QUICK LANE BOWL
MILITARY BOWL
BC defeats Terps, 36-30 B1
Wake, Temple in Annapolis B1 capitalgazette.com
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2016
A Capital-Gazette Newspaper ® — Annapolis, MD
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A REVIEW OF WHAT THE YEAR BROUGHT US
Record snow tops the weather in 2016 Majority of months were warmer than normal By E.B. Furgurson III pfurgurson@capgaznews.com
FILE PHOTO BY JOSHUA MCKERROW, STAFF
Cole Kesselring, 12, slides down a huge mound of snow dumped into the parking lot of the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in late January after being cleared off of the streets of Annapolis. At left is Nina Lindquist, 12, and Owen McCaleb, 8.
The weather in 2016 will likely be remembered by January’s snowstorm bull’s-eye and tropical storm near-misses. There were also heat waves, cold snaps, and periods of too much rain and not enough, much like a typical year. The bull’s-eye — the record-breaking Jan. 22-23 snowstorm — dumped 29.2 inches on the county, breaking the old two-day snowfall record. Jan. 23rd’s 25.5 inches also set the one-day record. The storm broke the previous one- and
two-day records set in the infamous “Knickerbocker” storm of 1922, so named after the roof of the Knickerbocker Theater in Washington, D.C., collapsed under the weight of the snow, killing 98 people. This year’s big storm did damage the roof of the Annapolis branch of the Anne Arundel County Library, forcing it to be shut down after the snow melt produced leaks. It didn’t reopen until April. The tropical storm season started early in 2016 with the first named storm, Hurricane Alex, stirring up in the Northern Atlantic in mid-January. That was five months ahead of the typical Atlantic tropical season, June through November. It didn’t affect the area, and neither did the rest of the storms. Not directly, anyway.
The tropical season came as the El Niño/La Niña weather patterns shifted to La Niña, usually a precursor of more tropical storm activity. The season produced 15 named storms and seven hurricanes, three of them major hurricanes. The most damaging of the storms was Hurricane Matthew. For a while, it seemed the county might see high winds and rain from the storm as it bashed Haiti, then the Bahamas, reaching classification as a Category 5 storm at one point. Organizers of the U.S. Sailboat Show in Annapolis prepared for the worst, installing extra pilings to shore up the temporary docking built for the millions of dollars worth of boats pulling in. By the time Matthew made land in South See WEATHER, page A8
Kwanzaa traditions, lessons passed down in Annapolis
Monday was first day of weeklong celebration By Megan Brockett
A
mbrockett@capgaznews.com
bout two dozen people stood in a circle inside St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in Annapolis on Monday and, pair by pair, joined hands with their neighbor. “I give you my hand,” the first person said. “My hand in your hand,” replied the second. Around the circle went the exchange, shared between young and old, men and women, black and white, until the entire formation was linked. The group had gathered at the church for a presentation on Kwanzaa by Cheryl A. McLeod, a member of the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture. Monday marked the first day of the weeklong celebration, when the center black candle in the candleholder known as a Kinara is lit, representing unity. This year is the 50th anniversary of Kwanzaa. “It’s always very important for us to know where … we came (from), so we know who we are and where we’re going,” McLeod told See KWANZAA, page A8
BY JOSHUA MCKERROW, STAFF
Marion Wenn lights the candles of the Kinara in a Kwanzaa program at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in Annapolis.
TEENS OF THE WEEK WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Athletics and academics part of Vernon Williams’ path in life By Wendi Winters
wwinters@capgaznews.com
Nineteen years ago, Vernon T. Williams received a belated Christmas present — the tall Annapolis High senior was profiled as The Capital’s Teen of the Week. He was a member of the Annapolis High varsity basketball team during the 1997-98 season and graduated with the Class of1998. “We went to the state semifinals,” he said, “and lost to Gaithersburg who went on and won it all.” Williams played the sport again in his final undergraduate year at Morgan State, when he walked on to earn a spot as a point
guard for the Bears. The team was winless that year, and its chances for success seemed to improve once he graduated in 2002 with a degree in Information Sciences and Systems. “I got on the team when Butch Beard was in first year as coach my senior year. I actually considered going overseas to try out after I graduated.” While an undergraduate, his life did not revolve entirely around sports. Williams was also a member of two Greek organizations and two honors societies, including Beta Gamma Sigma, a business honors society. See WILLIAMS, page A6
WEATHER TODAY
62 37 HIGH
INDEX 2 sections, 24 pages Around Crofton .......... Around West County Anne Arundel ............. Bridge ........................... Business ......................
A5 A5 A5 B8 A9
NATION & WORLD
Classified ..................... B7 Comics ......................... B6 Death Notices ........... A8 Editorial ....................... A11 Lottery ......................... A4
Obituaries .................. A8 Police Beat ................. A5 Puzzles ......................... B8 Sports ........................... B1 Television ................... A10
LOW
Showers around. A4
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BY WENDI WINTERS, STAFF
Dr. Vernon Williams, a 1998 graduate of Annapolis High School, was profiled as a Teen of the Week on Dec. 27, 1997. He is an assistant dean, division of student affairs, at Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia, and is an avid basketball player.
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A final goodbye A look back at the notable deaths of 2016 A7
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