The County Times -- A Section -- Thursday, September 27, 2007

PINEY POINT LIGHTHOUSEThursday, September 27, 2007 • St. Mary’s County, Maryland

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Governor Martin O’Malley visit’s Budds Creek, Maryland, home of the 2007 Red Bull Motocross of Nations

By Adam RossStaff Writer

It wasn’t a detailed evaluation, but the St. Mary’s Board of Coun-ty Commissioners addressed the business community Thursday and declared the county sound.

“St. Mary’s County is in pretty good shape considering the energy and commodity price increases, end of our local housing boom, the national credit crunch, and the state of Maryland fiscal problems,” Commissioner Daniel H. Raley (D-Great Mills) said to the county’s chamber of commerce over lunch at the J.T. Daugherty Conference Center. “They call it structural def-icit, but the state of Maryland has been spending more money than it has been taking in in revenue for

Commissioners’ Optimistic for County Despite Workforce Housing Shortages


Every month, St. Mary’s Coun-ty has multiple construction and improvement projects taking place, each with a funding background, and each with the potential to come in under budget.

Not all projects save money, but enough did in the fiscal year 2007 budget to roll over into $429,000 of “real cash savings” originally bud-geted to be spent.

“It’s a result of people manag-ing projects closely and bringing them in under budget,” said Elaine Kramer, the county’s chief financial

officer, “usually by several hundred thousand dollars.”

Three to four times a year, Kramer and her staff closely exam-ine the year’s Capital Improvement Plan projects. If savings are real-ized, the county rolls them into the reserve. The approach fosters ac-countability, and is considered by Kramer to be a more “proactive ap-proach” than most other counties in the state.

Any given month, the county administrator’s agenda at the Tues-day Board of County Commission-ers meetings is littered with budget

County Construction Projects Come In $429,000 Under Budget For FY 07Money to be available for FY 09

By Guy LeonardStaff Writer

Detectives with the St. Mary’s County Bureau of Criminal Inves-tigations (BCI) are searching for a suspect caught on camera during a Monday afternoon robbery of the Maryland Band and Trust on Shan-

gri-La Drive in Lexington Park.The robbery occurred at 1:48

p.m. when the suspect entered the bank and demanded money from a teller after claiming to have a gun, according to BCI information.

After the clerk handed over an unknown sum of money to the suspect he then fled on foot back

behind the bank and across Great Mills Road.

When The County Times ar-rived shortly after 2p.m. having just learned of the robbery, pa-trol officers were still cordoning off the crime scene and detectives

Detectives Looking For Suspect In Daylight Bank Heist


A 19-year-old man who was ac-cused of taking part in a gang style shooting April 24 on Suburban Drive in Lexington Park has entered a plea admitting to two counts of first- degree assault and has agreed to aid police with information that may lead to more ar-rests in connection with the case.

Jarrell Raheim Johnson had a plea hearing before Circuit Court Judge Mi-chael Stamm Monday where he entered an Alford plea to the two first-degree assault counts, basically admitting that if the case went to trial the state would have been able to prove beyond a rea-sonable doubt that he committed those crimes.

Johnson also pleaded guilty to a reckless endangerment charge related to the playground shooting.

Johnson faces a maximum of 12 years of prison for his involvement in

Accused Playground Shooter Enters Plea, Agrees To Help Police Investigation


Otis Scorpio Williams, the man charged with robbing three gas sta-tions in April at gunpoint, pleaded guilty to two counts of armed rob-bery Sept. 24 in a hearing before Cir-cuit Court Judge Michael Stamm.

Williams, 23, originally faced two counts of armed robbery, one count of attempted armed robbery as well as two counts of second de-gree assault, but the other charges were not prosecuted by the state’s attorney’s office as part of his plea agreement.

That same plea agreement re-duced Williams’ sentence from two 12-year consecutive terms in prison to two seven-year consecutive sen-tences for armed robbery.

Williams will spend the next 14 years in prison as a result and will also have five years of supervised probation upon his release.

John Getz, Williams’ public de-fender, told Judge Stamm that Wil-liams’ actions back in April were desperate and that he meant no harm to anyone.

“He still doesn’t realize this is a dangerous and violent crime,” Getz said. “He really can’t put his finger

Man Pleads Guilty To Two Armed Robberies

See Bank Robbery page A-�

See State Of The County page A-10

See Playground page A-5

See Money page A-7

See Guilty page A-8

See MXON page B-1

Detective Antonia Malaspina, center, and Det. Sgt. William Rosado, right, of the Bureau of Criminal Investigations confer with a sheriff’s deputy after the robbery at the Maryland Bank and Trust on Shangri-La Drive in Lexington Park Monday.

Photo by Guy Leonard

Photo by Adam RossCommission President Francis Jack Russell prepares for his state of the county address Thursday at the J.T. Daugh-erty Center in Lexington Park.

Photo by Andrew Knowlton

SectionA-� The County Times Thursday,September�7,�007

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The County Times Classifieds301-373-4125

ByAdamRossStaffWriter

Withoveramillionhitsthisyear,the St. Mary’s County governmentwebsite ishotbedofactivityfeatur-ing multimedia packages, informa-tionbundlesandautomatedservicesjustamouseclickaway.

Fromlanduseandgrowthman-agement permit and application in-formationtoadetailedandregularlyupdatedonlinesexoffenderregistry,the St. Mary County’s homepagecombinesover4000webpagesfromthecounty’sslewofdepartmentsandpartnerships.

“Wehaveawealthof informa-tion people are looking for,” saidBob Kelly, director of informationtechnology. “Whether the status of

permits,howtogetapolicereport,what recreation parks and servicesareoutthere,orwhatcompaniesareoperating in the county, those areright at the user’s fingertips.”

The website was fitted with a newdesignthisyearinanefforttomakethesitevisuallyappealing,butnot flashy, Kelly said. The ultimate goal of the site is to make sure itsinformationiscurrentandaccurate,butdoingthisisnoeasytask,espe-ciallywithatechnologydepartmentofjustthreepeople.

The county’s information tech-nologydepartmentusesawebmas-ter, network manager and directorto coordinate with a county full ofadministrativeobstacles. Bytrans-ferring the bulk of responsibilityontoeachdepartment,Kellysaidhe

enabled him to keep staffing levels low.Intheory,theprocessisquitesimple,andhasbeenprovedassuchintheoverridingsuccessofthesite.Officials from each county depart-mentareresponsibletosubmitnewandupdated informationasdraftedto the county’s public informationofficer Karen Everett. Once Everett hasanopportunitytoreviewthema-terial,shethenpostsitdirectlytothewebsite,accordingtoKelly.

“Itputstheresponsibilityofhav-ing current information to the de-partment thathas the information,”Kelly said, “so they don’t have towaitforustodosomething,whichiskeytooursuccess.”

Users can utilize an automatednotification system that disseminates e-mails aspress releasesgoout,or

updates are made. The notifica-tionsystemislimitedtoonlyafew services, such as calendarevents, press releases, and thesexoffenderregistry.

The website utilizes Geo-graphic Information System(GIS) technology to track themovements of county sex of-fenders. Maps show a detailed

listingofwherethoseoffendersareliving,includingoffenderswhomayhave registered with the state ofMarylandbutnotSt.Mary’sCounty.Byenteringyourzipcode,theweb-sitewillupdateyouwhenanewsexoffendermovesintothecommunity.Infact,90percentofwhatgoesontothe website is done by automatedprocedure,alongwayforwardfromwhere the county started 11 yearsago.

“It’sastonishing toseehowfarwe’vecomeinthelastseveralyears…Thesystemhassomanycapabilities,theycanstarttochangethewaywedoourwork,”CountyAdministratorJohnSavichsaid.

The website is also heavilylinked to the county’s reverse 911emergency system. Users can go

directly to the website and sign uptoreceivetheautomatedemergencyserviceswhenneeded,andVerizonpartnerswiththecountytopassoverallofthenewlyconnectedlandlines,so that the system can touch morehouseholds in case of emergency.Thesystemcancallupto6000peo-pleaminute, andhasalreadybeenuse din the past to notify countyresidentsofroadclosuresandpolicerelatedthings,Kellysaid.

“Ibragaboutthisdepartmentawhole lot,” Commissioner ThomasA. Mattingly Sr. said. “Over thelast9yearswe’veseenthedramaticchanges.”

Mattingly went on to say thecounty has remained “way aheadof thegame,” in relation to therestof thecountieswebsites throughoutMaryland.

CommissionerLawrenceJarboesaid members from the tri-countycouncilhavesaidSt.Mary’shasthe“mostadvancedITdepartment,andisknownthroughoutthestate.”

WithFreshFace,SMCHomepageLeadstheState

ByGuyLeonardStaffWriter

The 20-year-old manconvicted last week of mur-dering Kenneth James Wal-ter will probably appeal thejury’s decision in his caseafter a shorter-than-expect-ed trial, according to hisattorney.

“I would assume therewould be an appeal,” saidpublicdefenderSeanMoran.

That appeal would befiled within about 90 days when Johntonna Young re-ceives his sentence, Moransaid.

Young’s trial lasted justtwodaysafterstartingSept.18 and the jury returnedguilty verdicts on chargesagainst Young of first-degree murder, second-degreemur-deranduseofahandguninthecommissionofafelony.

After hearing foren-

sic and witness testimonypresented by the state, andhearing arguments from thedefensethatthekillingactu-allyresultedfromastrugglebetween Young and Walterfor the gun that killed thevictim, the jury took onlyabouthalf-an-hour to returnwithitsverdict.

After the verdict State’sAttorney Richard Fritzwas jubilant in getting theconviction.

“Thejuryconvictedhimall the way down the line,”Fritz said. “If [criminals]wanttocarrygunsandcom-mit crimes they’ll be pros-ecutedtothefullestextentofthelaw.”

Thetrialwasmarkedbyshort stints of testimony bystate witnesses and few in-stancesofcrossexaminationbythedefense.

Fritz called witnesseswho knew Young, Crutien

Bryan and Eric Brooks, who testified that Young had calledand told themthathehad shot and killed a manin the early morning hoursofFeb.27,aswellaspoliceand forensic investigatorswho confirmed that the gun foundinYoung’spossessionduringhisarrestMarch3wasin fact the one used in thehomicide.

Bryan isalsoanallegedaccomplice of Young’s inseveralarmedrobberiesbothhe and Young are chargedwithcommittingpriortothehomicide. Bryan was testi-fying against Young as partofpleadeal,courttestimonyrevealed.

The defendant, who didnot testify at his own trial,shot and killed Walter thatFebruary morning, accord-ingtocourttestimony,asthevictimreturnedtohisvehicleafter kissing his girlfriend

MelissaGuygoodbyebeforegoingtoworkatDynCorp.

When Walter stoopeddown to enter into the car,court testimony showed,Young shot him just undertherighteyefrominsidethevehicle.

Police believe YoungwasattemptingtostealitemsfromWalter’svehicle.

The bullet traveled toWalter’sspineandseveredit,a state forensic expert testi-fied, and caused him to drop, completelyimmobilized.

A second shot fired into therightsideofWalter’sheadwas fired from farther away, Fritzsaid,wastoensurethatWalterwouldnotlivetotes-tifyagainstYoung.

Moran, however con-structedadifferent scenariooftheeventsneartheendofhisclient’s trial toargueforimperfectselfdefense.

Moran appealed to the

courtandtothejurytocon-sider that the condition in-side Walter’s car that morn-ing—dirttrackedinbrokenconsolesandcrackedvanitymirrors — were sings of astrugglebetweenYoungandWalter.

In his initial request toJudge C. Clark Raley to al-lowhimtoarguesuchasce-nario to the jury the courtseemeddubious.

“Where is the evidenceintherecordthatthekillingmayhavebeenselfdefense?”Raley asked. “Where is theevidenceofthestruggle?”

Raley, however, decidedtoallowMoran tomake theargument in the interests ofbeing “conservative” withthejudicialprocess.

FritzeventuallytoldRal-ey he had no objections butquipped: “I could take Mr.Moranouttomyoldpickuptruckandyou’dthinkWorld

WarIIwasfoughtinthere.”Fritz told the jury in

his closing arguments that“the facts of the case fly in the faceof anyargumentofself defense or partial selfdefense.”

Moranarguedtothejuryinhisstatementthatthestatehad not ruled out the possi-bilityofastruggleinsidethevehicle and therefore couldnotprovethatYoungintend-edtokillWalter.

“Partial self-defenseis certainly something youshouldconsider,”Morantoldthe jury. “There’s evidenceofastruggle…thestatecan’tprove willful, deliberatemurder.”

But Moran’s argumentswerenotenoughtoconvincethejury.

Fritz said that the hisoffice will seek life without the possibility of parole forYoung.

AppealLikelyInMurderCaseConviction

Watch for our

celebration in the

October 4th

issue!

Thursday, September 27, 2007 The County Times Section A - �


The 61st year of the St. Mary’s County Fair could mark the largest turnout in the seminal county event’s histo-ry, drawing about 55,000 peo-ple to the fairgrounds in Leon-ardtown over the weekend.

The fair’s president, John Richards, who is the longest serving person in that role in the fair’s history, said the gate tallies all point to the fair passing its 50,000-person at-tendance mark from last year.

“I’m sure this was our best year for the fair, definite-ly,” Richards said. “Each day this year was better than each day last year.”

Richards said the county fair is maintained and oper-ated solely by volunteer labor throughout the year, making the achievement even more special.

“It makes us feel good,” Richards said.

The county fair has come a long way in its more than 60

years of operation, Richards said, with just a few exhibits when it first started out to the sprawling fairgrounds that are packed to near capacity with rides, games, food vendors, crafts displays and livestock displays now.

“We just built on what was here,” Richards said of

the efforts to expand the fair over the past three or so de-cades. “It was a small fair [at its inception] but it was a good one.”

Designed to be a family event, the fair had something for everyone.

Gary Messer was walking through the livestock displays with his daughter Sydney, 5, of Charlotte Hall Sept. 21.

Sydney Messer seemed to be having fun poking at the various barnyard fowl tucked away safely in their cages.

“She’s learning all about the chickens and the different varieties,” Gary Messer said with a smile.

Emily Miesowitz, 8, of Callaway, was taking in all

the different rabbits and hares in the adjacent exhibit and re-membered that they could be cherished pets.

“I used to have one,” she said, smiling as she looked in at the furry creatures.

Livestock auctions were held throughout the day for those looking for prized farm

animals. For those who just wanted to have a little fun with animals, they could watch goose and pig races at a small track at the fairgrounds.

Plenty of rides, musical acts and games of skill with prizes for the victorious lined the grassed avenues of the fair and gave people a chance to socialize.

“For a lot of people it’s an important weekend,” Richards said. “It’s one of the nice things about being in St. Mary’s County. People can come and see people they haven’t seen all year.”

Richards also said the fair was a symbol of the county’s spirit, which is “as strong as ever,” and the dedication of

the many workers who come together to make the fair possible.

“It’s really grown tremen-dously in the past 60 years,” Richards said. “There’s so many more people volunteer-ing… everybody’s just out there just doing their thing.

“It’s very satisfying see-ing the results… it kind of gets into your blood.”

Since he was five years old, Daniel Reppel, now a deputy with the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office could remember coming to the county fair.

Now he brings his wife and children to the fair when he can; but he was on duty at the Sheriff’s Office’s new mobile command center that

Friday at the fair.Still, just being there

brought back fond memories, even though it was time for work and not play.

“I came to ride the rides and play the games,” Rep-pel said of his childhood fair memories. “But my parents always came to see the horse pulls.

“It’s a great family event. There’s something for the

adults to do, there’s something for the kids to do and you can do it all at once.”

For Richards and his staff, though, once all the fun is over, it is back to the hard work and maintenance that make sure next year’s fair is just as memorable as this one.

But he doesn’t seem to mind.

“It’s a full time hobby,” he said.

301-863-2400 ext. 241 office 240-925-1928 cellEmail: [email protected]

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Sixty-First County Fair Draws Record Breaking Crowd



Gary Messer and his 5-year-old daughter Sydney take a gander at the prize chickens and other fowl on display at the St. Mary’s County Fair.

When visitors got tired from looking at all the exhibits and playing games at the county fair there was always plenty of food and drink on hand to keep them refreshed.

SectionA-� The County Times Thursday,September27,2007

Forthemostpartweunder-stand that government is difficult to administer. We certainly under-stand that few people will agree with every political decision, often gov-ernment at its best is government by compromise.

What we find most distaste-ful is government by smoke and mir-rors. Governor O’Malley’s press release claims that “95% of Mary-landers to pay less” as a result of his proposed income tax restructuring. Maryland taxpayers are clearly led to believe they will pay less income tax as a result.

The fact is, only those whose income is $15,000 per year or lower for an individual or $22,000 per year or lower for married couples will po-tentially pay a lower rate than they currently pay. Even some workers falling into those extreme low salary ranges may not see a decrease.

For any individual making more than $15,000 per year or any married couple making more than $22,000 per year, you will pay either the same rate as last year, or more.

So is the Governor saying that 95% of Marylanders make less than $15,000 per year? Sure sounds

that way. The best we can make of the governor’s plan is that 95% of Marylanders will pay less than the increase that the other 5% will be getting.

So for most Marylanders, there will be no increase or decrease in your income tax rate if the Gov-ernors proposed restructuring is passed by the General Assembly. Of course, if you get a pay increase next year, you will pay more taxes, and thatisthegoodnews.

The Governor is attempt-ing to close what he and some others want to call a budget deficit. By his accounts, there exists close to a $1.7 billion shortage between projected revenues and projected spending. Rather than increase spending at a rate, which Maryland’s current rev-enues would support, the governor would prefer to increase revenues.

Sonowthebadnews:Forall the smoke and mirrors about Marylanders paying less, if the governors complete tax package makes it’s way through the Gen-eral Assembly, more accurate would be the slogan that “90% of Marylanders will pay 80% of the tax increases”.

While “soaking the rich”, “closing corporate loopholes”, and “taxing the sins” all make for great political rhetoric, the only way to in-crease Maryland’s revenues to this grand of a scale is to “soak working families”.

If the Governors tax in-crease proposal manages to make it through the General Assembly, it will be the largest tax increase in the history of Maryland. And that only gets the governor about half of what he wants. The other half he is hoping to get through slot machine revenues.

Included in the Governor’s proposal so far is a 20% increase in state sales tax over what you pay now, plus you would pay sales tax on more services than currently. This is

by far the biggest of the tax increas-es. This tax hits working families the hardest, and continues to drive retail sales outside of Maryland to surroundingstates.

Additionally, families will pay 20% more for vehicle titling tax. And gas to put in those vehicles; the gas tax would be linked to an infla-tion index, rising between 3 to 5% every year.

Maryland would have one of the highest combined state and lo-cal tax rates of any state in the nation with the combined being as high as 9.7%. You would have to live in Cal-ifornia or Rhode Island to pay more.

Also proposed is a 14% in-crease in the Corporate Income tax rate, most of which will be passed on to working families through price

increases and a 100% increase in the Cigarette tax.

NowwegivetheGovernorcredit for being a great showman, in fact his Irish band is very entertain-ing, but no song and dance can spin this as a tax decrease for Maryland’s working families.

The debate is far from over, and the General Assembly will have much to say about all this. We can only hope that whatever the final outcome, our legislative leaders will not try and bury the facts behind misleading quotes and headlines.

This Sunday, September 30, 2007, Makenna Brinsfield, who is only 8-years old, will be hold-ing a bake sale to benefit Hospice House. The bake sale will be held in front of McKay’s Food and Pharmacy in Leonardtown at the Shops at Breton Bay. It will run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Makenna’s Uncle Dougie Haden, had Hospice care prior to his death and Makenna saw how much they do. So, at her Uncle Dougie’s viewing, Makenna pulled five cents of her own money out and put it in an envelope for Hospice because that is all she had in her pocket. Shortly thereafter, Makenna attended Camp Sunshine, sponsored by Hospice for young children and she loved this camp.

Makenna is a very determined young woman and wanted to do something more. So she told her mother, Michelle Brinsfield “I want to help the sick people get a house to live in for those nice people to help them.” She wanted them to be able to go to a house, not the hospital. With no help or prodding, this remarkable young lady came up with this idea by herself.

I am asking the good citizens of St. Mary’s County; please come out to the McKay’s Food and Pharmacy in Leonardtown this Sunday, the 30th of September between 10a.m. and 1p.m. Make a donation or buy some baked goods but please, come support this young lady as she tries to support a valiant cause.

Charlie BreckLeonardtown, MD

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County government is warning motorists to be especially careful this upcoming fall as the local deer population comes into breeding season and begins to cross county roads more frequently.

According to George Erichsen, director of the Department of Public Works and Transportation, the number of reported incidents of deer being involved in automobile accidents has risen sharply in just two years.

Between 2005 and 2006 the number of reported accidents involving deer rose from 47 to 71, he said.

Moreover, that number may only be a fraction of the ac-tual deer-involved accidents since some go unreported and the numbers that the county agency collect only include county-maintained roads and not those run by the State High-way Administration.

Erichsen also said the number of actual deer-involved ac-cidents can be two to three times higher than the reported number.

“You know there’s tons of fender-benders out there where people say ‘Don’t worry about it,’” Erichsen said.

The number of these accidents this year already exceeds the number from just two years ago, with 43 deer reported killed according to data from public works.

The latest deer-kill data shows that there is an even distribution of accidents around the county. There are no parts of the county where motorists do not have to keep a sharp eye out.

The locations recorded show that deer are killed on roadways as well traveled as Route 235 to roads like Flora Corner Road, which are nestled in more rural areas.

According to the department of public works, most accidents occur between dusk and dawn; driv-ers are advised to drive the speed limit during the day and reduce their speed lower than the posted limit at night to help avoid hitting deer.

Drivers should be especially wary in rainy con-ditions, in snow and in fog.

Drivers should also watch out for more than one deer crossing roads at a time, public works information states, because deer often stay in herds and stay in an area one mile square.

Road signs denoting heavily traveled wooded routes that intersect county roads should also be considered when driving, according to public works information, and drivers should slow down at night in these designated areas and look for deer eye shine near the roadway.

For more information about avoiding collisions with deer, visit the county government’s Web site at www.co.saint-marys.md.us/dpw/highways/deersafety.asp, or call public works at 301-864-8400.

RovingDeerPopulationHeightensRiskofMotorAccidentsCounty Government Advises Drivers to Stay Alert for Deer Crossing County Roads

GovernorO’malleyAnnouncesIncomeTaxRestructuringPlan: “95% Of Marylanders To Pay Less”

(As Proposed)


St. Mary’s City

Seen any parades lately?In most of the country,

it’s hard to miss ‘em. Starting early-early summer and run-ning almost every weekend, you can catch floats with lazy-waving princesses; politicians shaking hands; and local ser-vice groups dressed in cos-tumes they wouldn’t wear any other time.

And then there are the marching bands. From the earnestly out-of-step offerings of mini-schools to the mega-marchers from the biggest academies, those kids know that it wouldn’t be a parade without music.

In the new book “Ameri-can Band”, author Kristen Laine follows the beat of a Midwestern high school marching band through a note-able year of dedication, exhaustion, frustration, and accomplishment.

In many high schools around the continent, sports are King and athletes are ven-erated. But things are a little different in Elkhart, Indiana.

In Elkhart, the “cool” kids are members of the Con-cord High School Marching Minutemen, an elite march-ing band that anyone can join. Author Kristen Laine spent a school year with those kids,

the staff, and the commu-nity that helped mold musical champions.

Laine followed band di-rector Max Jones, a focused, driven man for whom sleep was a rare commodity and making good citizens of his students was the highest goal. Jones goaded, guided, and guilted kids into learning an ever-changing, seemingly-im-possible championship-title-worthy musical routine.

Winning was expected of kids like Grant Longenbaugh, a natural leader who struggled with his faith in God while he dealt with external demons in his life. People assumed the best from students like Aman-da Bechtel, who lived for her music but knew there was life after high school without it. Everyone presupposed greatness from guys like Nick Stubbs, a young man with his sights on West Point. But frustration was a daily emo-tion for these overachieving, well-grounded kids and their band mates who struggled with a performance that never seemed to come together.

The Minutemen won championships in the past, but only narrowly. Despite harsh schedules, lackadaisical atti-tudes, inexperienced newbies,

and tardy choreography, Jones thought this 2005 band could be his best group ever.

Could the kids prove him right?

I’m not telling. Read the book

Like a literary maestro for a coming-of-age orchestra, author Kristen Laine tells the story of one community that went the extra stanza for its kids, and the kids who make their town proud.

From the almost-obsessed director who cajoles, demands, and pushes his students to ex-cel, to talented type-A kids who wouldn’t dream of letting anyone down, to deadbeat band members who march to the music of a different drum-mer, Laine has a sharp eye for detail and lets you know the score. Her finale is perfect, with a crescendo that gives you goosebumps and ending notes that bring you up-to-date in the lives of the Min-utemen, their families, and their teachers.

If you’re a band parent; the member of a band, color guard, or show choir; or if you just want to read a great sto-ry on a unique-yet-universal subject, this book will strike a chord with you. “American Band” is music to your eyes.

“American Band” by Kristen Lainec.2007, Gotham Books $26.00 / $32.50 Canada 324 pages

Emily FinchStaff Writer

With almost 137,700 acres of land and 83,000 acres of water, Calvert County is mak-ing more room for residents and leaving less for its natural beauty.

New shopping centers

and housing developments have popped up everywhere from Solomons to Dunkirk over the past 25 years, but one place has been left untouched by construction equipment through all that time.

The American Chestnut Land Trust, Inc. (ACLT) was started in 1986 to preserve a tract of 436 acres, according to Liz Stoffel, land manager of ACLT. “There was land on Science Cliffs Road that would have been prime for a new housing development,” she said, “and a group of peo-ple from the area got together and decided they needed to preserve it.”

In October of 1987, af-ter incorporating and receiv-ing tax exempt status, ACLT purchased the lot on Science Cliffs Road.

“Becoming incorporated was the first step to preserv-ing the land,” said Stoffel, “and part of that was because funds had to be raised to pur-

chase the land.” There were more than 120 charter mem-bers who helped in this pro-cess, and most used money from their own pockets to get the organization started.

The original 436 acre tract grew quickly to 441, and now to 900 acres. ACLT owns and manages those 900 acres of farmland, woodland and wetland.

“[ACLT] also manages another 2000 acres for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources,” said Stof-fel. Most of the land is in the Governor’s Run and Parker’s Creek watershed areas.

The visitor’s center for

ACLT is located on the origi-nal tract of land purchased in 1986 off Science Cliffs Road in Prince Frederick. On the site there is a brief history of the area, visitor guest book and 15 miles of trails open all day, year-round. These trails take visitors through the woods and wetlands of beau-

tiful Calvert County. ACLT also offers volunteer-guided canoe trips and nature hikes.

ACLT now has more than 600 members, plus casual volunteers who donate a few hours here and there.

“We have a wonderful volunteer port,” said Stof-fel, “and everyone’s help is needed and appreciated.” Members of ACLT are not re-quired to donate any time to the land trust, but can donate anywhere from $35 to $1000 annually. They receive a tri-annual newsletter and tickets to special ACLT events.

There are also volunteers to assist the non member vol-

American Chestnut Land Trustunteers. Non-member volun-

teers donate time or funds to the ACLT organization on an irregular, or even one-time, basis. “[ACLT] can always use the help,” said Stoffel, “whether it requires knowl-edge of nature, advanced carpentry skills or simply cut-

ting grass or weed-whack-ing, there is plenty to do here to preserve the natural and historical resources in our area.” ACLT has only

three full-time paid positions. These include an Executive Director, Volunteer Coordina-tor and Land Manager.

ACLT is on one of the last pristine watersheds in the area, and that is entirely through the efforts of this volunteer-based

organization. All lands man-aged by ACLT are open to the public 365 days a year, free of charge, for environmental education, scientific research,

and recreational hiking, bird-ing, hunting, camping and canoeing.

For more information on American Chestnut Land Trust visit http://acltweb.org or call their office at 410-414-3400.

the crime but may only face 10 years incarceration as part of his plea agreement if the information he gives to inves-tigators proves accurate and useful.

“He’s agreed to testify against any other co-defen-dants if necessary,” said As-sistant State’s Attorney Joseph Stanalonis. “He’s cooperating with the authorities, he has in-formation about several other [suspects] who are not facing charges.”

Stanalonis said it was uncertain whether Johnson’s information would actually lead to more indictments in the shooting.

“We’ll have to wait and see,” Stanalonis said.

Detectives from the St. Mary’s County Bureau of Criminal Investigations took Johnson into custody directly after his plea hearing Sept. 24 and began interrogating him in State’s Attorney Richard Fritz’s office at the Circuit Court building.

Johnson is one of two peo-ple suspected as active shoot-ers in the incident in April that left two people in a rival gang

wounded and the local community stunned at the level of violence perpetrated that day.

Lamont Carey is sched-uled to have his trial on allega-tions that he actively opened fire on two rival gang mem-bers that day along with John-son. Carey, who just turned 18 years old, will be tried in juvenile court Oct. 25 accord-ing to Stanalonis, facing first degree assault and reckless endangerment charges.

Johnson originally faced an attempted second-degree murder charge for his part in the shooting but the state chose not to prosecute that charge as part of his plea agreement.

According to charging documents, Johnson was in-volved in the shooting as a kind of retaliation for a do-mestic dispute between the lo-cal gang known as the “Boom Squad,” of which Johnson was a member.

Johnson and fellow gang members gathered weapons and ammunition to confront the man, Joseph Payne, who had been involved in the do-mestic dispute with his wife earlier that day, charging doc-uments state, and drove down Suburban Driver in several

vehicles looking for Payne.When they found Payne,

charging documents allege, Johnson and fellow gang members opened fire on Payne and his associates, including Sherron Torrill Bush who was struck by shotgun pellets.

The gunfire erupted next to a small playground locat-ed on the main road leading down to the mobile home park and endangered as many as nine children who were play-ing there, investigators and prosecutors have said.

The proximity of the play-ground to the shooting net-ted both Carey and Johnson their reckless endangerment charges.

The shooting was the first of its kind in recent memory in St. Mary’s County and brought to light community concerns about gangs oper-ating in neighborhoods like Lexington Park and Great Mills.

Sheriff Timothy K. Cam-eron instituted a gang task force over the summer to as-certain the level of the gang threat and gather intelligence on their operations as well as concentrate on street level shows of law enforcement.

The contents of the gang task force report have yet to be released.

PlaygroundContinued from page A-�

St. Mary's City

DATE HIGH LOW HIGH LOW

Fri. Sept. 28 3:16 a.m. 9:27 a.m. 3:34 p.m. 10:19 p.m.

Sat. Sept. 29 4:05 a.m. 10:13 a.m. 4:21 p.m. 11:13 p.m.

Sun. Sept. 30 4:55 a.m. 11:01 a.m. 5:10 p.m. 12:08 a.m.

Mon. Oct. 1 5:50 a.m. 11:55 a.m. 6:05 p.m. 1:06 a.m.

Tue. Oct. 2 6:50 a.m. 12:56 p.m. 7:07 p.m. 2:07 a.m.

Wed. Oct. 3 7:56 a.m. 2:02 p.m. 8:17 p.m. 3:08 a.m.

Thu. Oct. 4 9:04 a.m. 3:10 p.m. 9:30 p.m. 4:07 a.m.

LOCATION HIGH LOW

Breton Bay "+31 min." "+29 min."

Bushwood Wharf "+45 min." "+45 min."

Colton's Point "+50 min." "+24 min."

Point Lookout "-45 min." "-43 min."

Piney Point "+9 min." "-8 min."

Wicomico Beach "+58 min." "+63 min."

Solomons Island "-1 min." "-2 min."

American Chestnut Land Trust, Inc., located off of Science Cliffs Road in Port Republic, owns 900 acres and man-ages another 2000 for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Their goals are high in preserving the farmlands, woodlands and wetlands in Southern Marlyland.

Photo by Emily Finch



The 15 miles of trails are free and open to the public all year long from dawn to dusk. ACLT volunteers and mem-bers maintain the grounds and offer guided trips through the land.

Visitors check out the map of trails located on the 436 original acres owned by ACLT. Guided canoe trips around Parker’s Creek and Governor’s Run are also available.

(As Proposed)


Prices Effective 9/28/07 - 10/4/07

Ragu Pasta Sauce $.9916 - 26.3 oz Jar, Asst. Var.

San Giorgio PastaBuy One Get One Free 16 oz Box, Elbow Maca-roni, Cut Ziti, Vermicelli, Reg. or Thin Spaghetti or Rotelle

Fresh Baked Italian Bread $.99

Plum Tomatoes $.99 per lb.

Jumbo Red or White Onions $.99 per lb.

Italian Festival

Herbs $1.99

Frigo Ricotta Cheese$3.99 32 oz Cotainer, Part Skim, Part Skim Low Fat or Whole Milk

Seviroli Pasta Buy One Get One Free

14 - 21.4 oz Pkg. Asst. Var.

were taking statements fromwitnesses.

The County Times re-ceived a citizen tip aboutthe robbery soonafter ithadoccurred.

Anambulance andpara-medic unit were called in totreatanemployeeatthebanksufferingfromchestpains.

Crimelabtechniciansar-rived to take evidence soonafterandapolicebloodhound

from Calvert County wasbrought in to track the sus-pects trail as he fled from the bank.

Detectives have releasedthree photos of the robberysuspect,anAfricanAmericanmalewearingagray,hoodedsweatshirt, sunglasseswith ashorthaircut.

AccordingtoinformationfromBCIthesuspectappearstobebetweentheagesof25

and25yearsoldwithathintomediumbuild.Thesuspectisbelieved to be about six feettall.

Thequalityofthephotoswill be helpful in finding the suspectaccordingtoLt.RickBurris,commanderofBCI.

“Hopefullysomeonewillrecognize this person,” Bur-rissaid.“Wewereabletogetsome clear pictures… we’restillintheearlystagesoftheinvestigation.”

This is the second bankrobberyinasmanymonthsinSt.Mary’sCounty.

The first bank robbery thisyearwasat theMechan-icsvillebranchoftheBankofAmericaAugust17.

Two suspects accused ofcar jacking and a failed rob-beryattempt inMontgomeryCounty just a fewdays aftertheincidentinMechanicsvillearecurrentlyincustody.

Valeriy V. Kouznetsov,23 and David Concepcion,33,bothfromRockville,werecaptured August 27 after analleged failed armed bankrobberyonRockvilePike.

Detectivesherehavesaidthattheymusttraversethele-gal process in MontgomeryCounty before they can betransportedhere.

BCI detectives are ask-ing anyone with informationabouttheMarylandBankandTrust robbery to contactDe-tectiveTomHedderichat240-298-2829 or 301-475-4040.ResidentscanalsocallCrimeSolversat301-475-3333tore-port information on the rob-beryandareeligibleforuptoa$2,000reward.

BankRobberyContinued from page A-�

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The Bureau of Criminal Investigations has released these three photos of the Maryland Bank and Trust robbery suspect.

Thursday, September 27, 2007 The County Times Section A - 7

Terri Bartz Bowles

So, did you go to the St. Mary’s County Fair? I sure hope so! If you didn’t, I sure hope you have a good reason because you missed so much good stuff! We just spent al-most all of our waking hours at the fair these past two days. Every minute was good (ex-

cept maybe the mess I made with that caramel apple) and we’re already talking about what we’re going to enter next year and looking forward to another great fair.

If you didn’t go, you missed all kinds of cool stuff. It’s just amazing how much there is so much to see, do and eat at the fair. One friend

said he hasn’t been to the fair in years because it’s the same every year. The glory of the fair is this – it honors the past, lives in the present and looks forward to the future. In some respects, the fair doesn’t change and that’s good be-cause it honors the heritage of St. Mary’s County. In other respects, it does change be-

cause folks want to see and do different things. Truly, there is something at the fair for everybody. If you can’t find one thing at the county fair that you enjoy, I feel sorry for you because you must be the sort of person who just can’t be pleased. I talked to folks who had never been to the fair before and I talked to folks

who go faithfully every year. You know what the common thread was? They were hav-ing fun, enjoying the sites and sounds and the beautiful weather; just having fun with people they love. It doesn’t get any better than that, in my opinion.

The fair honors the past by continuing to have a strong agricultural presence. Lots of animals, not just the entries, but the jousting and horse shows and sheep shearing. The Home Arts building is one of my favorites. Just the name is great because can-ning and baking and sewing and knitting are just that – an art form that at one time was absolutely essential when car-ing for your family. People canned the garden vegetables they grew because they would need them through the win-ter. So I love to see the efforts of those still practicing these time-honored arts from the heart. The Farm and Garden building had more entries this year than last and that’s won-derful! When I was a kid, all the buildings were just burst-ing at the seams with entries but the numbers have declined over the years. Here’s hoping for a true revival! There was a great agricultural display that reminded us that American farmers feed the world. We need to remember that.

The fair is alive, each one has a personality and some-thing special about it. It’s great to see new entertain-

ment each year. When you list all of the entertainment venues at the fair, you realize that the admission price is one incredible bargain. All dur-ing the fair, there is constant entertainment – magic shows, puppets, singers, dancers, bands, a stiltwalker. This year, there was an incred-ible group of belly dancers. Think about it – belly dancers in the auditorium and maybe 150 yards away there was an antique tractor pull. Is this a great fair or what? I’ll say it again, there is something for everyone!

The future of the fair is bright with anticipation. I know I’ll be able to enter a couple of batches of cookies, see the pig and duck races and eat myself silly. I also know there will be new and won-derful entertainment. We’ll walk through the old audi-torium and look at pictures of past fairs and enjoy the nostalgia. At the same time, we’ll be wondering what new stuff we’ll be able to enjoy at the next fair. The fair isn’t just an event on the calendar, it’s an old friend that allows us to visit each year and be a kid again, just for a little while. It’s an old friend I am loathe to say good-bye to each year and am ecstatic to greet again come mid-September. Make no mistake about it, as long as there is breath in my body, I’ll be spending the weekend at the county fair.

Photo by Adam Ross

Ramblings of a Country Girl

Odd News

Did You Go?

BEIJING - A coffee shop has opened in the center of the Forbidden City, the former Chinese imperial palace, replacing a Starbucks cafe that was scrutinized by the public and forced out by protest. The Starbucks outlet opened in 2000 to a media backlash so severe that museum authorities considered revok-ing its lease after just months. In response to the public outcry, Starbucks continued to operate, but without corporate signs. A campaign for its closure began building early this year, when a television anchor complained that the U.S. chain’s presence at the symbolic heart of the Chinese nation was trampling on Chi-nese culture. It finally closed in July. “With wooden tables and chairs and pictures featuring Chinese culture, the Forbidden City Cafe serves not only coffee but also traditional Chinese beverages such as tea,” the China Daily said to Reuters. The rectangular Forbidden City, formally known as the Palace Mu-seum, covers 74 hectares (183 acres) surrounded by a moat to the north of Tiananmen Square and has a fabled 9,999 rooms. It was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1987. “Unlike the Starbucks coffee shop, the Palace Museum is the managerial authority of the cafe,” Li Wenru, deputy curator of the Forbidden City was quoted as saying.

LONDON – Clocked at 172 mph, the fastest driver ever convicted of speeding in Britain was placed behind bars for 10 weeks Monday. Arrested from his company’s Porsche 911 Tur-bo, Tim Brady, 33, was caught free riding the car without per-mission from his employer, a luxury car rental firm HelpHire PLC. Brady had reportedly nagged his boss the day before to take the Porsche out for a spin, but was not given permis-sion. The denial did little to stop Brady from taking the car the next day. Brady admitted to dangerous driving at a hearing last month, and was banned from driving for three years. He will also have to take a new driving test before the country reissues his license. Car dealer Jason McAllister set the previous record in 2003, going 156 miles per hour. Brady reportedly quit his job the day after he was caught.

SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine - Ten and three fourths burritos later, a day trader and aspiring pizza chef known as “Eater X” was crowned with the world burrito-eating cham-pionship. He finished his share in just a dozen minutes Satur-day. “I love Mexican food,” he told the AP after his victory. A dozen entrants competed for $3,000 in prize money in front of approximately 100 spectators outside the Costa Vida restau-rant. The burritos: 18 ounces of rice, black beans, pork, cheese and a mild sauce wrapped in a tortilla. Tim Janus, 30, of New York City, was “Eater X” and told the AP he prepared by eat-ing candy for a day, which he said helped clear his system. The burrito record holder, Eric “Badlands” Booker, has retired from competitive eating and wasn’t on hand to defend his title. But other well-known contestants from the eating contest circuit showed up. Sonya “The Black Widow” Thomas of Alexan-dria, Va., who holds a world lobster-eating title that she won in Kennebunkport, finished second by eating 10 “Big Kahunas.” Other notable eaters at the contest included Jason “Crazy Legs” Conti and Tim “Gravy” Brown.

CARACAS – President ugh Chavez spoke out against a new trend in beauty conscious Venezuela of giving girls breast implants for their 15th birthday. “Now some people think, ‘my daughter’s turning 15, let’s give her breast enlargements.’ That’s horrible. It’s the ultimate degeneration,” Chavez said late Sunday on his weekly TV show that lasted a record eight hours. Venezuela beauty queens have regularly won world crows, and are well known throughout the world. Many women have plas-tic surgery in the oil-rich country where there is widespread spending on consumer items that would be considered luxuries in most other places. Chavez is seeking to change those at-titudes. He wants to create what he calls the “new man,” in hopes of constructing a socialist society in the South American nation. Breast implants are advertised on TV and banks offer special credit lines for such operations. Breast implants cost thousands of dollars in Venezuela. “I am calling on your con-science, fathers of this country, mothers of this country, they are our sons, they are our daughters,” Chavez said. Chavez happily describes himself as ugly.

amendments to increase or decrease a project’s budget. For fiscal year 2007, the county processed 60 of these requests. Fifteen on Oct. 3, 2006 three on Nov. 14, 2006, five on Dec. 19, 2006 and ten on June 12, 2007. The amendments ranged from a couple of hundred to thousands, to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Every year the county clears some money, it is just a matter of how much.

Planning for the transfer station and the Wicomico Shores clubhouse renova-tion are two projects that came in over budget this year, although funds for the clubhouse are exempt financed and will be paid back over time.

“Each project has its own story… In some cases we save money on proj-ects and some need additional funding,” Kramer said. “Because we had savings in some we were able to move [the mon-ey] to others.”

Managing the county’s coffers requires fine attention to detail, and

Kramer is charged with accounting for every penny. By adding state and fed-eral funding into the mix, large sums of money become intertwined, and savings are not always as clear-cut as it might seem. In fiscal year 2006 the reserve closed out with a total of $1.4 million. However, the total county savings were only $845,000, some of that from impact fees, transfer taxes and collections, some money in unsold bonds.

The unsold bonds give a little more debt authority to the county, Kramer said.

“[The reserve] fluctuates greatly if you consider that any capital projects can have any link from one to nine years [of budgets],” she added. “We’ve always cleared some, but some years have been higher than others.”

The Board of County Commission-ers approved closure for the ‘07 CIP re-serve of $429,000 last week. The motion was made by Daniel H. Raley (D-Great Mills) and seconded by Kenneth Dement (R-Callaway). The reserve will likely be rolled into the fiscal year 2009 CIP, al-though funds would be available for 2008 if the commissioners chose to access

them. Historically, the funds have been rolled into the next CIP, which would be 2009, but the board was curious when the funds would be made available.

“It would be possible to put the funds into ’08 if there was a historically impor-tant reason to do so,” St. Mary’s County Administrator John Savich said.

However, Kramer confirmed Mon-day that there has been no indication from the board that they would use the reserve in 2008, even as the state of Maryland projects a $1.7 billion shortfall that will likely be passed on down to the counties.

Commissioner Lawrence Jarboe (R-Golden Beach) reminded the board of education members that the reserve fund was not an open invitation to “run away” with funding requests.

“Another example of county staff led by Ms. Kramer and her finance people that are managing the county’s money, keeping track of it and doing it in a very professional manner,” Raley said. “Not only finance people that play a key role, but others who watch the taxpayers money very good.”

MoneyContinued from page A-�


The St. Mary’s Board of County Commissioners fur-ther stalled a decision to man-date residential sprinkler sys-tems for all newly constructed one-and-two bedroom single-family homes Tuesday.

The board has tenta-tively slugged along with the ordinance, which is heavily supported by volunteer and rescue squads, and Commis-sioner Thomas A. Mattingly Sr. (D-Leonardtown), a vol-unteer fireman for 42 years. On Tuesday, the commission-ers voted unanimously to ex-tend the legislation’s deadline from Oct. 1 to Dec. 4, to allow land use and growth manage-ment officials more time to decipher the ordinance’s cost implications.

Estimations made earlier this year projected a cost of $2 to $2.25 per square foot a $.50 increase per square foot over a pipe leading to a central wa-ter device. The commission-ers have discussed a tax credit to offset those costs, although nothing firm has been ham-mered out.

Denis D. Canavan, direc-tor of land use and growth management, said he hopes to bring the ordinance back in October, but would extend the deadline as a safety net.

Commissioners Daniel H. Raley (D-Great Mills) and Lawrence Jarboe (R-Golden Beach) specifically asked for more detailed cost informa-tion. Jarboe has even hinted he will vote against the mea-sure in part because of its

implications to Amish and Mennonite communities. A proposed exemption to those communities was dropped from consideration.

The cost of installing a sprinkler system, and whom it should fall onto, has been a heated topic. Further, cost estimates presented at the planning commission were from $2,500 to $6,000, which fueled a debate among that board ending in a 4 to 3 vote in favor of the recommenda-tion. The price goes up sub-

stantially for home located in the Rural Preservation Dis-trict, where there is no central water system.

Another contending is-sue is with licensed contrac-tors; the county has none and currently uses businesses in Charles and Anne Arundel counties to fulfill the current residential sprinkler ordinance requirement for multifamily homes. With the absence of qualified contractors to do the work it would likely create a horrendous logjam for new

houses coming online. How-ever, Mattingly confirmed that a number of businesses in the county have expressed interest in obtaining a license.

At the beginning of the year seven counties had ad-opted the residential sprinkler ordinance. If the measure is approved it would become ef-fective July 1, 2008. Mattingly made the motion to extend the legislation’s deadline second-ed by Raley.

Board Stalls Sprinkler Ordinance


Navy NewsAmyKaperStaffWriter

Rear Admiral MarkSkinner passed his positionof the Naval Air WarfareCenter Weapons Division(NAWCWD) to Rear Ad-miral David Dunaway dur-ing a change of commandceremony held Sept. 18.NavalAirSystemsCommand(NAVAIR) Commander, andformer NAWCWD Com-mander,ViceAdmiralDavidVenlet, the keynote speakersaid that despite the title oftheceremony,therewouldbelittlechangeintheoperationsandqualityofNAWCWD.

“Mark and Dave have a

lot in common,”Venlet said.“BothofthesegentsarefromTexas.Bothgrewupbelievingthatfootballisareligion.Boththink the only thing worthdriving,ontheroad,isapick-up truck. And both love theoutdoors.Butaboveall,Markand Dave are both fine Navy officers and excellent leaders.”Threeyearsago,SkinnercametoWD fromPatuxentRiver.His next assignment bringshimback toSouthernMary-land where he will head theProgram Executive Office for Tactical Aircraft Programs.Venlet reminded those in at-tendance that a command-er’s job is more than justcelebration and ceremony.

Along with the developmentand testing of Navy weap-ons and systems also comesrisk and concern for safety.“So, when test squadronslike VX-30 and VX-31 haveno class A mishaps on yourwatch,it’sclearthatsafetyisthe commander’s top prior-ity,” Venlet said to Skinner.Dunaway,whohasservedtwoprevioustourswiththeWeap-ons Division, returns fromhismostrecentassignmentasdeputy for the Program Ex-ecutive Office for Air ASW, Assault and Special MissionPrograms at Patuxent River.Venlet referred the audi-ence to the program fordetails of Dunaway’s ca-

reer and instead chose tospeak about his character.“What I want you to knowabout him is that he is aman of high integrity, enor-mous energy, and is greatlyrespected in the naval avia-tion community,” Venletsaid. “Dave, I know Weap-ons Division will thrive un-deryour care anddirection.”Venlet, who participated inDunaway’s frockingceremo-nyinAugust,toldthenewWDcommander that for a first flag assignment,it’stoughtobeata tour at Weapons Division.“IfeellikeI’mathome,”Du-naway said. “I really appre-ciate thisplace - theviewoftheSierras, the rumbleof jet

engines on the runway, andthe pintails at Point Mugu.I’mecstatictobebackhere.”The new WD commanderannounced that his priori-ties were family, teamwork,stewardship,peopleandtrust.“IcarealotaboutfamilyandIintendtofosterthat,”hesaid.“This is an organization ofpeople who know their mis-sion;myjobistobreakdownthe barriers that get in yourway. The warfighters have to know that we are behindthem,andthatwewillcontin-uetolistentotheirneedsandsatisfytheirrequirements.”

“It’s been a unique op-portunity to serve here, andas I think about what I take

forward,oneimagecomestomind–people,”Skinnersaid.“The Weapons Division andAIR-5.0haveworld-classlab-oratories,rangesandfacilities,butit’sthepeoplewhobringtheproductsandservicestolife.”“You’ll definitely be able to count on the people ofAIR-5.0 and Weapons Division,”Skinner said to his reliever.“Ioncetoldsomeonethatthepeople of Weapons Divisionare like the ‘fire and forget’ missilestheydevelop,testandput into service. Give ‘em amission,load‘emonthewingand let ‘em go. Folks hereknowhowtocarrytheload.”

Excerpts of this article were taken from a statement issued by Renee Hatcher.

NAWCWDLeadershipInNewHands


AndrewVincentMattingly,28,ofSaintInigoes pleaded guilty Monday in federalcourttopossessionofchildpornography.

Mattinglywasfoundtohavebetween10and150imagesofchildpornographydown-loadedonhiscomputerandalsosubscribedto illegal child pornography Web sites thathad imagesofchildrenasyoungas8yearsold.

Mattingly could face up to 10 years infederalprisonforhiscrimewithsupervisionfor life thereafter. Sentencing has not beenscheduledinMattingly’scase.

AccordingtoinformationfromU.S.At-torney Rod J. Rosenstein’s office the case against Mattingly began back in Septem-berof2004when federal agents inDetroit,MichiganraidedaresidenceofapersonwhocreatedandhostedillegalchildpornographyWebsites.Inreviewingtheon-linepaymentrecordskeptbythesuspect,agentswith theFBI were able to determine that Mattinglywasoneofthesubscribers.

On Feb. 5, 2005 FBI agents contactedMattingly at his Owensville Way residenceandconductedaninterviewwithhimaswellasseizedacomputer thatMattinglyused toaccesstheillegalchildpornographysitesandsave images from them, according to infor-mationinMattingly’spleaagreement.

Mattinglyadmittedtodownloadingchildporn images, saving them to a computerdiskandthendestroyingthecomputerdisk.He also admitted to using a payment ser-vice to subscribe to those illegal child por-nographysites,accordingtopleaagreementdocuments.

OneimagefoundbyagentsonMatting-ly’s computer, according to his plea agree-ment, showed a prepubescent performingoralsexonanadultmale.

The images found on Mattingly’s com-puter,accordingtoinformationfromfederallawenforcementreleases,wereallofminorsundertheageof12yearsold.

SaintInigoesManPleadsGuiltyToChildPornCharges


GaryBranson,themanwhowaschargedinAprilwithhavingsexwithanunderagegirl,pleadedguiltytosecond-degreerapeMondaybeforeCircuitCourtJudgeMichaelStamm.

Branson,22,ofChaptico,willreceiveonly18monthsinthecountyAdultDetentionCen-terinLeonardtownforhiscrimeasaresultofhispleaagreementwiththeState’sAttorney’sOffice.

Branson’s six year prison sentence wassuspendedperthepleaagreementandhemustalso submit to five years of probation upon his release. Additionally, he will not be allowedanycontactwiththevictiminthecase,a13-year-oldgirl,oranyunsupervisedcontactwithfemalesundertheageof18.

Gary Branson’s brother, Irvin Branson,was sentenced to16years inprison forhav-ingconsensualsexwiththesameunderagegirlaboutthesametimeasGrayBranson.

IrvinBransonadmittedtohavingsexwiththegirlfourtimes,chargingdocumentsrelatedtothecaseallege,includingtwiceinthevic-tim’sownhome.

Gary Branson’s sexual intercourse withthevictimwasalsoconsensualbutstillillegal,according to Joseph Stanalonis, the assistantstate’sattorneyprosecutingthecase.

“That’s exactly what it is, it’s statutory

rape,”StanalonistoldTheCountyTimesafterthehearingwasadjourned.

Judge Stamm said Branson’s crime wasserious and warned Gary Branson that if heviolatedanyconditionsofhisprobationoncehewasreleasedhewouldpayastiffpenalty.

Judge Stamm said the only reason heagreedtoreduceGaryBranson’ssentencewasthe fact that the second-degree rape was hisfirst offense.

“You’vegotyourdealtoday,thatdeal’sinconcrete,”JudgeStammtoldthedefendant.“Ifyouviolateanyconditionofprobation…youwilldotherestofyourtime.”

JudgeStammsaidhecouldn’t“seehowa13-year-oldgirlcanhaveconsensualsexwitha22-year-old”despitewhathadbeenallegedinthecase.

GaryBranson told JudgeStamm that hewasreadytostarthissentencesohecouldgetonwithhislife.

“I’d like to say I’m sorry for what hap-pened,” the defendant told the court. “I justwanttoputthisbehindmeandtryandchangeforthebetter.”

Bransonwillalsohavetoregisterasasexoffender aspartof admittinghisguilt to thesecond-degreerapecharge.

GaryBransonhasalreadyservedseveralmonths in prison, according to circuit courtdocuments, but none of that time will counttowardshis18-monthprisonsentence.

First-timeOffenderPleadsGuiltyToRapeCharge

onwhyhedidit.”When Judge Stamm

askedWilliamsifhehadanystatement about his actions,

Williamssimplysaid“Itwasamistake.”

“That’saprettybigmis-take,”JudgeStammtoldWil-liams. “I find it inexcusable youdidthis.

“This armed robbery issomething[thevictimsinthe

caseswill]neverforget.”Judge Stamm said that

whilethegunusedintherob-beries was not a real firearm, itwasstilldangerousandthathaving a weapon pointed atthemwouldlikelytraumatizethevictimsforalongtime.

Judge Stamm also or-dered a drug assessment bemadeofWilliamsandthatheundergo any drug programthatwasrecommendedbyhisprobation officer.

Getz,onbehalfofhiscli-ent,toldJudgeStammthathedidnotbelievehisclient’sac-tionshadanythingtodowithstealingmoneytobuydrugs.

Accordingtoinformationfrom the St. Mary’s CountyBureauofCriminalInvestiga-tions,Williams used a pelletgun that bore a close resem-blancetoanactualhandgunisthecommissionofhiscrimes

fromApril4toApril14,ape-riodofnearlytwoweeks.

The first robbery oc-curredattheShellgasstationlocatedonPeggRoadwhere,according to the indictmentagainst Williams, he robbedthe clerk or the store and fled withcash.

OnApril12,asecondin-dictment charged, Williamsrobbed the Shell gas stationlocatedatEsperanzaonRoute235andmadeoffwithmorecash.

Two days later, indict-ments allege, Williams at-tempted to rob theShell sta-

tioninCallawaybuttheclerkon duty did not comply andchased Williams, who fled on foot,outofthestore.

InvestigatorstrackedWil-liamstoaresidenceinPineyPoint and made the arrestthere, finding the pellet gun they believed Williams usedintherobberies.

The attempted robberyinCallawaywasdismissedaspart of Williams’ agreementtothepleadealwherehead-mitted his guilt in the othertwoarmedrobberies.

GuiltyContinued from page A-�

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Charles Henry Ball Jr., 61

Charles “Charlie” Henry Ball, Jr., 61, of Medley’s Neck, Md., died Sept. 20, 2007 at his residence after a battle with cancer.

Born March 5, 1946 in St. Mary’s County, he was the son of the late Charles Henry Ball, Sr. and Laura Mae Ball Spalding. He is survived by his wife of 39 years, Ellen Mae Williams Ball; two children, Charles Andrew Ball and his fiancé Michelle Griffin, Vic-toria Marie Adkins and her husband Brian Adkins and his grandchildren; Ashley, Mad-die, Olivia, Charlotte, Sabrina and Blake. He is also survived by his sister, Sara Woodburn and her husband David (Tee-ny), of Leonardtown, MD, his brothers; William E. Ball and his wife, Barbara of Leonar-dtown, MD and Gary F. Ball and his wife Patti of Ohio. He was preceded in death by his sister, Eleanor Ann Russell.

Charlie loved his family and enjoyed being with his friends. He worked at various trades during his life, includ-ing carpentry and had his own welding business, Fireball Welding, until March of this year when his illness caused him to stop working. His greatest love was the water where he would crab, fish and oyster and always looked for-ward to the start of the oyster season. He was also an avid Nascar fan, always watching for the Fords to win.

The family received friends on Monday, Sept. 24, 2007 in the Mattingley-Gar-diner Funeral Home, where Prayers were said. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrat-ed on Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2007 at Our Lady’s Church in Med-ley’s Neck with Fr. Thomas LaHood officiating. Interment followed in the church cem-etery. Pallbearers were Teeny Woodburn, David Woodburn, Donald Knott, Scott Smith, Eugene Quade and James A. Knott. Honorary pallbearers will be Tommy Cook, Parran Bean and Ross Owens. Me-morial contributions may be made to Hospice of St. Mary’s, P.O. Box 625, Leonardtown, MD 20650. Arrangements provided by the Mattingley-Gardiner Funeral Home, P.A

Joseph Leroy Douglas, 5�

Joseph “Leroy” Douglas, 59, of Mechanicsville, Md., died Sept. 14, 2007 in St. Mary’s Hospital.

Born September 21, 1947

in Hughesville, Md., he was the son of the late John Jasper and Agnes Marie Thomas. He was the husband of Er-nestine Douglas of New Mar-ket, Md. He is survived by his daughter Ellie Battle, his siblings; Charles Seabright Douglas, Diana Fuller, Judy Marie Spears, all of Mechan-icsville, Md., and Hellen Cole of Wicomico, Md. He is also survived by his brother in law, Thomas Spears and sister in law, Morlyn Douglas, both of Mechanicsville, Md. He was preceded in death by his brothers James Andrew and Jasper Lewis Douglas and his brother in law, Theron Fuller.

A lifelong St. Mary’s County resident, Leroy grad-uated from Banneker High School and was employed as an auto mechanic. He loved music, especially the guitar, race cars and sports.

The family received friends on Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2007 in the Mattingley-Gardiner Funeral Home Cha-pel, where a Funeral Service was held at with Fr. Peter Al-liata officiating. Interment followed in Charles Memo-rial Gardens. Pallbearers were William Brown, An-thony Spears, Lance Jones, Eric Spears, William Dotson and Garnell Douglas. Honor-ary pallbearers were Stephen Douglas and Howard Doug-las. Arrangements provided by Mattingley-Gardiner Fu-neral Home, P.A.

William H. Eppard, Sr., 7�

William H. Eppard, Sr., 79, of Hollywood, Md., died Sept. 21, 2007 at his residence.

Born Dec. 18, 1927 in Washington, D.C., he was the son of the late Dr. George Ir-ving Eppard and Louise Hiller Eppard.

Mr. Eppard worked at Safeway Stores, Inc. in Prince George’s County and Wash-ington, D.C. for 33 years. He was interested in refinishing antique furniture and wood-working. He had a love of boating and the water.

He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Juanita D. Eppard, two sons, Bruce A. Eppard of Crofton, Md., William H. Ep-pard, Jr. of Washington, DC, siblings, Virginia Styles of Vienna, VA, Philip Eppard of Camp Springs, Md., Dr. Leon-ard Eppard of Mason’s Neck, Va., Jan Sodolski of Middle-burg, Va., and Susan Eppard of Miami, Fla., two grand-sons, Brian Eppard and Jon

Eppard and one great-grand-daughter, Taylor Eppard, all of Chesapeake Beach, Md.

In addition to his parents, he is preceded in death by his sisters, Mary Lou Eppard and Ann E. Gallagher.

A Memorial Service will be conducted Saturday, Sep-tember 29, 2007 at 11 a.m. at Hollywood United Methodist Church, Hollywood, Md.

Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice House c/o Hospice of St. Mary’s, P.O. Box 625, Leon-ardtown, MD 20650.

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

Mary Catherine Her-berg, 60

Mary “Catherine” “M.C.” Huntt Herberg “M.C.”, 60, of Belle Chasse, La., and for-merly of Hollywood, Md., died Sept. 22, 2007 at her residence in Hollywood. Born Sept. 6, 1946 in Leonardtown, Md., to Mary Agnes Russell Huntt of Hollywood, Md., and the late George Enoch Huntt. She was the loving wife of Richard Herberg, Jr. whom she married on May 13, 1967 in St. John’s Church, Hollywood, Md. She is sur-vived by her children; Gar-rett Russell Herberg of Belle Chasse, La., Mauricio Rodri-guez of St. Charles, Mo. and Georgia “Daniele” Breeding of Prairieville, La.. She is also survived by her sisters, Linda Huntt Crawford of Herndon, Va., and Diana Huntt McCon-nell of Woodbridge, Va., and four grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her son Richard Herberg, III and her brother George Enoch Huntt, IV.

A graduate of Leonard-town High School, “Class of 1965” Catherine attended St. Mary’s College and the Uni-versity of New Orleans with a bachelor’s degree. She be-longed to Rosa Mystica Ro-sary Group in Wagaman, La., and was a grammar school teacher at the Immaculate Conception School in Mar-rero, La., for 23 years, retiring in 1988.

The family received friends on Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2007 in the Mattingley-Gar-diner Funeral Home, where Prayers said. A Mass of Chris-tian Burial was celebrated on Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2007 in St. John’s Catholic Church with Fr. Raymond Schmidt officiating. Interment fol-lowed in the church cemetery. Pallbearers were Thomas Flu-

hart, Daniel Fluhart, Andrew Crawford, John Fluhart, Da-vid Crawford and Frederick McConnell. Arrangements provided by the Mattingley-Gardiner Funeral Home, P.A

Joseph Hiram Hewitt, �3

Joseph Hiram Hewitt, 93, of Avenue, Md., died Sept. 13, 2007 in Washington Hospital Center. Born Nov. 28, 1913 in Medley’s Neck, Md., he was the son of the late Hiram and Madeline Roe Long Hewitt. He was preceded in death by his wife Mary Martina Mur-phy Hewitt on Sept. 4, 2003, whom he married on April 16, 1938 in Newport, Md. He is survived by his sisters: Pearl Hewitt Long of Temple Hills, Md., Ruby Hewitt Cheseldine of Bushwood, Md., and Fran-ces Hewitt Ruark of Salisbury, Md. He was also preceded in death by his siblings: Fran-cis Frederick Hewitt, Helen Hewitt Ruark, William Ben-jamin Hewitt, John Stanley Hewitt, James Roger Hewitt and Mary Hewitt Richardson. Mr. Hewitt was a member of the Knights of Columbus # 2065 and the Mechanicsville Moose Lodge # 495. He en-joyed fishing and crabbing. The family received friends on Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2007 in the Mattingley-Gardiner Funeral Home, where Prayers were said. A Mass of Chris-tian Burial was celebrated on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2007 at in Holy Angels Catholic Church, Avenue, Md., with Fr. William Gurnee officiating. Interment followed in Charles Memo-rial Gardens, Leonardtown, Md. Pallbearers were: Ray-mond Murphy, Steve Murphy, Freddie Hewitt, Keith Hewitt, Kenneth Murphy and Paul Evelius. Arrangements pro-vided by the Mattingley-Gar-diner Funeral Home, P.A.

Joseph F. Irvin, 73

Joseph F. “Joe” Irvin, 73,

of Abell, Md., died Sept. 23, 2007 at Georgetown Univer-sity Hospital. Born Oct. 25, 1933 in Sistersville, W.Va. he was the son of the late Harry Martin and Chloe Mae Flu-harty Irvin. He was the loving husband of Rachel Ann Irvin whom he married on Dec. 7, 1953 in Westover, W.Va. He is survived by his children; Sheila Corbin of Waldorf, Md., Joseph M. Irvin of Me-chanicsville, Md., and Charles R. Irvin of Bel Alton, Md., his sisters; Harryette Frazier of Ark., Mary Slivinski of OH, Nancy Thompson of Va., Sal-ly Wenzel of Ind., and Lynda Franz of N.M. as well as seven grandchildren and three great-great grandchildren. He was also preceded in death by his siblings Jerry, Paul and Patty Irvin.

A graduate of Pine Grove High School, “Class of 1951”, Joe also attended McKen-dree Law School and was employed as a supervisor for Rolls-Royce Aircraft Engines for 14 years, retiring in Sep-tember 1987. He was enlisted in the Air Force from January 1951 to March 1971 where he served in Korea and Viet-nam. Joe moved to St. Mary’s County in 1994 from Prince George’s County and his fa-vorite hobby and sport was playing golf. The family will receive friends on Sunday, Sept. 30, 2007 from 2 – 5 p.m. in the Mattingley-Gardiner Funeral Home, Leonardtown, Md., where prayers will be said at 3 p.m. A Funeral Ser-vice will be held on Monday, Oct. 1, 2007 at 11 a.m. in the Mattingley-Gardiner Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Wil-liam McClean officiating. Interment will follow in the Maryland Veteran’s Cem-etery, Cheltenham, Md., at 1 p.m. Pallbearers were Mark Corbin, Randy Corbin, Rus-sell Bednarik, Joe Harold Miller and Charlie Corbin. Contributions may be made to the Seventh District Volun-teer Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 7, Avenue, Md., 20609. Ar-rangements provided by the Mattingley-Gardiner Funeral Home, P.A.

Josephine “Jodi” Agnes Santangelo Michalski, 88

Josephine “Jodi” Agnes Santangelo Michalski, 88, born May 18, 1919 and raised in Frederick, Md. She is from a family of ten brothers and sis-ters. Josephine lived most of her married life in Baltimore, Brooklyn, Glen Burnie and Coltons Point, Md.

She lived 20 years in Ven-ice, Fla., where she did vol-unteer work for Our Lady of Lourdes Cathedral, Widowed Persons and NARFE. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband Walter J. Michalski Sr. who died Feb, 1983. She is survived by her son, Walter Michalski, Jr. his wife Rebecca Sue, Grand-son Todd Holdcraft and his wife Kelly, Granddaughter Rebecca E. Michalski, Great grandsons Trent and Carson Holdcraft and, her sister Mary Santangelo Rice.

The family received friends on Monday Sept. 24, 2007 at the Altmeyer Funeral Home – Denbigh Chapel and a Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at on Sept. 25, 2007 at Holy Angels Catholic Church in Avenue, Md. In-ternment followed at Charles Memorial Gardens, Leonard-town, Md. Arrangements are under the care of Altmeyer Funeral Home – Denbigh Chapel, 12893 Jefferson Ave, Newport News, VA. 23608. Local Arrangements provided by Mattingley-Gardiner Fu-neral Home, P.A.

Spencer Preston Whalen Jr.

Whalen Jr., Spencer Pres-ton on Thursday Sept. 20, 2007 of Charlotte Hall, Md. Beloved son of Spencer Sr. and Barbara Whalen. Also survived by his life partner Patrice Harris and a host of other relatives and friends. Visitation will be held Friday Sept. 28, at Mt. Calvary Unit-ed Methodist Church 37345 New Market Road Charlotte Hall, Maryland 10 am until home going services 11 am. Interment Church Cemetery Arrangements entrusted to Adams Funeral Home PA. Aquasco, Md.

Obituaries

The family of the late PENNY MICHELLE BROOKS SIMMS wished to express our heartfelt ap-preciation for the many acts of kindness, our out-pouring of love, comfort and compassion during the illness and bereave-ment of our dear beloved PENNY. Special thanks to the Park Hall Commu-nity, First Baptist Mission-ary Church, Zion United Methodist Church, Greater Morning Star Pentecos-tal Church and Oasis of Victory Christian Church International for all their services. Thank you and GOD bless you.

The loss of a friend or loved one is seldom easy. Grieving is experienced dif-ferently by all, therefore it is often difficult to know how to support and comfort a person during this time.

“People are often sur-prised that grief affects them in so many different ways, whether it is physically, emo-tionally, psychologically or spiritually. Because grief is not talked about, it comes as such a surprise.” said Lulu Orr, ex-ecutive director of The Good Grief Center, a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit bereavement center aimed at helping people cope with grief.

Keep in mind there are ways to show you care and

help the person through a dif-ficult time.

1. Spend time together - It’s okay to have some alone time, but it is important to balance that time with friends who understand. Get-togeth-ers or routine errands, such as trips to the supermarket or going out for a bite to eat with someone supportive, can be helpful. Encourage exercis-ing or taking walks outdoors to promote well-being with physical activity, fresh air, and sunshine.

2. Present new ways to work through loss - People are always looking for ways to help someone who is grieving

and the Care Package, devel-oped by The Good Grief Cen-ter, helps an individual work through loss in a healthy, ef-fective manner. The Care Package includes a journal, a CD with carefully chosen tracks of guided meditations and comforting music, and Quiet Moment Cards, which offer helpful quotations and suggestions on dealing with grief. Customers also have the option of adding a bloom-ing orchid grown by the Man-chester Bidwell Corporation, another community-based nonprofit organization. The orchid and all of the contents of the Care Package last far longer than traditional cut flower arrangements and also

offer much needed guidance and support. “People who have received the Care Pack-age describe how reassuring and uplifting it is and in turn use it when they need to sup-port a friend,” Dr. Edward J. Donnelly, M.D. who received a Care Package, says. “Be-cause of thecomfort I’ve seen it provide, I recently sent one to a colleague.”

3. Communicate - Many people dealing with grief find that when others talk about their feelings, it’s easier for them to open up as well. Be it through support groups or just one-on-one time with a friend or relative, oftentimes sharing your grief and tell-

ing your story helps facilitate the healing process. There are also a number of Internet sites that offer online chat rooms for anonymous conversations if face-to-face meetings aren’t what a person desires.

4. Practice patience - There is no set timetable for dealing with grief. People learn to live with their loss rather than “getting over it” in a specific timeframe. For some people, it takes longer than others. Simply knowing there is a friend or an organi-zation who understands can not only help someone feel less alone, but it also can do wonders for helping a person embrace life again.

Four Ways to Support Someone Who’s Grieving

There are many ways to support a person during a time of loss.

SectionA-10 The County Times Thursday,September27,2007

St. Mary’s Yachting Center46555 Dennis Point Way

Drayden, MD 20630

301-994-2404 Fax:301-994-2405 www.stmyc.com

CommingOctober 14TH 2007

Sunday BrunchCall For Reservations

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more time and these peopleoutherewhohavebusinessesknowyoucan’tdothat.”

The board, made up ofthreeDemocratsandtwoRe-publicans, has spent most ofits first 10 months out of the public spotlight, finding con-sensusonmanyoftheissuesthatcometothetableTuesdaymornings.OnThursday,thatconsensus was reaffirmed – the most pressing issuehighlighted in four of the five commissioners’speecheswasworkforcehousing.

“Somepeoplecannotevenmake a mortgage payment,and that’sour challengehereinSt.Mary’sCounty,”Com-missioner Lawrence Jarboe(R-Golden Beach) said. “Wehavetotakecareofourownatthelowereconomicstatus,peoplewhohaveworkedhereyears and years and reallyneedabreak.”

Jarboehasbeenaleadingvoice of workforce housinginitiatives,andtheonlycom-

missioner topubliclysupporttrailer parks as a viable andnecessary part of full-filling suchendeavors. Undercur-rentSt.Mary’sCountyzoningordinance,trailerparksarenotallowed to be built unless aspartofaPlannedUnitDevel-opment(PUD),whichmustgothrough the proper planningprocesses with the PlanningCommissionandbeapprovedbythecommissioners.

“Trailerparksareanim-portant part of affordablehousing,andwithinourcodeweneedtobecreativesothatour young people can con-tinue to live,workand retireinSt.Mary’sCounty,”Jarboesaid.

Withhomeownershipoutof reach for 61 percent of the county’s two-earner house-holds, according to a reportreleasedearlierthisyearfromthe Workforce Housing TaskForce,thecountyisstrugglingto recruit and retain skilledworkers. Patuxent River

NavalAirStation,which ac-counts for more than 80 per-centofthecounty’seconomyand 20,000 jobs, has also been pinchedbyhomeprices.Ear-lierthisyear,thetaskforcere-portedthattwoearnerhouse-holds would have to makeover $80,000 to be approved for a mortgage of $337,501. But in February, there wereonly 200 homes in the county available for $325,000 or less. Ifadualearner familyearnsmore than $83,270 a year, it is not eligible for workforcehousing.

WiththeAmericanecon-omycontinuingtosputter,andthefurtherdeclineofthehous-ing market, home mortgagecompanies are tightening upborrowingrequirements.Forthe first time in years, law-makers in the United StatesSenateareshoppingthewordrecession.Interestratesonad-justable-rate mortgages made duringthehousingboomaregoingup,andbankruptcyand

foreclosuresarefollowing.St.MaryCounty’smedi-

an yearly income is $71,000, a statisticRaleydeemed“amaz-ing.” However, it confirms the board’s concerns that moreneedstobedone.

“If you really lookaround,weareworkinghardand making significant prog-ress,”CommissionerThomasA. Mattingly Sr. (D-Leonar-dtown) said of the county’sworkforcehousinginitiatives.“Therearea lotof thingsonthe forefront thatarecomingalong.”

Commissioner KennethDement(R-Callaway)pointedto the nearing completion ofThe Gateways, a 42-town-home workforce housing de-velopmentinLexingtonParkaimedatfamilieswhobringina combined income of $60,000 or less. The project should be completed by spring of 2008, according to Dennis Nichol-son, director of the county’shousingauthority.

W o r k f o r c ehousing was theonly issue Dementtalked about overhis four minutes,

hasteningtoaddthathewasa“listeningcommissioner.”

“Ifyouhavequestions, Imight pass them on becauseI’mnotgoingtogiveyoutheanswers you want to hear,”Dementsaidtothechamber.

Meanwhile, Commis-sion President Jack Russell(D–PointLookout)wasmoreopen to fielding questions, but had a problem answer-ing them. When a questionregarding taxable real estateand open space that has nomarketvaluewasposed,Rus-sell was caught off guard,couldn’t answer, and said hewould consult county staff.Severalminutes laterRussellrevisited the question sayingit would perhaps be best toaskthequestiontooneofthestate’sdelegates.

Otherquestionsposed tothe board involved transpor-tation concerns, recruitingworkers to fill businesses, and economic implicationsof thecounty’smandatorysprinkler

ordinance forallnewsingle-familydevelopments,whichisstillunderpublicdebate.Rus-sell tackled the recruitmentquestions,sayingnotallofthecounty’s elementary studentsaregoingtobe“rocketscien-tistsorairplanepeople.”

“We need to find a way to get different courses back inourtechcenters,”Russelladd-ed,“tobethebasicsofkeep-ing this economy flowing.”

On the transportationquestion, Jarboe continuedto push for alternative trans-portation methods, citing anadditional bus route for theseventhdistrictandincreasedbikelanes.

“If you have a nice bikelaneaguyorgalcouldcruiseright in [to Pax River], notburn any fossil fuel, andcruise out,” Jarboe spoke ofabikelanethatcouldbebuiltfromthebasetofutureNavyhousing that would likely bebuiltthreeorfourmilesformthenoiseattenuationzonesto

lessenencroachment.Lastly, Raley confirmed

that the economic impact ofthe sprinkler ordinance, ifadopted,couldbesubstantial.Hesaidthecountyislooking

atwaystogiveapossibletaxcredittohelpsoftentheblow,and “hopefully insurancesavingswillhelpoffsetthosecosts.

“We are giving it every

consideration,” Raley added,“becauseweoweittothepeo-pletomakesuretheyhavesafehousing,andweoweittoour[rescuesquad]volunteers.”

StateOfTheCountyContinued from page A-�

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Photo by Adam Ross

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Del. John F. Wood (D-29A) joins the commissioners Thursday for the St. Mary’ s state of the county address.

Sheriff Timothy K. Cameron and Thomas A. Mattingly Sr. (D-Leonardtown) talk before Thursday’s state of the county address in front of the St. Mary’s Chamber of Commerce.

The County Times -- A Section -- Thursday, September 27, 2007

Documents

Transcript of The County Times -- A Section -- Thursday, September 27, 2007