Students at Esperanza Middle School file back into class after county volunteer firefighters give the all-clear sign Tuesday. The students, about 900 of them, had to leave the school because of concerns of a possible electrical fire and power outages.School officials say power outages caused fans to turn on and off, causing a burning smell throughout the building, but no fire was found.Power was eventually restored but not before students were dismissed early from school.

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Thursday, April 19, 2007 • St. Mary’s County, Maryland Established 2006 • Volume 2 • Issue 16 • FREE

See RPD page A-10

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Index

By Adam RossStaff Writer

Superintendent Michael J. Martirano didn’t get a drum roll, or a loud roar of approval at last week’s Board of Edu-cation meeting, but he cer-tainly knew students across St. Mary’s County were on “cloud nine” after he announced the school year would be shortened by four days.

The last day of classes will be Friday, June 8, nearly a week earlier than originally scheduled because four of the county’s five snow days went unused.

“Snow days are major chal-lenges in St. Mary’s County,” Martirano said at the Board of Education’s April 11 meeting in front of students from the three county high schools who were being recognized for Youth Art

Month, Music In Our Schools Month and a variety of ath-letic achievements. “When the rest of the state is closing it’s sunny and bright in St. Mary’s County.”

The last full day of school will be Tuesday, June 5, fol-lowed by three days of early dismissal. The last day for Catholic schools in the county is also Friday, June 8.

“If you’re a senior, I apolo-gize,” said Martirano jokingly. Graduating seniors are not re-quired to make up snow days.

County schools closed on Feb. 7, after threats of ice, not an accumulation of snow, led Martirano to shut things down for the day, he said.

Martirano makes the fi-nal decision whether to close schools during bad weather af-ter consulting with the schools’

Christmas in June for County Students Schools to close six days early

By Adam RossStaff Writer

In five years Naval Air Sta-tion Patuxent River could face another Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC), leading com-munity leaders to work collab-oratively with senior staff at Pax River, and anyone else with clout to ensure the safety of the air station without compromis-ing Maryland’s character.

House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md 5th.) spoke Wednesday in Lexing-ton Park to 250 local and state

officials and members of the Maryland Economic Develop-ment Association, a nonprofit coalition of professionals in the field, and ensured them he would do everything he could to get more money into the re-gion to face the issues ahead.

“Senators. [Barbara] Mi-kulski and [Ben] Cardin will be working hard together,” said Hoyer of the implications of fu-ture BRAC decisions. “As ma-jority leader, I have some influ-ence as well and we are going to use it.”

Hoyer Plans to Use his Influence for St. Mary’s County

See Realignment page A-10

House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md 5th.) speaks to over 250 local and state officials at the J.T. Daugherty Conference Center on April 18 about BRAC and its implications on responsible development in St. Mary’s County.

Photo by Adam Ross

See Closing Early page A-10

By Adam RossStaff Writer

The Rural Preservation District Task Force could still be ways away from specif-ic recommendations, but in just its second meeting it may have determined that the county’s proposed Transferable Develop-ment Rights and Adequate Public Facilities programs could in fact be the key to its ob-jective – effectively protecting agricultural land in the rural preservation district.

However, the question that remains on unanswered is just how much land should be set-aside as non-developable land? Col-lectively, county officials have said that amount is 60,000 acres, but just how they arrived at that target, and what type of land that 60,000 acres represents, are still unknowns.

Task force member John Parlett thinks the new Transferable Development Rights (TDR) program alone could be the answer

RPD Task Force Could Be Ahead of Its Time

McKAY’S Grand Opening Friday April 20th

By Guy Leonard Staff Writer

About 900 students, along with 87 faculty and staff members, evacuated Esperanza Middle School yesterday amid fears of an electrical fire related to a continual power outage.

Students and faculty exited the building at about 9 a.m. and were allowed back into the building at 10:15 a.m., though the building was without power.

The St. Mary’s County School System soon after an-nounced that all the students would be sent home as of 11:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Police on the scene said that teachers and students had been dealing with intermittent power outages all morning.

“The lights were going on and off all morning,” said Deputy James Molitor. “They just smelled something com-ing from the electrical [system.]”

Brad Clements, Chief Operating Officer for county schools, said that no fire was found but that the burning smell came from fans in the school affected by the power outages.

“You could burn out the motors of these fans with the power going on and off,” Clements said.

Clements’ office later said that power had been restored

Esperanza Middle School Evacuated For Fear of FireStudents sent home early for continual power outage

Big Dividends Possible for Tobacco Farmers

Photo by Andrew Knowlton

See Evacuation page A-11

See Tobacco page A-11

By Guy LeonardStaff Writer

Farmers in St. Mary’s County and throughout the region are partnering with researchers at the University of Maryland in an experimental tobacco growing project that farmers hope will reap greater profits for their industry and that researchers be-lieve could serve as a valuable source of nu-trient rich protein in food products as well as for industry use.

“Researchers estimate that the protein extract will sell for $5,000 per acre with today’s current market,” said Joseph Wood, president of the county’s farm bureau who has high hopes for the project. “If it holds true [the experiment] will generate more money than regular tobacco.”

The project just started at the end of March and includes only four farms in all of

SectionA-� The County Times Thursday,April19,�007

ByGuyLeonardStaffWriter

Underage drinking andbinge drinking are seriousproblemsinSt.Mary’sCoun-ty,accordingtoseveralstud-iesconductednationwideandin the county. County offi-cialssayparentsandchildrenshould pay close attention totheproblem.

Accordingtothecounty’sAssessment of Child-WellBeing, which uses state datafrom2004,the43.8percentofSt. Mary’s 10th graders whoreported using alcohol wasmuch higher than the state’s31.4percent.

Andofthecounty’s10thgraderswhorespondedinthe2004 Maryland AdolescentSurvey, which provided thedata for the county’s childwell-being assessment, 27.2percentsaidtheybingedrank,up from 22.9 percent from2002.

This puts St. Mary’sCounty 19th out of 24 juris-dictions,24thbeingthehigh-estlevelofseverityforbingedrinking, said Walt Biscoe

community services coordi-natorwithcountyDepartmentofRecreation,Parks&Com-munityServices.

Biscoe defined binge drinking as having five or moredrinksinasittingwithin30days.

“There’sconcernthatourchildren are drinking moreaggressivelythaninthepast,”said Biscoe “And they’redrinkingjusttogetdrunk.”

Biscoe is helping raiseawareness of the problem aspart of the county’sAllianceforAlcohol andDrugAbusePrevention.

Anationwidereportfromthe Surgeon General’s office detailing the problem of un-derage drinking also showedthat the county likely sharedintheproblem,hesaid.

The report showed thatout of 11 million underagedrinkers in the nation, 7.2million are considered bingedrinkers.

County officials say they aredoingmorethisyeartoin-creaseawarenessoftheprob-lems connected to underageand binge drinking among

countyyouth.Biscoesaidthefocusisto

get grassroots organizationson board to get the commu-nitytotalkabouttheproblemand his office. This includes involving parents in skills

traininginbehaviorstomoveaway from alcohol abuse bystrengtheningfamilybonds.

The partnership, whichincludes the Sheriff’s Office

andthepublicschoolssystemarealsoreachingouttoallfourhighschoolstotellstudentsoftheeffects andconsequencesof underage drinking, physi-calandlegal.

They are also pushing

ProjectGraduationasanop-tiontokeepteenssober.Theproject takes high school se-niors to Patuxent Naval AirStation’s drill hall for an all

nightpartyfreeofdrugsandalcohol.

Another program called“Parents who host lose themost”willalsoinformanded-ucateparentsoftherisksandconsequencesofprovidingal-coholillegallytominors.

Biscoe admitted that theuseofolderdatamadeitdif-ficult to quantify the problem inthecounty,butsaidthatthetrendsshoweditwasstilllike-ly a significant concern.

“Until someone self re-portsorgetsintosomekindofdifficulty where they have to seek treatment, thenhowareyou going to know?” Biscoesaid,addingthatmorerecentdata form 2006 on underageandbingedrinkingshouldbeforthcomingbyOctober.

KelseyBush,ayouthco-ordinator in Biscoe’s office, saidthepreponderanceofpastevidence coupled with hisownobservationsindicatedtohim theproblem isprevalentinSt.Mary’sCounty.

“If it’s any indication ofwhat we’re seeing in the na-tion,we’llseeit inthecoun-ty,” Bush said. “From talk-

ingtokids…what’sreportedis probably accurate. Their[young people’s] perceptionis everybody’s doing it, eventhough that’s not really thecase.”

GaryLynch,assistantdi-rectorforWaldenSierra,alo-calmentalhealthorganizationthat helps treat alcohol andsubstance abusers, said thatbinge drinking represented aserioushealththreattoyoungpeopleasideofbeinginvolvedinavehiclewreck.

“Allkidsareatriskwhentheybingedrink,”Lynchsaid.“When you have someonedrinkingeightorninedrinks,thatcandrivea125-poundfe-maleinto0.32alcohol[BloodAlcoholContent]level.

Lynch said that student’smentalhealthandacuitycouldalsobenegativelyaffectedbybingedrinking.

“Andwhentheydothatatayoungage,thataffectstheirmental capacity, they canexperience decreased under-standing, decreased problemsolvingabilityanddecreasedmemory,”Lynchsaid.

Photo by Adam Ross

ByAdamRossStaffWriter

Inaconfusingandvirtu-allyincoherenthearingattheSt. Mary’s County AlcoholandBeverageBoardmeetingApril 12, the licensed holderoftheHotNoodleinCalifor-niawasfoundguiltyofserv-ing alcoholpast thehoursofoperation.

David Tran plead notguilty, and called two wit-nessesonhisbehalf butwasunabletoprovehisclaimthatpatrons and employees werecleaning up bottles of beerrather than consuming thempasttherestaurant’s1:30a.m.closing.

Tran appeared confusedthroughout the hearing, of-ten turning tohisbrotherforadvice.

At times, Tran was un-abletoaskeventhemostbasicquestions toSgt.ChristopherMedved – the officer who is-suedthecitation-andhisownwitness Frederick Sommer-ville,asecurityrepresentativefromtherestaurant.

The Liquor Board foundThe Hot Noodle guilty, andsentenced it to a $200 fine and a 1 a.m. maximum closingtimeforthenext90days.

Medved said he arrivedat the California restaurantat approximately 1:59 a.m.,where he witnessed 20 indi-viduals consuming beer and“what appeared to be mixeddrinks.”

“Ispoketoasecurityper-son and asked if they wereallemployees,”saidMedved,“and he said for the mostpart.”

Trantoldtheliquorboardthat the security person theofficer spoke with was fired, butdidnotdisclosethedetailsofhisremoval.

According to Medved’stestimony,amanwithTran’scharacteristics approachedhim, and said it was his in-terpretation that all alcoholicbeverageshadtobeconsumedorthrownawayby2a.m.

“They immediately gotallthealcoholintotrashcans,”addedMedved.

Tran denied ever hav-ing that conversation withMedved the evening, whichwasthenightofFeb25.

Under Maryland statelaw, licensed bars and res-taurants are only permittedtoservealcoholupto2a.m..However, hours of operationtrumpthestatelaw.

In the case of The HotNoodle,Transubmittedare-quest in November 2006 to

extendtherestaurant’soperat-inghoursto1:30a.m.,whichwasgrantedunanimouslybytheLiquorBoard.

In November, Tran toldboard members his objectivewasto“openandserveanewlatemenu, and jumpstart thebarbecause thebar crowd isnotasbusy.”

Becausethatrequestwasgranted, Tran is not legallyauthorizedtoserveuntilthe2a.m.,statelawlimit.AttimesTran appeared to understandthis, and at other points hedidnot. WhenaskedbyLi-quorBoardChairmanAlbertBabcock what his hours ofoperationwere,Tranwasableto successfully recite thosehours, however he failed toexplain why there were noclearclosingrulesset forhisemployees.

Somerville, a securityguardatTheHotNoodle foralmost a month, and presentthenightoftheviolation,ex-plained to the board that he“assumed the closing hourswere[2a.m.].”

“I didn’t know they hadthe 1:30 a.m. [closing],” saidSommerville,asecurityguardofalmost10years.

However, despite Som-merville’s unfamiliarity withthe1:30a.m.closing,hesaidhe would normally tell pa-trons to finish or throw out theirdrinksatapproximately1:15a.m.

“We try to hire a goodstaffandfollowourprotocolsasfarasremovingalcoholandcleaningup,”saidLamTran,partownerandbrothertoDa-vidTran.

Liquor Board memberNathaniel Lawrence votedagainst the impositionof a1a.m., maximum closing timeforthenext90days.

“A flat out fine would have been better for them,”Lawrencesaidafterthemeet-ing.“Theywillenduplosingmoremoneyinthe90days.”

BoardmembersLynnM.Canty and Thomas C. Ben-nettsaidthatthehearingmayhaverenderedafewinconsis-tencies, but it was clear thatpeopleweredrinkingpastthehoursofoperation.

Inothernews,formerLi-quor Board Vice ChairmanCharles P. Miedzinski hadopen-heart surgery, accord-ing to Canty. Miedzinskiwasreappointedtotheliquorboard to replace Babcock asitschairman.

Deputy Emory Johnson,the county’s alcohol enforce-mentcoordinator,said10peo-pleunderage21werecharged

forpossessionofalcohol thismonth,andthecountyissuedatotalof38drivingwhilein-

toxicated(DWI)citations.Babcock asked Johnson

jokingly about the proto-

colsfor thecounty’ssobrietycheck points, reminding theboard that this would be his

lastmeetingand“Ihavetobecarefulfromhereonout.”

LocalRestaurantinHotWater

Photo by Adam Ross

The Hot Noodle’s bar area pictured above will have to shut down early for the next 90 days, after the license holder of the restaurant was found guilty of serving alcohol past the restaurant’s legal hours of operation.

Countytryingtoincreaseawarenessofunderage,bingedrinking

Pictured from left-to-right, owners of The Hot Noodle in California, Lam Tran and David Tran, are accompanied out of the Liquor Board meeting by Fred-erick Sommerville, a security guard for the restaurant.

Thursday, April 19, 2007 The County Times Section A - �

Live Concert

The Chamber Singers, a group of select choral vocal-ists at St. Mary’s College of Maryland (SMCM), will pres-ent their Springa 2007 con-cert on April 22 at 3 p.m. in Trinity Church. The concert is free and open to the public. For more information, con-tact Gwen Degentesh at (240) 895-4498.

College Lecture Series

Armand Cerbone, a Chi-cago-based psychologist, will speak on “Sex, Love, and Stigma in Same-Sex Rela-tionships” on Friday, April 20 at 3 p.m. in Cole Cinema at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. The talk is sponsored by the Department of Psychology and is part of the 2006-2007 Di-versity & Multicultural Lecture Series. It is free and open to the public. For more informa-tion, contact Terell Lasane at 240-895-4448.

Summer Hours

The St. Mary’s County Department of Public Works and Transportation announc-es that the summer hours of operation at the six (6) Conve-nience Centers will be effec-tive Tuesday, May 1, and con-

tinue through October 31. The summer hours are as follows: Monday - Friday 11:00 a.m. - 6:30 p.m., and Saturday - Sun-day 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Live Theatre

Join Leonardtown High School’s Rose Players for its production of “Little Women” on April 19, 20, and 21, at 7:30 p.m., in the school’s au-ditorium. Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for students, and $2 for thespians. “Little Women” is a drama/comedy adapted by Sandra Fenichel Asher from the writings of Louisa May Alcott. This particular play is based on the first part of Alcott’s novel and centers around the lives of the March girls during the time of the Civil War. For more details, contact Leonardtown High School at 301-475-0200.

Workshop

A teen writing worship with Author A.C. Crispin, known for his Star Wars and Star Trek novels will be held Thursday, April 19 at the Lexington Park Library. At-tendees are encouraged to bring any fictional writing samples to receive feedback from Crispin. The workshop will start at 6 p.m. Free, and available to ages 14-17; please

register at 301-863-8188 ext. 1004.

Ballroom Dance Lessons

Learn fun new steps in Jitterbug and Tango, and then spend the rest of the night perfecting your moves. We’ll teach a beginner-level lesson of ballroom dance from 7-8 p.m., and play music of all styles from 8-11 p.m. Singles always welcome. Bring a snack to share, water and soda will be provided. The cost is $8 per person, $15 per couple, and $5 for students and se-niors. The even will be held at the Little Flower School, on Route 5 in Great Mills. For more information call 301-645-8509.

Springtime to Shop Expo/Fundraiser

The MOMS Club of Cali-fornia is having their second Annual Springtime to Shop Expo on April 21 at The Church of the Ascension, Lex-ington Park, Md. from 10a.m. to 3 p.m. All proceeds will be going to the family of James Culver. Local artisans, hand-crafts and more will be dis-played and up for sale. Space is still available for vendors as well. For more information please contact Tracey Sheluga

at (240)-210-5342.

SMAWL Adoption Day

The St. Mary’s Animal Welfare League will hold an adoption day on Saturday, April 21 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Petco store on 235. Come and meet the res-cued cats, dogs, puppies and kittens that are fully vetted, spayed, neutered and looking for a home they can call their own. Every day there are af-fectionate and playful cats and kittens at Petco waiting to meet you. Call 301-373-5659 for more information.

Plant Clinic

Ask a Master Gardener any gardening questions you might have. Bring plant samples and/or photos to the Leonardtown Library on Tuesday, April 24 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event is free. Contact 301-475-2846 for more information.

Book Feature

Priscilla Cummings, well-known author of Chad-wick the Crab series, Red Kayak and other books for various age groups, will dis-

cuss her writing process, at the first annual BooksAlive, St. Mary’s County Library’s Celebration of Children and Reading. The event will be held at the Leonardtown Li-brary Tuesday April 24 at 6:30 p.m. Book signing follows. Books available for purchase. Program funded by proceeds from the sale of the cookbook, 300 Years of Black Cooking in St. Mary’s County Maryland. Free tickets available starting April 10. call 301-475-2846.

Computer Class

Free Adult Computer Class – Introduction to Email

Monday, Tuesday, April 23, & 24, 2:00 p.m., Lexing-ton Park Library

New user will be intro-duced to this popular from of communication by setting up their own accounts and send-ing and receiving messages. Free. Limited space. Reg-istration required. 301-863-8188 or lexi.ref@stmalib.org

Live Music

An Evening of Story and Song with Danny O’Flaherty brings the traditions of Ireland to Southern Maryland. Satur-day May 19 at 7:00p.m., Len-ny’s Restaurant. Doors open at 6:00pm. Tickets $20.00 in advance $25.00 at the door.

Basket Bingo

Basket Bingo to benefit

the Democratic Club of St. Mary’s County Thursday April 26 at the Leonardtown Firehouse. Doors open at 6 p.m. Bingo begins at 7 p.m. $20 for 20 regular games, ad-ditional books $5 per book. Children must have their own book. Also specials, a raffle, and a 50/50. Food and drink available. For more informa-tion contact Leslie Roberts @ 301-475-8671 or robertss@olg.com. This basket bingo is in no way affiliated or en-dorsed by the Longaberger Company, although all prod-ucts to be won are genuine Longaberger.

Panel Discussion

The League of Women Voters of St. Mary’s County will sponsor a panel discus-sion of “Living with the Liv-ing Wage.” The discussion will take place at the Lexing-ton Park Library from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Thurs-day, April 26. The speakers include Dr. Kristen Sheeran, Department of Economics, Saint Mary’s College of Mary-land, Ms. Robin Finnacom, President, Community Devel-opment Corporation, and Ms. Ellen Flowers-Fields, Director of Regional Economic Devel-opment, Tri-County Council of Southern Maryland. The meeting is open to the public. For further information con-tact Virginia Stein, President at 240-895-0414.Enter your Event information here just as you want it posted within the calendar.

In Your Community

Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) announced today that St. Charles Towne Center, a major Southern Maryland shopping destina-tion since its opening over 15 years ago, will be one of the first malls to be completely renovated as part of a three-year, multi-million dollar Si-mon initiative.

The 980,000-square-foot regional mall, anchored by Macy’s, Macy’s Home Store, JCPenney, Sears, Kohl’s and Dick’s Sporting Goods, origi-nally opened in 1990. Kohl’s joined the shopping center in 1997, followed by the addi-tion of Hecht’s (now Macy’s) Home Store in 2002 replacing the ground level of the for-mer Montgomery Ward store, and Dick’s Sporting Goods in 2003 in the upper level of the Wards space.

“We have established a very loyal shopper base over the years and have strived to

keep our mall contemporary and inviting,” said David Gott, mall manager.

“However, our trade area has experienced tremen-dous growth in recent years. Through this renovation we intend to examine a myriad of ways through which St. Charles Towne Center can even better serve the needs of our customers, whether they are here to shop, to dine, to be entertained, or just to enjoy a welcoming and comfortable environment,” said Gott.

“While we intend to fo-cus on improvements that will appeal to all segments of our shopper base, we will place special emphasis on family-friendly amenities, especially since families account for much of the region’s popula-tion base and growth, and St. Charles Towne Center is such a popular destination for fam-ilies to spend time together,” Gott added.

ST. CHARLES TOWNE CENTER RENOVATION

The mall renovations will include new interior and exterior features/amenities such as additional seating, larger restrooms, redesigned site and mall entrances, land-scaping, lighting, flooring and handrails.

Specific projects include:• Redesign of the

mall’s center court area with expansive seating areas, fea-turing soft seating, furniture and planters

• Addition of a new children’s soft play area and introduction of Simon’s Kidg-its Club

• Architectural chang-es creating larger, more con-venient men’s and women’s restroom facilities in the food court

• Extensive food court improvements with additional seating

• Construction of new lower level restrooms. These “Grand” rest rooms will be larger, incorporating many family-friendly amenities in-cluding a family restroom,

a nursing room, an infant changing room and a lounge area.

• Redesign of all three mall entrances incorporating automatic sliding doors for shopper convenience

• Carpeted soft seat-ing areas added throughout the mall for customer comfort and convenience

• New flooring in-stalled throughout the mall

• Relocation of Guest Services to a more customer friendly location

• New exterior signs, including an attractive feature pylon sign at the Route 301 mall entrance

Gott said that additional details about the renovation, including renovation timeta-ble, color renderings and sam-ples of new mall amenities and finish materials, will be announced in the near future. Improvements are expected to begin in a few months, and work performed will be done in such a way as to minimize interference or customer in-

convenience during the mall’s operating hours. Construction is scheduled to be finished in early 2008.

About Simon Property Group

Simon Property Group, Inc., an S&P 500 company headquartered in Indianapo-lis, Indiana, is a real estate in-vestment trust engaged in the ownership, development and management of retail real es-tate, primarily regional malls, Premium Outlet Centers® and community/lifestyle cen-ters. The Company’s current total market capitalization is approximately $56 billion. Through its subsidiary part-nership, it currently owns or has an interest in 324 proper-ties in the United States con-taining an aggregate of 245 million square feet of gross leasable area in 41 states plus Puerto Rico. Simon also owns interests in 53 European shopping centers in France, Italy, and Poland; 5 Premium Outlet Centers in Japan; and one Premium Outlet Center in Mexico. Additional Simon

Property Group information is available at www.simon.com. Simon Property Group, Inc. is publicly traded on the NYSE under the symbol SPG.

For Further Information, Please Contact:

Kristine Winternitz, St. Charles Towne Center:(301) 870-6997kwinternitz@simon.com

Billie Scott, Simon Property Group: (317) 263-7148bscott@simon.com

SIMON PROPERTY GROUP ANNOUNCES PLANS TO UNDERTAKEMAJOR RENOVATION AT ST. CHARLES TOWNE CENTER WITH FOCUS ON FAMILY-FRIENDLY FEATURES

-Details of extensive interior and exterior renovation to be unveiled in the near future-

The mall renovations will include new interior and exterior features/amenities.

SectionA-� The County Times Thursday,April19,2007

You wouldn’t manageyour household budget thatway, takingonexpensesyouknow you don’t have mon-ey enough to repay. Youwouldn’t manage your busi-ness thatway, increasing ex-pensesknowingtherearenotsufficient revenues to pay the bills.Yourparentsraisedyoubetter,tellingyouitisn’thowmuch you make that bringsfinancial stability, it’s how muchyouspendthatcounts.

Individuals, families andbusinessesliveeverydaycon-trollingexpensesandlimitingspendingtoensurethatattheendofthemonththebillsarepaidandhopefully there is a

little leftover. Andthereal-ways seem tobe toughdeci-sions that have to be made.Choices, sacrifices, things you dowithout,prioritiesyoumustsettoassureyou,yourfamily,your business canmeet yourfinancial obligations.

Ineconomicswediscernthe difference between theprivate sector and the publicsector,thedifferencebetweenfamiliesandgovernment,thedifference between businessandgovernment.Individuals,families and businesses thatspend more than they makego bankrupt, while govern-mentthatspendsmorethanitmakesraisestaxes.

The governor and theMaryland state legislaturelastweekended their90dayspendingspree,spendingnotonlythelargeincreaseintaxrevenuesthestateisenjoying,theyalsoblewthroughtheen-tire$1.6billion reserveGov-ernorEhrlichhadmanagedtoput away. Going practicallyunnoticed, they even dippedinto the state’s rainy day re-serves.Itwasayearofspend-ing taboos, using savings topayforreoccurringexpenses.If you stayed awake in Eco-nomics 101, you know whatthatmeans; tax increasesareonly another legislative ses-sionaway.

NextJanuary,facedwiththe consequences of over-indulging, our state SenatorandDelegateswillheadbackto Annapolis to fix the prob-lem.Ontheway,therewillbemuchsaidabouttheiropposi-tiontotaxincreases,buttheywill give us harsh warningsthatsomethingwillhavetobedone.Theywillprobablytalkabouttheeconomybeingnotas good as expected and thecost of doing business beinghigherthanexpected.Almostlike a business owner, theywill talk about finding “an-otherrevenuesource”.

The majority of thosein the legislature will vote

to takemoreof yourmoney,they will vote for “sweeping taxreform”designedtomakeyoubelievetheotherguywillbear the greater burden, notyou.Somewillevenbequitesuccessfulinconvincingtheirvotersbackhome that itwasthefaultofothersenatorsanddelegates,notthem.

When we hear the talkabout needing more revenuetomeetthestate’sobligations,remember what we learnedearly on, its not how muchyoumake,it’showmuchyouspend.Facedwiththeneedtomake tough choices like youdo everyday, to set spendingpriorities so revenues would

be more than expenses, thepeopleweelected tomanageour tax dollars decided theywould spend more than thestatehasinrevenues.

And if your Senator orDelegate says he won’t votefortaxincreases,askthemoreimportant question, did youvote for less spending? Didyou vote against the budgetthis year and offer sensiblechoices to reduce spendingso to avoid the need for taxincreases?

ByAdamRossStaffWriter

Back in grade school Inever had my school yearshortenedbecausenotenoughsnow fell over the winterseason.

OnWednesday,April11,SuperintendentDr.MichaelJ.Martiranodidjustthat.

Each year, Martirano al-lotsacertainamountofsnowdays,andifthosedaysaren’tused he has the authority tochop them at the end of theyear.

Now students from thedepths of pre-kindergartenrightonuptoeleventhgradewill end the school year sixdays early.Hownice itmust

be.Andpointlesstoo.I don’t think you’ll find a

parentthrilledbyMartirano’sdecision to cut four schooldays off the end of the year.The summer is already longenoughforparents,especiallythose with young children.Arranging activities, babysit-ters,andpointlessjobsforthevacationing student body is

often left up toparentalpro-viders who now take on thetaskabitearlier.

But the truepoint is thatthere is no harm in keepingstudents in school four extradays. In fact,over theyearsthere have been whispersaround the country for a re-volvingschoolyear.

That idea might be a bitextremeformytaste,butinatimewherestudentsarecon-sumed by outside activitiesthat so often break the moldof a school’s principles andfoundations, shouldn’t ad-ministrators be rejoicing thatstudents had an opportunityforfourextradaysofinstruc-tion?Whyisittheotherwayaround?

I’m certain St. Mary’sCounty Public School filled its school calendar day re-quirement,butanopportunitypresented itself and insteadadministrators showed stu-

dentsthatsimplymeetingtherequirementisacceptable.

Over my own gradeschoolexperienceIrememberteachers skipping over chap-ters, and focusing less timeoncertainlessons.Fouraddi-tionaldaysofclassisasmallchunk of the summer break,but it’s an excellent opportu-nitytorevisitthelessonplansleftshortoroverlooked.

But then there is part ofmethatsympathizeswiththestudent.Thelastdayofschoolis sort of a surreal experi-ence. I remember trashcanslining thehallways.Studentsone-by-one threw out theirbinders, notebooks, pens,paper, backpacks filled with month-old ham and cheesesandwichesandwhateverelsehappened tobesomehowre-latedtoschool.

Foronedayeachyear,allofthedocumentsthatweresovital to a grade-point-aver-

ageoraquizhaddigressedtothe relevanceof amontholdfrenchfry.Atthatpointinmylife, I probably would havedoneanythingtoachievethatsatisfactionsixdaysearlier.

Needless to say I expecttheexpectationsofmost stu-dents tobein linewithwhatMartiranoultimatelydid.ButIwouldn’texpectanadminis-tration with the motto “Chart-ing a Course of Excellence,”to necessarily side with astudents’frameofmind.Un-less of course, it is illegal inthe state of Maryland to ex-tendtheschoolyearfourdaysbeyond the allotted calendardays,butIhavefoundnoevi-denceforthattobetrue.

So students rejoice, par-entscringe,summerisaroundthe corner and this year it’sshowingupalittlebitearlier.

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Big City Boy, Small Town Heart

MarylandLegislatureFacedWithToughChoices...TaxpayersLose

EarlySummerBreak

ByScottShewfeltCapitalNewsService

WASHINGTON-Mary-land’shigher education insti-tutions are waiting for moredetails about the VirginiaTech shooting that left 33dead Monday before review-ing their security measures,butvowedchangesifneeded.

On Monday, a studentidentified as Cho Seung-hui, 23, killed two in an earlymorningshootinginadormi-tory at the Blacksburg, Va.,campus and then two hourslater opened fire in a lecture hall and classrooms beforecommitting suicide. In to-tal,33diedanddozenswerewounded, in the deadliestshootinginU.S.history.

Allschoolshaveplansinplace for catastrophes, saidDebMoriarty, vice presidentof student affairs at TowsonUniversity.

“Everything looks good on paper until you’re in themiddle of a crisis,”Moriartysaid. “It all comes down to a humanjudgmentcall.”

Monday’sshootingbeganshortlyafter7a.m.whentwopeople were found murderedinadormitory.However, theuniversity administration didnot send an e-mail warningtostudentsuntil9:26a.m.,theAssociatedPressreported.

Bythattime,theshootingsinNorrisHallhadbegun.

“Communication is al-ways a problem,” SalisburyUniversity Police Chief EdLashley said, adding a plancan be great, but with poorcommunicationitwillalwayshaveaweaklink.

“Every university will take this somberopportunityto learn from any mistakesandincorporatepositivesintotheir own plans,” Lashleysaid.

The Salisbury Univer-sity Police have been work-ingcloselywithlocalsheriff’sdepartmentstoperfectanac-tive-shooterplanandhopetohaveanon-campustestinthecomingweeks,Lashleysaid.

Salisbury also has ahostile-intruder policy, ad-dressing hostage situations

inbothresidentandnon-resi-denthalls,hesaid.Underthisplan, the police are the first responders and identify themagnitudeofthesituation.

A shootingwouldgener-ally lead to a “category-three” situation, meaning a com-municationscommandcenterwouldbesetup,theuniversitywould be locked down andstudentsmovedwhereneces-sary,hesaid.

The Virginia Tech cam-pusofmorethan25,000full-timestudentsisnostrangertolockdowns. In August 2006,there was a manhunt for anescaped inmate that led to acampus shutdown and sentstudentstotheirdorms.

On Monday however,the campus was not lockeddown following notification of the two shootings in thedormitory.

“We don’t know what hap-penedatVirginiaTech,”saidCathy Atwell spokeswomanfor the University of Mary-land, College Park, Depart-ment of Public Safety, “there arenolessonslearned.”

Maryland’s emergencyplanincludesmasse-mailandvoice mail notification and warning sirens. The policealsohavetheabilitytolockallbuildingsfromacentralloca-tionifneedbe.

The full emergency planis posted on the University’sWeb site, but Atwell saidnothing will be discussed asfaraschangesgountilalltheinformationbecomesknown.

Schools don’t want to“create a prison fortress,” Mo-riartysaid.Theyneedtorelyongoodpolicy,preventionef-fortsandhope.

Towson’s campus emer-gency plan involves the co-ordinationofdozensofunits,whicharecurrentlyreviewingtheir protocol individually.They will all meet later thisweek oncemore informationbecomes known, Moriartysaid.

Likewise, Steve Simon

ofMontgomeryCollegesaid,“this is a difficult situation to immediately evaluate andbreakdown.”

Montgomery College isthesecond-largestundergrad-uateenrollment institution inthe state and has campusesthroughout the county, saidspokesmanSimon.

“It is a different environ-ment than Virginia Tech,”Simonsaidnotingthelackofon-campushousingandlargenumbersofcommuters.

The college has a cam-pus response team, but theyalso work with the county’semergency managementteambecauseoftheseparatedlocations.

Their emergency plan isperiodicallyrevisedandisof-tenevent-driven,Simonsaid.The events of Sept. 11, 2001led to major revisions in thecollege’s emergency plans,which are broken down us-

ing a color-coded threatsystem.

This emergency planhasbeenmovedtoamoreprominentlocationontheirWebsite,Simonsaid,butasfarasprotocolchanges,itis

toosoon.The size and layout of a

campusisahugefactorinde-signing emergencyprepared-nessplans.

At theCumberlandcam-pusoftheAlleganyCollegeofMaryland,ShaunaMcQuade,director of public relations,saiditssmallsizeandlocationhavehelpedthecollegeavoidcatastrophes. The campus is,however, working on final-izingasecurityplanandhashiredasecuritycoordinator.

“We’re taking security is-suesmuchmoreseriousthanbefore,” she said, “and not just becauseofyesterday,becauseoftheworld.”

Va.TechShootingLeavesMarylandCollegesReevaluatingSecurityMeasures

Thursday, April 19, 2007 The County Times Section A - �

By Guy LeonardStaff Writer

Deputies with the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Of-fice say they have captured a Lexington Park man respon-sible for three armed robber-ies in the last two weeks that stretched from Great Mills to Callaway.

Otis Scorpio Williams, 22, of Pleasant Drive allegedly robbed the Shell convenience store and gas station on April 14 in Callaway at about 10:15 p.m. with a handgun, accord-ing to the Deputies.

That handgun, once re-covered by deputies, turned out to be a pellet gun that looked much like the real thing.

Sheriff’s officials believe Williams used the same pellet gun to conduct two other rob-beries, also at Shell gas sta-tions, on April 12 and April 4.

Deputies investigating the other two robberies over the weekend got the call of the late night robbery April 14 and arrived on the scene. Us-ing leads from previous inci-dents they were able to estab-lish a connection.

“We’d been investigating the other two robberies and had been following up leads when this robbery occurred,” said Lt. Rick Burris, head of the Bureau of Criminal Investigations.

This robbery was differ-ent in that the alleged per-petrator apparently got more than he bargained for.

“The victim, instead of complying with his demands, chased [the alleged perpetra-tor] out of the store and he wound up fleeing on foot,” added Burris.

Burris said investigators tracked Williams to a resi-dence in Piney Point where they took custody of him

without a struggle.“They [the investigators]

were able to determine he was the suspect in the other two robberies and charged him,” Burris said.

He faces three counts of armed robbery and is current-ly being held in the county’s Adult Detention Center.

Burris said he knew of no reason why Williams al-legedly struck three Shell gas stations.

“I believe it’s just a coin-cidence,” Burris said.

The other two robber-ies took place on Pegg Road, April 4, and on Route 235 April 12.

Burris said that while deputies were able to handily capture this alleged suspect, armed robberies in the county are rising.

He said that so far this year there have been 20 such crimes, which is more than normal for this time.

“As the county grows we seem to get more and more types of these cases,” Burris said. “Fortunately we’ve been able to close most cases like this recently. Over the past four months we’ve closed all armed robbery cases with an arrest except one.”

Burris said Johntonna Young, 19, and his alleged ac-complices - Terrell Thomas and Cruitien Bryan - are the alleged perpetrators of a rob-bing of a convenience store and sporting goods store.

Young was later arrested for the murder of a Lexington Park man while he allegedly attempted to steal the victim’s camcorder from his vehicle in February.

“We’re looking at ways to deal with these armed robber-ies,” said Burris. “That’s the trend we’re dealing with right now.”

Police Nab Serial Robbery SuspectWorries grow over frequency of armed robberies

The work involved with planning a wedding can stress out even the most stable of in-dividuals. Even those brides-to-be who knew all the rea-sons why they were getting married a few months ago may be facing the prospect of walking down the aisle with anxiety.

Call it cold feet or wed-ding jitters, the feeling is common among newlyweds-to-be. Stress has a funny way of making mountains out of molehills - little idiosyncra-cies in a partner can quickly grow into horrible character traits. The key is recogniz-ing when fears are just the result of too much planning and not deep-rooted relation-ship issues. Usually a person quickly realizes they’re more overwhelmed about the wed-ding details than the thought of making a commitment.

“The What If Guy,” by Taylor G. Wilshire has mes-sages of love, forgiveness and affirmation at its roots, which can offer help at this impor-tant time in your life. It also provides an entertaining story that gives you a chance to kick back and escape.

1. Put your thoughts onto paper - Make a list of what

is causing the most anxi-ety. This release technique is something main character Ryley McKenna used in the book to clear her fears and prevent overworrying. Some-times having all of your rac-ing thoughts organized and on paper can help you rationally address the issues and see that there is no serious cause of the jitters. It can also help you pin-point a common stress trigger, such as a financial concern or a conflict with a family mem-ber. Compare these fears to a list of reasons why you love your partner and want to en-ter a commitment with this person. This simple task can bring order to jumbled feel-ings and offer clarity on any nervousness you may have.

2. Learn to relax - Make time for yourself and enjoy activities that are not directly related to wedding planning. For example, some women benefit from a massage or fa-cial treatment. Others find that a relaxing drive or walk along the beach or through another quiet area can help promote calmness. Or take a cue from Ryley and learn to relax by meditating to put your mind at peace: Find a quiet place and focus on deep breathing.

3. Talk to your partner - Open up to your partner about how you are feeling. You just may find that he is experienc-ing some of the same things as you and that jitters are completely normal. Working through fears to a place of love is one of the underlying con-cepts of “A Course in Mira-cles,” the inspirational text that helps guide Ryley throughout the book. By expressing your fears and doubts, and working through them as a team, this can be the first step you take as a married couple to support each other in good times ... and bad.

4. Recognize that changes understandably make people uncomfortable - One of the most life-altering changes a person can make is getting married, particularly if you’ve both been used to living on your own and making your own decisions. Instead of fo-cusing on what you could be losing by getting married, reaffirm all of the things you will be gaining. It may help to talk to married couples who have been successful in keeping their relationships strong. Remember though, your relationship is unique to

you as a couple. So don’t be sidetracked over what could or may happen.

5. Keep in mind that love is most important - While you want the weather to cooperate and the day to be flawless, you cannot control the outcome of everything when getting married. There may be some minor (or major) bumps along the way. Being able to recover gracefully and enjoy yourself can help start your relation-ship off on the right foot. Re-member, you’ll have many other chances to create win-ning memories as you grow old together with your partner, so don’t put so much emphasis on the wedding details or the most important moments may pass you by. For further in-spiration, see the ways Ryley overcomes challenges to find her path to true love in “The What if Guy.”

Add “The What If Guy” to your bridal shower wish list to provide some much-needed salvation during this wonder-ful, but often stressful time. It is available wherever paper-backs are sold. Learn more about the book and author at www.thewhatifguy.com.

How to Calm Wedding Jitters

Gary Callis.....is 60 today...the 20th

Gary was born and raised in St. Mary’s County and has lived in

Hollywood all his life. He belongs to the American Truck Historical Society, as well as the Antique Firetruck Club. He enjoys

going to the Shows and he’s happy driving his Auto Car. He has a 1959 REO which he has retired, so he says. He also has a 1965

Ford Firetruck. He has been going to Shows for over 20 years. He is a very caring and giving person, for which I’d like to ask everyone who sees him to wish him a “Happy Birthday” and Thank Him For

Everything He Does. He is appreciated very much by his family and friends. He is also

a member of Hollywood Methodist Church.

So Happy 60th Birthday Gary!!!

By Guy LeonardStaff Writer

County public safety of-ficials say they expect backup power generators that would keep local radio stations run-ning in case of an electrical blackout to be installed on or before the start of hurricane season June 1.

The installation of the generators will correct a flaw in how the county communi-cates with its residents in the event of a serious weather event or disaster; back in 2003 when Hurricane Isabel struck, county officials could not get the word out to residents over the local airwaves be-cause power had gone down at the stations with no backup option.

“There’s been pressure from the community for a couple of years on this,” said Public Safety Director Dave Zylak, “It’s been an issue since Isabel, we lost power and there were no radio stations operat-ing at the time.

“The obvious problem was that you couldn’t get a message out about flooded roads or other dangers.”

Since Isabel, the county has relied on other means to get the word out to its resi-dents, such as partnerships with The Weather Channel and with WTOP 107.7 on the FM dial.

But, Zylak said, relying on local radio stations for in-formation was the best way to get the word out about disaster or weather related warnings.

“People are more in-clined to tune in to local stations,” Zylak said. “Their [local station’s] output covers the entire county.”

Zylak said that his de-partment has been working with Somar Communications owner Roy Robertson, who controls WPTX 1690AM and WSMD 98.3FM in Lex-ington Park and Mechanics-ville respectively, to solve the problem quickly.

Somar Communications also operates radio stations in neighboring Charles and Cal-vert counties.

“That’s our expectation [that Robertson will have the generators installed before hurricane season] and he’s agreed to do everything in his power to make that hap-pen,” Zylak said.

Robertson’s attorney,

Eugene Pitroff, said that he and Robertson also expected the generators to be installed soon, but that delays in pro-duction caused by disaster relief efforts in other parts of the country, namely Louisi-ana and Mississippi in the af-termath of Hurricane Katrina made it difficult to get the generators because of high demand.

Tim Bennett, Emergency Management Division head, confirmed this.

“He [Robertson] stepped up to the plate and is cooper-ating with us,” Bennett said. “Logistics were slowed by the Gulf States Katrina disaster; a lot of generator manufacturers are playing catch-up.”

Zylak and other officials are hoping to get the genera-tors soon in preparation for what weather forecasters are predicting will be a very ac-tive storm and hurricane sea-son in the Atlantic Ocean.

Zylak said the latest re-ports predict 17 named storms and five major hurricanes that could strike the East Coast this year.

He said that in the last century their was an average of a 52 percent chance that a major storm could hit the East Coast, but this year there was 74 percent chance that such an event could strike, meaning St. Mary’s County faced an elevated threat.

“It is elevated,” Zylak said. “But again it’s still a prediction.”

Generators For Radio Stations To Be Installed Before Hurricane Season

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SectionA-� The County Times Thursday,April19,2007

Thecounty’smosttechnologicallyadvancedstudentscompetedlastmonthinBaltimoreandAnneArundelcountiesformedalsandbraggingrightsattheSkillsUSAMarylandStateChampionship.Attheawardsceremony,52St.Mary’sstudentswererecognizedforplacingsixthorhigher,and38studentsearnedmedals.Studentscompetedin25differentcontests,allpartofprogramsofferedattheDr.JamesA.ForrestCareerandTechnologyCenter.

In addition to being declared State Champions, gold medalists have qualified to compete attheSkillsUSANationalSkillsandLeadershipConferencetobeheldinKansasCity,Mo.,onJune25.FifteenForrestCenterstudentshaveearnedtherighttocompeteinKansasCitythisyear.Fundraisingeffortsarecurrentlyunderway.Formoredetails,or to support thestudentsthroughdonations,pleasecontacttheDr.JamesA.ForrestCareerandTechnologyCenterat301-475-0242.

Theresultsareasfollows:PlaceContestContestant1stPlace3DVisualization&AnimationBlakeLowther,EricConley1stPlaceAviationMaintenanceDevinSkinner1stPlaceGraphicCommunicationAndrewTalbert1stPlaceRadioProductionDesireeOsvatics,CariLawrence1stPlaceTeamWorksJoshHill,MatthewTippett,JeffAnderson, BrandonGass1stPlaceTelevisionNews/AnchorStanPajak,KrystalBurns,AlexMeath1stPlaceVideoProductDevelopmentCameronNoar,TatianaMieux2ndPlace3DVisualization&AnimationJeffHeern,TiffanyHill2ndPlaceAviationMaintenance BradleyMinghella2ndPlaceCarpentryJarredNorris2ndPlaceCrimeSceneInvestigationTyvieHerbert,KyleBlazer,BrittanyCook2ndPlaceDieselEquipmentTechnologyJamesHarris2ndPlaceRelatedTechnicalMathBriannaHampton2ndPlaceResidentialWiringRyanSpittle2ndPlaceTechnicalDraftingJoshMora2ndPlaceTelevision(Video)ProductionJoeRongione,ChrisKalnasy3rdPlaceAdvertisingDesignKevinParlett3rdPlaceAviationMaintenance BenHamlet3rdPlaceCrimeSceneInvestigationDorothyNortey,AsiaBlake,AshleyGalow3rdPlaceCriminalJusticeKyleHayden3rdPlaceResidentialWiringTravisQuade3rdPlaceTelevisionNews/AnchorAshleyLindsey,SarahSmith,EricSilvertsen3rdPlaceAviationMaintenance BenLuffey4thPlaceCollisionRepairTechnologyKeithBurch4thPlaceCrimeSceneInvestigationCynthiaTaylor,LatashaMoreland, ShannonSnell4thPlaceCriminalJusticeLaurenPayne4thPlaceJobSkillsDemoARm.222StephanieGoodson4thPlaceTelevision(Video)ProductionStaceyElliott,HaileyWallace5thPlaceCulinaryArtsJonathanCollins5thPlaceJobSkillsDemoBEmilyHowe6thPlaceActionSkillsNatalieLanigan6thPlaceCarpentryAndyNelson6thPlaceCriminalJusticeRyanSelph

SkillsUSAMarylandStateChampionship

Courtesy of Forrest Career Technology Center

Courtesy of Forrest Career Technology Center

ByGuyLeonardStaffWriter

The family of JamesEmerick Dean, the ArmyRanger who was killed by aMarylandStatePolicetacticalmarksmaninabarricadesitu-ation inDecember, said theyare investigating the eventsthatledtohisdeathwiththeirownforensicexpert.

Dean’s widow, MurielDean,saidthat,dependingonthe investigation’s findings, the family could seek civildamages from the MarylandStatePolice.

“That’s our intention,once we get our investiga-tiondone,”MurielDeansaid.“We’rehavingourowninves-tigationdoneandwehaveourownexpert.”

Thefamily’sinvestigationfollows a report from State’sAttorney Richard Fritz thatcriticized the actions of theMarylandStatePoliceasbe-ingoverlyaggressiveintryingtoresolvethebarricadesitua-tion that tookplace at JamesDean’sfather’shomeDec.25and26.

“We’ve said that fromthe beginning,”MurielDeansaid.

Dean was killed after along standoff with police inwhich, he fired several times atthemandtheirvehiclesbutcausednoinjuries.

Dean, an Army Rangerwho had served in Afghani-stan,hadjustreceivedordersto return to Iraq during theThanksgiving holiday, Mu-riel Dean said, and he soonbecamedepressedatthepros-pectofleavingthewomanhehadbeenmarriedtoforonlyaboutfourmonths.

The return orders trig-geredhisbehavior,exacerbat-edbydiagnosedpost-traumat-icstressdisorder,shesaid.

“Hesaid‘IfIdidn’thaveyou it would be easier to goback,’”MurielDeansaid.“Hehadeverythinghewantedandhefeltlikeitwasbeingrippedawayfromhim.”

Dean’s family members

calledpolicethenightofDec.25 and said theybelievedhewas suicidal, according toFritz’s report, and when po-licecametocheckhewarnedthemtobackaway.

Theactualbarricadesitu-ationensuedfromthereon.

Deputies attempted totalkDeanout of his parent’shomeonDustyLanethrough-outtheearlymorninghoursofDec.26buteventuallytriedtouseteargastogethimtoleavethehouse.

At the end of the stand-offDeanexitedthehomeandleveledaweaponat thestatepolicearmoredvehicle;atthatpoint the sniper fired once and killedDean.

Fritz’sreportsaidthatthestate

trooper who fired the shot act-edproperly,butFritzcriticizedtheaggressivestatepoliceuseofanarmoredvehicle.

“The tactics used by theMaryland State Police wereoverwhelmingly aggressiveand not warranted under thecircumstances of the factspresentinthiscase,”Fritzstat-ed.“TheuseofPeaceKeeper2[thearmoredstatepoliceve-hicle]inthemannerinwhichit was endangered every offi-certhatwaslocatedwithinthevehicleandcreatedaneedlesscircumstance wherein lethalforcewouldbenecessitatedifMr.Deanactedinanaggres-sivemanner,ashedid.”

InFritz’sreporthenotedthat response teams fromSt.

Mary’s and Calvert countiesdid not return fire when Dean fired his weapon and seemed willingtouselessthanlethalforcetoendthesituation.

The family’s attorney,DanielGuenther,saidheandthe forensic expert, who hedeclinedtoname,wouldlookoveranearly600-pagereportprovided by Fritz’s office to dotheirownin-depthinvesti-gationoftheincident.

“There’salotinthereportthat raises questions,” Guen-ther said. “There’s certainlyenoughheretojustifyourin-dependentreview.”

Thestatepolicehavealsostarted their own review oftheshootingincident.

“It is being reviewed by

Col.ThomasHutchins[super-intendentof statepolice]andhiscommandstaff,”saidGregShipley, state police spokes-man.“Weagreewith theas-sessment that the trooper’sactionsthatdayandtheotherconcernsareunderreviewbyourcommandstaff.”

Some of the other con-cernsinFritz’sreportincludetheuseofthestatepoliceve-hicleinsteadofavehiclefromthe Charles County Sheriff’sOffice that had superior armor thatwasnotindangerofbe-ing penetrated by rounds fired byJamesDean.

Thesuperiorvehiclewasheld in reserve in the barri-cade incident, Fritz’s reportstated.

Fritz’s report also criti-cizedthedecisiontocutpow-ertothehouseDeanwasbar-ricaded inbecause it cutoffthe phones, making it moredifficult to negotiate with JamesDean.

Muriel Dean said sheand the familyare still cop-ingwithDean’slossbuttheyaretogetherinmovingaheadwith their own investigationintohisdeath.

She said that since hisdeathshehassoughtsolaceincounselingandreligion.

“I’ve been talking to acounselor,” she said. “Youhaveyourgooddaysandyourbaddays.”

She said she has got-ten “a little” closer to Godthroughallthisbutshe’sstillunsureaboutwhyitallhadtohappen.

“Sometimes you have toquestionhis[God’s]motives,”shesaid.“It’sallaboutjusticeforJamienow.”

FamilyofSlainArmyRangerMovesAheadWithTheirOwnInvestigation

Photo Courtesy of Muriel Dean

Three Students for the Dr. James A. Forrest Career and Technology Center participate in the crime scene investigation competition at the State Skills USA competition.

The 2nd and 3rd place team of the Crime Scene Investigation, on top left-to-right: Kyle Blazer, Brittany Cook, and Tyvie Berbert. On bottom from left-to-right: Asia Blake, Dorothy Nortey and Ashley Galow.

Muriel Dean, the wife of slain U.S. Army Ranger James Dean says the family is pursuing its own investigation into his death at the hands of the Maryland State Police back in December.James Dean got into a standoff with police Dec. 25 and 26 when he refused to leave his father’s house after local law enforcement had been warned by family members he may have been suicidal upon learning he would have to return to Iraq.

Thursday, April 19, 2007 The County Times Section A - 9

ObituariesMaggie Geneveive Bis-

coe, 86

Maggie Geneveive Bis-coe, 86, of Great Mills, Md. died April 12, 2007 in St. Mary’s Hospital.

Born January 31, 1921 in Callaway, Md., she was the daughter of Guy Lawrence and Violet Briscoe. The fam-ily will receive friends on Wednesday, April 18 from 9:30 – 11 a.m. in St. Marks U.A.M.E. Church, where a funeral service will be held at 11:00 p.m. with Rev. Rudy Brooks officiating. Interment will follow in the church cem-etery. A full obituary will appear at a later date. Ar-rangements provided by the Mattingley-Gardiner Funeral Home, P.A.

Leslie Shirley George, Jr., 79

Leslie Shir-ley “George” George, Jr., 79, of Sun City West, Ariz., for-merly of Lexing-ton Park, Md., died April 5 at his residence.

Born December 30, 1927 in Mobile, Ala., he was the son of the late Leslie Shirley and Josephine Hylton George, Sr. He was the loving husband of the late Lois Potter George whom he married October 14, 1947 in Lexington Park, Md. and who preceded him in death on October 1, 1999; they had been married for 52 years. He is survived by his children; John Leslie George and his wife Rose Mary of Avenue, Md. and Starr Pignatiello and her husband Joe of Peoria, Ariz., and his grandchildren; John L. George Jr., Jereme M. George, Christina Fay Fer-guson, Daniel J. Pignatiello, Melissa Leslie Pignatiello and Joshua D. Pignatiello.

George worked for the Federal Government at Patux-ent Naval Air Station, retiring on December 31, 1981. He joined the Navy at the age of 17 and served in World War II. He belonged to Grace Com-munity Church of Sun City, Grand, Ariz. and was an avid golfer with a 16 Handicap.

The family will receive friends on Saturday, April 21, 2007 from 10-11 a.m. at Mattingely-Gardiner Funeral Home, Leonardtown, Md. where a Funeral Service will

follow at 11 a.m. Interment will follow in Immaculate Heart of Mary Cemetery, Lexington Park, Md. Pallbearers will be John L. George, Christine F. Ferguson, Daniel J. Pignatiel-lo, Jereme M. George, Kevin Ferguson, Melissa L. Pignati-ello and Joshua D. Pignatiello. Arrangements were provided by Mattingley-Gardiner Fu-neral Home.

William Leonard Long-more, 65

W i l -liam Leonard L o n g m o r e , 65, of Leonard-town, Md. died April 14 at his residence.

Born July 17, 1941 in Leon-ardtown, MD, he was the son of the late James Abell Long-more and Rose Theresa (Al-vey) Longmore.

He lived in St. Mary’s County all of his life. In 1960 he graduated from Ryken High School and then served in the U.S. Army National Guard. Together with his fa-ther and his brother, he owned and operated the Ben Frank-lin variety store in Leonard-town. Later he owned and op-erated the Ben Franklin Store in Lexington Park. After twenty-seven years of service as a District Court Commis-sioner for the Fourth District Court of Maryland, he retired in 2003.

Mr. Longmore was a member of the Leonardtown Lions Club for many years. He was a member of the Leonar-dtown Volunteer Fire Depart-ment with over 30 years of service, receiving a number of awards for his commitment and dedication to his work. He was recognized for his work in renovating the merry-go-round and he took pride in working yearly in the food stand at the Leonardtown Carnival. He loved his cats and enjoyed woodworking, yard work and the time spent with friends preparing South-ern Maryland stuffed ham.

He is survived by his daughters, Linda Nicole Longmore and Monique Ma-rie Longmore, both of Annap-olis, Md., sisters, Rose Marie Weiland and her husband, Hugh of Leonardtown, Md., Elsie Theresa Sullivan and her husband, Kevin of Wood-bridge, Va., Mary Lou Frain

and her husband, Charlie of Finksburg, Md., Betty Long-more of Owings Mills, Md., and Marian Bowser and her husband, Joe of Leonardtown, Md., brother, James Abell Longmore, Jr. and his wife, Mary Anne of Leonardtown, Md., six nephews, seven niec-es and ten grand-nephews and nieces.

The family will receive friends on Wednesday, April 18 from 5- 8 p.m. in the Brins-field Funeral Home Chapel, Leonardtown, Md. Prayers will be recited at 7 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Thurs-day, April 19 at 11 a.m. in St. John Francis Regis Catho-lic Church, Hollywood, Md. Reverend Raymond Schmidt will be the celebrant. Inter-ment will follow in St. Aloy-sius Catholic Cemetery in Leonardtown, Md.

Serving as pallbearers will be T.W. Bell III, Gerald Gardiner, Jr., John Gough, George Kalnasy, Jr., Mike Mattingly, Tommy Mattingly, Wayne Miedzinski, and Ted-dy Wathen.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Leon-ardtown Volunteer Fire De-partment, P.O. Box 50, Leon-ardtown, Md. 20650 and/or HOSPICE of St. Mary’s, Inc., P.O. Box 625, Leonardtown, Md. 20650.

Condolences to the fam-ily may be made to www.brinsfieldfuneral.com.

Anna Johnson Machael, 90

A n n a J o h n s o n Machael, 90, of Leonardtown, MD died April 14 in St. Mary’s Nursing Center, Leonardtown, Md.

Born January 25, 1917 in Clinton, IA, she was the daughter of the late Andrew P. Johnson and Laura Heath Johnson.

She is survived by her son, James R. Edgar, Jr. of Schenectady, N.Y., two sisters, Ruth J. Hamann of O’Fallon, Ill. and Barbara Morthland of Sterling, Ill., four grandchil-dren and five great-grandchil-dren. In addition to her par-ents, she is preceded in death by her husband, Ray A. Mach-ael, sister, Bea Wheeler and four brothers, Ray Johnson, David Johnson, Jens Johnson, and Andrew Johnson, Jr.

The family received friends on Tuesday, April 17 from 5- 8 p.m. in the Brins-field Funeral Home Chapel, Leonardtown, Md. Prayers

were recited at 7 p.m. A Fu-neral Service will be con-ducted on Wednesday, April 18 at 10 a.m. in St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, California, MD. Reverend Paula Robin-son will conduct the service. Interment will follow in Trin-ity Episcopal Cemetery, St. Mary’s City, Md.

Memorial contributions may be made to St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, P.O. Box 600, California, Md. 20619.

Condolences to the fam-ily may be left at www.brins-fieldfuneral.com.

Agnes Cecelia Rice, 77

Agnes Ce-celia Rice, 77, of Leonardtown, Md. died April 14 in INOVA Fairfax Hospital, Fairfax, Va.

Born July 6, 1929 in Mechanicsville, Md. she was the daughter of the late Clarence Leo and Mag-dalene Gertrude Pilkerton Evans. She was a homemaker in her early years, but held various jobs after the death of her first husband, Hubert Z. Graves in January of 1965. In her later years she returned to being a homemaker and in December of 1987 she mar-ried T. Brooks Rice. She en-joyed cooking for her family, sewing, crocheting, working crossword puzzles and get-togethers with friends and family. She was a very warm, friendly and caring person with the sweetest smile who struck up conversations with people everywhere she went whether she knew them or not. She had a very loving spirit and a love for life. She felt blessed to have lived long enough to see the birth of two great grandchildren, Kiley and Tyler. She was our rock and we will forever miss her.

She is survived by her husband, T. Brooks Rice; two daughters; Darlene Brinkley and her husband Allen of Ocala, FL and Elise Graves of Tall Timbers, Md.; her sister, Mary Aleathea Redmond of St. Mary’s City, Md.; Three stepchildren; Stephen Rice and his wife Trudy of Lusby, Md., Kirk Rice and his wife Barbara of Sunman, Ind. and Rebecca Schulte and her hus-band Michael of Loveland, OH. She is also survived by three grandchildren, Brian, Heather and Amanda; ten step-grandchildren, John, Jimmy, Brian, Eric, Eliza-beth, Hannah, Benjamin, Me-gan, Evan and Ellen and two great grandchildren, Kiley and Tyler.

The family will receive

friends on Thursday, April 19, 2007 from 5-7 p.m. in the Mattingley-Gardiner Fu-neral Home Chapel, Leonar-dtown, Md. where a Funeral Service will follow at 7 p.m. with Pastor Barry Goodson and Bob Davies officiating. Interment will take place on Friday April 20 at 10 a.m. in St. John’s Cemetery, Holly-wood, Md. Pallbearers will be Kirk Rice, Stephen Rice, Michael Schulte, Merle Ru-saw, John Harris and Harry Nelson. Contributions may be made to Arthritis Foundation, Maryland Chapter, 9505 Reis-terstown Road, Suite 1 North, Owings Mills, Md. 21117 and/or the charity of your choice. Arrangements provided by the Mattingley-Gardiner Fu-neral Home, P.A.

John Ignatius Stewart, 63

John Ig-natius “John-nie” Stewart, 63, of Leonard-town, Md. died April 12 at his residence. Born August 31, 1943 in Hollywood, Md., he was the son of the late John Henry and Beatrice Somerville Stewart. He was the loving husband of Henri-etta Stewart whom he married October 26, 1968 in Compton, Md. He is survived by his chil-dren; James Berry of Leonar-dtown, Md., Louis Berry Sr. and his wife Javara of Leon-ardtown, Md., and Donna Stewart of Leonardtown, his brothers; Joseph Stewart of Hollywood, Md., Francis Stewart and his wife Ann of Leonardtown, Md. and Albert Stewart and his wife Marga-ret Ann of Callaway, Md. and five grandchildren.

A lifelong St. Mary’s County resident, Johnnie graduated from Banneker High School. He worked as an auto mechanic for Mattingly & Company for 25 years and at Russell Farm as a farm-worker for 25 years, retiring in 1999. The family will receive friends on Wednesday, April 18, 2007 from 5-8 p.m. at the Mattingley-Gardiner Funeral Home, Leonardtown, Md. where prayers will be said at 7 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Thursday, April 19 at 10 a.m. at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Compton, Md. with Fr. John Mattingly officiat-ing. Interment will follow in Charles Memorial Gardens, Leonardtown, Md. Pallbear-ers will be Joseph Young, Calvin Berry, Robert Butler, Michael Hebb, James Somer-ville and James Berry. Honor-

ary pallbearers will be Rhodie Stewart, George Stewart, Ter-rill Terry, Maurice Stewart, James Thomas and Ben Hebb. Contributions may be made to Hospice of St. Mary’s, P.O. Box 625, Leonardtown, Md., 20650. Arrangements were provided by Mattingley-Gar-diner Funeral Home.

Bernadette Grace Yeat-man, 84

B e r n a -dette Grace Yeatman, 84, of Scotland, Md., died April 13 at her residence.

Born Janu-ary 21, 1923 in Leonardtown, Md., she was the daughter of the late Ber-nard and Cora Clarke.

Mrs. Yeatman was a life-long resident of St. Mary’s County and attended St. Mi-chael’s School in Ridge, Md. She worked for the Food Ser-vice Department of the Board of Education until age 75. She and her husband operated Yeatman’s Inn in the 1950s and early 1960s and later ran the restaurant at Schiebles Fishing Center. She loved walking her poodle, Precious, and watching boats go up and down the bay.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Herbert Ever-ett Yeatman on Nov. 7, 1990, whom she married on Oct. 3, 1944 in Arlington, Va.

She is survived by her children, James H. Yeatman and his wife, Paula of Leonar-dtown, Md, Herbert E. Yeat-man, Jr. and his wife, Virginia of St. Inigoes, Md, Bernadette G. Trossbach of Valley Lee, Md, 10 grandchildren, 21 great-grandchildren, and one great-great grandchild.

The family received friends on Monday, April 16 from 5- 8 p.m. at St. Michael’s Catholic Church, Ridge, Md. Prayers were recited at 7 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Tuesday, April 17 at 11 a.m. in the church. Reverend Maurice O’Connell was the celebrant. Interment followed in the church cemetery.

Serving as pallbearers were grandsons; Jamie Yeat-man, Jody Yeatman, T.J. Boothe, Wayne Boothe, Kev-in Boothe, and Brian Boothe.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Ridge Volunteer Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 456, Ridge, Md. 20680.

Arrangements by the Brinsfield Funeral Home, P.A., 22955 Hollywood Road, Leonardtown, Md. 20650.

By Guy LeonardStaff Writer

The shooting massacre that rocked Virginia Tech and the rest of the nation Monday with 33 deaths and 15 injuries appears to have left attend-ees from St. Mary’s County unharmed.

Steven Moritz, of Leonar-dtown, said he was in his home off campus about a quarter mile away when the alleged shooter, Cho Seung-Hui, 23, went on a rampage, authori-ties said, with two handguns.

“I was asleep and my roommate woke me up and told me what happened,” Ste-phen Moritz, a senior animal and agricultural student there said. “I got up and checked to make sure all my friends were OK and I basically just watched [the television re-ports] in horror for the rest of the day.”

He called the tragedy, which is the worst school shooting ever recorded in the nation’s history, “unreal.”

His brother, Matthew Moritz, also a senior engineer-ing student set to graduate this year, could not be reached for

comment.But Steven said his broth-

er was in a building near the location where the first shoot-ings occurred, that took the lives of engineering faculty as well.

“I think he’s more vis-ibly upset than I am,” Ste-ven Moritz said. “That was a little closer to home for him I think.”

Steven Moritz attended the university convocation that took place to honor the dead and give solace to the survivors.

“The mood was very qui-et and somber,” Steven Moritz said. “But you could tell peo-ple were there for each other.”

Jason Moritz, the oldest brother, said the family was initially afraid for the safety of the two going to school in Virginia.

“They’re both fine, thank God,” Jason Moritz said. “When it happened I called and got right through to Ste-ven and we found out they were both safe; we were so relieved.”

The reality of the situa-tion was still sinking in with the brothers.

“I can’t imagine what it would be like if I had lost one of my brothers,” Jason Moritz said. “God forbid… there’s no way to predict when some-one will have a meltdown and shoot somebody.”

Officials with St. Mary’s County Public Schools say they know of no current grad-uates who are attending Vir-ginia Tech.

Mary Joy Hurlburt, presi-dent at St. Mary’s Ryken High School, a private Catholic school, said there were about 10 graduates attending Vir-ginia Tech but that none were reported injured or killed.

Authorities at the univer-sity are still investigating the events that took place Monday and are learning more about the alleged shooter.

According to informa-tion from the university, Cho Seung-Hui, who took his own life in the shooting rampage, was a senior undergradu-ate student there majoring in English.

Steven Moritz said he did not personally know the ap-parent gunman.

“I may have walked past him and never even known it,”

he said. “There’s so many dif-ferent people and so many dif-ferent faces on campus.”

There are about 25,000 students enrolled at Virginia Tech with about 9,000 living on campus, Steven Moritz said.

Virginia Tech Massacre Rattles County Families

SectionA-10 The County Times Thursday,April19,2007

YOU CAN WINA 60” FLAT SCREEN TV

FROM

The County TimesIN CELEBRATION OF

THOMPSON’S FURNITURE CITYTURNING 60 YEARS OLD, THE COUNTY TIMES IS HAVING A

CONTEST. YOU MUST FIND 60 WORDS IN THOMPSON’S FURNITURE CITY.

EXAMPLE:City Fun Son Soon Pure Mop Run

Rules: All entries must be post marked no later then June 1, 2007. Employees of The County Times, Southern Maryland Publishing Company, and Thompson’s Furniture City and their families are not allowed to participate in this contest. Winner is responsible for all taxes on winnings. Winner is responsible for picking prize up from Thompson’s Fur-niture City no later than 10 days of notification. Words that are not in Webster’s Diction-ary will not be allowed. One Entry Per Person. Copied entries are allowed. Letters are to be used no more then the amount of times they appear in Thompson’s Furniture City.

Send completed entry form into The County Times @ P.O. Box 250

Hollywood, MD 20636 no later then June 1, 2007.We will take all correct entries and have a drawing on

June 16, 2007 at Thompson’s Furniture City’s HUGE anniversary sale.

Name:_______________________ Address:__________________________Phone Number:_________________ E-mail:__________________________

department of transporta-tion and surrounding schooldistricts.

“Board members I aminformingyouaswell as thepublic today inhope thatwedon’t have any freak snowstorms like we had this pastSaturday,”hesaidinreferenceto an April snowstorm thatunexpectedlyhitthecounty.

While the county aver-agesabout16inchesofsnowa winter, this winter onlyproduced about 7 inches.

Weather conditions did dis-ruptschoolsa few times thisyear, including two-hourear-ly dismissals on Sept. 1 andMarch7. On Jan 2 andFeb14schoolsopened twohourslate. And on Nov. 16, Feb.1,Feb13andMarch7after-school and evening activitieswerecancelled.

If additional school daysare lost to inclement weath-er, Martirano can still makeadjustments to the schoolcalendar.

Because the school yearwillendprematurely,thehalf-day prekindergarten classeswill end early as well. Af-ternoon prekindergarten willhave its last day June 5, andmorningprekindergartenwillendonJune7.

The lastday for teacherswill be on Monday, June 1.The beginning of the 2007-2008 school year will be onAugust22.Theapprovedac-ademiccalendarcanbefoundon the St. Mary’s CountyPublicSchoolswebsite:www.smcps.org.

ClosingEarlyContinued from page A-1

to the task force’s objective;whatever the amount is ulti-matelydetermined.

“In the last 17 years thecounty has preserved 3,000acres with TDRs,” said Par-lett.“Thenewprogramwillpreserve that virtually everyyear…Ifwedidnothingelsein20yearsthatwouldgetustoour60,000.”

Parlett and other mem-bersagreeditwouldbemoreadvantageous for the RPDTaskForcetowaitafewyearsto see how the implementa-tion of the TDR and APFprogramsimpactstheamountagriculturally preserved landheldontobythecounty.

In the past, preservingagricultural land has been asporadic and under-fundedventure,whichhasresultedinanumberofpropertyownersbeingturnedawayfromsell-ing their land’s developablerights.

Meanwhileasthecountycontinues its delay on pur-chasing agricultural acreage,the cost continues to soar atanalarmingrate.

In fiscal year 2003 the average price per acre in St.Mary’s County was $2,600.Today, the average price peracre approximately $10,000,according to Donna Sass-cer, the county’s agriculturalspecialist.

“If [the county] wantedtopurchaseeasementsonall33 applicants using the fis-cal year 2006 coverage pur-chase price,” Sasscer said ofthenumberofapplicantsthatapplied lastyear to sell theirland’s development rights atan average cost of roughly$9,000throughtheMarylandAgricultural Land Preser-vation Program (MALPF),

“we would need over $21million.”

“I don’t think anyonecould have predicted howmuch landpriceswentup inthe last few years,” Sassceradded.“Weshotourselvesinthefoot.”

In 2006, the county had$2.8 million dollars to pur-chasefarmland-$2.5millionofwhichwasusedinpurchas-ing Fenwick Property – 169acres at the corner of Route235 and Forest Park Roaddesignated as Rural LegacyAreaintheMattapany.

Still, Sasscer says thecounty is caught in a catch22becauseanumberofland-owners want to enter into apurchaseagreement,butcan-notbecausethefundingisnotavailable.

Several counties acrossthe state have cured similarwoes with the implementa-tion of a Purchase Develop-mentRightsprogram(PDR).

TaskforcememberPhil-ip H. Dorsey, III outlined amemorandumfrom2001thathesubmittedtoJoeSt.Clair,chairmanofthechambergov-ernmental affairs commit-tee, requesting St.Mary’s toimplementitsownPDRpro-gram modeled after HowardCounty.

“The Howard Countymodeluses50percentoftheirCountyTransferTax to sup-portitsprogram,”saidDorseyin his memorandum. “Theystarted with $9 million andleverageditinto$45million.”

St.Mary’sCounty todaystill hasnoPDRprogram inplace.

“Thiscounty[fundswhatithasnow]bydedicatingcer-tain portions of transfer taxand recordation tax,” added

Dorseytothetaskforce.“Ifweareabletohaveasetfund-ing mechanism for this pur-chase development programthis county could purchasemore landandcompetewithdevelopers.”

The task force is sched-uled to hear a presentationMonday from a representa-tive who worked with How-ardandothercounties to setupPDRandInstallmentPur-chaseAgreements(IPA).

In a letter from Eliza-bethBobo,aHowardCountyexecutive back in 1990, shewrote: “The installment pur-chase program is unique inits ability to offer farmersan attractive financial pack-agewhichdeveloperscannotmatch. This program alsocreates immediate financial power,sothatHowardCoun-ty can use future dedicatedrevenuestobuydevelopmentrightsnow,while the land isstillavailable.”

IPA’shelpcountiescom-pete with developers byspreading out purchase pay-ments over time. Doing sokeeps landowners in a lowertaxbracket.

ParlettremainedinsistentthattheTDRprogramheadedto public hearing next weekcould be a “significant differ-enceinallthis.”

Theboardhasnotyetrec-ommended a target amountforlandtobepurchased.

“Sixty thousand acresissortofamovingtargetforme,”saidMerlEvans,amem-berofthePlanningCommis-sion and RPD Task Force.“I’mnotsurewehave60,000acresoftillableland.”

RPDContinued from page A-1

RealignmentContinued from page A-1

Hoyer called BRAC oneof the foremost challengesfacing the state because ofits insistence on protectingoperationsatPaxRiverwith-out fostering irresponsibledevelopment.

“Finding that middlegroundthatexistssomewherebetween growth and sprawlwillbeyourprimarymissionin the coming years,” Hoyersaid during his 25-minuteaddress.

Inpast years,St.Mary’sCounty has struggled withdeveloping residential andcommercial properties inthe county’s most desirablelocations.

While overcrowdedschoolsmayhavebeenmoredirectlyattributabletosprawlin years past, future BRACspresentnewproblems,astheSt. Mary’s Board of CountyCommissioners prepares tosign its very first “cooperation agreement” with Capt. GlenIves, commanding officer of PaxRiver.

The agreement pledgessixtermsandconditionsines-tablishinga“formalcoopera-tiveencroachmentmitigationandpreventionagreement.”

Commissioner ThomasA.MattinglySr.,whowasinattendance and recognizedbyHoyerasapartnerinthisprocess said the cooperationagreementwasprobably“oneof the most significant docu-ments signed between thecommissionersandtheNavysincetheAICUZ.”

While the agreementshould go far in protectingthebasefromencroachment,itdoeslittletoensurethatthecounty continues to push forresponsibledevelopment.St.Mary’s County is unique toMaryland in that it is a pen-insulawiththousandsofacresofcriticalareaandwetlands.Whenfactoringinthelimita-tions developing around thebase,andtheRuralPreserva-tion District, it leaves devel-opers with less than the de-sirableamountoflandintheDevelopmentDistrict.

However, because PaxRiveristheeconomicengineofSt.Mary’s,bringing thou-sandsof jobsandopportuni-ties for the county to grow,both entities have enlistedeachother’shelp toestablishanongoingpartnership.

In the last few base re-

alignment rounds, thousandsofworkershavebeenbroughtintothecountyandsurround-ing counties – including16,000 workers to HarfordCounty’s Aberdeen ProvingGround,AnneArundelCoun-ty’sFortMeadeand thenewWalterReednationalMilitaryMedicalCenterinBethesda.

HoyerwarnedthatSouth-ern Maryland residents mustnot become complacent, andmust face base realignmentdiscussionscontinually.

Hoyer also said that offi-cials must prevent encroach-mentonthebaseandbuildathrivingeconomywithafford-ablehousingandhigh-qualityschools.

“Thisconferenceisabouta proactive mindset to worktogether as team Maryland,’Hoyer said. “Your congres-sionaldelegationisverymuchontheteam.”

Other speakers at theall-day conference includeBusiness and Economic De-velopment Secretary DavidW. Edgerley and MarylandTransportation SecretaryJohnD.Pocari.

County AdministratorJohn Savich led the discus-sion, and presented Hoyerwith a Vita Umbrella beforethecongressman’sdeparture.

Thursday, April 19, 2007 The County Times Section A - 11

These days, the home-im-provement industry is as big as it’s ever been. Take a casual drive through a typical subur-ban neighborhood and you’re liable to see a fair number of houses undergoing some sort of reclamation project. Be it a new garage door, a fresh coat of paint or the ever-popu-lar add-on, homes across the country are getting more face-lifts than an aging Hollywood starlet.

That said, many hom-eowners are left looking for ways to keep up with the Joneses while not breaking the bank. Thankfully, the answer for a lot of people is right out-side their windows. Improv-ing the landscape of a yard doesn’t have to be expensive. And such improvements can go a long way to increasing a home’s curb appeal, making it more attractive to prospective buyers.

Think Foliage

Upon planting flowers, many homeowners are sur-prised at the impact those flowers have on the look and feel of their home. Flower-beds around the perimeter of a house add to the color of a home, while also mak-ing it feel more welcoming to guests, including prospective

buyers.A good trick is to plant

flowers along the edges of a driveway or walkway. This can provide a strong contrast to a drab driveway or walk-way. In addition, such flow-ers will draw the attention of guests or those in the real es-tate market, taking their eyes away from potential problem areas you might not be able to fix at the moment.

Plant Trees

If, like many homeown-ers, you simply don’t have the time to keep your lawn look-ing lush and green throughout the year, consider planting some trees around the prop-erty. This is not only environ-mentally friendly, but effort-friendly as well, as tending to trees is not nearly as time consuming as keeping a lawn in great shape. Once a tree begins to sprout, envelop its base in a bed of mulch. Mulch only needs to be replenished once per year, and the look it creates is both beautiful and serene. In addition, plant-ing trees is inexpensive. Just make sure you consult with neighbors first if you plan on planting near property lines.

Work On Your

Walkways & Surrounding Landscape

Unless you have young children, you and your guests will likely spend more time on walkways and patio decks than you will in the actual yard lawn. Take advantage of that by further lessening the time you spend on the actual grass as a means to keeping it in even better shape. For ex-ample, if you have a backyard garden you’re especially proud of, install a concrete walkway that leads you and potential visitors back to the garden. This will greatly reduce the around of wear and tear your lawn takes each time you visit the garden. In addition, a con-crete walkway won’t be dam-aged by wheelbarrows full of soil or new plants.

If walkways leading into the home are already lined with foliage, make sure you keep them well-trimmed. Keeping shrubs and bushes well-trimmed doesn’t require a lot of effort but does give the impression of a home that’s been well cared for. On the other hand, unkempt shrubs and bushes are an eye sore, and can imply a homeowner has been lax in other mainte-nance areas as well.

Simple Landscape Tricks to Increase Curb Appeal

Planting flowers along walkways can be a great way to create a more welcoming feel to your home while increas-ing curb appeal.

as of about 2:15 p.m. and that school would be in session today.

The fire alarm brought several emergency apparatus from both the Bay District and Hollywood Volunteer Fire Departments.

Volunteers went into the building to check for danger but gave the all-clear sign af-ter about an hour.

Some teachers were un-sure of what was going on when they were forced to quickly leave the building.

“They just said get your jackets and we all wound up outside,” said Jan Gallagher, a 7th grade reading and lan-guage arts teacher.

“I think it had to do with

the old circuitry and the new circuitry,” said Richard Ad-ams, an industrial arts and technology teacher there. “You could smell it in the band room and out in some of the hallways.”

Students and teachers braved the cold and windy weather Tuesday morning and were anxious either to get back inside or go home.

“Do we get to go home?” one student asked at the scene.

Some children huddled close together to stay warm because they did not have heavy coats to combat the un-seasonable windy chill.

Others played and joked amongst each other while

they waited for some kind of resolution and teachers tried to keep them in line.

Teachers also struggled with the cold as some of them had to leave the school with-out a jacket.

Chelsea Tremlow, 13, of Hollywood said she and her friends were about to change class when they entered a hallway that was dark except for the emergency lights that had come on in the building.

“We were in the band room and the bell rang and we came out and we could smell smoke and the lights were out, too,” Tremlow said.

Her friends sitting next to her out in front of the building said they were scared by the incident but Tremlow said she wasn’t afraid.

“It was a little fun, sort of,” Tremlow said.

EvacuationContinued from page A-1

TobaccoContinued from page A-1

Southern Maryland. Two of them are in St. Mary’s, while one is in Charles County and the other in Prince George’s.

Leroy Russell, the second county farmer to participate, said the need for the tobacco protein came about because of fears of Mad Cow Disease when some food manufactur-ers turned away from extract-ing protein from beef blood for human consumption.

“It should be very safe when it gets to the food mar-ket,” Russell said. “It’s got no allergens or toxins in it. This could be a replacement for things like that.”

Wood said it involves planting tobacco in volume on close acreage to increase crop yields of very young plants. Researchers can then extract nutrient rich proteins from the plants.

“They want 50,000 to 80,000 plants per acre or 80 tons per acre per season,” Wood said. “We’re doing this to find out how close we can plant the tobacco and get a yield. They want a green leaf right at its most tender stage of growth to extract the [pro-tein] juice.”

Robert Kratochvil, an agronomist attached to the project said the protein extract could prove very useful.

“It’s better than soy pro-tein and it could be used as a supplement for people who are on protein restricted di-ets,” Kratochvil said.

The protein could even have industrial uses such as acting as a coating for print-ing paper to prevent smudg-ing of ink, Kratochvil said.

Wood said that farmers are only planting small plots to grow the test tobacco now

and he said and the other farmers are participating in the experiment to show what kinds of problems they will encounter when growing the tobacco in a somewhat altered fashion than what they are used to doing.

Russell said he plans to plant his small experimental tobacco plots by the end of this month.

The project involves growing large amounts of the plant on less land to pre-vent the tobacco leaves from sprouting outwards to their full growth.

Traditional tobacco growing required more acre-age than what the experiment requires, which means there were risks in getting this proj-ect to succeed, Wood said.

“You might not get any-thing, because it’s so over-crowded,” Wood said.

In 2000 many Southern Maryland tobacco farmers took the state’s buyout settle-ment that barred them from growing tobacco for human consumption in exchange for state money that would sup-port their farms for 10 years.

With seven years of the tobacco buyout funds already used, farmers are looking for alternative ways to aid the fi-nancing of their farms, which have been financially pressed despite recent agricultural tourism projects.

There are other problems associated with the project, Wood said, which includes cutting the young tobacco plant without intensive — and expensive — labor and get-ting it to the extraction pro-cess without damaging it.

Wood said he and other farmers were considering a

co-op arrangement if the ex-periment was a success.

That arrangement would cut down on middle-men and keep more profit in farmers’ pockets since they would be the ones cutting, processing and assisting in merchandising.

Wood said the process would be even more profit-able for farmers if they could use cost effective machinery to harvest the plants instead of hiring farm hands to do the work.

That equipment still had to be developed Wood said.

“We have to make it eco-nomically feasible to grow … and then find a way to get it to market intact and without any damage,” added Russell.

He and Wood are both hoping the experiment holds promise for farmers, but Rus-sell said that was tempered with uncertainty.

The farmers are unsure how long it will take to see if the experiment is successful or whether they will be able to reap profits from it.

“We don’t know how far it’s going to go,” Russell said. “So far there’s no buyers for the [tobacco protein] product. Everything is in the develop-ment stages at this point.”

Back in 2000, 86 percent of the state’s tobacco produc-ers accepted the tobacco buy-out. That eliminated 94 per-cent of Maryland’s tobacco production.

Photo by Guy Leonard

Tobacco.doc Joseph Wood, a local farmer and president of the county Farm Bureau shows his small plot of land he is using in a tobacco growing experiment in a partnership with the University of Maryland.Researchers can extract useful protein from the plant and they need farmers to plant small test plots to see they how much can be grown effectively for mass production.

SectionA-12 The County Times Thursday,April19,2007

Route 5St. Mary’s City, MD

301-863-7700Monday-Saturday 9-5

Sunday 10-4

Mervell Dean RoadHollywood, MD

301-373-2573Monday-Friday 8-7 • Saturday 8-5

Sunday 10-4

Native Flowers-Tips from our experts

Try planting some natives in the landscape. We suggest coneflowers and coreopsis for summer color. Virginia

Sweetspire and Winterberry Holly for Fall and Winter color. Don’t forget native trees such as Redbud and Servicberry for spring blooms. Plant Maple, Oaks and Black Gums for

shade and fall color.

Bill Gough-Landscape Designer and Certified Horticulturist

Sale Ends: April 30, 2007

Special savings on select natives 20% off clethra, itea, inkberry and bayberry.

In a hurry? Want to save money?Every Thursday receive a FREE copy of The County Times at all Mountain

Mudd kiosks.

Enjoy Espresso’s, Cappuccino’s, Frozen Granita’s, Coffee Americano’s, Italian Soda’s, Hot/Iced Latte’s, Chai

Tea, Iced Tea, & Steamers

Locations: • California

• Lexington Park• Callaway

• Charlotte Hall• Solomon’s - Opening March• Coming Soon - Leonardtown

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Mountain Mudd kiosks.

Enjoy Espresso’s, Cappuccino’s, Frozen Granita’s, Coffee

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Steamers

Locations:• California• Lexington Park• Callaway• Charlotte Hall• Solomon’s - Opening March• Coming Soon - Leonardtown

Hot off the Press, & Out of the Cup!

Thousandsofpeoplewillbe turning to the water to find coolingrelieforsomefunthisseason. Whether you take aleisurely dip in the backyardpoolorahigh-speedadventureaboardajetski,safetyshouldalwaystakeprecedencewherewaterisinvolved.

The National Center forInjuryPreventionandControl(NCIPC)reportsthat,in2003,therewere3,306unintentionalfataldrowningsintheUnitedStates,averagingninepeopleper day. This figure does not include drownings in boat-ing-related incidents. Malesaccount for about 80 percentofallfataldrownings.And25

to50percentofallwater-re-lateddeathsamongadultsandadolescents canbe attributedto alcohol being mixed withrecreationalwateractivities.

No one wants to put adamperonwaterfun.It’sjustimportant to keep safety inmindeverytimeyouareinoraroundwater.Todo so,hereare somesafety tipsandwa-ter-relatedhow-to’s.

Firstandforemost,know-inghowtoswimcanhelpsavelives.Youdon’thavetobeanOlympic medalist; simplyknowing how to stay afloat anddosomethingassimpleasadogpaddlecanbeallittakesto remain safe. Children are

usually physically and men-tallyreadyforswimmingles-sonsbyage4.Andremember,water wings or other “float-ies” are not safety devicesand shouldn’t be relied uponas such. They may presenta false senseof security toachildwhodoesn’treallyknowhowtoswim.Alifejacketisthebestprotection.

Lakes,Rivers,Streams

These fresh-water de-lights can be popular gather-ingspotsforfamiliesandoth-erfunseekers.Safetyaround

theseareasincludesknowingwhatthebodyofwaterentails.Unlike controlled scenarios,suchaspoolsandwaterparks,natural water sources mayvary in depth and current.They also have marine lifeand other potential dangers,such as slippery rocks. It isvery important never to diveintothesewatersources.Youdon’tknowwhatmaybeunderthewater,evenifyou’vevis-itedthespotbefore.Enteringslowly and feet-first is always advised,unlesstherearesignsindicating diving is allowed.Also look for postings aboutwhether thewater is safe.Attimes, contamination - bothnatural and man-made - canmakeswimmingofflimits.

Ifchoosingapublicparkorcampground,selectonethatiscleanandwellmaintained.A clean bathhouse, tidy re-strooms, and a litter-free en-vironment show concern foryourhealthandsafety.

Oceans

Oceans present all typesofcurrentsandswimmingsit-uations that can changeveryrapidly.Alwaysknowthesurfandforecastedweathercondi-tions before venturing out toswim.

When in the water, al-ways swim in designatedareas. These are set up foryoursafety.Swimmingoutofrangecouldputyouinharm’sway,eitherinthepathofdan-gerousmarine life or too fartosafelyswimbacktoshore.Don’t touch any aquatic ani-mals or fish while in the water. Also,someoceanlife,suchasanemones, coral and jellyfish,

canstingandbepoisonous.Always engage in water

activities with a buddy. Thisway ifsomethinghappens toeitherofyousomeonecangobackorsignalforhelp.

Additionally, stay awayfrompiers,pilings,anddivingplatformswhen in thewater.The current could push youup intooneof theseandyoucouldbeinjured.Ifcaughtina current, don’t try to swimagainstit.Rather,swimgrad-ually out of the current, byswimming across it, advisestheRedCross.

Pools

Adult supervision is al-waysrecommendedaroundapool,especiallywhenchildrenareswimming.LearnCPRasa safety precaution, and in-stallaphonenearbyorkeepacordlessorcellularphoneout-sidebythepooltodial9-1-1intheeventofanemergency.

Many laws state that thepool be completely enclosedwith a self-locking fencewith vertical bars. Furnitureor other objects that can bescaled should not be next tothisfencetorestrictclimbingandentry.

Set house rules for thepool, deterring diving andrunning around the perim-eter of the pool (in-groundvarieties).Alcoholandswim-mingdon’tmix,soencourageadultstoactresponsiblywhenentertaining.

BoatingandWatercraft

Use Coast Guard ap-

proved life jackets for safetyinandaroundwater.

Anytimeyougoout inaboat or on a personal water-craft(PWC),givearesponsi-blepersondetailsaboutwhereyouwillbeandhowlongyouwill be gone. This is impor-tantbecauseifyouaredelayedbecauseofanemergency,be-comelost,orencounterotherproblems,youwanthelptobeabletoreachyou.

Take a course that willteach about navigation rules,emergency procedures andthe effects of wind, waterconditions, andweather.TheCoast Guard, the Red Crossand other organizations mayhostthem.Knowtherulesofthewaterandbecautiousandcourteouswithswimmersandotherssharingthearea.Obeyno-wakeandspeedzones.

Alcohol impairs yourjudgement,reactiontimeandbalance. Never drink whenyouareoperatingavessel.

Knowweatherandwaterconditionsinadvanceofyourtrip.

Scubadiving,snorkeling,surfing

Thoughindependentrec-reationalactivities,alloftheserequirestrongswimmingabil-ityandtrainingfromaprofes-sional.Alwaysgooutwithabuddyoragroupintheeventofanemergency.

Know how to properlyoperate all equipment. Andkeep skill level in mind. Donotenterroughordangerouswaters or environments forwhichyouarenottrained.

When safety comes first in the water, the chance forinjurydiminishesandtheop-portunityforfunincreases

SafetyFirstInandAroundWater