Local News
GRASONVILLE WOMAN DIES IN MOTORCYCLE CRASH A motorcycle accident claimed the life of 46-year-old Grasonville resident Kimberly Rada, a passenger on a Harley-Davidson that crashed on Main Street in Chester. Charges are pending against the motorcyclist, 41-year-old Larry Gene Smith from Greenbelt. Authorities say Smith tried to run from the accident scene, but was caught by a sheriff's deputy.
CROP DUSTER CAUSES POWER OUTAGE Nearly 6,000 electric customers from two carriers lost power after a crop dusting plane clipped a power transmission line north of Church Hill. The pilot was not injured, and the plane was able to stay in the air. The transmission line was cut near Pinder Hill and John Powell Roads. Two Delmarva and one Choptank Electric Cooperative substations were knocked out for several hours.
QA DEPUTY FIRED OVER TASER INCIDENT A Queen Anne's County Sheriff's deputy who used a Taser on a 17-year-old high school student is no longer with the department. Anthony Lenzi was ordered to holster his Taser by a senior officer during an incident in mid-February, but refused. A two-month investigation into the incident found no grounds for criminal prosecution. It is reported that Lenzi displayed a possible pattern of using excessive force and was still on probationary status as a recent hire.
POLICE CHASE HITS 140 BEFORE SUSPECT IS STOPPED A police chase through Queen Anne's County topped out at 140-miles-an-hour. Nineteen-year-old Timothy Green of Clayton, DE now faces 14 traffic violations and is free on $2,000 bond. Citizens alerted Maryland State Police that a white Mustang with Delaware plates was speeding and driving recklessly on Route-301 through the Queenstown area. The chase began near the intersection with Route 19 and ended when Green sideswiped a parked vehicle along Route 313 in Goldsboro. He took off on foot, but was captured while hiding in the back of a pickup truck at a nearby home.
SHORE FARMERS TURN TO SOYBEANS TO CUT COSTS Eastern Shore farmers, squeezed by diesel fuel and fertilizer prices, are changing their crop strategies this season. Cooperative Extension educator Jenny Rhodes says many farmers in Queen Anne's County will be planting soybeans instead of corn. She says soybeans are cheaper to plant than corn because they require less fertilizer, which is made from petroleum. Meanwhile, rising crude oil prices have driven the price of diesel fuel used in farm equipment to more than $4 per gallon. Caroline County Cooperative Extension agent Jim Lewis says farmers are optimistic that commodity prices will stay high and offset the high diesel prices.
AFL-CIO SUPPORTS LEGALIZING SLOTS IN MARYLAND The AFL-CIO supports legalizing slot machines, saying slots parlors have the potential to create thousands of new jobs. Maryland State and District of Columbia AFL-CIO president Fred Mason says the union's 300,000 members will work to persuade people to vote ''yes'' on this November's slots referendum. In a prepared statement, Mason stated that slots will help to ensure that education is adequately funded. He noted that Maryland is losing revenue to neighboring states that have slots. The referendum would amend the state constitution to allow up to 15,000 slot machines at five locations. Slots opponents quickly denounced the powerful union. Charles Graham, chair of Marylanders United to Stop Slots and a union member, says slots will not lower taxes or create jobs. Instead, Graham says expanded gambling will make a bad economy worse.
SHA PARTICIPATES IN MOCK HURRICAN EVAUCATIONS In conjunction with a National Level Exercise (NLE 2-08) sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), the Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) and several local jurisdictions participated in a hurricane evacuation exercise on Maryland's Eastern Shore. The exercise examined SHA's ability to coordinate and execute traffic evacuation plans for Maryland's Lower Eastern Shore counties including Worcester, Wicomico, Somerset and Dorchester. As part of the exercise, SHA deployed about 60 vehicles and emergency response personnel to designated critical intersections on the Eastern Shore.
"With Maryland's Eastern Shore at risk for a hurricane every year, it is important to be ready," said SHA Administrator Neil J. Pedersen. "Exercises such as these help us to keep up on the latest information and technology vital to protecting the public and aid us in evaluating our communications and operations tactics in the event of an evacuation on the Eastern Shore."
The exercise examined emergency responders' ability to coordinate and conduct multi-agency communications to facilitate the implementation and execution of emergency traffic evacuation plans. Other agencies participating in the exercise included local jurisdiction emergency management offices, the Maryland Department of Transportation, the Maryland State Police, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and representatives from the Delaware & Virginia Departments of Transportation.
OCEAN CITY CLOSER TO DECRIMINALIZING OPEN CONTAINERS The Ocean City Town Council voted to decriminalize open container violations. The vote on first reading was 6-1 with Councilwoman Margaret Pillas casting the lone dissenting vote. A final vote is expected in two weeks. If the measure becomes law, a violation would no longer be an arrestable offense. Instead, violators would get a citation and a $200 fine. If paid within 48 hours, the fine would be reduced to $100.
US NAVY GETS NEW FIELD HOUSE The new sports complex at the U.S. Naval Academy was dedicated Saturday in honor of the academy's first African-American graduate. Retired Navy Lt. Cmdr. Wesley Brown graduated in 1949 and now lives in Washington. Brown says using his name for the new $45-million field house is symbolic and indicates the Navy's dedication to diversity. Blacks make up about four-percent of the Academy's current 4,000 midshipmen. The naming of the field house coincides with efforts to boost minority enrollment.
PARK-AND-RIDE VANDALISM Two vehicles parked at the Park-and-Ride on Route 50 at Route 404 in Wye Mills were stripped of their catalytic converters. The parts were cleanly cut and removed from a Toyota SUV and a Toyota pickup truck. Anyone with information is asked to contact State Police in Centreville.
RIDE ACROSS MARYLAND FUNDRAISER Dick Gelfman's Ride Across Maryland is one of the area's biggest fundraisers in the fight against breast cancer. WCTR station owner Dick Gelfman and friends thought of the fundraising idea eight years ago. Last year, RAM raised over $300,000 for Komen For The Cure, and it looks as if this year will be bigger than ever. The main starting location is the mall in Columbia, but there are other locations throughout the state including Western Maryland, Southern Maryland, and the Eastern Shore. Dick Gelfman's Ride Across Maryland is a three-day event beginning Saturday, May 31 thru Monday, June 2. You do not have to ride a motorcycle; you can drive your car as long as you raise pledge money.
NRP INVESTIGATING CRABBER VIOLATIONS Maryland Natural Resources Police are investigating crabbing violations. Thirty-eight-year-old Lawrence Bennett of Cambridge was cited in April after fishing 65 pots in the Honga River near Windmill Point. Forty-four-year-old Howard Hughes of Madison also was cited in April for fishing 143 pots in the Little Choptank River near Madison Bay. Police continue to investigate another 45 pots being fished in the Honga River near Wallace Creek, Fishing Creek and Paul Point.
MARYLAND PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN UNDERWAY A statewide public awareness campaign is underway in Maryland aimed at improving traffic safety and increasing awareness of the dangers of distracted driving. Messages on billboards, on TV and radio, and on the web are reminding drivers and passengers to use their seatbelts, slow down, don't drink and drive, and watch for pedestrians and cyclists.
THREE NEWCOMERS WIN SEATS IN ST. MICHAELS Three political newcomers were elected by residents to fill open seats on the town commission in St. Michaels. More than 350 votes were cast. The only incumbent, Commission President Ted Doyle, lost his re-election bid. Donna Hunt, George Walish, Jr., and Michael Brady will take office in June. It was the first attempt by each of the winners at running for public office. Two other positions on the commission will be up for election in 2010.
INCUMBENTS VOTED BACK INTO OFFICES IN SNOW HILL Voters in Snow Hill returned the mayor and a town council member to new four-year terms, but voted down proposed pay raises for the politicians. Mayor Steve Mathews and Eastern district Town Council member Eric Mullins were re-elected. Mathews ran unopposed, while Mullins defeated businesswoman Tammy Simpson. Snow Hill residents voted no to referendum questions about increasing the annual salary of council members from $1800 to $3,600 and of the mayor from $2400 to $4800.
BOOKLET ON PROTECTING THE BAY TO BE DISTRIBUTED Kent County residents will be receiving a booklet in the mail on how to better protect the Chesapeake Bay. The 40-page, full-color booklet entitled “From My Backyard to Our Bay” describes how to reduce nutrient runoff and also includes the hotline number to report major pollution problems.
WASHINGTON COLLEGE ANNOUNCES COMMENCEMENT SPEAKERS Washington College announced this year's Commencement speakers. Bruce Cole, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, singer-songwriter Patty Griffin, and David Simon, creator of the critically-acclaimed HBO series The Wire, will speak on May 18 during graduation ceremonies.
TALBOT CITIZENS WANT MORE FUNDING FOR EDUCATION Citizens attending a budget hearing in Talbot County asked that more money go towards education. The hearing was the first of two scheduled to discuss the budget for fiscal year 2009. New positions at the Sheriff's Office, Emergency Management, and Emergency Medical Services are being funded in the current draft budget. The draft also gives the Board of Education an additional $2.1-million over last year, though it is still more than $3-million shy of what the board requested. Some residents asked officials for additional funding for education, the health department, Chesapeake College, and after-school programs.
USNA WILL CONTINUE ANNUAL HERNDON MONUMENT CLIMB The Naval Academy says there will be no changes to the traditional annual climb to the top of the Herndon Monument, believed to have started in 1907. The decision follows a review that was prompted by safety concerns. Each year, the 21-foot high monument is coated with grease, and midshipmen mark the end of their first year at the academy by attempting to be the first to reach the top. This year's climb is scheduled for May 15. The academy considered limiting the number of participants but decided instead to select 30 midshipmen to act as monitors.
WATERMEN WORRIED ABOUT CRAB HARVEST Chesapeake Bay watermen and seafood processors fear new limits on blue crab harvests will ruin their businesses. About 200 commercial fishermen were present at a recent hearing in Cambridge on the proposed regulations. Under the regulations, the harvest of female crabs would end October 23, prime time for harvesters. Companies that pick crab meat fear they will lose customers to foreign competitors. The restrictions imposed by Maryland and Virginia are aimed at reducing the annual harvest of females by one-third. Maryland's Administrative Executive Legislative Review Committee will make the final decision on the regulations.
FORMER ORIOLES’ GROUNDSKEEPER DIES The Baltimore Orioles are mourning longtime head groundskeeper Pat Santarone, who died of natural causes in Hamilton, Montana. He was 79. Santarone was the team's head groundskeeper from 1969 to 1991. He began his career as a groundskeeper in Elmira, N.Y. in 1952. Elmira became an Orioles affiliate, and Santarone became friends with Earl Weaver during Weaver's tenure as manager there. Weaver was named manager of the Orioles in 1968, and Santarone joined the major league club the next season. Weaver says Santarone kept the playing field of Memorial Stadium in ''immaculate condition.'' Santarone's tomato patch in foul territory became legendary, as he and Weaver engaged in yearly tomato-growing competitions.
FOUNTAIN PARK FOUNTAIN WORKING AGAIN The fountain in Fountain Park is working, although Chestertown may have to spend additional funds to repair the bowl. The bowl is uneven from years of water wear, causing the water to flow out unevenly.
2008 SOPHIE KERR AWARD Every year, Washington College hands out its Sophie Kerr Literary Award to the school's most promising literary undergrad. This year the winner will be announced May 18th during commencement. This year’s award is nearly $68,000 compared to $60,000 last year.
KENT COUNTY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS TRANSFERRED Kent County High Principal Ed Silver and Chestertown Middle School Principal Gayle Gill will be transferred to other schools effective July 1. Silver will become principal at Chestertown Middle, and Gill will run the Judy Center at Garnett Elementary. Superintendent Anthony Pack is leaving at the end of June along with his wife who was running the Judy Center.
PRESTON WOMAN CRASHES INTO PORTA-POTTY A Preston woman is facing driving under influence charges after crashing into a portable commode, which was on a State Highway Administration trailer parked along Route-404. A 2001 Nissan driven by 49-year-old Doreen Thomas was traveling west on Route-404 when it left the road and drove onto the trailer, which was part of an inmate work detail. A worker had just exited prior to the incident and was not injured.
QA COMMISSIONERS URGED TO FULLY FUND SCHOOL BUDGET Citizens are urging the Queen Anne's County Board of Commissioners to fully fund the school board’s funding requests for the 2009 fiscal year. The Board of Education is requesting the county provide more than $49-million for the school system's operating budget, plus another $125,000 for retired school employee health benefits and nearly $2.4-million to establish a trust to cover future costs.
STATE TROOPERS GET NEW GUNS Maryland State Police troopers are getting new sidearms. The agency is exchanging current .40-caliber semi-automatic Beretta handguns for all-new versions of the pistol. The last time troopers got new weapons was in 1997. State Police officials say the new Beretta sidearms are favored for their "simplistic design, safety features, ability to individualize fit, ease of maintenance, and overall dependability." Beretta has agreed to exchange the old weapons, and the department will get more than 1600 new pistols at no charge. The current State Police trooper class will be the first to train on the guns. The rest of the force should be using them by year's end.
KENT COUNTY SENIORS TO GET TAX BREAK Kent County Commissioners passed a bill that gives a big break to low-income senior citizens who are homeowners. Homeowners age 60 and older who make less than $25,000 a year in income can get all their property tax refunded. Commissioner Bill Pickrum stated getting that bill passed has been a goal of his since he was first elected.
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