2012-02-09 Calvert Gazette

February 9, 2012

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Everything Calvert County

‘To whom much is given much is required’

Chesapeake Church’s e8 g a P Expanding Mission

Photo By Sean Rice

The Calvert Gazette

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On T he Cover

Also Inside

3 County News 6 Education 7 Community 7 Business 8 Feature Story 9 Newsmakers 10 Obits 12 Games 13 Letters 14 Entertainment 15 Fishing

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Rev. Robert Hahn’s has been senior pastor for 20 years at the Chesapeake Church, which has grown to become one of the largest in Calvert County.

newsmakers

The Calvert County Chamber of Commerce puts on the Chocolate Lover’s Affair as its biggest fundraiser for their scholarship fund.

education

On Saturday, Calvert Career and Technology Academy teemed with activity from early in the morning until late afternoon for the SkillsUSA Maryland Region 4 – Southern Maryland Championships.

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The Calvert Gazette

Thursday, February 9, 2012

County Considering Expanding Big Box Store Options

By Sarah Miller Staff Writer Adding provisions to allow the construction of huge box stores in the New Town district of Prince Frederick continues to be debated by the Calvert County Planning Commission.

Randy Barrett of Bargo L.L.C. is seeking the maximum square footage for box stores to be changed from 120,000 square feet to 125,000 square feet, and add the New Town district as an allowable location. The New Town District is east of Solomons Island Road and north of Dares Beach Road.

Currently, the zoning ordinance allows buildings from 75,000 square feet to 120,000 square feet to be conditionally permitted in the Entry and Village districts of Prince Frederick for use as Home Improvement Centers, Retail Commercial Building and Retail Commercial Buildings with a Drive-Up Facilities.

Buildings between 25,000 and 75,000 square feet are permitted uses in the same districts.

The changes seek to add the New Town District to the list of conditional and permitted uses, while raising the maximum allowed square footage to 125,000 square feet.

The planning commission raised questions about the actual size of the New Town district and the effect the changes will have on the master plan.

Planning Commission Chair Maurice T. Lusby III said the county shouldn’t have to pay for the studies required to make the changes, and sees the changes being too complicated for a simple text amendment.

The matter was first discussed in December, and Zoning Planner Chris Finamore made a presentation to the planning commission Jan. 25 about the opinions of local agencies that would be affected by the change.

Finamore said the State Highway Administration sees a potential problem with traffic flow. There were also suggestions to eliminate the proposed 1,000 foot setback in Barrett’s amendment, seeing that as a limiting factor that doesn’t need to be included.

County public works officials are concerned about Fox Run Boulevard and Chesapeake Boulevard – planned roads that are not yet fully constructed. The impact of the construction on the roads is uncertain, as well as the impact on current traffic patterns should the larger buildings be installed before the roads are completed.

The master plan for the New Town District currently doesn’t include the proposed uses. Department of Planning and Zoning recommendations included denying the amendment or deferring the decision, and either recommending the applicant “pursue a creative comprehensive design” or consider “initiating a special area study for the town center.”

The Planning Commission compiled a list of questions and comments to be researched further, and plans to discuss the matter again at their Feb. 15 meeting. The meeting is held at 7 p.m. in the courthouse square building and is open for the public to attend. sarahmiller@countytimes.net

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COUNTY NEWS Police Find Remains of Homeless Man

By Guy Leonard Staff Writer In the fall of 2011, Calvert law officers were able to identify a human skull found off of Tate Road in Prince Frederick as that of Wesley Robert Kyser, 58, a homeless man who lived in the area, and just last week police identified the rest of his body, now only skeletal remains, after they had been found Feb. 1 by county highway maintenance personnel, police said.

The preliminary cause of death was believed to be natural causes, but the skeletal remains were sent to the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Baltimore for further investigation, Calvert Investigative Team members stated.

The search for Kyser began in August last year when he was reported missing; in September Keyser’s skull was found in the woods near Tate Road. Grid searches using search dogs turned up no skeletal remains, however.

Kyser’s remains were found about 450 yards away from the site where his skull was originally found, police said.

Lt. Steve Jones, commander of the Calvert Investigative Team, said the remains were probably dragged the nearly halfkilometer into the woods by animals were they were found.

“That’s what we believe at this time,” Jones said. “There’s no reason to believe foul play was involved.”

Kyser was known to frequent a known homeless enclave near Tate Road, Jones said, but when his skull was found, it proved that he had been away from it for some time.

“He was kind of off on his own,” Jones said. guyleonard@countytimes.net

COUNTY NEWS

The Calvert Gazette

Commissioners Choose Local Business Over Low Bidder

By Sarah Miller Staff Writer In a break from the tradition of choosing the lowest qualified bidder for a project, the county commissioners voted to support a locally-based business and retain Performance Painting & Restoration from Port Republic for exterior painting, staining and power washing of county buildings.

The recommendation before the commissioners was to award the contract to E.A.R.N. Contractors, Inc., from Gaithersburg, which entered a bid of $16.50 per hour.

The bid from Performance Painting & Restoration came in at $16.90 per hour, and Commissioner Evan K. Slaughenhoupt, Jr., made the motion to break with tradition and go with the second-lowest bid, saying it was a “matter of common sense.”

“It won’t break the bank of county government,” he said.

The rest of the commissioners voted with Slaughenhoupt, making it a 5-0 vote to award the contract to Performance Painting & Restoration.

Shaw reminded the commissioners that it is county law to award the con-

tract to the lowest responsive, responsible bidder.

“Based on that criteria, I think we can award that contract,” Shaw said, explaining that while Performance Painting & Restoration wasn’t the lowest bidder, the price difference wasn’t too much and being locally based made the second company more capable of being quickly responsive.

Slaughenhoupt said he hopes the decision sets a precedent to take more into account than the quoted price, and take steps toward supporting more local businesses.

The commissioners also discussed revamping county laws in order to make it easier to support locally-based businesses.

Commissioners also recognized Phillip Waugh, son of Steve Waugh, who pulled his father out of danger after an airplane crash in the Chesapeake Ranch Estates on Nov. 20.

The men were on their final approach after a flight from Chicago, when the airplane clipped the tops of trees and crash landed off the end of the runway. The commissioners commended Phillip as a hero, and presented him with a proclamation outlining his achievement. sarahmiller@countytimes.net

Thursday, February 9, 2012

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Upgrades to Sewer Treatment Plant Underway

By Sarah Miller Staff Writer The Chesapeake Beach Wastewater Treatment Plant is entering its second and third phases of a multi-year Enhanced Nutrient Removal (ENR) upgrade.

Plant Supervisor Jon Castro said in total, the upgrade would cost approximately $15 million. The project gets funding from four places – Calvert County, Anne Arundel County, North Beach and Chesapeake Beach.

The project is set to go to bid in February, and construction is slated to begin in June or July. The full upgrade should take two or three years, Castro said. The first phase of the project began in 2006.

The upgrade is part of a statewide ini-

tiative to decrease the nutrients entering the Chesapeake Bay, such as phosphorous and nitrogen.

The Maryland Department of the Environment is using the Bay Restoration Fund to upgrade the 66 major wastewater treatment plants that discharge to the Chesapeake Bay, with ENR technologies.

“Once upgraded, these plants are expected to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus in the wastewater down to 3 mg/l total nitrogen and 0.3 mg/l total phosphorus, achieving approximately one-third of the needed reduction under the Chesapeake Bay 2000 Agreement. Other pollutants will continue to be reduced by more than 90 percent,” according to www.mde.maryland.gov sarahmiller@countytimes.net

Miller Backs Shifting Teacher Pensions

By Sarah Miller Staff Writer County governments may soon have a new funding problem to worry about – the cost of the teacher pensions could be shifted from the state to the individual counties.

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller said he supports the change, saying “it’s been a goal of many of us for a long time.”

He said the state government has no say in the salaries teachers are paid, but raises in salaries equate to raises in the amount needed to be paid into pensions. He said whoever sets the salaries “needs to set a true figure” and the plan is not to foist the payments onto the county government, but “simply share the cost.”

The budget is not finalized yet, but Miller said in the proposed budget, the governor is making several cuts and reductions.

There will still be hearings on the budget, and a chance for people to state their opinions and request changes. Once changes are accepted and amendments made, legislators will have to determine how best to balance the budget.

Commissioner Evan K. Slaughenhoupt Jr. doesn’t agree with Miller’s view of the situation. He said if the cost of the pensions were to be shifted to the county level, it would be “horrible” and doesn’t fix the problem.

“They did a little Kabuki dance last year, pretending to fix the system,” Slaughenhoupt said.

He said the problem is the structure of the pension system, and rather than fixing it, the state is just moving the issue and “trying to force it down our throats,” Slaughenhoupt said.

County Commissioner Susan Shaw said the change could potentially affect income taxes for employees in the county, potentially raising them with approval from the state.

“That’s how they expect us to pay for that,” she said during the Feb. 7 Board of County Commissioners.

At the current rate, Shaw said the cost of pensions have more than doubled in the past five years, and could potentially re-double in the next five years. Like Slaughenhoupt, Shaw said the problem is in the system itself, and simply shifting the pension payments will not solve the problem.

“Dumping the problem on county government is not enough of a solution,” said Calvert County Schools Superintendent Jack Smith.

He said the solution has to be sustainable and reasonable, something not accomplished by simply shifting the payments to the county level. sarahmiller@countytimes.net

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Thursday, February 9, 2012

The Calvert Gazette

Voters See Familiar Faces at Polls

By Sarah Miller Staff Writer Of the 230 Election Judges in Calvert County, more than 140 of them have been working the polls since before the last presidential election, if not longer.

Election judges are the men and women working at the polls during the primaries and elections.

The judges have to go through a yearly 3-hour training class, said Board of Elections Office Specialist Mary L. DePelteau.

At minimum there are 10 election judges at each voting location, five Democrats and five Republicans, along with non-partisan judges, all who have to go through the yearly training.

DePelteau said the Board of Elections recently started this year’s round of training, and they take names all year long for those interested being election judges, but the amount they can take and train is limited. She said the board has no trouble finding volunteers to work as judges, something she said is not as easy in other jurisdictions.

During presidential election years, DePelteau said there are more judges used, due to the increased number of voters. During the last presidential election, 79.59 percent of Calvert County voters came out to the polls, as opposed to the 57.26 percent of voters who showed up during the 2010 election.

“Elections are much more complicated than most people understand,” DePelteau said.

The training includes being updated on the voting machines used, which have

evolved from the Automated Voting Machines, with levers and written ballots, to modern touch screen voting machines.

Wanda Hassler, who has been working as an election judge for 25 years, said the upgrades to the voting system have meant changes for the judges too. She said there was a time when the polls would close at 8 p.m., but the poll workers would be up all night counting the votes and making sure the numbers match up before they could even pack up and go home.

Hassler is the Democratic Chief Judge at St Leonard Elementary School voting location. Each location has two chief judges, one for Democrats and one for Republicans.

Hassler said she became an election judge because she loves working with people and she considers it her “civic responsibility.”

Election season is the only time some judges see each other during the year, and when there is down time during the elections they get to catch up. They even bring food in to share.

In the past years, she said voter apathy has grown. She said people don’t see elected officials representing the interests of the people, deciding instead to make decisions to further their political careers, and it makes people unwilling to vote because they feel they can’t change anything.

The public has a duty to go to the polls, Hassler said, because some elections have been won by a handful of votes. sarahmiller@countytimes.net

Mobile Meat Processing Facility Proposed

By Guy Leonard Staff Writer The St. Mary’s County Board of Appeals is set to hold the second hearing tonight on the issue of building a mobile meat processing facility in Mechanicsville that farmers say would help boost the Southern Maryland market for livestock production.

At the crux of the case is farmer Johnny Knott’s effort to have the processing facility on a 30-acre piece of property where three to four beef carcasses a week would be trucked in, aged and cut and packaged on the site after having been dispatched off site.

Knott has said this facility would not be a slaughter facility, but residents who surround his property say despite the name it amounts to having many of the problems of a slaughterhouse — namely offal and gray water from spraying down the carcasses.

Bill Hammell, one of the lead opponents to Knott’s proposed facility, said at the last meeting in January that it really amounted to a mobile slaughterhouse.

“You’re actually transporting all the problems associated with the slaughterhouse back to the site,” Hammell argued. “The only thing you’re not doing is killing the cattle.”

Knott’s proposal has met with approval from county staff in both the health department and the land use and growth management department as worthy of a conditional permit for a major agricultural use and all operations there would be under the oversight of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

There would be offal and gray water at the facility but the approved plans call for a large storage tank to make storing such waste part of a closed system.

Hammell continued, however, by saying that the county did little in the way of actually studying whether a use such as this would be detrimental to neighboring home values.

Hammell said that Knott cares little for such concerns.

“He obviously has no regard for the property values of his neighbors, and is only interested in the industrial profit to be made from a slaughterhouse,” Knott wrote in his presentation to the Board of Appeals.

Farmers from across Southern Maryland have overwhelmingly supported the idea of having a USDA approved facility to package locally raised meats as it would cut down on their transportation costs.

Right now they must take their animals to a facility as far away as Virginia to be slaughtered and processed.

Farmers have looked to livestock production as one of the best options to keep agriculture profitable after the tobacco buyout more than a decade ago.

“This facility would greatly increase our bottom line,” said Joe Wood, a member of the St. Mary’s County Farm Bureau director’s board.

Another farmer echoed a sentiment long held by others in his local industry that the rapid growth of development has continually forced farmers to adapt; he said others should learn to adapt to share the land with them as well.

“If these people love the county as much as they do them they should learn to adapt to us trying to make a living,” said Earl Lumpkins of Leonardtown. guyleonard@countytimes.net

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The Calvert Gazette

Spotlight On

Teachers Memorialize One of Their Own

By Sarah Miller Staff Writer Four years after her death, the scholarship foundation set up in memory of Kim Stone is still going, though there have been some changes in the fundraising over the past year.

While the initial fundraiser for the scholarship fund was a golf tournament, Huntingtown Elementary second grade teacher Nancy Wolf-Fisher said the attendance was dropping and they needed to find a new way to fund the scholarships, which started in Jan. 2008.

The Kim Stone Scholarships are $1,000 a piece and go to four graduating seniors who plan to go into teaching.

Now, the committee is hosting monthly dinners at restaurants throughout the county. The first dinner was held at Three Brothers Italian Restaurant in Prince Frederick, and the next will be at the Panera Bread location in Prince Frederick Feb. 13 from 6-9 p.m. During that time period, a percentage of the restaurant’s revenue will go to the scholarship fund.

The first night brought in $170, leaving the committee a long way from their $4,000 goal. Additional locations planned for the year include Applebee’s and Stoney’s.

For more information, and to be alerted when and where dinners are coming up, e-mail stonescholarship@ gmail.com. sarahmiller@countytimes.net

Thursday, February 9, 2012

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Students Advance to SkillsUSA State Championships

By Corrin M. Howe Staff Writer On Saturday, Calvert Career and Technology Academy teemed with activity from early in the morning until late afternoon for the SkillsUSA Maryland Region 4 – Southern Maryland Championships.

Students from Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s counties competed in 18 skills competitions ranging from Advertising Design to Welding. While 150 individuals registered, some of the students had to work in teams, according to Elaine Bradley, Calvert’s SkillsU- Forrest Center’s Merick Romero placed second for Carpentry in the regional SkillsUSA championship held over the weekend.

SA Lead Advisor and this year’s regional nical and skilled occupations, coordinator. including health occupations.

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The skills events started Thursday, Feb. 2 and lasted through Saturday and were held at Calvert Career and Technology Academy, Calvert High School, Huntingtown Fire House, Dr. James A. Forrest Career & Technology Center in St. Mary’s, North Point High School and Robert Stethem Center in Waldorf.

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Andrew Fenwick, Jennifer Olson, and Sebastian Leonard-Reyes from the Forrest Center had 20 minutes to investigate a mock crime scene for the CSI skills. Their team finished seven minutes early and placed second.

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Thursday, February 9, 2012

The Calvert Gazette

Rescue Volunteers Make Business Out of Training

By Sarah Miller Staff Writer

to be personal trainers.

One man came in whose wife is a nurse and he When a baby fell wanted to be able to save out of a cart at Target, her life if he needed it.

Angela Smith knew ex“That was the actly what to do, thanks sweetest thing I ever to CPR classes taught by heard,” said Jones, who Jonathan Riffe and Kim is a paramedic with Jones.

Calvert Advanced Life Riffe and Jones ofSupport. fer CPR classes at variBoth use personal ous businesses through stories to explain how the tri-county area, as CPR and First Aid well as monthly sestraining has practical sions for individuals at applications and its use the Huntingtown Volunin real life situations, teer Fire Department. In Jones said. She said they the past year, Jones said have taught classes in Photo courtesy of Jonathan Riffe Calvert, Charles and St. they held more than 50 Kim Jones oversees while two students classes, averaging five to practice CPR. Mary’s counties, and seven classes per month. have leads in Washing“This is life saving training,” said Riffe, ton, D.C. and Virginia for groups wanting who is chief of the Huntingtown Volunteer classes.

Fire Department. “You have the potential to Small group CPR classes are $60 and change someone’s day and save their life.”

CPR and First Aid classes are $80, though Everyone who goes through CPR and Riffe said they work with larger groups for First Aid training is certified for two years, individual rates.

Riffe said. After two years, a refresher The next class will be Feb. 26 at the course is required for their re-certifications. Huntingtown Volunteer Fire Department Jones said the people going through at 10 a.m. Pre-registration is recommendcertification classes vary. Some are baby- ed. For more information, or to schedule a sitters or people starting a day care center, class, www.somdcpr.com. others are preparing to go into nursing programs and others are getting certifications sarahmiller@countytimes.net

Community

Saint Nicholas Installs New Pastor In a special afternoon service on Sunday, Jan. 29, Saint Nicholas Lutheran Church in Huntingtown installed their new pastor, the Rev. Robert C. Lehman. Invited clergy, friends and guests joined Church members for the ceremony. Preaching at the service was The Rev. Richard Graham, presiding Bishop of the Metropolitan Washington D.C. Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Presiding at the installation was The Rev. Wendy Deeben, dean of the Maryland-Delaware conference of the ELCA and former Associate Pastor Photo courtesy of Bob Matthews of Saint Nicholas Lutheran The Rev. Richard Graham, Bishop, Metropolitan Washington DC Synod, left, with The Rev. Robert C. Lehman, newly installed pastor Church. at Saint Nicholas Lutheran Church in Huntingtown.

The Calvert Gazette

Thursday, February 9, 2012

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STORY

Chesapeake Church Continues to Expand Reach

By Corrin M. Howe Staff Writer “To whom much is given much is required.”

Rev. Robert Hahn’s life of community service started 24 years ago when a co-worker with the Environmental Protection Agency invited Hahn and his wife, Jean, to a tent event where the Chesapeake Church in Calvert County was having a fundraising event.

The friend assured Hahn he wasn’t asking them to give money, but to just help make the tent look full.

That night, Hahn said he heard God speak to him. He heard that he was to move to Calvert County and become involved in the church.

His wife wasn’t as easily convinced, until he talked about buying a piece of property and designing a house.

“Now, I hear God talking,” he said his wife said. The tent event was in November 1987 and they were in the county

by April 1988.

Now 24 years later, Hahn has been senior pastor for 20 years at the church that has grown to become one of the largest in Calvert County.

The congregation of over 1,100 serves such initiatives as End Hunger in Calvert County; monthly oil changes; filing taxes, emergency relief teams; counseling; three weekend worship services, and more. While they serve primarily in the county, the church’s influence stretches around the United States and the world sending ministry teams to New Orleans, San Diego, Haiti, and Honduras. The church even lets commuters park in the back of their parking lot during the week. The full parking lot indicates the community takes advantage of it.

“The church is God’s declaration of love to all people.

Chesapeake Church not only serves out of obedience to God but to demonstrate to people, who are one heartbeat away from crisis, that Jesus loves them. Eventually people are caught off guard by unconditional love. That’s how Jesus loves you,” said Hahn.

When Hahn started, he got involved with the youth ministry, became a deacon and elder and started attending seminary. The former pastor re-evaluated his life and decided to step down. During the two years without a senior pastor, Hahn helped fill the pulpit. Eventually the congregation called him to be their senior pastor. “I never filled out an application.”

One of the first things he did was to surround himself with excellent staff. As he spoke, his use of certain concepts revealed his familiarity with the principles discussed in “Good to Great,” by Jim Collins. Hahn said he and his staff did go through that book and another one similar which used the same concepts to build “break out churches.”

Chesapeake Church has a simple mission statement, vision statement and three core values which drive everything it does. “Because I can remember three things.”

Our Mission

“To reach unchurched people and help them grow into fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ”

Our Vision

“A growing Biblical community.”

Our Core Values

• All people matter to God. • Full devotion to Jesus Christ is normal.

• Excellence honors God. Any ministry the church takes on must meet their core values, “especially excellence honors God,” Hahn said.

The congregation embraces Matthew 25: 35-40 which says: “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?

When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

Photo By Sean Rice Rev. Robert Hahn’s has been senior pastor for 20 years at the Chesapeake Church, which has grown to become one of the largest in Calvert County.

Hahn said, “We try to embrace that in a real way. In a way the culture speaks. We are a modern contemporary format with an ancient message.”

The success of the church is not because they follow a formula, but because the church and its members are blessed by God, because it pleases Him, according to Hahn. Chesapeake Church doesn’t have a hidden agenda to grow for the sake of numbers. Likewise, it doesn’t exist to pull people from other churches. In fact, Hahn said if he knows that is the case, he will talk to the people and ask them to give their current church another chance.

Aware the congregation as a whole has considerable financial means makes them even more responsible to serve the people of the county, according to Hahn, “To whom much is given much is required.”

One of the reasons they are able to determine the needs of the county is that the staff has a pastor dedicated to community outreach and another to community life. Out of the congregation’s “owning the values of caring for people,” they support such ministries as the food pantry: filling in the gap and delivering meals to seniors on the weekend when Meals on Wheels doesn’t; and running a Christian counseling center which is licensed by the state of Maryland, said Hahn, who further added that 95 percent of those

using the service are not members of Chesapeake Church.

“We don’t embrace every need. We can’t. We have a pretty good idea of what we are called to do,” he said.

Chesapeake Church has moved into a position of trying to unite other churches and service organizations to mobilize and meet community needs.

“It’s not just about building our corner off Route 4,” Hahn said.

The church building is Northbound Route 4 before the Route 2/4 split toward Annapolis behind the Morgan E. Russell Excavating and Hauling.

End Hunger in Calvert County is one example of a program that started off with Chesapeake Church being the main sponsor, but now 25 other churches and 50 businesses are behind the initiative to feed those in the county who are going hungry.

Hahn proudly announced that his daughter, Jackie, is the sole employee of End Hunger. He said she has Master’s degree in Communication from Georgetown University.

“She’s way over qualified, but she came to the cause of Christ to end hunger,” he said.

Free tax help for those earning income under $57,000 is another ministry Chesapeake turned into a community supported program. Community supporters include the Northern High School Future Business Leaders of America, local service organizations like the Optimist Club and Rotary, and local business Keep It Simple – to name a few.

“We live in a generous county. It you show there is a need and give them a mechanism to do it,” the residents, businesses, churches, government agencies and service organizations will take it on,” he said.

The days that 800 people showed up to help harvest local farms for End Hunger is another example of how not all the service comes from Chesapeake Church itself.

Recently, Rev. Hahn was named a finalist in the governor’s Compassionate Marylander contest, which, according to their website, recognizes “those citizens who impact the lives of others and go above and beyond the call of duty to ensure our neighbors in need are taken care of.”

One of the components of the award was to solicit input through the social networks. An on-line vote was set up to select the top 10 semi-finalists. The five finalists who will receive a $5,000 award for their charity will be selected by review committee.

“We were caught off guard by surprise that we received votes from all over the world – Brazil, England,” said Hahn. By the end of the voting, Hahn received the second highest votes with a huge surge the last couple of days.

The Rev. was pleased when both the county Democrat and Republican parties sent out emails asking their members to vote “for the cause.” Although everyone was asked to vote for “Reverend Robert Hahn,” he feels the vote is really for End Hunger in Calvert, which will receive the financial award. As of press time, the state had not announced the five winners.

Despite all the good things the congregation and church does and all the hard work and long hours they spend doing it, Hahn said they try to have fun along the way.

Chesapeake Church has adopted Honduras, and is working on building a medical clinic and trying to solicit medical personal to go there to serve.

To find out more about Chesapeake Church, go to their website www.chesapeakechurch.org or call 410-257-0700.

Chances are you will be able to talk to Rev. Hahn or his wife, Jean, out in the community as they are involved in a number of community boards and organizations such as Special Olympics, Chamber of Commerce, Teacher Awards, and much more.

Despite what Chesapeake Church has done in the past, is doing now, or what is planned for the future, when it is all said and done, the purpose of the church to spread the message of Jesus, that without a saving faith in Jesus Christ, people will be lost forever, Hahn said.

“It is a harsh statement. What’s even harsher is it is true. And to be cavalier and do nothing about that” is wrong, he said.

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Thursday, February 9, 2012

The Calvert Gazette

Newsmakers

Chocolate Lover’s Affair

Calvert Chamber of Commerce Board Member Vicky Karol and her husband, Gene, attended the reception prior to the Annual Chocolate Lover’s Affair.

Chamber Board Member Laura Allison renews her previous relationship with Jack Sparrow. Allison said Sparrow had QBH SttoMher County TImes Ad:Layouther 1 when 3/1/11 3:28into PMChocolate Page 1Lover’s Affair. proposed at a prior eventHalf and remembered she walked

Canards Catering was one of several local caterers and restaurants serving food at the Annual Chocolate Lover’s Affair. The Calvert County Chamber of Commerce puts on the event as its biggest fundraiser for their scholarship fund. At press time, the staff was still working on determining final amount raised.

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The Calvert Gazette

Joseph America, 91

Judith Bell, 66

Joseph America, 91, of Prince Frederick, MD, passed away at his residence on Friday, Feb. 3, 2012.

Joe was born on Feb. 24, 1920 in Washington, DC. He attended McKinley Tech High School and was stationed in Okinawa with the 1113th Engineer Construction Group during World War II. After the war he settled with his family in Prince Georges County, MD and was a Master Tool and Die Maker at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. He moved with his family to Prince Frederick in 1977. He loved to spend time fishing, crabbing and boating with his family and friends. He was a devoted husband and father. When his beloved wife Minnie died in 1974, he retired from his job and assumed the role of parenting the seven of his fourteen children that were still living at home.

Survivors include his daughters Trudy Dean (Roy), Eileen Lynch (Robert), Evelyn English, Peggy Hampton (Robert), Christine Real (Matthew), Catherine Manley (Chuck), Carol Wheeler (Craig), Miriam Gholl (Robert), Mary Taylor (Jim) and sons Joseph America (Denise), Martin America, John America and James America (Ingrid). Joe leaves behind 38 grandchildren and numerous great grandchildren.

He was predeceased by his wife Minnie and his daughter, Joanne Pantuso.

The family received friends Sunday, Feb. 5, 2012 at Rausch Funeral Home, 4405 Broomes Island Road, Port Republic, MD. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at St. John Vianney Church, 105 Vianney Lane, Prince Frederick, MD on Monday, Feb. 6, 2012. Burial followed at Fort Lincoln Cemetery, Brentwood, MD. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Calvert Hospice, P.O. Box 838, Prince Frederick, MD 20678.

Arrangements provided by the Rausch Funeral Home of Port Republic, MD.

Judith Ann “Judy” Bell, 66, of Lusby, MD, passed away Dec. 27, 2011 at Calvert Memorial Hospital in Prince Frederick, MD. Judy was born Feb. 8, 1945 in Cleveland, Ohio to Malcolm M. and Roxy (Jones) MacKenzie.

She lived in Glen Burnie, MD and graduated from Glen Burnie High School, class of 1964. She also lived in Cumberland, Baltimore, Riviera Beach and Annapolis, MD from 1964 to 1970, until moving to Calvert County in 1971. Judy attended the College of Southern Maryland, where she studied law enforcement. She was employed as a security officer at Calvert Cliffs from the mid 1970’s until retiring in 1987. She was a member of Waters Memorial Church, Port Republic, MD. Judy enjoyed living near the Chesapeake Bay, the beach, making jewelry, reading and watching movies. She also enjoyed flowers and was fond of her cats.

She is survived by daughters Heather D. Bell Roark of Prince Frederick, MD, Michelle Y. “Shelly” Beale of St. Leonard, MD and a son Charles F. Bell III “Chuck” and wife Kerri of North Carolina. Also surviving are eleven grandchildren, three great grandchildren, brothers Malcolm “Buddy” MacKenzie of Fallston, MD and Norman MacKenzie of Aberdeen, MD and sisters Joyce Thomas of Arnold, MD and Elaine Herman of Red Lion, PA, she was preceded in death by a sister Merline Richardson.

A memorial service and celebration of Judy’s life was held Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2012 at Rausch Funeral Home, P.A., 8325 Mt. Harmony Lane, Owings, MD. Interment followed at Asbury Cemetery in Prince Frederick, MD.

Brenn Carter, 18 Brenn Monet Carter, 18, of Huntingtown, MD passed away on Jan. 22, 2012 at Calvert Memorial Hospital, Prince Frederick, MD. She was born September 11, 1993, to

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Robert M. “Bud” and Crystal Carter.

She grew up in Calvert County where she attended Huntingtown Elementary School, and recently graduated from Northern High School in May 2011. From the start it was clear to see she was a force to be reckoned with. Forthright, energetic, funny, and creative, her charm went before her like a torch, illuminating those she was around with joy. Her gregarious nature was infectious; her smile brilliant; her eagerness to explore fascinating. Her enthusiasm for life made it vividly apparent that Brenn would leave an indelible imprint on those with whom she came in contact. Naturally artistic, Brenn possessed a distinct flair for expression. Drawing was her passion, ambition her palate, audacity her paint, life her canvas, and what remains is a work of art.

Some of Brenn’s favorite pastime was spent drawing, getting her nails done, applying make-up and changing her hair color and styles. Her presence on this earth will continue to live on; her influence and her love will burn brightly in the hearts of those who knew her. Her spirit, laughter, and essence will never be forgotten. Brenn will be sorely missed and forever loved by her family and friends.

She is survived by her parents, Robert “Bud” Carter, III and Crystal Carter; brother, Robert “L.B.” Carter, IV, sister, Brianna “Bebe” Carter; grandparents, Gary Mashino, Robert “Buddy” Carter, Jr. and Betty Carter; uncles, Michael Mashino, Garrett Mashino, John Graves, and Jeremy Updike; aunts, Dawn Graves, Bonita Carter, Barbara Carter, Briana Carter, and Bethany Carter; first cousins, Daryl Smith, Jr., Talia Graves, Tyler Graves, and Trevor Graves; and a host of other dear aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.

She was preceded in death by her grandmother, Virginia “Ginny” Mashino.

Funeral service was held on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012 at Greater Mt. Zion Church, Prince Frederick, MD with Pastor Dante’ King officiating. The interment was at Ft. Lincoln Cemetery, Brentwood, MD. The pallbearers were Michael Mashino, Marlin Peters, Jr., Charles “CJ” Ward, David Hill, Joe Hance and Marlin Hill. The honorary pallbearers were Robert “LB” Carter IV, and Garrett Mashino.

Funeral arrangements provided by Sewell Funeral Home, Prince Frederick, MD.

Pauline Chase, 51 Pauline Denise Chase, 51, of Great Mills, MD passed away on Jan. 19, 2012 at St. Mary’s Hospital, Leonardtown, MD. Pauline was born on April 16, 1960 in Calvert County, MD to Carolyn V. Chase and William Chase, Sr. She attended Calvert County Public Schools. She was a member of Mount Zion Church in Ridge. She worked at Chesapeake Shore as a nursing aide. She was married to Johnson “JB” Bright. She loved to play cards and hang out with friends and family. She also loved cooking.

She leaves behind her son, Harold C. Garner, Jr. (Juanita); her grandchildren: Tarhara, Shiann and Maliki; her sister MaryAnn (Tyrone); her brother, William E. Chase, Jr.; two nieces, Ebony and and Quantia (Bryan (KB)); two nephews, Jerell and Shawn (Megie); great-nieces and great nephews: Ja’miya, Carolyn, Malaysia, MaKayla, Bry-

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ana, Bryan; and Chenelle’; her godchildren: Somore, T.J. Thomas and Ronnie; a special friend, Harold C. Garner, Sr.; good friends: Barbara and Mike Garrison, Mrs. Kathy and her sister Liz Taylor and Mr. and Mrs. Statesman and a host of cousins and friends.

Funeral service was held on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012, at Zion Hill Church of God in Christ, Lusby, MD with Elder Leroy Berry officiating. Interment was at Zion Hill Cemetery, Lusby, MD. The pallbearers were family and friends and JB, Levi, Leroy, Moody and TJ. Funeral arrangements provided by Sewell Funeral Home, Prince Frederick, MD.

Joan Davis, 78 Joan Lillian Davis, 78, died of natural causes on Feb. 1, 2012 at her residence in Friendship, MD. Mrs. Davis was born in Worcester, Massachusetts and was a graduate of High School of Commerce in 1952.

She married her husband of 40 years, Robert Edward Davis, who was active duty in the military, in 1954. She was a homemaker, mother of three daughters, a Campfire Girl Troop leader, and a Red Cross volunteer who enjoyed spending time with her family.

Some of her hobbies included ceramics, sewing, and crossword and jigsaw puzzles. In later years, she enjoyed quilting and traveling to various countries. She enjoyed living in Southern Maryland.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Robert Edward Davis and a sister Barbara Green of Worcester, Massachusetts.

She is survived by three daughters, Barbara Knowles of Huntingtown, Jennifer Gieser of Kapolei, Hawaii and Jacqueline Heffner of Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania; five grandchildren and one great granddaughter; and one brother, Walter E. Hutchinson of Worcester, Massachusetts.

Family and friends will be received Saturday Feb. 11 from 2-3 PM at Rausch Funeral Home, P.A., 8325 Mt. Harmony Lane, Owings, MD, where a Memorial Service and celebration of Joan’s life will follow at 3PM. Inurnment at Arlington National Cemetery will take place at a later date.

Expressions of sympathy in lieu of flowers may be made to the American Cancer Society, Calvert County Unit, P.O. Box 752, Prince Frederick, MD 20678.

For additional information visit www.

RauschFuneralHomes.com.

William Ewaski, Sr, CMSgt. Ret., 90 William Peter Ewaski, Sr, CMSgt. Ret. – USAF, of Dunkirk, Maryland, died on Jan. 29, 2012 at the age of 90.

William was born on Jan. 31, 1921 on a farm in Colebrooke, Ohio, to Michael and Frances Ewaska.

He was one of 10 children. In June, 1950, he married Helen Berry. In Dec., 1991, William lost the love of his life. William served in the United States Air Force, serving during

11

The Calvert Gazette

Thursday, February 9, 2012

World War II in the European Theater and also served in Korea. In 1959, he retired from the Air Force.

William moved to the Calvert area ten years ago. He enjoyed bowling, both Duck and 10 pin, played ping pong and was a member of the Senior Olympics. He was a big supporter of the New York Yankees and the Dallas Cowboys. On beautiful days, he could be found out in his garden tending to his flowers and vegetables. He loved spending time with his family especially sporting events with his grandchildren.

He was a loving father of William P. Ewaski, Jr. and his wife, Mary and Joyce Nurin and her husband, Larry. He was a devoted grandfather of Donna McCoy, George DeGrasse, Jr., Shannon Sharpe, Lori Walker and April Ewaski. He is also survived by 11 great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren.

He is predeceased by his nine brothers and sisters.

A private interment will be held at Maryland Veterans Cemetery, Cheltenham, MD. Memorial contributions in Mr. Ewaski’s memory may be made to the Arthritis Foundation, P. O. Box 96280, Washington, DC 20077-7491.

Friends are welcome to visit the Lee Funeral Home Website at leefuneralhomes.com to sign Mr. Ewaski’s memorial register book under the obituary section of our home page.

Gordon Harris, 53 Gordon Lee Harris, 53, of Hyattsville, MD passed away on Jan. 30, 2012 at Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, DC. He was the second child born to Helen K. Harris. He was born in North Brentwood, MD on Nov. 26, 1958.

He received his education in the P.G. County school system. He joined the U.S. Army in 1977 and served nine years. He worked several jobs including, Moving Masters and finally at Direct Mail as a Folder Operator; Cutter; and Pressman Helper.

In 2011, Gordon was baptized at Mt. Olive United Methodist Church. “Gordo” as he was affectionately called, loved watching Westerns, especially reruns of Bonanza. He was also an avid Redskins fan.

He leaves to mourn: his Mother; a Son, Jamie; a Brother, Bernard Sr. (Margo); a Sister, Lavern; a Nephew, Bernard Jr. (Shatisha); a Niece, Helena; a Great Nephew, Zavion; two Great Nieces, Armani and Heaven; and a host of Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, and Friends.

A Memorial service was held on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012 at Mt. Olive United Methodist Church, Prince Frederick,MD with Rev. Patricia Berry officiating. The interment was private.

Funeral arrangements provided by Sewell Funeral Home, Prince Frederick, MD.

Beverly Harwood, 79 Beverly Ann Harwood, 79, of Annandale, VA passed away on Jan. 19, 2012 in Prince Frederick, MD surrounded by family.

Beverly was born on Feb. 8, 1932, in Wofford, KY to Mary Evelyn (West) Jones and Dale Jones. Her family moved to Washington, DC to support the war effort when she was 9. She attended Anacostia High

School and George Washington University.

It was at GWU that she met her future husband, William Robert Harwood, Jr. They were married for 52 years; he preceded her in death in 2005.

Beverly is survived by her daughter, Susan H. Kissell, son-in-law Paul Thurman and granddaughter Katrina Kissell, of Prince Frederick, MD. She is also survived by her son Robert Dale Harwood of Falls Church, VA. The family would like to thank Dr. Paul Jani and the Hospice of Calvert County.

Interment will be private in Kentucky.

Arrangements provided by the Rausch Funeral Home, Port Republic, MD.

John Lloyd, 84 John Purdy “Jack” Lloyd, 84, of Dunkirk, MD, passed away Feb. 2, 2012 at Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis, MD. Jack was born August 24, 1927 in Washington, D.C. to Ellen Rebecca (Purdy) and John Thomas Lloyd, and raised in Mitchellville, MD. He attended Mitchellville Elementary and Upper Marlboro High School. He served in the U.S. Army from November 1945 to November 1946 earning the WWII Victory Ribbon and Meritorious Unit Award. He married Genevieve Norfolk on June 19, 1948 and they lived in Melwood, MD and District Heights, MD, and settled in Dunkirk in 1976.

Jack was employed at the U.S. Census Bureau in Suitland, MD, and retired in April 1981 as a printing specialist. He returned to work part-time at the Census Bureau after a four year hiatus, and retired permanently in 1995 with nearly 50 years of service.

Jack was an active member of Mt. Harmony United Methodist Church in Owings where he served as head usher for many years and was also a member of the church cemetery committee. He was a former member of the Suitland Moose, and because of his love of baseball organized Southern Maryland sandlot baseball teams. He enjoyed duckpin bowling and had bowled for many years in the Census Bureau Bowling League.

Jack is survived by wife Genevieve (Norfolk) Lloyd, a daughter Janice M. Lloyd, a granddaughter Deanna R. Brooke, and great-grandsons Bradley Lloyd and Patrick and Kyle Brooke, all of Dunkirk.

Friends and family were received on Sunday, Feb. 5 at Rausch Funeral Home, Owings. Funeral services and a celebration of Jack’s life were held Feb. 6, 2012 at Mt. Harmony United Methodist Church, Owings, MD. Interment followed in the church cemetery.

Memorial contributions in Jacks name may be made to Mt. Harmony UMC Building Fund, 155 East Mt. Harmony Road, Owings, MD 20736. For additional information visit www.RauschFuneralHomes.com.

Clarence Parker, 91 Clarence Lynwood “Woody” Parker, 91, of Chesapeake Beach, MD passed away Feb. 1, 2012 at his residence. He was born Jan. 22, 1921 in Bethesda, MD to Viola Mae (Broadhurst) and

Clarence Isaiah Parker.

He attended Bethesda Elementary, Leland Junior High and Bethesda Chevy Chase High School. He worked as an automobile mechanic and in the mid 1940’s began his own home building company known as Parker and Parker. He married Marjorie Breeden February 26, 1940, and they made their home and raised their family in Bethesda. In addition to being a homebuilder in the Washington area, he also built homes near the water in Anne Arundel and Calvert Counties, and had lived for the past six years in a home he remodeled in Chesapeake Beach, MD. He was a former member of the Bethesda United Methodist Church where he served as a deacon. In his leisure time Woody enjoyed boating, fishing, horses, and time with his family and friends. He was also known as an accomplished “fix-it” man, able to repair anything.

Woody is survived by his wife of 71 years, Marjorie Lee Parker; a daughter Shirley M. Hallam and husband Bill of Huntingtown, sons Douglas W. Parker and wife Susan of Tillamook, OR, and Donald G. Parker and wife Nicolene of Silver Spring, MD. He is also survived by four grandchildren, Tracy Oley, Daniel Hallam and Johnny and Roger Byington, and three great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by two brothers, Glenwood and Elwood Parker.

A gathering for family and friends is planned for a later date.

Expressions of sympathy in Mr. Parker’s name may be made to Calvert Hospice, P.O. Box 838, Prince Frederick, MD 20678, online at www.CalvertHospice.org.

For additional information visit www.

RauschFuneralHomes.com.

Gene Schwallenberg, Jr., 48 Gene Phillip Schwallenberg, Jr., 48, of Huntingtown, MD passed away Jan. 27, 2012 at home.

He was born Oct. 5, 1963 in Prince Frederick to Gene P and Gail J. (Walton) Schwallenberg, Sr. Gene received his education in Calvert County Schools and was a 1981 graduate of Northern High School. He was a carpenter with Chesapeake Carpentry of St. Leonard until retiring due to ill health in 2004. Gene enjoyed hunting, fishing and being out on the water. He treasured spending time with his family especially his nieces and nephews.

Surviving are his daughter Jamie Lee Schwallenberg of St. Mary’s, parents Gene P. and Gail J. Schwallenberg, Sr. of Huntingtown, Sisters Wanda May Rogers and her husband Danny of Prince Frederick and Angela Lynn Marshall and her husband Steve of Port Republic and a brother William Russell “Rusty” Schwallenberg and his wife Margie of Lusby.

Gene was preceded in death by a sister Holly Melissa Schwallenberg in 2008.

The family is conducting private services to celebrate Gene’s life.

Arrangements by Rausch Funeral Home, Owings.

The Calvert Gazette

n er

KiddKioer

CLUES ACROSS

1. Film Music Guild 4. A rubberized raincoat 7. An upper limb 10. Wander 12. Biblical name for Syria 14. Former OSS 15. Norwegian capital 16. No. Am. Gamebird Assoc.

17. Taxis 18. Ancient Chinese weight unit 20. Third tonsil 22. Ancient Hebrew measure = 1.5 gal.

23. Piece of clothing 25. Overrefined, effeminate 28. Housing for electronics (TV) 31. Cut grass 32. Ghana’s capital 33. Prof. Inst. of Real Estate 34. Shares a predicament 39. Old World buffalo 40. Loads with cargo 41. What part of (abbr.)

42. Partakers 45. Expressed harsh criticism 49. Doctors’ group 50. OM (var.)

52. A dead body

Thursday, February 9, 2012

55. Jewish spiritual leader 57. An almost horizontal entrance to a mine 59. Anglo-Saxon monk (672-736) 60. Database management system 61. A swindle in which you cheat 62. Arabian Gulf 63. Six (Spanish) 64. Price label 65. Black tropical American cuckoo 66. Teletypewriter (abbr.)

CLUES DOWN

1. Foam 2. Tessera 3. Major ore source of lead 4. Directors 5. 9/11 Memorial architect 6. The goal space in ice hockey 7. The academic world 8. Standing roast 9. More (Spanish) 11. Gram molecule 13. Head of long hair

12

17. Cost, insurance and freight (abbr.)

19. Line of poetry 21. Originated from 24. One time only 26. A civil wrong 27. Female sheep 29. Bay Area Toll Authority 30. Afrikaans 33. Hold a particular posture 34. South American Indian 35. Paying attention to 36. Wife of a maharaja 37. Mild yellow Dutch cheese 38. Central Br. province in India 39. 4th month (abbr.)

43. Grooved carpentry joint 44. Present formally 46. Skeletal muscle 47. -__, denotes past 48. Aba ____ Honeymoon 51. Young lady 53. Any of the Hindu sacred writing 54. Where Adam and Eve were placed 56. Promotional materials 57. Play a role 58. Arrived extinct

Last Week’s Puzzle Solutions

13

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Showing That We Care

By Sherrod Sturrock Sitting here in Southern Maryland, it is easy to flip past the morning headlines and ignore the War being waged on the other side of the world; easy to be indifferent to what life is like for the American men and

The Calvert Gazette

women who are serving their country in Afghanistan. After all, what can we do about it?

When a Marine Museum staff member’s son was deployed to Afghanistan in 2009, Calvert Marine Museum volunteer coordinator Sherry Reid wanted to do something. She single-handedly launched the Care Packages program. It has grown from a small individual gesture to a community-wide statement.

“We started with John Carlson and Paul Pfeiffer and invited museum staff and volunteers to donate items to put in care packages for them. When one of our board members brought in a box loaded with items to be sent overseas, I knew I couldn’t use it quickly enough with just one or two packages. I sent an email to all of Calvert County Government asking for names and addresses of family members that were serving overseas. I ended up with seven soldiers on our list. We mailed a total of nine packages to them in 2010. As some returned and were taken off of the list, new names have been added. Two that we are sending to now are on their second deployment and have been on our list both times.”

PLEASE include these two boys that are part of my family that I would greatly ap-

preciate them being added to the list! Thank you very much in advance!!! HUGS!!!

Thank you, thank you, thank YOU!!!!

The program continues to grow. In 2011, Sherry and volunteers from the CMM family mailed a total of 60 packages - from as few as two packages one month up to as many as seven packages another month.

Sherry received $155.40 from the Calvert County Employee Recognition Committee to help pay postage for one package a month, all other donations have been from the staff, volunteers, and board members at the Calvert Marine Museum. Sherry solicits donations of candy, plastic razors, batteries, playing cards, DVDs, etc. for the packages, and uses financial donations to purchase additional items and cover the very costly shipping fees. The total cost of this program last year was $2,577. And so it goes.

Today Sherry shipped off another five boxes packed to the rim. She told me that the support grows every month, and everyone wants to help. I think all of us want to show

that we care, but it took someone to show us how to do it.

Dear Sherry, Hi, my name is Christi, my husband is Jason Spurlock. He is one of the soldiers you have been sending packages to. Jason and I would like to thank you so much for taking the time to think of our soldiers and getting the packages together for them. He told me he just received one from the museum this week and was so excited. Mail is very slow due to the weather and everything they get has to be helicoptered in. Getting packages is the one thing they can look forward to, so once again, thank you so much!

The Spurlock Family If you’d like to get involved, contact Sherry at reidsd@co.cal.md.us.

Sherrod Sturrock is the Deputy Director of the Calvert Marine Museum

By Christopher B. Summers There's a coordinated push

by Gov. Martin O'Malley to raise Maryland's gasoline tax by applying the state's sales tax of 6 percent to fuel purchases.

That means that, at current gas prices, the state tax would rise from 23.5 cents per gallon to 44.5 cents - an increase of 89 percent.

This would make Maryland's gas tax the ninth-highest in the nation.

Many in the business community, mainly the Maryland Chamber of Commerce and Greater Baltimore Committee, are misguidedly supporting this tax hike.

Make no mistake about it, this tax hike will not help our state's economy and it won't address the real problems facing Maryland's transportation funding structure.

The governor and his allies claim we need this tax increase to pay for much-needed transportation projects. This claim assumes the new revenue will go to highvalue transportation projects, but there's little reason to think that that will actually happen.

Recent Maryland history offers plenty of examples of policymakers using gas tax revenues to pay for non-transportation projects, or else routing them to projects that have great political value but do little to unclog Maryland's overburdened roads.

Why think that state officials will become more responsible with taxpayers' transportation dollars when more of those dollars flow into Annapolis?

Faulty reasoning on new jobs In Fiscal Year 2010, for instance, Annapolis took $370 million from the state's Transportation Trust Fund to cover other spending needs. Though that

money supposedly was only "borrowed," it has yet to be returned.

FY2010 is not an outlier.

Overall, some $1.1 billion that has been "borrowed" from the trust fund in recent years has yet to be repaid, and there currently are no serious plans for repayment.

This isn't the only problem with advocates' arguments for this tax hike. Take their claim that the higher taxes would lead to more jobs.

Yes, the tax revenue would finance more state spending (which perhaps would be in transportation, and perhaps not), and that spending would lead to employment. But the $491 million a year in additional tax revenue would come from motorists who buy gasoline.

Without the tax increase, this money would be spent by motorists on other goods and services, or else be saved by motorists, and thus lent out by their banks as investments.

Handing an additional $491 million to the state means that Maryland motorists will have $491 million less for themselves, and that means that jobs will also be lost because of the tax.

Gas tax as user fee Not only are the job creation numbers of this tax hike overhyped, but so, too, is the need for massive transportation repair in Maryland. According to the Federal Highway Administration, Maryland is around the national average in infrastructure quality.

That's not great, but it's not the dire emergency that some make it out to be. And in terms of important areas like bridge safety, Maryland performs above average.

I don't dispute that there are some transportation maintenance

and building projects that need to be completed. We don't need a gas tax hike to fix those problems, however. Simply re-prioritizing current funding would free up significant revenue.

Focusing the tax revenue Marylanders pay when fueling their cars and trucks on projects that serve cars and trucks would be a good first step.

In its ideal form, a gas tax is very close to a user fee: those who use roads pay for the building and upkeep of those roads. In Maryland, however, those who use roads not only pay for the building and upkeep of the roads; they also pay for the building and upkeep of mass transit.

Roughly half of the total

money the state spends on highways and transit combined goes to pay for transit, but transit accounts for a mere 4 percent of the statewide travel. Of the new revenue the state has allocated for highway and transit funding, transit has received 95 percent in the past decade.

And no, upgrading transit does not take enough cars off the road to justify siphoning money away from roads, nor does it yield much environmental benefit.

Another consideration weighing against this tax is the burden it will place on poorer Marylanders.

The gas tax is a regressive tax that forces people with lower incomes to pay a greater percentage of their

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TER T E to the Editor

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Let’s Put the Brakes on O'Malley’s Gas Tax

L

Guest Editorial

income than do the wealthy.

The disproportionate impact of this tax will hurt households that are least able to afford it.

Any transportation needs the state has can largely be addressed by fixing the fundamental flaws in how our state allocates transportation funding. Raising the gas tax is the wrong answer to an overhyped problem.

Christopher B. Summers is president of the Maryland Public Policy Institute.

Calvert Gazette

P. O. Box 250 . Hollywood, MD 20636 The Calvert Gazette is a weekly newspaper providing news and information for the residents of Calvert County. The Calvert Gazette will be available on newsstands every Thursday. The paper is published by Southern Maryland Publishing Company, which is responsible for the form, content, and policies of the newspaper. The Calvert Gazette does not espouse any political belief or endorse any product or service in its news coverage. Articles and letters submitted for publication must be signed and may be edited for length or content. The Calvert Gazette is not responsible for any claims made by its advertisers.

The Calvert Gazette

Thursday, February 9, 2012

14

The Calvert Gazette is always looking for more local talent to feature!

To submit art or band information for our entertainment section, e-mail sarahmiller@countytimes.net.

Country Dancers Party at American Legion

By Sarah Miller Staff Writer Every second Saturday at the American Legion Post 206 in Chesapeake Beach a crowd gathers for country dancing night.

American Legion Historian and unofficial hall rental manager Jim Hitchcock said between 150 and 200 people show up, form all over the tri county area, and there is even a group that comes from Virginia every month for the party. Dances include couples and line dancing, and other traditional country dances.

The evenings are open to the public, and Hitchcock said people don’t have to know how to dance to attend.

Lessons are provided by Linda Bloyer. There is one hour of free lessons at 7 p.m., before the party starts. For the rest of the evening, there is four hours of “dancing, beer, soda, chips and pretzels, all for $15,” Hitchcock said.

“It’s always a good time,” he said.

The dances take place in the upper level ballroom.

Hitchcock said the dance floor is one of the biggest in Southern Maryland. The evening also includes live music, often performed by the Southern Winds Band out of Northern Virginia.

The country dances have been held for the past 15 years, and perhaps longer, Hitchcock said. He and his wife have been running the dances for the past year and a half.

Allowing people to come to the American Legion for the evening also helps dispel some pre-conceived assumptions some people have about the post by giving people an understanding of who the American Legion is and what they do.

“We’re not just a bunch of old drunks sitting up at the bar,” Hitchcock said.

In addition to the Virginia group, regular attendees include local government officials, like Commissioner Evan K. Slaughenhoupt Jr., who said he goes “to every one I can” with his family. He said dancing is good exercise, and they have been attending for the past seven years.

“It’s a gathering of good people,” Slaughenhoupt said.

Proceeds from the evening go toward youth-centered community events. The money keeps the lights on so the American Legion can offer the use of the hall to girl scouts and boy scouts for meetings, free of charge, as well as hosting holiday parties for kids to attend. There is an annual kids bazaar every year.

Other community events hosted by American Legion

Photo courtesy of American Legion Post 206

Post 206 include breakfasts, dinners and even a bull and oyster roast.

The next country dance night is Feb. 11. In addition to the monthly country dance, there is a hand dance, a type of swing dance, being held Feb. 19 starting at 6:30 p.m. for $7 per person.

For more information, visit www.alpost206.org or call 301-855-6466. sarahmiller@countytimes.net

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The Calvert Gazette

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Winter Fishing The Ordinary

Angler

By Keith McGuire Contributing Writer What the heck is winter fishing? When I was younger and the winters were more harsh than they have been in recent years, we called it ice fishing. In 2012, conditions are quite a bit different. It isn’t cold like Canada, but there are fish biting.

Now is a good time to fish for crappie in local lakes and tributaries where there’s fresh water. Yellow Perch are just beginning to start their spawning run in some locally favored spots, although those catching them are fairly tight-lipped about their actual locations. Because of the warm conditions, Maryland DNR is starting their trout stocking program early this year, so the “put and

take” ponds like the ones at Gilbert Run and Myrtle Grove should be stocked soon. Check their website for stocking schedules.

Another fish to try for is chain pickerel.

The Coastal Conservation Association of Maryland is sponsoring a catch and release contest through March 15th called The Tidal Pickerel Challenge. Local tackle shops in key areas of the state are helping CCA MD with the event by sponsoring “teams” to compete for prizes. Our local shop, The Tackle Box, is one of the sponsors. Here’s how it works.

Local anglers register at The Tackle

Sp rts

Box and become part of its team in the challenge. Awards are given for largest pickerel and most net inches, and are presented to both individuals and the winning tackle shop team(s). Judging is done based on photos in the catch and release event. The Tackle Box team will match up against stiff competition from other tackle shops throughout the state.

There is no limit to the number of anglers on a team, so the more the better. Fish at your leisure and then record and report your catch to contribute to your team’s success. Anglers can obtain their official ruler and contest rules at The Tackle Box, 22035 Three Notch Road in Lexington Park.

Some of us are new to pickerel fishing.

To help us out, local light tackle guide, Capt.

Brady Bounds, offers this advice.

“Any creek or stream that harbors yellow perch should hold pickerel. The head of the creeks where they become feeder streams are best. On the Patuxent, look in creeks above Benedict and perhaps the main river above Wayson’s Corner. You may also find them near the headwaters of other creeks such as Battle Creek, St. Leonard Creek, Mill Creek, Cuckold Creek, St. Thomas Creek, Cat Creek, Washington Creek, Trent Hall Creek and Indian Creek. On the Potomac side, consider the St Mary’s River

where it becomes marsh. Other likely places for pickerel include Breton Bay where it becomes MacIntosh Run, the head of St Clements Bay in marsh up to Rte 234, Wicomico River up to Rte 234 at Chaptico Creek and Allen’s Fresh Run, Port Tobacco River in the marsh and canals, Nanjemoy Creek, the headwaters of Mattawoman Creek, and Piscataway Creek at Fort Washington. Fishing the high tide is best in winter and also along sunny shorelines in water that is three to six feet in depth.”

The helpful people at The Tackle Box will make sure you are well armed with the right tackle and bait.

The good news is that you won’t have to chop a hole through the ice to find fish this winter. At least I think that’s good news! riverdancekeith@hotmail.com.

Keith has been a recreational angler on the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries for over 50 years; he fishes weekly from his small boat during the season, and spends his free time supporting local conservation organizations.

Photo Courtesy of the MD DNR Website

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