stone at Leon-

ardtown, 4:30 p.m.

TennisSt. Mary’s Ryken at St.

John’s, 3:30 p.m.Chopticon at La Plata,

4 p.m.Great Mills at Mc-Donough, 4 p.m.

Thomas Stone at Leon-ardtown, 4 p.m.

Tues., Apr. 20

BaseballDeMatha at St. Mary’s

Ryken, 4 p.m.

Boys’ LacrosseSt. Mary’s Ryken vs. St. Albans at Chancellor’s

Run, 4 p.m.Huntingtown at Leonar-

dtown, 5 p.m.Chopticon at Patuxent,

6:30 p.m.

Girls’ LacrossePatuxent at Chopticon,

6:30 p.m.Northern at Great Mills,

6:30 p.m.Leonardtown at Hun-tingtown, 6:30 p.m.

Track and FieldHuntingtown at Chopti-

con, 4 p.m.Great Mills at Northern,

4 p.m.Leonardtown at North

Point, 4 p.m.

Wed., Apr. 21

BaseballChopticon at Hunting-

town, 4:30 p.m.Calvert at Leonardtown,

4:30 p.m.

SoftballSt. Mary’s Ryken at Paul

VI, 3:30 p.m.Chopticon at Hunting-

town, 4:30 p.m.Calvert at Leonardtown,

4:30 p.m.

TennisDeMatha at St. Mary’s

Ryken, 3:30 p.m.Huntingtown at Chopti-

con, 4 p.m.Leonardtown at Calvert,

4 p.m.

Track and FieldSt. Mary’s Ryken at

Good Counsel, 4 p.m.

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

Wed., Apr. 7

BaseballLa Plata 5, Chopticon 3

(nine innings)Calvert 13, Great Mills 5

Northern 18, Leonardtown 8 (five innings)

Boys’ LacrosseSt. Mary’s Ryken 11, Cal-

verton 8

SoftballLa Plata 6, Chopticon 5

(eight innings)Calvert 5, Great Mills 4

(eight innings)Northern 8, Leonardtown

0

Grand Strand Softball Classic

St. Mary’s Ryken 9, Central (S.C.) 0

TennisGreat Mills 8, Calvert 1

Leonardtown 7, Northern 2

Thurs., Apr. 8

Boys’ LacrosseHuntingtown 12, Chop-

ticon 5

Girls’ LacrosseLeonardtown 18, Calvert 2

Softball


St. Mary’s Ryken 4, Sher-man (W. Va.) 0

Fri., Apr. 9

BaseballChopticon 11, Lackey 0Leonardtown 5, North Point 1 (completion of

suspended game)North Point 10, Leonard-

town 9

Girls’ LacrosseSt. Mary’s Ryken 15, Great

Mills 11

SoftballLackey 12, Chopticon 9North Point 4, Leonard-

town 3


St. Mary’s Ryken 6, Seton 0

TennisChopticon 5, Lackey 4La Plata 7, Great Mills 2Leonardtown 8, North

Point 1

Sat., Apr. 10

BaseballNorthern 11, Chopticon 5

Boys’ Lacrosse

Leonardtown Tournament

Leonardtown 8, Walkers-ville 5

Leonardtown 12, Patux-ent 4

South River TournamentSt. Mary’s Ryken 10, Cen-

tury 4Ward Chester Prep 11, St.

Mary’s Ryken 8

SoftballNorthern 6, Chopticon 1

Mon., Apr. 12

BaseballLeonardtown 3, Patuxent 2

Boys’ LacrosseChopticon 17, Great Mills 6

SoftballChopticon 6, Great Mills 5

Patuxent 2, Leonardtown 1

TennisChopticon 6, McDonough

3Great Mills 7, North Point 2Leonardtown 8, Westlake 1

From The

SPORTS DESKHigh School Teams

Preparing for Stretch Run

The County Times Thursday, April 15, 2010 28Youth Hockey Tryouts

Starting in MayTryouts for Southern Maryland Sabres

travel ice hockey teams will be held at the Capital Clubhouse Tuesday May 4, Thurs-day May 6 and Saturday May 10. The club expects to field travel teams at all age groups for participation in the CBHL (Capital Belt-way Hockey League). All age groups are en-couraged to attend:

Squirts (2000-2001), Peewees (1998-1999), Bantams (1996-1997), U16

(1994-1995) and U18 (1992-1993). Proof of age is required. Tryout Fees:

$65. Visit www.somdsabres.org for schedule and online registration.

Youth Rugby Registra-tion Starting Next Month

Patuxent River Rugby Club will be of-fering its Co-Ed youth touch rugby season for youths 5-15 years of age this summer. Registration will occur at the Calvert Com-munity Center in Lusby from 12-2 p.m. May 1 and 8. First practice will be May 25 and registration can be completed at all practices throughout the season. More details can be found on www.paxrugby.com or by calling 1-877-806-7775.

Boys’ and Girls’ Club Charity Golf Tourna-

ment Registration OpenThe Southern Maryland Boys’ and

Girls’ Club golf tournament, scheduled for Thursday May 20, is now accepting registration.

The shotgun start is scheduled for 9 a.m. at the Breton Bay Golf Club in Leon-ardtown, with a $200 prize going to the top team. There will also be closest to the pin and longest drive contests, 50/50 raffle and door prizers.

The cost is $80 per player which in-cludes 18 holes of golf with cart, lunch buf-fet and door prizes.

Money and registration is due by Friday, May 7 and all checks should be made payable to “BGCSM Charity Golf Tournament”

For more information, please contact Jason Verbic at 301-866-6948 or

Kim Murray at 301-863-3412.

Tennis Block Party in Valley Lee on Saturday

A “Try Tennis For Free” block party is being offered by the St. Mary’s County

Tennis Association on Saturday, April 17. It will be held at Cecil Park in

Valley Lee, at 19241 St. George’s Church Rd., from 12 Noon - 2 p.m. All ages

are welcome. Visit stmarystennis.org and call or text 301-475-5888.

Tennis League Seeking Team Captains

St Mary’s County USTA Tennis League is looking for Captains and 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5 rated players for Adult men and women teams. Season runs from May-July. Must be a USTA member and have reached eighteen (18) years of age prior to, or during, the 2010 calendar year. Contact Mai-Liem Slade if interested, [email protected] or 301-481-2305.

By Doug WatsonPotomac Speedway

BUDDS CREEK – For the third consecutive week, a new face graced victory lane at the Po-tomac speedway as Mechanicsville’s Matt Quade collected his career first late model feature win in last Friday night’s 25-lap event.

Roland Mann and Jeff Pilkerton brought the field to the initial green flag. Mann got the jump at the start, as he would take the early race lead. Mann appeared to have the car to beat as he lead effortlessly for the first 18 laps of the race. How-ever, a flat tire would sideline his effort on lap 19. Jeff Pilkerton would then inherit the race lead and looked like he would win his first Potomac late model main since 1999.

As Pilkerton led, fifth-starting Dale Hol-lidge reached second by the 21st circuit. As the duo raced side by side, they would tangle on the final lap, sending both cars to the rear of the field. Matt Quade was in the right place at the right time as he was the new leader and would hold off

a furious, last lap challenge by defending track champion David Williams to score the win.

“This is a dream come true,” the third-year pilot stated. “It’s taken us a while to finally get here and I can’t thank all my sponsors and my crew for sticking with me.”

Having defending champ David Williams on his bumper for the final re-start made Quade a little nervous. “Yeah I knew he was back there,” Quade said. “The track got one lane and I knew if I stayed on the bottom he’d have a hard time pass-ing on the top.” Bobby Beard collected third, PJ Hatcher was fourth and Ed Pope would complete the top five. Heats went to Mann and Pilkerton.

In the 16-lap street stock feature, it was Pasadena, Md.’s Kurt Zimmerman scoring his first win of the season. Zimmerman, who started fourth, took the lead from Eric Johnson on lap five and would then have to repel the advances of defending track champion Kyle Nelson to post his 13th career Potomac feature win. Johnson would hang on to third, Ricky Edmonds was fourth and John Sellner would fill the front five. Heats went

to Zimmerman and Ben Bowie.In other action, Tony Garber made it two

wins out of three races in the 20-lap modified fea-ture, defending hobby stock champion Josh Dot-son scored his first feature win of the season in the divisions 15-lap event and Richard Gwizdale annexed the 15-lap four-cylinder feature.

Late Model Feature Results (25 laps)1. Matt Quade 2. David Williams 3. Bobby Beard 4. PJ Hatcher 5. Ed Pope 6. Jeff Pilkerton 7. Ro-land Mann 8. Kenny Moreland 9. Dale Hollidge 10. Andy Anderson 11. Deane Guy

Street Stock Feature Results (16 laps)1. Kurt Zimmerman 2. Kyle Nelson 3. Eric John-son 4. Ricky Edmonds 5. John Sellner 6. Sam Ar-cher 7. Donnie Smith 8. Chester Sellers 9. James Sparks 10. Dale Reamy 11. Scott Wilson 12. Mike Reynolds 13. Ben Bowie 14. Stephen Quade

Three Races, Three Winners as Quade Collects Career First at Potomac

OWINGS MILLS – No. 3 Ste-venson University used a 6-2 second period to break a 4-4 draw and post a 13-10 Capital Athletic Conference victory over the St. Mary’s College of Maryland men’s lacrosse team Tuesday afternoon despite the Se-ahawks receiving a game-high five goals from junior Dennis Rosson (Severna Park, Md./Severn).

Junior Neal Barthelme (Tow-son, Md./Dulaney) paced the na-tionally-ranked Mustangs with three goals while junior Richie Ford (Baltimore, Md./Towson) tallied four points on two goals and two as-sists. Junior Jimmy Dailey (West-minster, Md./Winter Mills) added two goals and an assist.

After Stevenson notched the first goal of the game, St. Mary’s staked its first lead of the game at 7:38 behind goals by Rosson and sophomore Michael Mules (Ellicott City, Md./Boys’ Latin) in a 31-sec-ond span. The Mustangs scored twice in 14 seconds to reclaim the lead before Rosson picked up back-to-back goals to return the edge to the Seahawks at 2:26. Senior Shane Clift (Baltimore, Md./North Car-roll) found the back of the net for the final tally of the period with 30 sec-onds left to knot the contest at 4-all.

Stevenson (13-1, 5-1 CAC) came out strong in the second quar-ter with three unanswered goals, including a pair from Barthelme, to put the momentum on the Mustang side. Ryan Alexander (Laurel, Md./Pallotti) and Bobby Cooke (Ellicott City, Md./Mt. Hebron) sandwiched a senior Sean Calabrese (Rockville, Md./DeMatha) goal to cut the defi-cit to 8-6 at 2:08. The Mustangs scored the final two of the period to head into intermission with a 10-6 advantage.

Rosson finished the afternoon with a game-high six points as he picked up an assist as well. Alex-ander contributed a goal and two helpers while first-year Patrick Mull (Fallston, Md./Fallston) dished out four assists.

St. Mary’s (7-5, 4-2 CAC) scored two in less than a minute to pull within 11-8 at the end of three as Rosson and sophomore J.P. Lennon (Huntington, N.Y./St. Anthony’s) each broke through the Stevenson defense.

Rosson completed a feed from Mull for the first goal of the final stanza before the Mustangs netted a pair in 19 seconds. Mules recorded the final tally of the game at 3:52 for the 13-10 final. The Seahawks

came at Stevenson with a barrage of shots, outshooting the Mustangs 15-4 in the last quarter, but sophomore Ian Bolland (Mountain Lakes, Pa./Mountain Lakes) stood his ground and turned away nine shots as Bol-land finished with 16 stops.

Stevenson edged the Seahawks in shots, 44-40, while posting a 33-27 margin in ground balls as junior Ray Witte (Annapolis, Md./St. Peter

and Paul) scooped up a game-high seven and won 16-of-26 face-offs.

Junior Stu Wheeler (Balti-more, Md./St. Paul’s) finished with nine saves in the loss.

The Seahawks will return to action this Thursday, April 15, host-ing University of Mary Washington in the CAC regular-season finale at 4:00 pm.

Seahawks’ Parker Selected as CAC Women’s Lacrosse Player of the Week

YORK, Pa. – St. Mary’s Col-lege first-year midfielder Lauriann Parker (Woodbine, Md./Glenelg) was named the Capital Athletic Con-ference Women’s Lacrosse Player of the Week for the week ending April 11 after notching 13 points in two conference wins for the Seahawks.

Parker scored nine goals and four assists in leading St. Mary’s (6-7, 4-2 CAC) to a 17-14 win over

Marymount (Va.) University as well as a 13-8 victory at No. 17 Steven-son University.

She started the week with two goals and two assists against Mary-mount before unleashing against na-tionally-ranked Stevenson with sea-son-highs of seven goals, including the game-winner, and nine points. Parker also dished out two assists in win at Stevenson which lifted

the Seahawks to the No. 3 seed in the upcoming CAC playoffs which begin Saturday, April 18 with first round action.

Parker is currently tied for fifth in the conference with 31 goals (2.38 per game), sixth with 16 as-sists (1.23 per game), and seventh with 47 points (3.62 per game).

No. 3 Stevenson Holds Off Seahawk Men

ST. MARY’S CITY – No. 16 University of Mary Washing-ton picked up its second straight win with a 9-0 shutout of the St. Mary’s College of Maryland women’s tennis team Thursday afternoon. A bright spot for the Seahawks in the loss was the fact that they took 14 games from Mary Washington – a feat which has never happened during head coach Derek Sabedra’s four-year

tenure.The closest match of the

afternoon occurred at the No. 6 singles flight as sophomore Katharine Yudkin (Rich-mond, Va./St. Gertrude) battled sophomore Kathleen Ramsey (Dunkirk, Md./Northern) to a 6-2, 6-4 victory in the final match of the afternoon. The loss, un-fortunately, halted Ramsey’s win streak at 11.

Seahawk Women’s Tennis Swept by

Mary Washington


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BaseballBy Chris StevensStaff Writer

LEONARDTOWN – It truly has been an up-and-down season for the Leonardtown high school baseball team.

The most recent peak was a walk-off RBI single by Jonathan Beam, helping the Raiders rally for a 3-2 win over Patuxent Monday afternoon.

“At the beginning, we let them dictate the game, but they knew we had to step it up,” said Raiders coach Zach Adams. “We knew that we could have the big inning.”

The big inning for Leonardtown (3-5 overall, 1-4 in Southern Maryland Athletic Conference games) almost didn’t come, due in large part to Patuxent pitcher Donnie Holtzclaw, who struck out nine batters and had a no-hitter going through 5 1/3 innings of play.

“[Holtzclaw] threw a gem, he really had it going,” Adams said. “But it seemed like he ran of mustard at the end.”

The Raiders actually took a 1-0 lead on a Patuxent throwing error, but RBI singles by Daniel Castro and Brian Portillo in the second and fourth innings gave the Panthers a 2-1 lead.

After that first inning, Holtzclaw was untouchable until senior third baseman Brady Jameson socked a solid single back up

the middle in the sixth to break up the no-hit bid. After that, the Raiders went to work.

“Once we got that hit, the boys said ‘okay, there’s a chink in the armor, let’s go,’” Adams explained.

“He was throwing us a lot of curveballs, but we just had to wait on the fastballs,” Bean said. “We couldn’t get a hit for about six innings and it didn’t feel too good.”

A crucial development was senior reliever Will Pagliarulo stepping in for starting pitcher David Sapp and pitching a scoreless two innings, includ-ing escaping a bases loaded jam in the top of the seventh.

“David pitched a great game for five innings, and I just wanted us to get the win,” Pa-gliarulo said.

In the bottom of the sev-enth, with pinch runner Matt Carpenter on third base with one out, Sapp dropped a perfect squeeze bunt that allowed Carpenter to score the tying run uncontested. The next batter, centerfielder Ryan Fenwick laced a solid single and stole second base, bringing up Bean with a chance to win the

game.“Coming into the season, he was our

question mark – how much could we get out of him,” Adams said. “He was 12-for-25 coming into this game, the highest average on the team.”

Bean credited his patience for his single

into shallow right center field that scored Fenwick easily from second.

“I finally got a fastball and just took it to right,” he said. “It makes us feel good that we can get a win like this.”

[email protected]

Photo By Chris StevensJonathan Beam, shown here taking a pitch, hit an RBI single in the seventh to lift Leonardtown over Patuxent 3-2 Monday in SMAC baseball action.

The County Times Thursday, April 15, 2010 30Sp rts Blue CrabsHobson, Blue Crabs Ready to Play Ball


WALDORF – It has been a full six months since the Southern Maryland Blue

Crabs finished as the Atlantic League runner-up to the Somerset Patriots, and with the home opener just two weeks away, third-year man-ager Butch Hobson is ready to lead the Crabs back into battle this season.

“Every year, your goal is to make it to the championship,” Hobson said during a team luncheon Wednesday afternoon. “Somebody’s got to go home the loser and that was us last year.”

The Blue Crabs won 79 games and both halves of the Atlantic League’s Liberty Divi-sion in 2009. They defeated the Long Island Ducks three games to two in the semifinals before falling to the Patriots three games to one in the championship series.

“We’ve reloaded pretty good. We have good leadership in our veteran core,” shortstop Travis Garcia said. “We have some new guys too, but everybody in the league has stocked up also.”

Garcia and veteran pitcher John Halama returned to the Crabs after spending the latter part of the season in organized baseball. Both cited one major reason for their willingness to return and help the team in its quest to win the Atlantic League title.

“Butch Hobson,” Garcia quickly said. “He’s the best manager I’ve ever played for. He’s very intense, and when you have a man-ager who wants to win as much as he does, you want to win for him.”

“He makes it very comfortable to be

here,” Halama, who pitched for seven major league teams from 1998 to 2005. “Butch and [former Seattle Mariners manager] Lou Pini-ella are both very feisty guys, and they like to get after it.”

Garcia says Hobson’s managerial style makes Blue Crabs players the envy of their peers in the Atlantic League.

“At least year’s All-Star game, talk-ing to the other players, they all asked, ‘What’s it like to play for Butch? He looks like he’s fun to play for,’” he said.

“I’m flattered that those guys feel that way,” Hobson said. “I’ve always tried to sign guys who actually care about this game and both of those guys [Garcia and Halama] love the game.”

The key for the Blue Crabs this year will be pitching, and with 18 pitchers in camp and 14 scheduled to make the roster, depth shouldn’t be an issue for the Crabs as it was during last sea-son’s stretch run.

“Our pitching got depleted, but we were able to replace them with some viable options,” Hobson said, noting that Dave McKae will be a pitcher to watch this coming season. “He’s pitched 530 1/3 innings and only walked 112 batters,” Hobson said. “He should be a second starter instead of our fifth starter.”

The challenge of fielding a champion in Independent baseball is the fact that players are looking to move in Ma-jor League systems. In

fact, Hobson says that’s part of his job, ensur-ing that guys move up.

“I tell the guys at the beginning of every year that my job is to get you out of here,” he said. “To move them up is what we’re here for.”

[email protected]

Casey Benjamin of the Blue Crabs fields a ground ball as the team prepares for their third season in the Atlantic League.


Ben Harrison lays down a bunt during a team workout Wednesday afternoon. Photo By Frank Marquart

Octavio Martinez is one of several returning players for the Blue Crabs.



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GREAT MILLS – Since their season-opening loss to Leonardtown about three weeks ago, the St. Mary’s Ryken girls’ lacrosse team has found their stride.

Great Mills was the most recent opponent

to find that out as the Knights took a 15-11 deci-sion Friday night, their third win in a row.

“They performed fabulously,” said as-sistant coach Jeff Worcester, who was filling for head coach Irene Tsapos-Dean (family emergency).

“They’re working together much bet-ter as a team and they played their hearts out tonight.”

The Knights (3-1 on the season, 2-0 in Washington Catholic Athletic Conference play) jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, with attacker Angela Sperbeck (twice) and Chelsea Mum-maugh finding the net for Ryken. Sperbeck ended up with four goals and an assist, while Jessica Worcester led all goal-scorers with five.

Even with Great Mills also getting four goals from senior Anna Sparr and two each from Krystin Clark and Morgan Ruoff, the Knights were able to hold off each of the Hornet rallies to walk away

with the win.“It’s more a mentality,” Sperbeck said

of getting out to an early lead and keeping it. “Being ahead keeps our play up and keeps us going.”

“We’ve had a lot of close matches this year,” said senior co-captain Samantha Dodge, who contributed a goal to make the score 12-8

Ryken halfway through the sec-ond half. “We have to stay on top.”

Jeff Worcester credits the Knights’ early season success to hard work in practice and in games.

“They’ve come along re-markably well,” he said. “It’s huge to have everybody step-ping up the way these girls have and that’s what has brought us along.”

“We’ve come together, we’re bonding as a team,” Sperbeck said. “We’re connecting better on offense and our defense is a little stronger now.”

Meanwhile, the Hornets haven’t had much game experi-ence due to the early sogginess of spring, and that’s been a problem for head coach Pam Hageman, who has just six returning players on a roster of 21.

“We’ve had a play day, scrim-mages and games cancelled, so it really hurts us,” Hageman said.

She was pleased with the effort her team gave in shrink-

ing the Knights’ lead to three goals or fewer several times in the game, but closing strong is going to be one thing that comes with experi-ence for Great Mills.

“This is only our third game, but we’re going in a positive direction. I’m optimistic that things will improve.”

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Ryken Girls Hold Off Great Mills to Win Third in a Row

Photo By Chris Stevens

Photo By Chris Stevens

Great Mills’ Anna Sparr and the Knights’ Kaley Overstreet battle for possession of the ball during Friday’s girls’ lacrosse game.

Jessica Worcester scored five goals to lead St. Mary’s Ryken to a 15-11 victory over Great Mills Friday evening.

THURSDAY April 15, 2010


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Story Page 9

Ryken Tops Great Mills in Girls’ Lacrosse

The County Times -- April 15, 2010

Documents

Transcript of The County Times -- April 15, 2010