9,2007•St.Mary’sCounty,MarylandByGuyLeonardStaffWriterTheMQ-8BFireScout,left,andtheGlobalHawkwer

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Thursday, August 9, 2007 • St. Mary’s County, Maryland

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Task Force Officially Endorses Changing Government’s Structure

Advocates Encouraged

By Suicide Prevention Campaign

By Guy Leonard Staff Writer

By Adam Ross Staff Writer

An apparent increase in suicides last year got county health officials and advocates moving to make sure that people who were considering killing themselves or were suffering from severe depression had a place to turn to.

The hotline, advertised in local media for about a year now, has been running at Walden Sierra Inc., a privately run crisis intervention service for about 34 years and the county health department and mental health authority wanted to ensure its visibility.

The campaign is winding down but the hotline data is showing some positive results.

Gary Lynch, assitant director for Walden Sierra, said that more people were calling in for counseling on the hotline over the same time period last year.

From January through May of last year 19 people called saying they were considering suicide, Lynch said, and this year for the same period 21 people had called with the same problem.

Of those saying that they were suffering from serious depression, which Lynch said was closely linked to suicide, 38 people called for the January to May period, while this year 51 people called.

“We’re having more people calling earlier in their struggles,” said Kathleen O’Brien, director of Walden Sierra. “If you can talk to people earlier in their troubles it doesn’t have See Suicides page A-

Photo By Brittany Hailer

The MQ-8B Fire Scout, left, and the Global Hawk were on display Monday after rigorous procedure to declassify the systems for this year’s demonstration at Webster Field.

Future of Unmanned Aviation Displayed at Webster Field

By Adam Ross Staff Writer The buzz above Webster Field Monday was the Shadow Unmanned Aircraft System, to spectators a modern display of militaristic ingenuity, but to troops stationed in harm’s way, Shadow’s shallow murmur means home is just above their head keeping lookout.

“Even though its loud, it sounds good to the troops,” said Kristine Moe, director of marketing and business development for AAI Corporation, the company responsible for shadow, an aircraft just over 15 feet long with a max payload of 51-pounds.

“It means someone is watching over them.”

AAI has delivered 57 systems to the United States Armed Services so far, and many of them have already been deployed in war, according to Navy Capt. Richard L. Brasel, program manager for NAVAIR’s demonstrations. Brasel added that the

feedback on the acquisition of the Shadow and other similar systems has been “very strong.”

According to Moe, shadow’s operational noises sometimes scare off enemy combatants. Soldiers have been known to record shadow’s turning propeller, and use the sound as an extra line of defense when the aircraft is grounded.

Shadow is just one of many extreme flyers controlled by computer a safe distance from the battlefield, and was part of the Navy’s unmanned systems demonstration Monday.

More than 7,000 high and low ranking political and military officials, and business executives gathered from across the world Monday to witness the newly declassified air and ground systems, controlled from cockpits on base, and capable of monitoring “the bad guy,” in some cases from 60,000 feet in the air. The sky was gray, and rain threatened the See Unmanned page A-10

STS Ready to Overhaul Bus Routes and Vehicles

By Adam Ross Staff Writer

A task force put fourth by the St. Mary’s Board of County Commissioners recommended Tuesday that the county step away from the commissioner form of government and adopt one of the two forms of home rule.

Twelve of the 15-member task force voted for “some change,” according to Patrick B. Murphy, the group’s chairman. Of the 12, nine favored charter home rule, three code home rule and three members wanted no change at all.

The results came three months after the commissioners appointed the task force, setting it up as a “self evaluation,” not to suggest a problem with the commissioners, according to Commissioner Thomas A. Mattingly Sr. (D-Leonardtown).

“I think it was a fair assessment of the entire topic,” Mattingly added, “and a lot of opinions changed from members who had opinions when they came in.”

But jut whether the commissioners have permutated their own minds after reviewing the 37-page report will take some time, as the board prepares to hold its judgment until the public is properly educated and had an opportunity to critique the report.

In order for a change to be made at least four commissioners would have to endorse a charter or code home rule metamorphosis, and then the topic would go to a countywide referendum.

A charter could take up to 18months to write, said Murphy, who also thought the initiative wouldn’t reach the ballot until 2012, if approved.

A charter-writing committee formulates a charter, which is appointed by the Board of County Commissioners.

The county would be governed by See Charter page A-

For the first time in 10 years the St. Mary’s Transit System (STS) has a written, comprehensive plan that calls for larger cutbacks to the Northern end of the county and the addition of a Western Route.

As officials move closer to developing a model bus system that covers over 800,000 miles a year, the future outlook for Golden Beach and Charlotte Hall is not bright. However, changes to the system cannot be made until the proper public hearings have been held.

At the Northernmost part of the county, Mohawk Drive, an STS bus operated by James Rencher pulls up to McKay’s Food Store close to the 5 p.m. rush hour. Nobody gets off the bus, or on the bus, but Rencher has the flexibility to take a rider to any destination in the area.

Riders will likely lose this flexibility as STS has plans to change the Northern route to a deviated loop.

“Because of lack of ridership our intention was to scrap See Bus Route page A-

Inside Governors Cup B-1

Op.-Ed ..........Page A - 4 Obituaries.....Page A - 8 Navy News ...Page A - 9 Community...Page B - 1 Police ............Page B - 3 Classifieds.....Page B - 7

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An STS bus and Van Go parked outside of McKay’s Food Store in Charlotte Hall. The STS bus is available for pick up Monday through Saturday 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., every hour.

Commissioners Approve New County Health Board but Fear Creation of Bureacracy

By Adam Ross Staff Writer The St. Mary’s Board of County Commissioners reluctantly, but unanimously, approved a proposal from St. Mary’s County’s Local Management Board to create a new health department that would monitor the county’s health services.

With dollars dwindling and demand increasing from St. Mary’s growing population, health officials from a slew of agencies are frustrated with interagency coordination, according to Kathleen O’Brien, executive director of Walden Sierra, a nonprofit organization offering crisis services and treatment to the community.

“We don’t have the luxury of not in-

creasing to the next level,” O’Brien said to the St. Mary’s Board of County Commissioners during a presentation by the county’s Local Management Board.

The board is proposing another department to plan, coordinate and evaluate the county’s health services in a similar fashion to the commissioner’s oversight of St. Mary’s health department.

“What we need in the county is to have the best coordination of services,” said Ella May Russell, director of St. Mary’s County Department of Social Services. “There is no one person in the county that can do that right now, we’ve gotten too big.”

Under the plan, the department would bring health service information together See Health Board page A-

Former St. Mary’s Attorney Under Investigation

By Guy Leonard Staff Writer An attorney who up until several years ago practiced law here in St. Mary’s County and was recently disbarred for unethical practices is under investigation by State’s Attorney Richard Fritz’s office.

Fritz told The County Times that his office’s investigation of Julian J. Izydore, once a well known attorney in the county, will soon go before the grand jury to decide whether or not Izydore should face criminal charges for misappropriating funds from a client’s estate several years ago.

Izydore was officially disbarred July 31, court documents show.

Fritz said that Bureau of Criminal Investigations detectives were working with investigators from the Attorney Grievance Commission and sharing information on the case.

Their investigation, which Fritz said was “99 percent complete,” could go before the grand jury for a decision on whether to press any criminal charges in the next several weeks.

See Investigation page A-

The County Times

Section A -

Local Group Seeks to Give Stray, Feral Cats New Lease on Life Volunteers work to contain, protect “wild” cats

By Guy Leonard Staff Writer Stray and feral cats have a bad image that makes them seem like more of a nuisance than they really are, says Shirley Cobb, founder of a new group trying to give the maligned felines a second chance.

Cobb, along with a handful of volunteers, is trying to give them a better chance of staying alive.

“They’re homeless, they’re neglected and they’re given a bad rap,” Cobb, who founded the Saint Mary’s Animal Welfare League (SMAWL) in 1990, said.

“All they are is scared to death and panicked.”

ing the feral cats, Cobb said, she and her volunteers, of whom there are only about eight, can keep the cats alive and ensure that stray cats can’t continue breeding in large numbers.

When released back into the area in which they were originally captured, Cobb said, they are able to reacclimate much better because they are familiar with their surroundings.

These feral cats also keep other cats away that are not neutered, Cobb said, which means that colonies of stray cats are stabilized in numbers and stay contained.

“They’re used to living there,” Cobb said. “So putting them back is important.”

happen.”

Cobb got the group started back in March, she said, and has been trying to do what she can with limited funding, only a few volunteers and no facility to take in strays and feral cats.

Room at SMAWL and the Tri-County Animal Shelter in Calvert County was not available, she said.

Right now, all she and her volunteers can do is lend out the traps to home owners who want the cats off their property and allow them to capture the cats themselves.

Cobb’s organization then uses what funds they have to get the feral cats neutered.

Currently The Well Pet Clinic is providing that ser-

Feral Cat Relief to provide large fenced in colony space for feral cats to have a home.

SMAWL currently operates such a place, Cole said, but the location of the feral colony is kept secret to ensure the safety of the animals.

The thing that Cobb said she needed right now to make the project work is help. With only a handful of volunteers to collect the trapped felines, it is nearly impossible to keep up with the growing number of stray cats.

“We could be doing more if we had more volunteers,” Cobb said, adding that some residents want the feline colony near them gone, not neutered and released.

It would take work to

Courtesy of Feral Cat Relief

Feral Cat Relief seeks to neuter and release cats such as this that it has trapped to help stablize what they call an ever growing stray and feral cat population problem.

Cobb said the number of feral cats in St. Mary’s County reaches into the thousands, but by using the trap-neuterrelease method, it doesn’t have to be that way.

Many times what people call feral cats are simply house cats that have been abandoned to fend for themselves and no longer have the ability to interact with humans.

“A dumped animal is the beginning of your colony,” Cobb said. “We want to stop that colony from growing.”

By trapping and neuter-

Feral cats can even serve a useful purpose, according to Cobb, by controlling the rodent population on farms.

But the need for Feral Cat Relief is dire, Cobb said, because feral or stray cats do not stay put in the woods.

“They’re everywhere,” Cobb said. “They’re in residential areas, they’re in farming areas and they’re even in town.

“They’re often abused or abandoned… then they’re picked up by animal control and killed.

“That doesn’t have to

vice, Cobb said.

Trish Cole, current president of SMAWL, called the feral cat situation in St. Mary’s an “overpopulation crisis,” and said her organization fully supports Cobb’s effort.

“Absolutely, 100 percent,” Cole said. “We’re committed to this project.”

SMAWL is using money it has received from grants to neuter feral and stray cats and giving it to Feral Cat Relief to fund its operations.

In the future, Cole said, SMAWL hopes to work with

change people’s minds that stray and feral cats were not as problematic as they thought.

“This is what we have a problem with,” Cobb said.

Homeowners who want to trap feral or stray cats and have them neutered and released can contact Cobb for assistance via E-mail at catscanner@verizon.net. get in conTo tact with SMAWL, call 301-373-5659.

Thursday, August 9, 2007

Charter School Hits More Bumps in Road Construction Delays Lead to Postponement of Opening Ceremony and First Day of School

By Adam Ross Staff Writer The Chesapeake Public Charter School continues to travel a bumpy road as it races to open its doors later this month.

The summer has been unkind as construction delays have pushed back the school’s opening ceremony and the first day of school, and education director Elizabeth Turner resigned just two months after accepting the school’s lead position.

Dr. Edward Weiland, director of the St. Mary’s County Public Schools Department of Human Resources, said he had a number of conversations with Turner before and up to her resignation.

“I can say is she is a very confident and caring individual who would have done a superior job in my estimation,” Weiland told The County Times. “Unfortunately she had some deaths in the family that cost her, which is probably the primary reason why she could not fulfill this job.”

Turner told the school administration through a letter that she did not feel she could fully dedicate to the position, nor commit to the school’s start date. Turner is dealing with two family deaths, including the passing of her mother earlier this summer.

Meanwhile, St. Mary’s Public Schools Superintendent Michael J. Martirano appointed Kathy Glaser, a former Hollywood Elementary School principal and one of the charter school’s founding members, as the interim education director for a period of two months while the school scouts a full-time replacement.

Weiland hopes to begin interviewing qualified candidates within the next few weeks, but the public schools first search in May, which was extended by the school board, only found three qualified candidates eligible for an interview. Kelly Hall, SMCPS director of elementary school instruction, administration and improvement, suspects a greater number of applicants this time around because the school has been approved to open this year.

“Applicants are likely to apply because it’s up and run-

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ning,” Hall said. “The staff is hired, and an interim director is in place. Those might make people from other systems and our own system interested.”

For now, Weiland is confident Glaser “understands what it takes to begin a school.”

“With her abilities from what she did before in addition to her work with the charter school,” Weiland added, “and giving her credit for coming forward and saying she would do this, she should do a great job.”

While final approval rests in the hands of Martirano, a number of individuals from elementary education, the charter school board and human resources mulled over possible interim replacements.

Glaser’s first task will likely revolve around the school’s construction timeframe. Just over a week ago, Stacy Maffei told The County Times the school would likely open on time despite an installation delay with the fire sprinkler system. But Martirano said Monday he would delay the school’s first day of school one week to August 22nd, and make the decision official at the next school board meeting.

Hall confirmed the week delay of the school’s opening.

Construction crews are expected to finish the building, located off Great Mills Road, which is in the midst of transforming from a tennis and office facility to a fully functional school. The extra week will also help the school reschedule a new teacher orientation.

St. Mary’s County Public Schools’ has already cancelled a July 23 faculty tour and the August 8 opening ceremony.

Turner was formerly the principal of St. Benedict the Moor Catholic School in the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. She earned a Master’s of education degree in reading from Loyola College in Baltimore, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in elementary education from Mount St. Agnes in Baltimore.

The charter school has 160 students enrolled from kindergarten through 5th grades.

Thursday, August 9, 2007

The County Times

Section A -

St. George’s Island Getting Relief From Trash, Trespassers

Photo by Guy Leonard

A bag of trash, ringed in red, lays in the rocks of the breakwater on Route 249 leading to St. George’s Island. Islanders say that recent efforts by county officials have helped stop fisherman and other visitors from leaving such refuse but the problem has not been completely eliminated.

By Guy Leonard Staff Writer Residents of St. George’s Island say that things have gotten markedly better in the last two months since they complained about loads of trash being dumped on Route 249, the only road onto or off of the island, but the problem lingers.

They still say bands of itinerate fisherman, sometimes in groups of eight to 10, continue to leave unsightly trash including beer cans, used diapers and even human waste, on the breakwater coast of the island and on people’s property.

“It’s been an ongoing problem for a while,” said Adrienne Pratt, president of the St. George’s Island Improvement Association.

“We’ve had residents on the island witnessing people urinating and defecating on their property.”

But that is changing.

Members of the improvement association say that the county sheriff’s office has been most responsive to their demands for quashing illegal parking on the sole thoroughfare, which also contributes to the trash piling up, and that state highway cleanup crews have been picking up more trash.

Pratt said fishermen are coming down to the island to haul in a free catch and have been doing so for years. That they have always brought trash with them seemed to be a part of life on St. George’s Island, but in the past several years the amount and kind of trash seemed to have gotten worse, Pratt said.

Illegal parking, too, had been a real problem of late, Pratt said, with vehicles parked partially inside the main roadway by people coming to fish.

These families also brought their small children, who dart out in the middle of the street into traffic, Pratt said, adding that one such child ran in front of her recently forcing her to stop abruptly before risking hitting the child.

That situation has been mostly cleared up, Pratt said.

“Word gets out that it’s a great place to fish and that it doesn’t cost anything to fish,” Pratt said. “But word is also getting out that the sheriff won’t allow people to park illegally.”

Rick Tancreto, a member of the association’s board of directors, said that sheriff’s deputies have shooed away 370 vehicles in the past three weeks for either fishing after dusk or being illegally parked.

Deputies have also made eight arrests in that time of increased law enforcement attention, Tancreto said.

The trash, especially the human waste, was perhaps the most worrisome of the problems the island residents were dealing with, said Sam Jarboe, a member of the improvement association.

The human waste, while left on the rocks and under the short bridge leading to the island was the inevitable result of not having any public restrooms nearby, he said, but where the waste went was worse.

“That gets thrown into the river when the high tide comes in,” Jarboe said. “It contaminates the water.”

Jarboe also said that trespassers were not only defecating and urinating on residents’ property, but fishing from their piers as well or generally fishing on the island past sundown.

“It’s the trespassing that we want stopped,” Jarboe said. “Because people are also afraid they’re being cased [for burglary or theft].”

But that problem has largely disappeared as well, Tancreto said.

“I’d say about 95 percent of our problem has been eliminated,” Tancreto said.

“Deputies come and usher these people off the beaches after dusk.”

Tancreto said 11 county and state officials attended a meeting on how to continue beating back these problems August 3 and that officials before the meeting were quick to act on St. George’s residents’ concerns.

“We’re working [with county and state government] for a sustainable program… we’re still in a daze about how we we’re received,” Tancreto said.

The County Times

Section A -

Thursday, August 9, 2007

Editorial & Opinion Codered Is Not Political This Thursday, August 9 at 7 p.m. the Emergency Management Department of St. Mary’s County Government will conduct an annual test of the County’s CodeRED Emergency Notification System.

CodeRED is a high-speed telephone calling system capable of delivering customized prerecorded emergency messages directly to homes and businesses, live individuals and answering machines, at the rate of 60,000 calls per hour.

This system is relatively new to our community, al-

though it has been used in an actual emergency on two occasions last fall.

In 2003, Hurricane Isabelle caused significant property damage to St. Mary’s County. Although there were no serious personal injuries as a result of this major hurricane, there were many people who had to be evacuated from their homes and many emergency responders who’s safety was of major concern.

During the worst time of this storm, as is usually the case here in St. Mary’s, electricity was interrupted, caus-

ing substantially all means of communication to citizens by government emergency officials to be lost. Local radio stations, and local cable television broadcasts were not available.

Fortunately, evacuations of people in low-lying areas had been ordered early that day, before communications were lost. During the worst of Hurricane Isabelle, the greatest danger was vehicles on the roads. With falling tree’s, utility poles and electric lines, many vehicles were either hit or trapped. Emergency ve-

hicles were being subjected to the same dangers as they tried to respond to calls for help.

With radio and electric down, there was no way to warn people of the dangers on the roads. In addition, it was impossible to notify citizens as to the current status of the storm.

After that experience the former Board of County Commissioners began looking for alternative methods that could be used to notify citizens in time of emergency.

It was determined that no one system could be relied upon, several systems would need to be put in place in order to have as reliable a notification

system as possible.

CodeRED is one of those alternatives. Purchased in 2005, the system became fully implemented in 2006. As the 2006 Hurricane season was approaching, then Commissioner President McKay order a countywide test of the system to assure it was working properly. This meant homes, businesses, and cell phones throughout the County were called and notified of the test.

Unfortunately, it also happened to be an election year, and the primary election was just weeks away. Many people, especially those on the other side of the political fence, accused McKay of playing election year politics

with the emergency notification system. A year later, the current Board will perform a similar test. Neither the actions of McKay or the actions of the new Commissioners are political. Rather, these are responsible actions to help assure the safety of citizens.

Hurricanes can be deadly, when it comes to public safety, politics should be set aside.

The CodeRED system is an important tool for county government, were are glad it is there, and we are happy it is once again being tested as we prepare our County for the upcoming Hurricane season.

James Manning McKay - Publisher Tobie Pulliam - Office Manager............................tobiepulliam@countytimes.net Adam Ross - Government Correspondent...............adamross@countytimes.net Andrew Knowlton - Sports Correspondent....... andrewknowlton@countytimes.net

P.O. Box 250 • Hollywood, Maryland 20636

Guy Leonard - Community Correspondent................guyleonard@countytimes.net

News, advertising, circulation, classifieds: 301-373-4125

Eileen McDonald - Advertising Rep...............eileenmcdonald@countytimes.net

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The County Times

Charter Continued from page A- the charter document, and controlled by a county council and either an elected executive, or an appointed manager.

Under the elected executive, the county would function very similar to the federal government, with distinct and separate executive and legislative branches. Further, a charter gives express consent to the county to amend or repeal local laws enacted by the Maryland General Assembly.

Charter form of government is the only form that allows local voters to limit the local government’s power, including express consent over organization of powers, number of county council members, existence of elected executive or appointed manager and terms and term limits. Ten counties across the state have adopted charter government, some of which have similar financial and geographical makeups to St. Mary’s.

“There’s a perception out there that only the biggest, baddest metropolitan and urban counties are charter,” Murphy said, “but the fact of the mater is that is not true.”

Wicomico, Dorchester and Talbot counties are a few of the ten that have adopted charter government.

Commissioner Lawrence Jarboe (R-Golden Beach), an advocate of the commissioner controlled government before the task force began its work, didn’t like comparing St. Mary’s to its neighbors in the context of Tuesday’s discussion.

“There might have been some political dynamic out there at the time that might not exist today,” Jarboe said. “That political dynamic…wouldn’t be in your purview.”

Murphy, Anne Bell, Dr. Francine Dove Hawkins,

P.O. Box 250 • Hollywood, MD 20636 John Mattingly, Dr. Kathleen O’Brien John Parlett, Daniel Rebarchick, Patty Robrecht and Judy Spalding voted in favor of a charter government.

As a point of reference, six Maryland counties operate under code home rule, an option that 40 percent of the 15-member task force is in support of.

Elmer Brown, John Madel and Richard “Dick” Gass supported code home rule.

Code home rule is less drastic of a change because it restores authority to a board of county commissioners, but allows some local laws to be enacted without approval from the general assembly. “[Code] would not impact the structure of the commissioners or daily operations,” Murphy said. “It’s purely a legislative change.”

Still, code home rule might be enticing to the commissioners who signed onto the task force in part because of the bureaucracy at the state level when funneling through local legislation. Commissioner Daniel H. Raley (D- Great Mills) criticized sending local legislation through the state when the majority of items are minor with little affect over the county.

In fact, from 2004 to 2006 approximately half of the local laws sent to the state were actually enacted, according to statistics gathered by the task force. That could be in part because state politicians are sometimes asked to make decisions in a vacuum, being unfamiliar with the region’s priorities.

“For 350 years the commissioner form of government has sustained St. Mary’s through civil war, World War I, World War II, and so what national, world or local event would precipitate making us change to another form of government,” Jarboe asked as a rhetorical question to Mur-

phy. “You say you’re looking to the future, but I’m looking to the past and seeing a pretty good track record.”

Murphy said St. Mary’s had done a great job over the last 50 years, but that over that time the county remained “flat” economically, which has changed exponentially over the last 20 years with technological development and a population increase.

“Is the best way to support a $100 million operating budget with five, part-time officials,” Murphy asked to the commissioners.

Still, three members of the task force endorsed pursuing the status quo, calling charter government a threat to checks and balances, and code home rule an unclear reform unendorsed by the court system. Those against the task force’s recommendation included Doug Ritchie, Clare Whitbeck and Pat Woodburn.

“It would be a huge mistake,” Ritchie told The County Times in June, “that would [Prince George] the county before it’s over with.”

Prince George’s County was granted its charter in 1970, and has experienced massive amounts of growth over that time, a hot button issue for residents in St. Mary’s.

The commissioners have chosen to hold off voting until their constituents have more of an opportunity to receive general information. However, Commission President Francis Jack Russell (D-Point Lookout) said he would like to have a decision by the end of the year.

“We’ll get to the bottom of it,” Russell added.

The commissioner form of government is the original form of government adopted in St. Mary’s County. In fact, it was created and implemented before the creation of the federal government.

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Surveillance Op Nets Two Burglary Suspects

By Guy Leonard Staff Writer Investigators with the St. Mary’s County Bureau of Criminal Investigations have arrested two Lexington Park men in connection with a month long spate of burglaries that have plagued the Cedar Cove area.

Detectives with BCI have charged Trayvell Jones, 19, and a 17-year-old juvenile with five counts of first degree burglary and one count of fourth degree burglary, according to a BCI press release.

Jones has also been charged with possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute the narcotic after detectives allegedly found the drugs in a lock box belonging to Jones during a warrant search.

According to charging documents, BCI detectives allege that they noticed the two suspects Monday in the wooded area behind homes in the vicinity of Long Land and Weatherby Drive.

The area had been the site of several other burglaries dating back to July 2 that BCI detectives were investigating as part of an undercover surveillance operation.

BCI detectives allege, in the charging documents, that both suspects walked around from the back of a home to the front door and began to knock, but both of the sus-

pects began to walk away from the house when they turned and saw the covert surveillance vehicle.

After making eye contact with one of the detectives, charging documents state, the two suspects began to walk away from the covert vehicle; the detectives then called in patrol units to question the two suspects.

When detectives approached Jones allegedly tossed two pairs of rubber gloves to the ground which detectives claimed were burglary tools.

Jones was accordingly charged for allegedly possessing burglary tools.

Both Jones and the juvenile were taken into custody and interviewed at the sheriff’s office, and detectives got a search and seizure warrant from information gained there that lead them to find allegedly stolen items including a shotgun, shotgun shells, walkie-talkies, a watch and ring, a DVD player, an XBox game system, cellular phones and a CD player.

All of the items were from burglaries committed in the area, charging documents allege.

BCI detectives claim in the charging documents that both suspects gave voluntary statements admitting breaking into five separate residences in Cedar Cove last month.

Jones also admitted, BCI

detectives claim in charging documents, that the cocaine was his and was intended for street level distribution.

BCI detectives are also continuing their search for three suspects in an armed robbery that took place in Charlotte Hall Aug. 2 at the Movie Gallery video rental store.

According to information from BCI three white males wearing black ski masks entered the store at about 10:30 p.m. that night, brandishing knives and demanding money. They fled the store with the money and drove off in a light colored Cadillac Escalade.

Lt. Rick Burris, commander of BCI, said leads were sparse.

“We haven’t made any arrests and we haven’t developed any suspects,” Burris said, adding that it was unknown whether this recent armed robbery was related to any others that have occurred in St. Mary’s so far this year.

Burris confirmed that approximately 30 armed robberies have occurred this year and that law enforcement officials have closed 18 of the cases.

Anyone with information regarding the Aug. 2 armed robbery can call St. Mary’s County Crime Solvers at 301-475-3333 or BCI at 301475-4200, extension 9058.

The County Times

Thursday, August 9, 2007

Bus Route Continued from page A- the route, but it wasn’t,” said Jacqueline Fournier, transportation manager at the Department of Public Works and Transportation. “We don’t really want to cut any routes out, we want to modify for efficiency.”

Rencher has drove an STS bus for 3 years, and said

while the Northern route is often slow, it peaks in the morning with an average of 8 to 10 passengers per bus. He doesn’t think cutting service to the Northern route would be much help to a county he deems “pretty well covered” by the system.

“We’ve found there wasn’t

a lot of ridership in Golden Beach,” said Commissioner Lawrence Jarboe, who represents district 3. “The message to the public is if you don’t use it, you do lose it, because we have to fund these [routes] through ridership.”

The Northern route continually struggles to stay on schedule, another case to scale back its service, according to STS Director Mark Kalmus.

One tardy bus can throw off the entire system because

Photo By Adam Ross

James Rencher of Avenue drives the STS Charlotte Hall Bus Route, and has been part of the system for 3 years.

of connections.

“The whole system is based on transfers,” Kalmus said. “If one is late it’s like a domino effect.”

The plan also suggests removal of the first colony shopping center stop on the Calvert Connection to improve on time performance.

Other fixes include breaking the Lexington Park route into two, while eliminating left hand turns, long considered dangerous and time consuming.

The plan proposes turning the Leonardtown and Lexington Park routes into a loop, utilizing St. Andrews road on the way back. Further, the Great Mills loop, which currently operates bi-directionally along Chancellors Run Road and into Pegg Road is slated to loop off at Route 235 to avoid backtracking.

“I like the idea of consolidating routes,” said Jarboe, “because it takes a little less confusion out for guys like myself.”

However, the system’s “flag proposal” is to add a Western Route based at the St. Mary’s governmental center with connections to four other routes. The Western Route would run from out of the St. Mary’s governmental center.

George Erichsen, director of Public Works and Transportation, said STS would push for a complete imple-

Learning to Sail, Learning to Learn Sailing program targeted at youths with learning difficulties helps break down barriers

By Guy Leonard Staff Writer It can be tough for children with learning difficulties and disabilities to cope with learning in the classroom, but on the water this summer, children learned to chuck their worries and negative attitudes overboard.

At the Brendan Sailing program, which uses the sailing facilities at St. Mary’s College of Maryland to teach youth how to sail, young people spent about one week learning the fine art of harnessing wind in canvas on small boats and learned that they can learn something few ever master.

The Brendan Sailing program was designed with children who have learning difficulties in mind, according to its head instructor, Joel Bays.

“They don’t learn it in a classroom, but they get it out on the boat,” Bays told The County Times. “It’s something they can get right and do themselves.

“When you’re out there there’s no excuse, it’s all you.”

The program ensures that children aged 11 to 15 get plenty of encouragement, Bays said, and plenty of oneon-one attention in learning how to sail.

Older students who have

been in the program in previous years help the younger students just starting out and everyone develops greater leadership qualities.

Patrick Ewing, director of the program, said children and teens with all kinds of learning differences are welcome.

“We have all kinds of kids from dyslexia, and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder) to autism,” Ewing said.

Parents attended the program graduation ceremony for their children Aug. 3 at the college and got a firsthand look at the skills the young sailors had learned to apply.

Theresa Brown, of Ridge, took to the open water with her two children Patrick, 11, and Anastasia, 13, and was impressed with their skills.

Anastasia had been in the program for two prior years and made the trip a smooth one for her mother and younger brother.

“Anastasia’s like a pro now she’s been at this so long,” Brown said with a smile.

“She’s ecstatic [about what she has learned]. Her self esteem has just bubbled over.

“I’ve seen a 110 percent turnaround.”

Bays said the key to teaching children that can sometimes be energetic to the point of needing to be reined in was

keeping them busy and making sure that the responsibility for learning rested squarely on them.

“The minute you don’t have them doing something they can go wild,” Bays said.

“But in sailing you’re doing something wrong if you’re not

doing anything; you’re always doing something. You always keep them moving around.”

Bays, 22, who develops a close relationship with his students and keeps them focused and often entertained with acts like doing walking handstands, knows just how

Section A - mentation of the plan within 3 to 5 years.

“It’s nice to have recommendations, but it’s also nice to make sure they work,” Erichsen said. “There will be a public review process as well.”

STS is funded federally, locally and from the state.

Fournier said she would submit a grant to the Maryland Transportation Association in November to fund the Western Route, the same grant MTA has denied St. Mary’s the last three years running. Fournier gave the county a 50-50 chance of receiving the grant in 2008, adding that “money is tight” at the state level.

Commissioner Daniel H. Raley warned STS personnel in May that state money would be harder to come by in 2008, as a looming budget crisis begins to take shape.

Fares are likely to rise too. Currently, fares top out at $3 per trip to a rural, deviated route. However, the plan proposes fares of $3 for a trip within 0 to 5 miles, $4 for 5 to 10 miles, $5 for 10 to 15 miles, and $6 for over 15 miles.

If the increase in fares is passed, it will help fund five Saturday routes, one Sunday route and two evening routes. By adding service to the schedule, Kalmus said it would send a message to MTA that “STS is a county priority,” and if additional

funding were to come down the pipe, St. Mary’s should be considered a prime candidate.

Also, STS has found that more and more people are using the service for their industry jobs that require evening and weekend hours.

Also part of the comprehensive plan was a capital improvements section calling for new vehicles and replacement vehicles by 2012, and additional shelters and benches for waiting customers.

Commissioner Thomas A. Mattingly Sr. (D-Leonardtown) said he would like to see expanded service to the St. Mary’s Airport.

“We are going to see substantial growth there,” Mattingly said, because the airport is due for a runway expansion that could likely result in some future commercial use. “It’s probably going to be worthy of an addition; people will need a way of getting to a meeting or restaurant.”

STS completed over 301,000 trips last year, and according to Kalmus, with the rising demand from the senior population ridership will likely continue to jump. Ten percent of St. Mary’s County STS riders were over 65 years of age, and the Maryland Department of Planning projects that senior ridership will triple in the next 20 years.

frustrating dealing with a learning disability can be because he had the same problems growing up.

Sailing became his passion in school while living in Annapolis and gave him something he could cling to when he did not feel comfortable in the classroom.

“It sent me home in tears there was so much stress at school,” Bays said.

But when you get the students learning together with others who have the same difficulty they can blossom, he said.

“You definitely see a difference,” Bays said.

Jonathan Elmore, 15, of Leonardtown said the program kept him focused to the point where all he wanted to do was get back out on the water. And being one of the older students he gets to stay in the dorms that aren’t being used during the summer months.

“Being out here it’s great,” Elmore said. “If there’s no wind we go kayaking. You’re always working as a team.

“I just want to keep sailing.”

For more information about the program visit www. brendansailing.com.

Photo by Guy Leonard

Theresa Brown, left, prepares to set sell at St. Mary’s College with her daughter Anastasia, 13, at the rudder. Brown’s daughter and other children with learning disabilities took part in a sailing camp this summer that boosts self esteem by teaching them how to navigate a vessel.

Want to Announce Your N ew-Born?

Contact:

at: 301-373-4125

The County Times

Section A -

North End Gallery Emily Finch Staff Writer The North End Gallery is small in size, but filled with enormous talent. Located in downtown Leonardtown, this quaint art gallery is owned and operated by local Southern Maryland artists.

It was the idea of Sally Carter, a potter, and Pat Lewis, a painter and sculptor, to start the gallery and allow artists of

all trades to show their work, biding they were local. Lewis has since passed and Carter is no longer an active member, but they left the gallery in able hands.

“The main thing this gallery strives to show is professional work from local artists,” said Karen Russell, liaison and founding member of the North End Gallery.

In 1986 a group of lo-

cal artists met to discuss the possibility of a cooperative art gallery at Carter’s studio workshop. Her workshop was located in the old North End Print Shop across from the old Mattingly’s Food Store in Leonardtown. When a school bus crashed into the side of Carter’s studio she used the insurance money to repair and renovate the building and the new renovations sparked the idea of a gallery. Keeping Photo by Emily Finch the history of the building and Katie Dean, staff, in front of featured members artwork and jewlery in the the area, the new cooperative North End Gallery, during the community art show.

Thursday, August 9, 2007 gallery was then named North End Gallery, after the old print shop.

“The first exhibit was in September of 1986,” said Russell, “ and it was mainly paintings, some pottery and sculpture, but not a lot.” With 25 members contributing, the first exhibit at North End Gallery was marked as a success.

“It was exciting to be a part of a professional art gallery with so many talented artists,” says founding member Jeanne Hammett.

After a few years, the gallery had to switch locations due to large amount of work being displayed. After extensive renovations to the new building, The North End Gallery is currently located on Fenwick Street next to The Brewing Grounds in Leonardtown.

With only four of the founding members left active (Russell, Hammett, Connie Petty and Elizabeth Bygler), the North End Gallery is still up and running, now with 33 active member artists. Hammett, who joined young in her career, said “[The North End Gallery] provides a professional venue to display and grow as an artist.”

To become a member, artists are asked to submit six completed works for judging by the existing members. After a positive vote (one more than half of the membership), the artists are interviewed and the decision is made. “The gallery allows a maximum of 35 active members at one time because there isn’t that much space to adequately show many more artists than that,” said Hammett. She also said that “members have to be local because we are a co-op and all the members help set up for exhibits and basically operate the gallery, so we need to be close enough that we can all do that.” “Anything that gets done in the gallery we do,” said Russell of the members.

Members are required to help run the gallery on weekends, while staff operate the gallery during the weekdays. Originally, there were no staff and members were committed to run the gallery all week. “We now have four staff members who each work one day a week,” said Russell, “It’s good to have people there every week knowing what’s happening so that no one forgets!”

Exhibits now change monthly to accommodate the public’s need for variety and members great amounts of artwork. Some months the gallery features one artist or a group of artists, and some are themed for the time of month.

February is the gallery’s annual invitational where artists from the Maryland-Virginia area who are not members of the North End Gallery are asked to submit themed works for display. The invitational theme for February 2008 will be “Historical Churches: Architectural Heritage” according to Russell. March is the annual Youth Art Month.

This month the North End Gallery is featuring their annual Community Art Show.

Rather than only allowing members to show their artwork, this exhibit is open to all artists in St. Mary’s, Charles and Calvert counties. A holiday theme is always adopted for December.

The North End Gallery shows all kinds of art. “There are a wide-range of artists from traditional and representative to very contemporary and non-representative and everything in between.

There are also an eclectic collection of talented jewelers,” said Hammett. Some art is for display only, but much of it is for sale. The gallery keeps a small portion of the sale for operating purposes, but most of the sale goes to the artist.

Open Tuesday through Saturday 11 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Sunday noon – 4:00 p.m., The North End Gallery is free admission to the public. For more information visit their website at www.northendgallery.org or call 310-475-3130 during normal operating hours.

The County Times

Thursday, August 9, 2007

Section A -

Ramblings of a Country Girl Photo by Adam Ross

Sweet Memories Terri Bartz Bowles Books, songs, poems and essays of an endless number and variety have been written about a part of us that is both simple and complex – memo-

ry. Memory is, of course, an incredibly important part of our ability to function every day. How much of what we do is by rote? But I don’t want to address the mechanics of memory, rather I’d like to ex-

plore memories of our experiences and what that brings to our lives.

Cast your mind back wander around in your memory for a little while. What kinds of things are you think-

ing of? Fun times with family and friends, trips, holidays, weddings, babies? Do you also think of sadder times, family and friends no longer with us? Bittersweet memories, maybe a few regrets? All

Odd News Health Board Continued from page A-

LOS ANGELES - Someone impersonating David Beckham called several county offices offering charity work. The gag was discovered once staffers began to interrogate the caller. Once his answers came up short the caller’s cover was blown. Soon after, Beckham representatives confirmed he did not make the calls. “It just smacked of bogusity,” department spokeswoman Louise Grasmehr said.

RALERIGH, N.C - In the Raleigh area, thieves have stolen almost $35,000 worth of underwear since march. Police say it’s unlikely it is for personal use. Reports have said the the thieves seem to be working in three. One distracts the shop employees, while the other two stuff merchandise into bags and purses.

MANSFIELD, LOUISIANA - An ATM adjacent to a truckstop was giving out $20 bills instead of $5 bills to lucky customers. Well, atleast they though they were lucky. Authorites say they know who to track down for the extra $7,000 the machine spit out.

People seem to forget how much we can trace these days with money trails. It was reported that the machine was unplugged when whispers of its generosity reached supervisors.

However, by the next morning the machine had been plugged back in. Charges are said to be made to the bank accounts linked to the money give out.

HOLLYWOOD - Pidegon’s going on the pill? Apparently it is the new population control that Hollywood is resorting to.

The new product is OVOControl, which will be placed in bird food in new rooftop feeders. It’s humane, and an interesting approach. Animal rights support this decision. They rather the egg development be interfered with than the community resorting to electritc shock gates, spiked rooftopns and poison.

into a unified form, so that a budget and blueprint of options would be based on real information and data, Russell said.

“We’ve talked a lot about coordination and duplication of efforts,” said Commissioner Thomas A. Mattingly Sr. (D-Leonardtown) of his reservations regarding the proposal. “Based on limited dollars to the county and getting the best bang for the buck, I don’t know we are doing that well today.”

Commissioner Lawrence Jarboe (R-Golden Beach)

was also reluctant to expand governmental rule to another department, and instead suggested the management board consider a smaller enterprise, maybe one with just a desk and a phone.

“I’m not interested in creating another layer of bureaucracy,” said Commissioner Daniel H. Raley (D-Lexington Park), who joined the fray following the dissention between Jarboe and Mattingly. “If it’s time for St. Mary’s County to move to the next level, which would ensure getting those services to the citizens, than

Codered Notification System To Be Tested August 9 The Board of County Commissioners for St. Mary’s County will conduct an annual test of the County’s CodeRED Emergency Notification System on Thursday, Aug. 9 at 7 p.m.

CodeRED is a high speed telephone calling system capable of delivering customized pre-recorded emergency messages directly to homes and businesses, live individuals and answering machines, at the rate of up to 60,000 calls per hour.

Do not be alarmed. This test will be used to better prepare emergency responders prior to emergency response efforts. During an actual

of them are so important; all of these experiences combine to shape us into who we are today. And tomorrow, we’ll be just a little bit different than we were today. Something happens and triggers a memory that makes you reflect on who you are and what you’re doing. It might be almost subconscious, but your mind is always working through things.

When you gather with the family for any occasion, how long does it take before someone says “remember the time when” or “how could you ever forget the time we”?

The stories start, laughter abounds and the bond of family is strengthened yet again.

Times like that feed your soul and you can bank ahead to draw on that strength at some point in the future. Memories do that for us. Some memories are a bit painful; that first holiday without a loved one, but inevitably you’ll remember past holidays and through the pain, a smile comes to your face. Memories do that for us, too.

We store up memories of places we’ve traveled to, things we’ve done, sights we’ve seen. We take photos and buy souvenirs but these serve primarily to spark our memory. Some of our mem-

ories include things that are trivial, perhaps even odd, but there’s something distinct about that odd, even ordinary seeming memory that speaks to a deep little crevice inside you and makes it important to you. And that’s all that matters. It doesn’t have to be earth-shaking or huge or traumatic, it can be easy, small and simple. Some things we have to strive to remember, but the things that shape us, form us and feed us are automatically deposited. What a wonderful gift from our Creator!

Many times memories come unbidden to us and hopefully, we’ll pause for a moment and let them wash over us. We’re all so busy we probably don’t do that, but I’m confident that we should.

Sometimes when we’re in the middle of something, we should pause and think about it and say to ourselves - one day something is going to trigger this little incident up out of my memory and it’s going to make me smile. So stop for a minute wherever you are, at home or at work because memories come from everywhere. Look around and pause your mind and just let it sink in – and see if a memory doesn’t come bubbling up and enjoy the little gift that it is.

I’m okay with that, but we have to consider if it will be in or out of county government and how much support staff we are talking about.”

This frustration comes months after a presentation from the county health department over rising expenditures. Part of the spending is for administrative support between competing agencies, which does very little to get key services out to the public. The matter may have even become personal for the commissioners, who months ago approved the hiring of an addictions coordinator to Walden Sierra, which according to Mattingly never had an accountability issue.

“Challenges are coming to face communities, for ex-

ample people returning from war,” said Mattingly, “and are we preparing for those events that will show in dramatic fashion in the next 10 to 15 years? I don’t know we are.”

The matter will come before the commissioners again in November 1. By that time the management board is expected to have specific recommendations for the department, including the budgetary impact on health services.

“Even though it is an organizational recommendation,” added John Savich, the county administrator, “it is designed to accomplish all those things.”

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emergency, the system will be deployed to warn and advise you of emergencies by calling phone numbers registered with 9-1-1, emergency services. If you would like to register an additional phone number (mobile or work) to be called during emergencies at or near your home address, please visit our emergency notification website at: ht t p://w w w.co.sai ntmarys.md.us/emergencycodered.asp.

For more information contact Timothy Bennett, Division Manager, Emergency Management at the Department of Public Safety 301475-4200 ext 2114.

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The County Times

Section A -

Thursday, August 9, 2007

Obituaries Dorothy Louise Davis, 87

Dorothy Louise Davis, 87, of Waldorf, Md. formerly of Chaptico, Md. died May 30, 2007 in Capital Hospice, Arlington, Va.. Born June 3, 1919 in Chaptico, Md. she was the daughter of the late James L. and Effie Elizabeth Hancock Thomas. She was preceded in death by her husband Roy R. Davis on January 3, 1997, whom she married on June 30, 1940 in Chaptico, Md.. She is survived by her children: Dorothy E. Smigal of La Plata, Md., William L. Davis and Joseph R. Davis both of Waldorf, Md.; eight grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren. She was also preceded in death by her siblings: Elton Thomas, Ambrose Thomas, James Thomas, Joseph Thomas, Mary Ellen Thomas, Harry Thomas, Ray Thomas, Vincent Thomas and Bessie Oliver. Mrs. Davis was a life long St. Mary’s County resident where she graduated from Margaret Brent High School, Class of 1937.

The family received friends on Friday, June 1, 2007 from 5p.m. – 8:p.m. in the Mattingley-Gardiner Funeral Home, with Prayers being said at 7:00 PM. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Saturday, June 2, 2007 at 10 a.m. in Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Bushwood, Md. with Fr. Timothy Baer officiating.

Interment will follow in the Church Cemetery. Pallbearers will be: Joseph R. Davis, Jr., Richard Fowler, Michael Fowler, Dominick Davis, John L. Davis and Jason Stant. Arrangements provided by the Mattingley-Gardiner Funeral

Richard J. “Rick (Capt.)

Ince, Jr., 64

Suicides Continued from page A- to go down the continuum to suicidal ideation.”

Tina St. Clair, head of the county Mental Health Authority said that the campaign has been directly responsible for a slight increase in people seeking information on coping with mental illness, though the campaign directs crisis related calls to Walden Sierra.

“It’s been a very successful campaign as far as we’re concerned about getting the word out,” St. Clair said.

The data points to a significant number of suicides in the county that has risen and remained fairly steady from 2004.

In that year eight people committed suicide, but in 2005 the number jumped to 13 suicides, according to information from the Chief Medical Examiners Office in Baltimore.

Last year 12 people killed themselves in St. Mary’s and this year seven have already taken their own lives.

The most recent numbers suggest that the county averages about one suicide every month and has for the past

Richard J. “Rick (Capt.)

Ince, Jr., 64, of Scotland, Md. died August 1, 2007 in St. Mary’s Hospital. Born Sept.

22, 1943 in Racine, Wis. he was the son of Helen Joanne Ince of Hollywood, Md. and the late Richard J. Ince, Sr. He is survived by his wife, Norma Gene Ince and his sons Richard J. Ince, III, David G. Ince and John S. Ince, all of Scotland, Md.. He is also survived by 8 grandchildren. Rick moved from Wisconsin to St. Mary’s County in 1947 where he graduated from Ryken High School Class of 1952. He enlisted in the US Army and was the owner of Rick’s Marine for over 35 years. He also belonged to the Elks Lodge #2092. A memorial service will be held on Thursday, August 9, 2007 at 7 p.m. in the Mattingley-Gardiner Funeral Home Chapel, Leonardtown, Md.. Contributions may be made to the Ridge Volunteer Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 520, Ridge, MD 20680 and/or Ridge Volunteer Fire Department, P.O. Box 456, Ridge, Md. 20680. Interment will be private. Arrangements provided by the Mattingley-Gardiner Funeral Home, Pa..

Charles Jenkins “Jenks” Mattingly, Jr., 86

Charles Jenkins “Jenks” Mattingly, Jr., 86, of Chaptico, Md. died August 2, 2007 in St. Mary’s Nursing Center. Born October 23, 1940 in Leonardtown, Md. he was the son of the late Charles Jenkins and Agnes Gertrude Miles Mattingly, Sr. He was preceded in death by his wife Mary Loretta Gough Mattingly on January 8, 2005 in Washington Hospital Center, whom he married on June 27, 1942 in Chaptico, Md.. He is survived by his children: Charles J. “Jenks” Mattingly, III and his wife Cathy of Hollywood, Md., Joseph G. “Mussie” Mattingly and his wife Patsy and William M. “Bill” Mattingly and his wife Patti all of Chaptico, Md.,

three years.

Lynch called the numbers “significant” but said that there was little evidence to suggest a rising trend in suicides here in St. Mary’s.

O’Brien agreed but said the need for suicide prevention measures was still critical.

“We haven’t seen a tremendous change in the situation,” O’Brien said. “But every suicide is a serious incident.

“It’s a form of communication, unfortunately it’s the last communication.”

County Health Officer William Icenhower said that his department moved forward with the hotline promotion campaign last year even though he had uncertain documentation on the suicide trend in the county.

The interest of the public health and using the best information he had held to shape his decision, he said.

“You make the expenditure of time and money without the firm evidence that the problem exists,” Icenhower said. “I’m still going to react.”

Icenhower was working with members of the Mental Health Authority and his own department to form a suicide prevention task force to ana-

James E. “Ed” Mattingly and his wife Susan and Stephen D. “Stevie” Mattingly and his wife Shirley all of Mechanicsville, Md., Mary L. “Lori” Jantzen and her husband Tom of California, Md., Mary Anne McKinney and her husband Clarke of Leonardtown, Md. and Robert B. “Bobby” Mattingly and his wife Tracy of Welcome, Md.; siblings: Clement Miles Mattingly of Clements, Md., Ann Elizabeth Mattingly of Va., Margaret Elizabeth Potts of Leonardtown, Md., Mary Margaret Yowaiski and Joseph Clement Mattingly both of Chaptico, Md., Mary Ruth Brown of N.M., Mary Jane Mattingly of Port Deposit, Mary Agnes Farrell of Compton, Md. and Joan Frances Raley of Avenue, Md.; 26 grandchildren and 20 great grandchildren. He is also preceded in death by one grandchild: Stephen D. Mattingly, Ill.. Mr. Mattingly was a life long St. Mary’s County resident where he attended St. Mary’s Academy.

He worked as a liquor salesman for McCarthy-Hicks, Inc. and as a bailiff for the Circuit Court of St. Mary’s County for 30 years until his retirement in 1985. Jenks was the past president of the Rocking Chair Softball and a member of the 7th and Chaptico Districts Optimist Clubs. His hobbies were softball, playing cards and he enjoyed spending time with his family. The family received friends on Monday, August 6, 2007 from 4 – 8 p.m. in the Mattingley-Gardiner Funeral Home, where Prayers were said at 7 p.m. followed

by Optimist Prayers at 7:15 p.m.. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Tuesday, August 7, 2007 at 10 a.m. in Our Lady of the Wayside Catholic Church, Chaptico, Md. with Fr. Timothy Baer officiating. Interment will follow in Queen of Peace Cemetery, Helen, Md.. Pallbearers will be his six sons: Charles J. “Jenks” Mattingly, III, Joseph G. “Mussie” Mattingly, James E. “Ed” Mattingly, Stephen D. “Stevie” Mattingly, William M. “Bill” Mattingly and Robert B. “Bobby” Mattingly. Honorary Pallbearers will be his two daughters: Mary L. “Lori” Jantzen and Mary Anne McKinney. Contributions may be made to: Mechanicsville Volunteer Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 15, Mechanicsville, MD 20659 and/or Stephen D. Mattingly, II, Memorial Fund, 29435 Hearts Desire Drive, Mechanicsville, MD 20659. Arrangements provided by the Mattingley-Gardiner Funeral Home, P.A.

lyze whether the problem was growing; but vacated positions as a result of a change in governors and a lack of funding crippled the effort started last year.

“It’s almost at a dead halt,” Icenhower said of the task force. “The funding is abysmal right now.”

Icenhower also said it was difficult to get a real grasp of just how many suicides were happening in the county, or any where for that matter, because of the tragic nature of the occurrence.

“It’s an uncomfortable situation to talk about, families don’t want to talk about it,” Icenhower said.

O’Brien said that talking was the key to making sure the depressed individual on the other end of the phone line who may be contemplating suicide doesn’t follow through with ending their own lives.

People who often call in that state had simply reached a state where they no longer saw any point in going on, she said, but there was still hope.

“They fall out of love with the idea of coping with how to live,” O’Brien said. “But they don’t fall in love with death.”

John Louis Norris, 74

Gragan, Dale Huntington, Ralph Obendort, George Sparks, Timmy Berry and Joe Hancock. 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.

Charles Moseley Wall, 69

Tunja Unise Luckett, 36

John Louis Norris, 74, of Hollywood, Md. died August 3, 2007 at his residence. Born June 21, 1933 in Hollywood, Md. he was the son of the late James Jetson and Mary Louise Brown Norris. He was the loving husband of Camille Marie Norris whom he married on February 21, 1954 in Our Lady of the Wayside Catholic Church, Chaptico, Md.. He is survived by his children: Judy Redmond and her husband George of Leonardtown, Md., Jerry Norris and Ronnie Norris and his wife DeeDee all of Hollywood, Md.; siblings: Rose C. Marks, James R. Norris and Mary Louise Tippett all of Hollywood, Md.; five grandchildren: Stephanie Berry, Ronnie “Boo” Norris, Randy Norris, Kevin Redmond and Mindy Selby; six great grandchildren: Andrea Norris, Timmy Berry, Ashley Berry, Mackenzie Berry, Shawn Selby and Kasey Selby. He was also preceded in death by his siblings: Mary Alberta Woodburn, Joseph A. Norris and Carroll I. Norris. Mr. Norris was a life long St. Mary’s County resident. He worked as a heavy equipment operator, installed insulation and was a small engine repair man. He was a member of the Moose Lodge and American Legion. He enjoyed crabbing, fishing, spending time with friends, his grandchildren and great grandchildren. The family received friends on Tuesday, August 7, 2007 from 5 – 8 p.m. with Prayers said at 7 p.m.. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Wednesday, August 8, 2007 at 10 a.m. in St. John’s Catholic Church, Hollywood, Md. with Fr. Raymond Schmidt officiating. Interment will follow in the Church Cemetery. Pallbearers will be: Jimmy Miedzinski, Bobby Huntington, Buddy Tippett, John Chapman, Ray Knott and Ricky Norris. Honorary Pallbearers will be: Lathan

Tunja Unise Luckett, 36, of Ft. Washington, Md. died August 2, 2007. She was born December 4, 1970 in Leonardtown, Md. The family will receive friends on Friday, August 10, 2007 from 5 – 8 p.m. in St. Mark’s UAME Church, Happyland Road, Valley Lee, Maryland 20692. A Funeral Service will be Conducted on Saturday, August 11, 2007 at 10 a.m. in St. Mark’s Church Interment will follow in St. Mark’s Church Cemetery.

Arrangements are being handled by Brinsfield Funeral Home, P.A., Leonardtown, Maryland.

Condolences to the family may be left at www.brinsfieldfuneral.com.

Robert Lee Twigg, 72 Robert Lee Twigg, 72, of Essex, Md. died July 30, 2007 at his residence.

Born August 3, 1934 in Ridgeley, W.Va., he was the son of the late David William Twigg and Helen Weiss Twigg.

He is survived by his four children, Robin Adams of Virginia Beach, Va., Timothy Twigg of Lincoln, Del., Mark Anthony Twigg of Leonardtown, Md., and Linda Canter of Lincoln, Del., brother, Donald Twigg of South Boston, Va., eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

A Graveside Service will be conducted on Friday, August 3, 2007 at 10 a.m. in Charles Memorial Gardens, Leonardtown, Md.. Father Keith Woods will conduct the service.

Condolences to the family may be left at www.brinsfieldfuneral.com.

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

Charles Moseley Wall, 69, of Lexington Park, Md., died August 6, 2007 at his residence.

Born April 20, 1938 in South Hill, Va., he was the son of the late Charles Emory Wall and Mary Hazel Lett Wall. Mr. Wall had worked as a printer for a government contractor.

His hobbies were vegetable gardening, flower gardening and gourmet cooking.

He is survived by his wife, Dorothy Norris Kemper Wall of Lexington Park, Md., daughters, Sharon Hansen of Thorndike, Maine, Diane Hanson of Bel Air, Md., Patricia Mosley of Richmond, Va., Sandra L. Bracey of NC, Kimberly Dornak of South Hill, Va. and a son, Charles M. Wall, Jr. of South Hill, Va., 10 grandchildren, a brother, William H. Wall of South Hill, Va. and a sister, Betsy Olivia Walter of Virginia Beach, Va.. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a sister, Joyce Wright.

Inurnment private.

will

be

Memorial contributions may be made to O.P.I.S. c/o St. Mary’s Hospital, P.O. Box 527, Leonardtown, MD 20650 or Hospice House c/o HOSPICE of St. Mary’s Inc., P.O. Box 625, Leonardtown, MD 20650.

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

George Calvin Yeager, 64 George Calvin Yeager, 64, of Lexington Park, Md. died August 5, 2007 in Washington Hospital Center. Born June 12, 1943 in Leonardtown, Md. he was the son of Elmer and Catherine Yeager. For arrangement details please visit our website at www.mgfh.com.

To Place A Memorial Anniversary Notice Call 301-373-4125

The County Times

Thursday, August 9, 2007

Investigation Continued from page A- “We are investigating the matter,” Fritz said Monday. “We’re doing this with an eye towards the grand jury deciding whether any criminal charges were violated.

“We’ve been investigating him for some time we’ve just been waiting for the Attorney Grievance Commission to make their decision.”

Fritz declined to comment on what charges, if any at all, the grand jury could levy against Izydore.

According to documents from the Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland, which petitioned for Izydore’s disbarment, Izydore entered an Alford plea to the charges of misappropriating funds from the estate of Gail I. Wood and filing false administration accounts while he served as the personal representative of that estate from 2001 and 2002.

By entering the Alford plea, according to Raymond Hein, assistant bar counsel for the grievance commission, Izydore acknowledged that if the case went to a hearing that the petitioners would have produced enough evidence to sustain the allegations against Izydore.

While the grievance commission was investigating Izydore, the former St. Mary’s attorney was facing a civil case against him in county Circuit Court filed back in July of 2005 and came to judgment in March of this year.

That civil case, brought by the new representatives of the estate that Izydore had managed, according to online court documents from the Circuit Court, ended with a stiff judgment against Izydore.

The on-line court documents show that the civil decision against Izydore for

$194,733 in compensatory damages and $25,000 in punitive damages awarded to the plaintiffs in the case.

In the documents that confirmed Izydore’s disbarment, Izydore requested the disbarment order by his own consent.

Izydore, who has not practiced law in Maryland since the later part of 2005, has since moved to Kennesaw, Ga. Izydore worked for the Dorsey Law Firm in Leonardtown “He moved to Georgia shortly after the complaint against him,” Hein said.

Izydore did not respond to requests for comment by phone for this article.

Hein said that disbarring attorneys in Maryland was an uncommon occurrence.

Of the more than 30,000 attorneys admitted to the bar to practice law in the state only about 20, on average, are disbarred each year for various violations.

“It’s reserved for the most serious violations, like misappropriation of funds,” Hein said.

According to information from the State Bar of Georgia, Izydore’s disbarment in Maryland means that he would be ineligible to practice law in his new home.

Officials with the Georgia bar said that Izydore was not admitted to practice law there and had no application to do so.

If he chose to apply to practice law there he would have to wait for five years after his disbarment and then undergo a rigorous background check before being admitted to the bar.

Section A -

Charter Captains Hope Rockin’ & Reel-in Boosts Business

By Guy Leonard Staff Writer

take a day off and go fishing.

He used to have quite a few construction workers who would take time from busy schedules regularly, but now gets a few groups from corporations these days.

“I miss them,” Russell said of the regulars. “A lot of people aren’t vacationing like they used to, it’s usually the weekdays that suffer.”

Still, the contest has drawn in some fisherman interested in hooking a fish that could be a big trophy worthy of a portion of the $7,000 prize, Russell said.

First and second place prizes will be awarded for the longest rockfish, bluefish and croaker in November when all the results have been tallied.

Last year’s contest had fewer corporate sponsors

than this year’s and offered only $4,000 in prize money.

“The word is getting out, they’re probably finding out about it on the internet,” Russell said.

Conditions for fishing so far this year have been good Russell said.

“We’ve got blue fish all over the place,” Russell said.

“Most people are looking to catch rockfish, but they’re slow because of the hot weather.

“But fishing’s been relatively good.”

Jason McLauglin, captain of the Miss Maggie, said that sparse fishing seasons and a short client list meant he would have to keep his job at the phone company a while longer; but he still hoped he could retire in a few years at 32 to pursue his love

of working on the water.

“It’s tough to make a living out here just from charters,” McLauglin said, adding that the contest was helping to get the word out about the quality of fishing in St. Mary’s.

“We do have the best fishing; but it just hasn’t been promoted as much.”

Still, he and other charter captains, will try to keep their businesses going for love of the fishing.

“It’s got to be something in your heart,” McLaughlin said. “It can’t be run just as a business.”

It is now August, and that means fisherman casting lines from participating local charter boats can win a share of $7,000 in prize money for catching the largest of certain types of fish as part of the Rockin’ & Reel-In 2007 contest.

The contest was designed to boost business for charter boat captains as well as motels, hotels and other service industry jobs here in St. Mary’s during the slow season from now until the end of October.

Charter boat captains say this season has been sluggish and they hope the contest, now in its second year, will perform as advertised.

“It’s been tough the last few years,” said Stan Harris, who captains the Miss Bea out of St. Inigoes. “We’re paying almost three times what it used to cost in fuel and you’ve got to increase your prices to cover that.”

The increase in gas prices the last few years also affects the ability of trophy fishermen to get to the charter captains.

“Their average cost to get to us is increasing, too,” Harris said. “The fuel costs, that’s what’s killing us.”

Harris said his business situation has grown steadily worse, explaining that the number of charters he had in 2006 dropped 30 percent compared to 2005.

“It’s a depressed situation [for charter boats],” Harris said. “It ain’t good.”

For Scott Russell, captain of the Play Time out of Photo by Guy Leonard Ridge, weekdays are now devoid of customers who in Jason McLaughlin, captain of the Miss Maggie charter fishing boat out of Ridge waits to take a party fishing in the years past were willing to Chesapeake Bay. McLaughlin and other charter boat captains hope the local Rockin’ and Reel-In 2007 competition will help with a slow fishing season.

Navy News Delta One Completes First Test Flight Amy Kaper Staff Writer

and-control missions and expand information conveyed to the battlegroup commander.

“This is an exceptionally exciting time for our team as we enter a new phase and begin the intense work of flight test,” said Cmdr. Roger Ligon, commanding officer of Air Test and Evalua-

tion squadron 20 (VX-20).

Two test aircrafts are being built under the contract with Northrop Grumman Corporation. Delta One rolled was produced at the corporation’s St. Augustine manufacturing facility and began ground test there in the spring. Delta Two has now joined it in

ground test at the facility.

“This aircraft’s first flight is the realization of phenomenal teaming. A team comprised of program office, industry and test experts, committed to delivering this critical, capable centerpiece of the future carrier flight deck,” said Mahr.

Testing will continue at the

For the first time on August 3, a Navy and Northrop Grumman integrated test team flew the air in of St. Augustine, Florida, in Delta One. This plane is the first of two Advanced Hawkeye test aircrafts.

“The flight today marks the transition from design, development and ground test, to a tangible - an aircraft’s demonstration of its capability for the future fleet mission,” said Captain Randy Mahr, NAVAIR Hawkeye program manager.

Advanced Hawkeye flight test pilot Lt. Drew Ballinger along with Northrop Grumman flight test pilot Tom Boutin and flight test weapon system operator Zyad Hajo, lifted off shortly before 11 a.m. and flew for approximately 1.3 hours.

The flight crew observed and gathered data from air vehicle systems.

This new edition airborne early warning command-andcontrol aircraft is equipped with the future resources critical to the Navy’s needs.

The Advanced Hawkeye has a 360-degree array with added electronic scan system and lock-down feature that extends the carrier battle group’s line-of-sight. This allows concentration on targets of potential threat.

The aircraft’s glass cockpit system displays provide the pilot and co-pilot with the ability to switch screens from flight to crew mission displays. This allows four - rather than the traditional three The Navy’s E-2D Advanced Hawkeye test aircraft, Delta One, lifts off in St. Augustine, Fla. - Naval flight officers, to perform the aircraft’s command-

St. Augustine facility until the aircraft arrives at NAS Patuxent River in early 2009, where flight and operational testing will be completed by VX-20 and VX-1.

The Advanced Hawkeye will beginarrivinginE-2squadrons in 2011. It is expected to serve the Fleet sometime around the

middle of the next century.

A video of the first flight can be viewed at http://e2df irstf light.w ylelabs.com.

Excerpts of this article were taken from a press release

by Drema Ballengee-Grunst

Photo Courtesy of U.S. Navy

The County Times

Section A - 10

Unmanned Continued from page A- day’s activities, but it didn’t detour guests from making the hour and a half car ride from D.C. and Virginia.

Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md. 5th) used his first day of summer recess

to attend the demonstration.

“I’m here because this is what I’m hired to do four our country,” Hoyer said of attending the demonstration, despite being on vacation.

“This is extraordinarily im-

portant for our country.”

As the U.S. endures its struggle against global terrorism, Hoyer assured his support of future unmanned systems, adding “this is one of the critically important things we can do to enhance our war fighting strategies.”

Other air systems on display included the Aerostar, used currently by the Navy

Thursday, August 9, 2007

as a test system. The Aerostar is capable of performing target acquisition, artillery fire adjustment, target designation and battlefield and board control missions.

The Navy’s MQ-8B Fire Scout, an unmanned vertical takeoff and landing system that functions just like a helicopter. The Fire Scout has the ability to autonomously take off and land on any aviation-capable warship and at prepared and unprepared landing zones in proximity to the soldier in contact.

“We’re not inventing a helicopter,” added a member Northrop Grumman, the company responsible for the scout’s development, “we’re inventing a [Unmanned Aircraft Vehicle].”

Northrop Grumman hopes to have the Fire Scout running of a Navy ship by December.

The Global Hawk, an unmanned aerial system also built by Northrop Grumman is maybe the stealthiest of the systems on display. The Global Hawk is a high altitude, long endurance aerial reconnaissance system designed to military commanders with high resolution and near real time images of large geographic areas. The system has fared well in tests, and completed over 1,000 flights.

A Global Hawk is stationed at Pax River, and took off Monday morning around 8:30 a.m., giving those at the demonstration a real life look at the aircraft’s visual capabilities from 60,000 feet, twice the cruising altitude of conventional aircrafts.

One individual from a computer operated most of the systems displayed.

Photo By Brittany Hailer

Engineering marvels from the around world were showcased Monday at the Navy’s Unmanned Systems Demonstration at Webster Field.

Moe said of Shadow that the aircrafts software was operated through Microsoft Windows.

“It may be easier for the younger guys to use [Shadow] than the older guys,” Moe added, “because they are more familiar with today’s gaming technology.”

Seventeen unmanned air systems and 10 unmanned

ground systems in all were featured Monday. The event was not open to the public, but math and science from the tri-county area were encouraged by Navy Cmdr Chuck Stuart to come.

Commissioners Daniel H. Raley and Francis Jack Russell were also in attendance.

Photo By Brittany Hailer

The Mobile Detection Assessment and Response System (MDARS) system currently deployed by the Army to circle and keep a watchful “eye” on ammunition depositories and command units, is a joint Army-Navy development effort first initiated in 1988.

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