Thursday, September 6, 2007 • St. Mary’s County

student.The allegations against Spoelker are a result of a five-month investiga-

tion where the victim came forward to tell his story after the alleged incident in 1978, according to Lt. Rick Burris, commander of BCI.

That investigation included recorded phone conversations with Spoekler as well as with other witnesses regarding the alleged incident, Burris said.

Spoelker faces one count of child abuse and one count of 4th degree sex offense when upon his expected return to Maryland next week.

He was arrested on a fugitive warrant in Florida last week but was re-leased on $25,000 bond.

Burris said the investigation of Spoelker is continuing to include whether there might be other alleged victims.

Burris said BCI is not releasing the name of the alleged victim in this case, but he is a 44-year-old county resident.

PINEY POINT LIGHTHOUSE

Thursday, September 6, 2007 • St. Mary’s County, Maryland

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By Guy LeonardStaff Writer

The Mackall Barn at St. Mary’s City, built in 1785, is one of the oldest of its type in Maryland, but its cur-rent appearance makes it stick out in a place that is try-ing to recreate its 18th century historical roots.

The barn has two side sheds that put it out of place, and the red color of the barn is not historically accurate.

But that is about to change now that the St. Mary’s City Commission has raised enough money to stabi-lize the barn, which is structurally weak and unsafe, and return it to its original look.

“We looked at the barn and thought we really needed to do something about that,” said Martin Sul-livan, executive director at St. Mary’s City. “[The 18th century] is what we really wanted to bring it back to.”

The funding package includes grants from three separate groups, including the Southern Maryland Heritage Area Consortium, the Ford Foundation and the 1772 Foundation, and totals about $70,000.

The work was to begin this week on restoring the barn, which has a unique history all its own.

When St. Mary’s City acquired the barn from the Brome-Howard family in 1980, they weren’t quite sure

what they had.“We knew it was old but there were some guesses

as to it possibly being built in the 18th century,” said Henry Miller, the history professor overseeing the res-toration project. “Historical documentation of agricul-tural buildings is usually pretty slim.”

So the staff at the time looked to tree ring dat-ing methods to determine the age of the barn, which turned out to be exactly 1785, with the timbers being felled in 1784.

“Certainly it’s one of the oldest wooden barns in Maryland if not the oldest,” Miller said. “We were quite amazed by that.”

During its lifespan, the barn served as a grain storage area and then as a tobacco barn for its original builder, John Mackall, who bought the virtual entirety of St. Mary’s City in 1774, just before the Revolution-ary War broke out.

Mackall served as an officer in the local forces, fighting the British, but returned to agriculture at the end of the war and had this barn built, likely with slave labor.

With all the wars going on around the world at that time, the prices of grain were high, so the barn

Restoration Of Historic Barn In St. Mary’s City To Begin

By Adam RossStaff Writer

St. Mary’s County high school seniors exceeded state and national averages on the SAT Reasoning Test, with an average combined score of 1516 out of 2400, according to data released from The College Board.

The results reflect last year’s graduating class, although the data includes scores from students’ junior and senior years.

St. Mary’s County averaged 18 points higher than the rest of Mary-land, and 5 points better than the nation.

However, the results produced an 18 point lower average this year than last, in part because more students took the exam. St. Mary’s County also averaged the lowest in Southern Maryland, despite scores declining in Calvert and Charles.

While St. Mary’s County Public Schools do not emphasize the SAT to all students, according to SMCPS Di-rector of Curriculum and Instruction Dr. Charles E. Ridgell, it is encour-aged for all students planning to ap-ply for college.

“It is essential and critical for stu-dents going to a four-year college,” said Ridgell. “But it’s really only for students going into college, we are pleased more students are taking it because that is an indication that more students are going to college.”

The College Board reported that 49.6 percent of the school system’s seniors were administered the SAT assessment this year, the highest par-ticipation rate to date. Leonardtown High School administered the SAT to 60.5 percent of its seniors, Great Mills High School to 54.7 percent of seniors, and Chopticon High School tested 33.9 percent of its seniors.

To encourage continued par-ticipation and gains, SMCPS has ad-opted the official SAT online course through The College Board. The program is Internet based, with ac-cess to eight real SAT exams to help students practice and refine critical reading, math, and writing skills. The program is accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Additionally, SMCPS has made the online course accessible in school, and adopted its own SAT course that students can register for and take as part of their daily regiment.

“That class also uses a lot of the online materials,” Ridgell added of

2007 Seniors’ Outpace Nation On SAT, But Scores Dip

See SAT Scores page A-2

See Restoration page A-8


The St. Mary’s Board of County Commissioners approved funding to install a 6-inch water pipe across Shan-gri-La Drive in Lexington Park to ac-commodate an indoor sprinkler system for six townhouses in renovation for workforce housing.

The decision was approved in light of an ordinance that requires multi-family homes to have a sprinkler sys-tem, costing the project $75,000.

The townhouses currently have a 4-inch pipe that services the property, but in order to properly install the sprinkler systems the Metropolitan Commission says a 6-inch pipe is required.

The project calls to bring a 6-inch pipe across Shangri-La Drive into the townhouses, and to improve the wa-

County Secures Six Townhouses For Affordable Housing

See Townhouses page A-4


The St. Mary’s Board of County Commissioners is trying to avoid a double fault as it reapplies for a $50,000 United States Tennis As-sociation grant for the renovation of the Cecil Park tennis courts, money denied by USTA last time around.

The $250,000 project was fully funded by the commissioners in the fiscal year 2008 budget, with approx-imately $50,000 of it coming from program open space funds. If the USTA approves the grant this time around, the open space funds will be reinserted into the pipeline and used to help “someone else,” according to Phil Rollins, director of the county’s Department of Recreation, Parks and Community Services.

Rollins cited an incomplete ap-plication, as a possible reason the grant wasn’t awarded.

“We didn’t’ have a site plan done at that time,” Rollins said of the grant application, which was origi-nally submitted in March. “We have since done so and included it in the package, we are hopeful to get the grant.”

The project includes the renova-tion of the two existing tennis courts at Cecil Park and the construction of two additional courts. The courts there currently are poor condition from over 20 years of wear and tear.

Members of the St. Mary’s

County Hopes to Ace USTA Grant Application on Second Go Around

See Tennis page A-6

Photo by Adam Ross

Photo by Guy Leonard

See Ryken page A-4

Martin Sullivan, executive director at St. Mary’s City, looks over the Mackall barn that is set to be restored to its original 18th century appearance. The barn is believed to be one of the oldest surviving wooden barns in Maryland.

Director of Economic and Community Development Bob Schaller (bottom) and Housing Authority Director Dennis Nicholson go over the before and after pictures of 46799 South Shangri-La Drive in Lexington Park, a development slated for workforce housing.

Special Olympics B-1


Detectives with the St. Mary’s County Bureau of Criminal Investiga-tion are waiting for the return Sept. 10 from Florida of a former teacher at Ryken High School and current Xaverian Brother on charges that he molested a student nearly three decades ago.

Detectives with BCI allege that Bro. Philip Michael Spoelker per-suaded a male freshman student who was 15 years old at the time to come with him into a storage room where Spoelker allegedly fondled the

Former Ryken Teacher Faces Sex Offense Charges

SectionA-� The County Times Thursday,September6,�007

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25006 Pt. Lookout Road, Leonardtown, MD (240) 925-3280 www.heronswaygallery.comReceptions Catered by Chef John Urquidez of the Tea Room!

ByGuyLeonardStaffWriter

The five members of the band “Yours for Mine” played their sets on the small stage at the Park Rock festival in Chancellors Run Park vig-orously as a small crowd of young people gathered round

The sounds they played ranged from screaming with rhythm at others.

Once their 45 minutes was up, they quickly packed up their instruments, amps and other gear, fit it into their trunk and got ready to hit the road again.

It was a long way to come for less than an hour of play, and they were lucky to get that much due to another band running behind schedule, but to them it was worth the trek to St. Mary’s County.

They take the pains of traveling, often for little to no money, in stride.

“We just chanced it,” said Joey Testa, 20. “We’ve played here three years and it’s dif-ferent every year.

“No one remembers us.”His band mate John

Woods protested.“No, no, some people re-

member us,” Wood said. “We play everywhere, we’ve been as far south as Dallas and as far north as New Hampshire.

“We’re just trying to get the name out there.”

And that’s exactly the kind of opportunity the concert’s founder and promoter, Fred Heather, of Lexington Park, wants to give aspiring musi-cians from all backgrounds; a chance to gain recognition.

And the county, which sponsors the event, gets to hold a worthwhile commu-nity event that is alcohol, ob-scenity and drug free.

This is the fifth year the concert has been setting up stages at Chancellors Run

Park, and this time they added a fifth stage to accommodate rhythm and blues, hip hop and go-go acts as well.

Heather started the con-cert in 2000 after watching MusikFest in Bethlehem, Pa. on family vacation.

“It was huge,” Heather said of the event that music from Rock and Roll to polkas and bag pipes. “Any music you could think of they had

it.”The electrical engineer

employed at Patuxent River Naval Air Station was in-spired to recreate something like that here in the county.

He got back from vaca-tion that year and put together a concert in three weeks with more than 20 bands on two stages.

“It was a humble begin-ning,” Heather said.

Now the concert has more than 100 acts coming to fill its playbill, including some artists from as far away as To-ronto, Canada.

The acts this year includ-ed genres like classic rock, hard rock, heavy metal, hard-core, rhythm and blues, go-go, punk, pop punk, screamo and a host of other alternative and independent music acts.

“This was about local

and regional bands coming together and doing something that was awesome on Labor Day weekend,” Heather said.

At the other end of the park, Latrice Carr was putting out her own brand of Gospel vocals. She didn’t have to go nearly as far as “Yours for Mine”, which also had a Christian message in its lyr-ics, because she lives in Great Mills.

But her hopes for success were much the same as the band from Harrisonburg.

“I’m starting to record my first album this year,” Carr said during a break from sing-ing. “Hopefully I can just get my CD out to the masses.”

Carr had done most of her music at church in Prince Frederick but now she wants to spread her wings and hope-fully sing full time if she’s successful.

“This is my coming out my debut,” Carr said. “I had my family and my friends here, that’s all the support I needed.”

Heather said that support-ing musicians was also a way of supporting the community.

“You work with musicians and you create outings for the community,” Heather said. “That’s the whole idea and the world is a better place.”

ParkRockEventGivesBandsChanceToGetNoticed

ByGuyLeonardStaffWriter

County detectives acted quickly to arrest two sus-pected armed robbers who allegedly held up a visitor near St. Mary’s College last week, but the information they got which was vital to the arrest came from an ob-servant student.

The witness, who asked not to be named for security reasons, had just gotten out of class and saw the after-math of the alleged crime.

“I just saw the suspect fleeing the scene and the getaway car speed away,” the student witness said. “I was just in the right place at the right time.”

WitnessWasKeyInArrestingCollegeRobberySuspects

While the scene the wit-ness saw didn’t last long, the student was also able to identify one of the sus-pects in the alleged armed robbery.

At the time, though, the student witness was some-what confused by what was seen, but took the time to get the make and model of the alleged getaway vehicle as well as a license number.

Investigaters appre-hended the two suspects, Nathan Shelly, 21, of Lex-ington Park and Gene M. Jenkins, 20, from Leonar-dtown, about an hour later and used the information from the witness and the victim to make the actual arrest.

The witness said the events took place only about 30 feet away.

“I didn’t know what was happening until later,” the witness said, who later informed police investiga-tors what happened. “I fig-ured he was running from something so I tried to get a make, a model and a tag number.

“I just sort of put two and two together.”

Both Jenkins and Shelly were charged with armed robbery, first degree assault, using a handgun in the com-mission of a violent crime

theft and disturbing school activities.

The alleged crime caused St. Mary’s College of Maryland to initiate a “shel-ter in place” response that had all students stay where they were in class or in resi-dences. Students who were walking around on campus were taken inside until the any danger had passed.

E-mail notifications were sent out as well as mes-sages to individual students via phones.

Once the alert of the alleged robbery at Trinity Church Road occurred at about 1 p.m. Aug. 29, it took the college about 13 minutes to enact its emergency pro-cedure, according to Marc Apter, spokesman for the college.

“We had the procedures in place and everyone got an E-mail or a voicemail,” Apter said. “Each office was called.”

Apter said the emergen-cy procedure worked well during the incident.

“We were very pleased with the way the staff, students and faculty per-formed under stress,” Ap-ter said. “The cooperative agreements we had with the sheriff’s office worked flawlessly.”

The emergency state at

the college was lifted before 3p.m. that day, according to press releases from the college.

Apter said that there would be no changes at the college with regards to pro-viding security in the wake of the alleged armed rob-bery but that the incident was certainly unexpected given the usually tranquil and open atmosphere at the college.

“The realities of the 21stcentury come to St. Mary’s College,” Apter said.

Just after the incident, students said they felt safe on campus.

“They did a good job of letting everyone know [about the incident],” said senior Ryan D’Antuono. “No matter where you were you had to stay inside.

“Word spread really quick, there wasn’t a person in sight.”

One senior, Ali Femi, said the memories of the tragic mass murders at Vir-ginia Tech earlier this spring informed the colleges quick response time.

“I think everyone was a little surprised; with the Virginia Tech situation hap-pening the school was very cautious,” Femi said. “But I didn’t feel like I was in dan-ger or anything.”

the course’s structure. Ridgell said the school

system has worked dili-gently to communicate with parents, students and teach-ers by newsletter and open house parent nights so they “understand the process and expectations.”

And these programs ap-pear to be working for the system as a whole. African American students posted increases on all three-test areas, with an 11-point gain in writing, 39-point gain in reading and 38-point gain in mathematics. Their com-bined score of 1332 showed an 88-point gain overall from 2006, and is building on Su-perintendent Michael J. Mar-tirano’s vision of ending the achievement gap. Fifty-nine African Americans took the SAT in 2007.

Leonardtown High School led the other two high schools with 240 test takers and an average score of 1567. Great Mills High School SAT takers averaged 1415, while Chopticon High School averaged 1543 with 123 test takers. Great Mills was the only high school of the three to average below state and national averages.

Chief Academic Officer Linda Dudderar said she has not heard any discussions coming down the pipeline to institute more intensive pro-grams for the SAT through public schools. However, Ridgell said SMCPS is al-ways looking for more ma-terials in the classrooms and opportunities to provide in-formation to students.

The SAT includes a criti-cal reading, math and writ-

ing section. The math sec-tion touches on topics such as exponential growth, ab-solute value, and functional notation. The SAT places greater emphasis on linear functions, manipulations with exponents, and prop-erties of tangent lines in its math section.

The critical reading section, once referred to as the verbal section, includes short reading passages along with long reading passages. Analogies have been elimi-nated from the SAT, but sen-tence-completion questions and passage-based reading questions remain. The writ-ing section includes both multiple-choice questions and a direct writing mea-sure in the form of an es-say. Students can access the College Board’s materials by visiting www.collegeboard.com/satonlineecourseschool.

SATScoresContinued from page A-�

Photo by Guy LeonardMembers of the band “Yours for Mine” out of Harrisonburg, Va, play for attendees of the Park Rock event held at Chancellors Run Park over the Labor Day weekend.

Thursday, September 6, 2007 The County Times Section A - �


Of the nearly 200 displaced residents of National and White Oak mobile home parks, 80 still need monetary assistance and a place to go, according to Dennis Nicholson, director of St. Mary’s County Housing Authority.

To aid in the placement and moving costs for mobile home owners and renters, St. Mary’s County govern-ment secured $385,288 Aug. 28 in state and federal funds to conjoin with buyout pack-ages offered from developers that residents said did not ad-equately cover moving costs. White Oak Property Man-ager Richard Eshelman of-fered $3,100 to residents who agreed to remove their homes and vacate the lot, but many owners argued that moving a trailer could cost $5,000 to $12,000 depending on trailer size.

The grant money was gathered from left over funds used during the Lexington Manor relocation and addi-tional funds from the state.

“Our focus is securing the money, visiting residents and working out individual plans the best we can,” Nich-olson said.

Redevelopment of both sites located off Route 235 came separately and unex-pectedly this spring – resi-dents of White Oak were given until April of 2008 to vacate.

Even with the excess money from last week’s grant acquisition, not everyone is expected to receive finan-cial assistance. Nicholson estimated in June that 74 of the 160 displaced house-holds could be helped, and of those, money allotted would be broken down into four cat-egories: elderly and disabled trailer owners, who get first priority, then other owners, then elderly/disabled trailer renters, and finally all other renters. Nicholson said the housing authority is working closely with each resident to develop a strategy contingent with the resident’s needs. Additionally, he said not all families within the same pri-ority category are guaranteed the same amounts of money; allocations are determined by need, distance of a move and size of a trailer. How-ever, the specific amount a resident might receive is un-certain, although Commis-sioner Thomas A. Mattingly Sr. (D-Leonardtown) said earlier discussions rendered a figure of $3,000 to $3,500 per family.

Meanwhile, choosing where to move is also a con-cern for many of the resi-dents. Some have been able to successfully move to St. Clement’s Crossing, a trailer park on Great Mills Road, but others consider the park to be dirty and crime ridden. Under current St. Mary’s County zoning ordinances, trailer parks are not allowed to be built unless as part of a Planned Unit Develop-ment (PUD), which must go through the proper planning processes with the Planning Commission and be approved by the Board of County Com-missioners. Additionally, re-locating individual trailers in the Rural Preservation Dis-trict can only be done with ownership of five acres. Such relocation would cost own-ers hundreds of thousands of dollars in land acquisition alone.

“We ourselves have looked at other options, but they are limited and on a smaller scale,” Nichol-son said. “The county isn’t blessed with available land and the supporting zoning ordinance that it had two decades ago for a mobile home.”

Mattingly said the com-missioners have held no discussions about changing the zoning ordinance, but it would likely come up when

the Comprehensive Zoning Ordi-nance’s six-year review is due next year.

“Depends on where [the mobile home park] is located,” Mattingly said of his support to amend the or-dinance. “It could work in the de-velopment districts with public wa-ter and sewer, but I’m not sure how it would work in the rural areas.

“It’s something to look at given housing prices and where they are today, but I haven’t had anybody approach me with an interest in de-veloping a mobile home park.”

For some, moving could mean selling their mobile homes and renting a town house, while others have vowed to leave the county.

Nicholson cautioned that the

housing authority is only a “sup-plemental resource,” and that the public sector “does not have all the answers to say where everyone is going to find a place to live.”

Availability continues to be residents’ main concern, especially for mobile home owners who have an asset to secure, Nicholson said. Approximately 47 to 59 of the 80

remaining displaced residents own a mobile home. While less of a pri-ority, the remaining renters are still eligible for moving assistance and in some cases rental assistance.

With last week’s commis-sioners vote, the funds should be available immediately. Once a new home is found and selected by the resident, the housing authority makes a direct check payment to the vendor upon approval.

Thomas Builders in Leonar-dtown purchased the White Oak property for $3.9 million.

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Commissioners Authorize Relocation Help To Mobile Home Residents

SectionA-� The County Times Thursday,September6,2007

“We’recertainlycontact-ingpeoplewhowerethereatthetimewhomayhaveinfor-mationthatcanhelpus,”Bur-rissaid.“Webelievetheremaybeatleastoneothervictim.”

Burrissaiddetectivesarestill trying to confirm whether anincidentthatwasallegedtohaveoccurredin1982involv-ing a female child who wasnotastudentattheschoolac-tuallyhappened.

This event may haveled to Spoelker’s leaving histeaching position there thatsameyear,Burrissaid.

Burris added that inves-tigators believed officials at Ryken High School dur-ing the first alleged incident were aware of it but it wasnotreportedasacrimetolaw

enforcement.No charges are pending

against those officials, Burris said.

MaryJoyHurlburt,presi-dentofSt.Mary’sRykenHighSchool, in a released state-mentontheincident,saidthatSpoelker had started teach-ingatRykenHighSchool in1969.

“The school takes all al-legationsofabuseagainststu-dentsveryseriously,”Hurlburtwrote inher statement. “Ourhearts go out to the personwho came forward. We willcooperate with the local andstateauthorities.”

Bro. Lawrence Harvey,generalsuperioroftheXave-rian Brothers order, releaseda similar prepared statementregardingthechargesagainsthisfellowreligious.

“The Xaverian Brothershavenotbeenfullyinformedof the allegations against the

member of our communitybut we take any such claimvery seriously and will fullycooperate with civil authori-tiesintheinvestigation,”Har-veystatedintherelease.“Weunderstand that even thoughanincidentofabusemayhaveoccurreddecadesago,theef-fectsofthatabuseonavictimis lifelong. We earnestly andreadily apologize to anyonewho may have experiencedanyformofabuseinvolvingamemberofourcongregation.”

Ryken High SchoolmergedwithSt.Mary’sAcad-emy,toformthecoeducation-alSt.Mary’sRykenin1981

Accordingtoinformationfrom BCI, detectives trav-eled to Venice, Fla. Aug. 30to affect the fugitive arrestof Spoelker, 64, an adjunctteacher at Manatee Commu-nityCollege.

Accordingtothecollege’sspokeswoman KatherineWalker, becausehe couldnolonger fulfill his duties as a science teacher, Spoelker’semploymentwasterminated.

“We had no [reports of]sexual allegations againsthim,”Walkersaid.

A release from ManateeCommunity College statedthatacompletestateandfed-eral background check wascompleted on Spoelker’s ap-plication for employment in2004andcamebackwithoutanycriminalhistory.

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To The Editor:

IncreaseHouseholdIncomesNotAllGoodLaborDayNews

This year marks Southern MarylandElectric Cooperative’s (SMECO’s) 70thanniversary.OnbehalfoftheBoardofDirectorsofSMECO,Iwouldliketothankyouforyourparticipation and attendance at your 2007AnnualMembers’Meeting. More than2,000ofyoujoinedtogetherandattendedthemeetingtotakepartinthebusinessaffairsofyour cooperative and to elect directors fromCalvert, Charles, Prince George’s, and St.Mary’scounties.Alltheincumbentdirectorswerere-electedtoanotherterm.Theyjoinmeinthankingyouforyoursupport.Iwouldalsolike to thankMr.SteveLarsen,Chairmanofthe Maryland Public Service Commission,for his kind remarks regarding SMECO’saccomplishments and business practices,

Thomas Stone High School’s Army JuniorROTC for the Presentation of Colors, andMiss Rachel Escolopio for her outstandingrenditionofournationalanthem.ThanksalsotoMr.ErnieBellforhisusualexcellentjobasAnnualMeetingChairman.Weareproudtobe members of your Board of Directors andwillcontinuetoworktoprovidesafe,reliableelectric power at the lowest possible cost toyou, our customer-members. As Mr. Slater,our president and chief executive officer, said atthemeeting,“Aslongaswekeepourfocusonourcustomers,we’llkeepgoingstrongforanother70years.” Again,thankyouforyourparticipationandsupport.

Dear Fellow SMECO Members:

ter line and plumbing wherenecessary.

“ThisisthewayMetComgaveus to providenecessarywater service to the town-houses,” said Dennis Nichol-son,directoroftheSt.Mary’sCountyHousingAuthority.

Thecostwasaconcerntothe commissioners, who thismonthwillholdapublichear-ing to look into requiring all

new residentialdevelopmentsto have an indoor sprinklersystem,withapossibleexcep-tiontotheAmishandMenno-nite communities throughoutthecounty.

The bulk of the cost isnotinbringingthewaterlineacross the four laneShangri-La,but thewith the system’sinstallation into each unit,Nicholson said. According

to preliminary cost analy-sis, Nicholson said each unitwould cost roughly $12,000toinstallthesystem,becauseofthelevelofrehabtheproj-ectwillrequire.Thebuildingwasconstructedinthe1970s.

MetCom does have apumpingstationlocatedcloseto theproperty,where8-inchpipesareinstalled.Commis-sioner Thomas A. MattinglySr. (D-Leonardtown) askedNicholson if tapping into thestation would be more eco-nomically feasible, but Nich-olson maintained that the

current plan would be thecheapestandmostreasonableway to fulfill the sprinkler requirement.

Once theproject is com-plete Nicholson hopes to selleach townhousefor$150,000to $160,000, but said eachproperty would be availablefor rent, or on a rent to owncontinuum depending on thebuyer’s financial status.

“Itcouldgoanumberofdirections,” Nicholson said,“we don’t’ want to limit ouropportunities.”

The six townhouses will

be open to the community,howeverfamily’swithacom-bined income of $60,000 orless, depending on size, willbewhotheprojecttargets.

“The housing authorityisgoingtoownthem,buttheultimategoalistopasshomeownership to the homeown-ers,”Nicholsonadded.

Nicholson hopes theproject could be completedas soon as January of 2008,but anticipates a spring2008grandopening.

“It looks like the finished productisgoingtobeanasset

to thecommunity,”Commis-sioner Francis Jack Russell(D-PointLookout)said.

Mattingly took Russell’scommentonestepfurtherandsaidthewiththeworkdonetothe library, school, fire house and church in that area, thisproject would just add ontoa “dramatic change in thecommunity.”

With partnership fromMercantile Southern Mary-land Bank, the housing au-thoritywasabletosecurethesixtownhousesforaffordablehousing.

TownhousesContinued from page A-�

RykenContinued from page A-�

TheBoardofCountyCommissionersinvitesthepublicandCountystafftoattendtheAnnualRemembranceCeremony to reflect on the tragedies that occurred to ournationonSeptember11,2001.TheceremonywillbeheldonTuesday,September11,2007,atnoon,outside of the Governmental Center at the flagpole andtheFreedomGarden.Formoreinformation,contact the Public Information Office at 301-475-4200 extension1340.

CountyGovernmenttoHoldAnnual

9/11 Remembrance Ceremony

Bro. Philip Spoelker’s arrest photo

By most accounts, it’s agoodtimetoliveinSouthernMaryland. Last week theCensus Bureau released in-come statistics for theWash-ington metropolitan region.Thereportshowsthatincomelevels and personal wealth isgrowing substantially in theSouthernMarylandregion.

Our neighboring coun-ties, Calvert and Charles arenowconsidered to be amongthe10wealthiestsmallcoun-tiesintheUnitedStates.Cal-vert County’s median house-hold incomeis thehighestofthe three Southern MarylandCounties with $84,891, onlyasmallincreaseoverthepre-vious year. Charles Countyexperienceda15.2%increaseover theprioryear,withme-dian household income nowreportedat$80,179.

HereinSt.Mary’sCoun-ty,medianhousehold incomerose 13%over the prior year

to$71,158.Byandlarge,thisis good news for the region,and most elected officials are speakingoutwithexcitement.With household incomes onthe rise, many elected officials see that as anopportunity touse more government as acatalyst to provide additionalservicesinourcommunity.Itisalsoasignaltomostelectedofficials that the citizens can afford more, especially moregovernment.

So for those elected of-ficials who are sitting back countingthewaystoraisetax-esonourincreasinglywealthycommunity,itmaybeagoodtime to reflect on why we cel-ebrate“LaborDay”andhowstatistics can many times bemisleadingwhenviewedfromasmallwindow.

For many people, La-borDay is simply a summerbookend to Memorial Day.Certainly Labor Day carry’s

much less significance then say Fourth of July, Thanks-giving,andChristmas.MostpeopledonotevenknowhoworwhyLaborDaybecameanationalholiday.

TheCentralLaborUnionfirst conceived Labor Day in 1882inNewYorkCity.Atthetime,workingconditionsweremuchdifferentthantodaywiththe average work day beingcloserto12hours,sixorsevendaysaweek. Workersenjoylittleinthewayofprotections.Government was largely notinvolved as a watchdog forworkersrights.

In 1894, President Gro-verCleveland signed the lawmaking Labor Day an official UnitedStatesholiday. LaborDay became known as the“workingman’sholiday”.

It still took many moreyears for things to improvefor the working class in thiscountry. Most federal work-

er-protection laws were notenacteduntilthe1930’s.Stilltheworkingclasstoday,whilemuchbetteroffthanthoseofthe 1800’s and early 1900’s,carrythenationsmanuallaborburden, while continuing tolose financial ground to higher incomefamilies.

In communities likeSouthernMaryland,“blessed”with rapidly rising medianhouseholdincomes,thework-ing class struggles to keeppace. In fact, the rapid riseinincomelevelsisaresultoflarge increases in upper in-comelevels,whilethosemak-ing$50,000ayearorlesshaveseenlittle increaseinincomelevelsoverthepastyear.Mostpeople, especially the “work-ingclass”peopleareactuallyworseoff,notbetteroff.

Recently local govern-menthasbeenbusyusingSt.Mary’s County rising wealthto justify making our com-

munity“better”.Thingssuchasforcingnewhomestohaveone,two,orthreedevelopmentrights purchased from largeproperty owners causing thecostofnewhomestoincreaseby$20,000to$50,000.

Plans to require newhomestohaveautomaticsprin-klerswilladdanother$8,000to$10,000tothecostofanewhome. Suddenly even me-dianhouseholdincomelevelsaren’tenoughtoaffordanewhome,whatarelowerincomeworkerssupposetodo?Whataboutyoungfamiliesstartingoutwith incomelevels in the$20,000and$30,000range?

Andforthethousandsofworkerswhoareactuallymak-ingevenless,governmentwillforceitselftousetaxdollarstohouseandfeedthosefolks.

Then when elected of-ficials use the rising wealth argumenttosaytaxincreasesare necessary and our com-

munity can afford it, thingsget even worse. For lowerto middle income folks whoare sacrificing to make ends meet already, even a $100 ayear taxincreasecanmakeadifference.

Andwhentaxesareraisedonbusinessesand thosewithhigherincomelevels,thisbur-denisultimatelypasseddownto thosewhocan leastaffordit.Forthosewhostillbelievethatbusinesscanabsorbcostincreases without raisingprices,thosearethemostdan-gerous elected officials of all. And when prices rise at thegrocerystore,thegaspumps,the clothing store, etc., thosewhohave the least suffer themost.

So as many boast aboutthe healthy state of SouthernMaryland,letusnotforgetwhyLaborDayisimportant,evenhereinSouthernMaryland

Thursday, September 6, 2007 The County Times Section A - �

St. Mary’s CitySt. Mary's City

DATE HIGH LOW HIGH LOW

Fri. Sept. 7 -------- 5:30 a.m. 11:27 a.m. 5:33 p.m.

Sat. Sept. 8 9/7 11:52 p.m. 6:23 a.m. 12:23 p.m. 6:30 p.m.

Sun. Sept. 9 12:46 a.m. 7:12 a.m. 1:13 p.m. 7:23 p.m.

Mon. Sept. 10 1:35 a.m. 7:56 a.m. 1:59 p.m. 8:11 p.m.

Tue. Sept. 11 2:19 a.m. 8:36 a.m. 2:41 p.m. 8:56 p.m.

Wed. Sept. 12 3:00 a.m. 9:12 a.m. 3:20 p.m. 9:39 p.m.

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Detectives with the St. Mary’s County Bureau of Criminal Investigations say they have two suspects they believe are responsible for the robbery at the Bank of Ameri-can branch office in Mechan-icsville Aug. 17, but they have not found the money those suspects allegedly stole.

The two suspects, Valeriy V. Kouznetsov, 23 and David

Concepcion, 33, both from Rockville, were captured by Montgomery County police Aug. 27 after allegedly at-tempting a bank robbery which failed.

Lt. Rick Burris, com-mander of BCI, said the search continues for the money that was allegedly stolen from Bank of America.

According to Burris, the two suspects reportedly used a vehicle in that robbery they had carjacked earlier Aug. 17

in Montgomery County.Burris said it would be

some time before the two sus-pects could be arraigned and tried here in St. Mary’s be-cause of all the charges they face in Montgomery County.

“They’ll have to go through various legal process-es before we can bring them down,” Burris said. “We’d been working with them [Montgomery County police] since the [Aug.17] robbery occurred.

“All the evidence kind of fell together.”

Burris said that after the Mechanicsville robbery, de-tectives were able to use a partial tag number and vehicle description matching that of a carjacking that had occurred in Montgomery County.

The two suspects con-tinued their alleged crime spree when they reportedly carjacked another vehicle in Montgomery County Aug. 25 and used it in another attempt

two days later to hold up a bank in Rockville.

The morning of the Rock-ville robbery, according to information from the Mont-gomery County Police De-partment, one of the suspects attempted to gain entry to the United Bank located on Rock-ville Pike with what witnesses described as a handgun.

A teller did not allow the suspect into the second foyer of the bank and the suspect fled into a black Chevrolet Cavalier driven by the second suspect.

Montgomery police later found the car and the two sus-pects and arrested them. They recovered a replica of a semi-automatic handgun during the search of the vehicle, accord-ing to Montgomery police reports.

Both Concepcion and

Kouznetsov face charges of first degree assault, conspira-cy to commit armed robbery and armed robbery for their alleged crimes in St. Mary’s.

In Montgomery County, Concepcion faces charges of attempted armed robbery, armed carjacking, felony theft, and the unlawful taking of a motor vehicle.

Kouznetsov was charged with attempted armed rob-bery, two counts of armed carjacking, two counts of felony theft and two counts of unlawful taking of a motor vehicle.

Burris said the robbery here in St. Mary’s was among the most serious in recent memory.

“It’s pretty brazen,” Burris said. “We were certainly glad to get them into custody.”

Investigators Looking For Stolen Money In Bank RobberySuspects face court in Montgomery County first

October 10, 1995, is a day that changed Megan O’Neil’s life forever. Megan was rid-ing as a passenger on her way back from a school-related trip when she was in a car ac-cident that left her paralyzed. In addition to the physical and emotional recovery, Megan was forced to make a financial decision that would impact the rest of her life.

She was awarded a finan-cial settlement for her injuries from her accident and faced twIn the event of a financial settlement in a personal in-jury case, structured settle-ments are a smarter long-term financial investment than one lump sum.choices: take the settlement as a onetime lump sum payment or receive the money through a structured settlement annuity contract, which would provide her with a future stream of payments exempt from state and federal income taxes.

While the lump sum was enticing, Megan opted for the structured settlement. As a young woman with limited investment experience and facing a lifetime of expenses associated with her injury, she recognized that she was too young to make long-term investment decisions asso-ciated with the lump sum settlement.

“I knew that while I couldn’t change the circum-stance I was in, what I could do was make the right de-cision for my future,” says Megan. “So, I made a deci-

sion that would guarantee me money every month so I could focus on recovery and eventu-ally on living my life.” Today, Megan works for the World Institute on Disability as a leading advocate for people with disabilities. A graduate of The University of Texas at Austin, she is empower-ing people with disabilities to know the facts about financial planning.

Megan’s situation is not unique. Each year, tens of thousands of people in the United States win settlements as plaintiffs in personal in-jury cases. During the ex-panse of time between court dates and depositions, many personal injury plaintiffs are unemployed and coping with injuries some times for years. This situation can quickly de-plete savings and result in the need to borrow money from family or incur large amounts of debt. So when the verdict arrives in the plaintiff’s favor, or a settlement is reached out of court, the idea of receiving a large sum of money all at once could be very attractive.

But many financial ex-perts agree that structured settlement payments may be the smarter option long-term. “Many people view those who receive lump sum pay-ments as just the recipients of a big financial windfall,” says Susan Bradley, founder of Sudden Money Institute. “However it’s important to remember that those involved in personal injury accidents

are going through more than just a financial event, it’s a life event. So it is vital for these people and their families to deal with this new reality carefully and take the time to make the best financial decision possible for their future.”

Instead of taking a lump sum at the time of settlement, the in-jured party or the surviving family

members in a wrongful death suit have the option of receiv-ing payments for life via an annuity contract issued by a reputable life insurance com-pany, such as American Gen-eral Life Insurance Company (American General Life).

It is true that a lump sum can earn a considerable amount of interest when in-vested or placed in a high-yield savings account. How-ever, the interest earned (not the sum itself) is subject to state and federal income tax regulations. This can add up quickly even on a modest settlement.

Structured settlements, on the other hand, are free from state and federal income taxes. Payments made are non-taxable by state and fed-eral tax guidelines outlined in Section 104(a)(2) of the Inter-nal Revenue Code.

“In addition to the tax benefits, structured settle-ments provide peace of mind and other benefits,” adds J.P. Steele, president of structured settlements of American General Life and immediate past president of the National Structured Settlements Trade Association (NSSTA). “For example, the individual can receive a set stream of pay-ments punctuated by larger individual payments to help

cover major life events such as mortgage, loan payoffs, college tuition or ongoing medical procedures.”

“Many people don’t choose structured settlements because they’re too safe,” says

Megan. “However, by opting for a structured settlement, having that safety and secu-rity allows them to take risks, like it did me, with the peace of mind knowing they have regular cash flow to meet their

basic needs.”People should know about

structured settlements even though the majority of Ameri-cans may never need to worry about using one, she adds.

In the event of a financial settlement in a personal injury case, structured settlements are a smarter long-term financial investment than one lump sum.

Structured Settlements: Providing Economic Peace of Mind

SectionA-� The County Times Thursday,September�,2007

Photo by Adam Ross

Ramblings of a Country Girl

OddNews

MadeinChina

TerriBartzBowles

People who know meknowthatIhavebeenrailingagainst the tsunami hittingour shores in recent years ofgoods made in China. Ab-solutelyeverything, itseems,is made in China. Appar-ently, we’re not capable of

makinganything inAmericaanymore. But of course weare.Wesimplydon’t. Why?Greed. Plain and simple, itcomes down to greed. Andit’snotonlyonthepartofthemanufacturers, it’s also con-sumergreed.

Manufacturer greed is abig part of it, but manufac-

turersarecompetingforcon-sumerdollarsandconsumerswant things cheap. But themanufacturers’ profit margins areprettylarge.Ireadanar-ticlethatstatedonly35centsstayedinChinaforaproductthat retails in America for$20. Wow. Even when youconsider the cost of the raw

goods, shipping, packagingandmarketing;thatseemslikea pretty large profit margin. Consumers are also guilty– if thereweretwopackagesof pencils and the one madeinChinasoldfor50centsandtheonemadeintheUSAsoldfor$1.00,anawfullotoffolkswouldopttosavethe50cents.

It’s50crummycents, surelymostpeoplecouldafford thedifference. But they havechosen not to and by mak-ingthatchoice,wehavesentcountlessmanufacturingjobsoverseas,mosttoChina.

Go in the stores and tryto find something made in the USA. Try to find something made somewhere other thanChina.Lookateveryproductyoupickup–untilyoustartlooking at everything, youdon’t realize the magnitudeof what I’m talking about.Wehardlymake anything inAmerica anymore. Majorlight bulb brand – made inChina.Bandagesandallsortsofmedicalsupplies–madeinChina.MostshoesaremadeinChina.Everypurseintheworld is apparently madein China. There are a fewAmerican companies mak-ingshoesbuttheyaremostlyspecialitemslikeworkshoesandboots.IchallengeyoutotryandbuynotmadeinChinaforaweek.It’snearlyimpos-sible.Evenasurprisingnum-beroffoodproductsaremadeinChina.

We just don’t make anyproducts here any more, sowhat do we do? Service,people tell me, we do ser-vice.Notsomuch.Haveyoucalledyourcellphonecarrierlately?Triedtomakeamedi-cal appointment? Called the800numberonthebackoftheshampoo bottle? Where are

youcalling?India.Whyareweunabletodoanythinghereany more? I find it sad and depressing.

More people are payingattentionnow-after thedogfoodscare,thetoothpastescareand the lead paint toy scare.TheChristmasshoppingsea-sonwillbeuponussoon.Trythis–doaninternetsearchonmadeinAmericaandmadeinUSA. You’ll find a surpris-ingnumberofhits, therearesitesdedicatedtothisandanencouragingnumberofsmallcompaniesstillmakinggoodsin America. Support them.Andsupportyourlocalshopsthat carry handmade goods,local wine, and original art.Therearealsolotsofretailers,both virtual and brick-and-mortar,thatcarryhandcraftedgoodsmadeinotherpartsofthe world that are beautifuland interesting. Understandthis, I’m not against all im-ports. I’m against the risingmonopoly of goods made inonecountrythatisimpactingtherestoftheworldeconomy.I am against cheap, shoddygoods that have replacedqualityitems.AndI’magainstpeople with personal financial tunnel-vision who refuse toseethedifference.

I’mgoingtohaveaT-shirtmadethatsays“China–Itoldyouso.”

Navy News

AmyKaperStaffWriter

Rear Admiral Steven L.Enewold, Vice Commanderof Naval Air Systems Com-mand(NAVAIR),willendhisNavycareerSept.26after35yearsofservice.

EnewoldtookoverasViceCommanderinAugust2006.WithinNAVAIR,hehasactedas Program Executive Officer for the Joint Strike FighterProgram Office; Director, Air Vehicle Division; Pro-gramManagerfortheEA-6B(PMA-234);andProgramEx-ecutive Officer for Air ASW, AssaultandSpecialMissionsProgram(PEO-A).

Enewoldalsotaughtatthe

UnitedStatesNavalTestPilotSchool at Naval Air StationPatuxent River from 1988-1991. “More than half of themilitary program managerswithin NAVAIR are my for-merstudents,”hesaid.

“Rear Admiral Enewoldhas always been people fo-cused.Hiscallsign,‘Smiley,’captures the essence of hischaracter,” Captain BarbaraBell,amemberofEnewold’steamatNAVAIR,said.“Heiscontinuallyengagedincoach-ing, mentoring, and, mostimportantly, empowering thepeoplewhoworkforhim.”

Captain Ralph Portnoy,co-lead of the Total ForceStrategy and ManagementDepartment, has known En-

NAVAIRViceCommanderRetiringatMonth’sEnd

County Tennis Association (SMCTA)havebeenstrongadvocatesofthepark’srevitalization effort, including lend-inghandstowritethegrantproposaltoUSTA.

For years, SMCTA members haveplayedat localschools,but those facili-tiesareoftencongestedwithafter-schoolactivities,andalackofopenbathroomsandsheltersfromthesun.

Thereareroughly1,600activetennis

playersinSt.Mary’sCountywhocouldbenefit from the Cecil Park project, ac-cordingtoKatieKeen,aboardmemberforSMCTA,whospokewithTheCountyTimesinMarch.

“Iseethisasawayourwholeteamcanpractice at one time,”Keen said ofher 16-person team. “It’s just so excit-ing to have four courts at one [public]location.”

The courts are expected to have asofter surface, not quite as soft as claythat will help maintain the vitality ofolderplayers.

SMCTA is a non-profit charter asso-ciationpartneredwiththeUSTA.

TheyhavealsoworkedcloselywithRollins tomake theprojectgoforward.Rollins proposed lighting to Dorsey Park’s courts in fiscal year 2010, in part becausetheprojectatCecilParkdoesnotincludenighttimeplayinglights.

Thecommissionersunanimouslyap-provedresubmittingthegrantapplicationtoUSTA,whichrequiresthemtosignaletter.

Commissioner Kenny Dement (R-Callaway)made themotion,whichwasseconded by by Commissioner Daniel H. Raley (D-Great Mills).

TennisContinued from page A-�

The Ledo Pizza 2007MidAtlanticSkateSeriescel-ebratedtheconclusionofour5thyearatSt.Mary’sCountySkatepark last weekend, andwhatayearitwas!

MASS 2007 included 8contests and over 400 skat-ers representing11 states, anarmy of tremendous volun-teers,anda lotofgreatskat-ing.Forcompleteresultsseewww.ledopizzaskateboard-series.com.

Top3overallineachclasswere:

10andUnderBowl:1.NealHailey2.JoeRutkowski3.NicPotts

11-13Bowl:1.FrankSchaffroth

2.JakeHilbish3. Daniel Hobson

14-17Bowl:1.CoreyRubin2. Charles Dagley 3.ChuckMorris

18-29Bowl:1.ChrisWilliams2.EdLatus3.RyanMagyar

30-39Bowl:1.JohnFudala2.RobertRoper3.ZacReed

40+Bowl:1.BobPribble2.CurtKimbel3.JeffSwayne

WomenBowl:1.AlexandraHailey2. Jackie Dorney

3.OliviaBranch

LongboardBowl: 1.FrankSchaffroth 2.CocoBranch 3.NealHailey

NoviceStreet: 1.NealHailey 2. Daniel Crowe 3.MylesWillard

IntermediateStreet: 1.KoreyGandyandTrev-

orColden(tie) 2.CocoBranch 3. Charles Dagley

ExpertStreet: 1.AlexJohns 2.ChrisWilliams 3. Dakota Welty

RedBullMannyManiaBestTrick:

OldSchoolSkatepark#1:

TyroneReed Arlington:TrevorColden Olney: Jonathan

Lankford OldSchoolSkatepark#2:

TrevorColden Charles County: Chris

Williams St. Mary’s: Chris Van

Eeklin www.gobro.tv

BigAir(atOlney) 1.TomKnox 2. Ronnie Oneal and

TommyLittle(tie)

I would like to sincerelythank Ledo Pizza, Red Bulland all of our sponsors, andthe many volunteers we de-pend on each week to maketheseriescomealive.Itwasagreatyear,andIlookforwardto seeing everyone again in2008!

Curt

FifthAnnualSkateboardSeriesResults

CHESTERFIELD, Mo. - The last straw was the fake palm trees for Dwight DeGolia’s neighbors. The 62-year-old retiree had spent years fixing up the sliver of sloping land outside his home,addingtwoputtinggreensthatwerealmost30feetlong,asmallcreekandagazebo.Thenheadded50tonsofbeachsandtocompletetheillusionofatropicalgolfvacation,aswellasaportablegolfhittingcageandabarwithapergolaroof.“We had that place really shining,” DeGolia said. But the 8- to 12-footpalmtreesmadeitimpossibleforneighborstoignoreDeGolia’s project anymore, a passion that they said was mak-ing the neighborhood look tacky and led them to take DeGolia to court. “We gave it a nickname,” said Dennis Taylor, a for-mersubdivisiontrustee.“WallyWorld.”Citiesandneighbor-hoodassociationshavestruggledforyearswithhowtohandlesituationsinwhicheccentricpeoplewithapenchantforlawndecoration get into fights with nearby homeowners. The battles oftenfeatureissuesthatarefarfromstraightforward,suchaswhosepropertyrightsaremoreimportant—thewomanwhofanciesdozensofcupidstatuesonherfrontlawn,orthenext-doorneighborwhohastolookatit?Inanyevent,heandhiswife moved to Oklahoma, in part because of the fight with landscaping.

BIGGS,Ore.-Threecommercialtruckdriversblockedacarleadingauthoritiesonahigh-speedchaseformorethan50miles.Thetruckerspulledalongsideeachotherandslowedtoabout 5 mph, forming a rolling roadblock. The fleeing driver stopped and fled on foot but was quickly captured, authorities said.TruckerEdwinBeachsaidhehadheardpoliceradiotraf-fic and said, “OK, where’s the high-speed chase at?” He coordi-natedwithtwootherdriversoverCBandplacedhistruckinthemiddleonInterstate84.“Wewereallkindoflaughingbecausehewasrunningdownthefreeway,”saidBeach,ofKelso,Wash.Identitiesoftheothertwotruckerswerenotimmediatelyavail-able.ThechasebeganSaturdaynearBoardmanandendednearthe John Day Dam on the Columbia River about 100 miles east ofPortland,policesaid.Speedsduringthechaseexceeded100mph. The fleeing car had been reported to have been involved inahit-and-run.

FLAGSTAFF,Ariz.-AFlagstaffmanallegedlyclimbedinto a hearse during a funeral to nap a pile of flowers. Chris-topherBillie,37,wasbookedintotheYavapaiCountyjailononecountofautoburglary,saidSgt.TomBoughner,aFlagstaffpolicespokesman.PolicewerecalledtoOurLadyofGuada-lupeChurch justafter8p.m.Thursdaybya funeraldirectorwhowatchedasBillieopenedthehearsedoor,climbedinsideand began grabbing flower vases, Boughner said. Billie, who reportedlywasintoxicated,wasdetainedbythemorticianuntilofficers arrived.

ELKRIVER,Minn.-A7-footstatueofBuddha,coveredin copper-landen bronze was stolen from an outdoor templeshireattheThaiBuddhistCenterofMinnesotabecauseofwhatappearstobegrowingpricesforscrapmetal,policesaid.Po-liceChiefJeffBeahensaida45-year-oldElkRiverwomanwasarrestedFridaynight, and amale familymemberwasbeinglookedatasanothersuspectinthetheft.Thestatue,valuedat$10,000,wasstolenWednesdaynight,andadetective issuedastatewidealerttopoliceandscrapdealersThursdaywithaphotoofthestolenstatue.EarlyFridayafternoon,arecyclingcompany inMonticello called thedetective, saying theyhadtakenintwopiecesofscraptheybelievedtobefromthestatue.Policerecoveredtherightshoulderandrighthipofthestatue,eachweighingabout60pounds,andwiththehelpoftherecy-clerwereable to identify thewomanwhohadbrought themin. “Thereareanother10piecesorso,andIhope theotherrecyclingcompaniesareasdiligent in talkingwithus,”Bea-hensaid. ThestatuewasspeciallymadeinThailandfor thecenter.“It’stoobad,”saidtemplememberJayCramer.“Thewholecommunityisrealsad.It’sasacredpiece.”ButCramersaidtherewassomereliefinknowingthatthestatuewasstolenformoneyandnotbecauseofbigotry.AnewlawtookeffectinMinnesotaAug.1requiringscrapdealerstokeepdetailedrecords of all transactions. Sellers must show state-issued IDs, anddealersmustpaythemwithchecksorelectronictransfersandtakepicturesofthemandtheirvehicles.

ewold since test pilot schoolin1991.

“WhatIlearnedwaybackthen,and[what]Istillseeto-day,isthatRearAdmiralEn-ewoldisatruepeoplepersonwhosecaringandeasy-goingmanner puts people at easeright away,” Portnoy said. “Ithinkhiswillingnesstotacklebig jobs as the vice com-manderiscomplementedandenabledbecauseheworkssowellwithpeople.”

CaptainMatWinter,Pro-gramManager for thePreci-sionStrikeWeaponsProgramOffice (PMA-201), knows En-ewoldasatrueleader,mentorandfriend.

“He combines the rightmixofauthorityandcamara-derietobringouttheabsolutebestineachpersonhetouch-es,”saidWinter.

Enewoldsaidhis jobhas

beenmuchdifferentthanany-thing he’s ever done before.“AsaprogrammanagerIfo-cusedonaproduct,butinthecommand office, I focused on thepeopleandfacilitiesoftheorganization.”

According to Enewold,thepeoplethatmakeupNA-VAIR are a unique and rarecommodity.

However, he is lookingforwardtochangeasheseeksemploymentwithin theaero-nauticalcommunity.

“Iwasspoiledasthepro-grammanagerforJointStrikeFighter (JSF),” he said. “I’mreally looking forward tobuildingsomethingagain.”

Rear Admiral WilliamShannon, NAVAIR’s Assis-tantCommanderforLogisticsand Industrial Operations,willassumethedutiesofViceCommanderOct.1”

Thursday, September 6, 2007 The County Times Section A - 7

ObituariesCharlotte Louise (Prois)

Andes, 85

Charlotte Louise (Prois) Andes, 85, of Hollywood, Md., died Aug. 29, 2007 at her residence.

Born Dec. 25, 1921 in Rutherford, N.J., she was the daughter of the late Eman Prois and Sophie Satinover Prois.

She attended Rutherford school system. She gradu-ated from Passaic School of Nursing and joined the Army Nurse Corp during World War II, serving in the Philip-pines, Manila and Cebu. She then took her discharge from the Army in Hawaii and for several months ran a Nursery school at Schofield Barracks for the Army. Upon returning to Rutherford, she attended Seton Hall College majoring in Public Health and went 38 years in Occupational Health. She was employed at Olonite in Passaic, N.J. and Wyoming Industries, American Bosch in Springfield, Mass. and in the Trenton, N.J. area for GTE. GM. Essex Rubber and retired after 24 years of ser-vice at Circle F. Industry.

She was a member of the Rutherford Alumni, the Medical Center of Passaic Alumni, A/A/O/H/N, Senior Center Club D in Trenton, N.J., a lifetime member of the American Legion Post 162, Lexington Park, Md., VFW in California, Md., Red Hat So-ciety, Calvert County Market in Prince Frederick, Md., and the Northern Senior Center. She enjoyed making coiled rugs and listening to recorded books.

She is survived by her daughter, Barbara Jane Fer-rante with whom she lived, granddaughter, Jillian Marie, both of Hollywood, Md., a niece and two nephews. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Leonard Andes, son-in-law, Ralph Ferrante, and sister, Rhoda Wood.

All services will be private.

Memorial contributions may be to Hospice of St. Mary’s, P.O. Box 625, Leon-ardtown, MD 20650 or donate

to Recorded Books at your lo-cal library.

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

Marco Bellosi, Sr.

On Thursday, Aug. 23, 2007, of Dunkirk, MD, be-loved husband of Linda Bello-si; loving father of Marco, Jr., Ricky, Gracy, Kim, Brian, D-bo, Madison, Little Gracy and Vincent; brother of Joe, Rosey and John. Also survived by 20 grandchildren; numerous cousins, nieces, nephews and other family. Family invite friends to call at the LEE FU-NERAL HOME, CALVERT, P.A., 8125 Southern Maryland Blvd., (Rt. 4 and Fowler Rd.) Owings, MD, on Wednesday and Thursday, from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Fri-day, Aug. 31, 10 a.m. at Jesus the Good Shepherd Catholic Church, 1601 W. Mount Har-mony Rd., Owings, MD.

William Clayton Combs, 85

William Clayton Combs, 85, of Greenville, N.H., for-merly of Valley Lee, Md., died Sept. 2, 2007 at home after a long illness.

Born in Valley Lee, Md. on Jan. 8, 1922 he was the son of the late Joseph Frank-lin and Margaret Lucille Red-man Combs Sr. He was the husband of Mary Virginia Crump, whom he married at St. Gabriel’s Church in Wash-ington, D.C. on July 13, 1945. He is survived by his wife of 62 years; his daughter, Nancy Lee Courage and husband Da-vid M. Courage; three grand-children, Christopher and William Courage and Kelly Ann Clark; two great-grand-sons, Colby and Jordan Clark. Mr. Combs is also survived by his sister, Loretta Marie Rule, of Leonardtown, Md. He was preceded in death by his son, Robert William Combs in 1992 and his brothers and sis-ters, Thomas Lester Combs,

Joseph Earl Combs, Joseph Franklin Combs, Franklin E.Combs, John R. Combs, Louis M. Combs, Michael H. Combs, Paul Jenifer Combs, Margaret Cullison, Lucy Lo-retta Combs and Rose Celeste Combs.

Mr. Combs attended Great Mills High School. He moved to Washington, D.C. in 1937, where he joined the C.C. Camp as a heavy equipment operator. In 1939 he joined the U.S. Merchant Marines as an ordinary seaman. He sailed around the world and was on two ships that were torpedoed during World War II. He was honorably discharged in 1943 as a boatswain. He then owned and operated an Auto Body Shop in Washington, D.C. He worked as an auto body repairman until his retire-ment in 1984. He then moved to Valley Lee, Md., where he made his home until moving to Greenville, N.H. in 2005 to be near his daughter and fam-ily. His greatest passions in life were his family, fishing, crabbing and gardening.

The family will receive friends on Friday, Sept. 7, 2007 from 5 – 8 p.m. in the Mattingley-Gardiner Funeral Home, where prayers will be said at 7 p.m.. A Mass of Christian Burial will be cel-ebrated on Saturday, Sept. 8 2007 at 10 a.m. in Holy Face Catholic Church, Great Mills, Md., with Fr. Joseph Sileo of-ficiating. Interment will fol-low in the church Cemetery. Pallbearers will be Brian T. Combs, David J. Combs, James M. Combs, Joseph M. Combs, Richard T. Combs and Stephen Todd Combs. Honorary pallbearers will be Richard Goldsborough, James Hansen and Earl Russell. Contributions may be made to the Second District Volunteer Fire Dept. and Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 1, Valley Lee, MD 20692. Arrangements pro-vided by the Mattingley-Gar-diner Funeral Home, P.A.

Salvatore Victor Greco, 89

Salvatore Victor Greco, 89, of Lexington Park, Md., died Sept. 3, 2007 at his residence.

Born June 19, 1918 in Manhattan, N.Y., he was the son of the late Frank Greco and Filomena DiGiorno Greco.

The family will receive friends on Friday, Sept. 7, 2007 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. in Leonardtown Baptist Church, Leonardtown, Md., where a Funeral Service will be conducted at 12 p.m. Rev-erend Clyde Phillips will con-duct the service. Interment will follow in Charles Memo-

rial Gardens, Leonardtown, Md.


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

A full obituary will ap-pear at a later date.

George Louis Holloway, III

George Louis Holloway passed away peacefully at his home on Aug. 26, 2007. He is survived by his beloved wife, Barbara A. Holloway; loving daughter, Vicki A. Weeks (James); two sons, Marc L. (Jonese) and Michael G. Hol-loway; two loving grandsons, Zachary J. and Devin A. Weeks.

Visitation was Thursday, August 30, 2007 6 to 8 p.m. at LEE FUNERAL HOME, INC., Branch Ave. and Cov-entry Way, Clinton, MD and Friday, August 31 from 10 a.m. until time of service 11 a.m. at Israel Baptist Church, 1251 Saratoga Ave., NE. In-terment Arlington National with Full Military Honors at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, con-tributions may be made to the scholarship fund at Israel Baptist Church.

Anna Marie Hughes, 86

Anna Marie Hughes, 86, of Mayfair, Pa., died Aug. 25, 2007 in St. Mary’s Hospital, Leonardtown, Md. She has gone home to live evermore in the kingdom of God.

Born Sept. 7, 1920 in Philadelphia, Pa., she was the daughter of the late Rob-ert Wallace and Emma Yates Wallace.

She was recently the proud recipient of the Pres-ident’s Volunteer Service Award. Her life epitomized selflessness, a servant’s heart, and the unconditional love of God. Memories of her will forever cling to the heart, soul, and mind of all who had the pleasure to know her.

She is survived by her son, John R. Hughes and his wife Phyllis, of Lexington Park, Md, five grandchil-dren, Carol and David De-Benedictis, Linda and Mark Paolini, Mark Hughes, all of Philadelphia, Pa, Nicole and John Grant-Barajas of Hono-lulu, HI, and Brittany Grant of Hollywood, Md., and five great-grandchildren, Gianna Paolini, Marcella DeBene-dictis, Mariano DeBenedictis, Zeke Grant and Emily Grant.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, John M. Hughes.

A Memorial Service to celebrate her life will be an-nounced by the family.

Memorial contributions may be made to Susan G. Ko-men Breast Cancer Founda-tion, 5005 LBJ Freeway, Suite 250, Dallas, TX 75244.


Alma Mae Mason, 86

Alma Mae Mason, 86, of White Plains died of lung can-cer on Aug.16, 2007 at Civista Medical Center.

Born April 11, 1921, in Millville, N.J., she was one of ten children born to the late Raymond and Elizabeth Stormes.

On June 15, 1941, she marreid Wilbur S. Mason of Brookneal,Va. They were married nearly 45 years before his death in 1986. They lived most of their married life in Marlow Heights, Md., where they raised their five chil-dren. Alma moved to Charles County where she lived with her son Gary, his wife Sandy and their two children until her death. She is survived by her five children, Wayne Ma-son of Mechanicsville,MD, Sherry Green of College Park, Md., Barbara Shisler of Glen Allen, Va, Gary Ma-son of White Plains, Md. and Lori Sullivan of Pomfret, Md. She is also survived by 11 grandchildren, Mike Mason, Cheryl Iverson, Terry Green, Dawn Green, Heathr Shisler, Jessica Shisler, Megan Yancy, Aaron Mason, Sarah Mason, Eric Morris and Kevin Sulli-van plus nine great-grandchil-dren. Her surviving siblings are Peggy, Mary, and Junior from Millville, N.J.

Memorial Contributions can be made to the American Cancer Society.

Marilyn Elizabeth Mathes, 57

Marilyn Elizabeth Mathes, 57, of Hollywood, Md., died September 1, 2007 at her residence.

The family will receive friends Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007 from 4-8 p.m. and Fri-day, Sept. 7, 2007 from 5-8 p.m. in the Brinsfield Funeral Home Chapel, Leonardtown, Md. Prayers will be recited at 7 p.m. on both evenings. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Saturday, Sept. 8, 2007 at 11 a.m. in St. John Francis Regis Catholic Church, Hollywood, Md. Fa-ther Ray Schmidt will conduct the service. Interment will fol-low in the church cemetery.

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

A full obituary will ap-pear at a later date.

Dorothy Lee Johnson Seipp, 74

Dorothy Lee Johnson Seipp, 74, a 23-year resident of Tracys Landing, died of cancer Aug. 25 at her home after a brief illness.

Mrs. Seipp was born Nov. 10, 1932, in Charlottes-ville, Va., and attended Prince George\’s Community Col-lege. She worked in human resources for the former C&P Telephone Co. for more than 28 years, retiring in 1995. In 1999 she started her own business, Dorothy\’s Gifts and Consignments, in Deale.

She lived in Washington, D.C., with her former husband, the late Cecil W. Johnson, un-til 1966 when she moved to Churchton. An avid Oriole fan, she also enjoyed playing bingo at the Deale Elks lodge, collecting porcelain dolls and taking trips to Charles Town, W.Va.

Surviving are her hus-band, LeRoy Seipp, whom she married April 24, 1984; one son, Danny Johnson of Ellicott City; two daughters, Patricia Smith of Waldorf and Diane Powers of Church-ton; five grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and six stepchildren, Susan Owen, LeRoy Seipp III, Kate Kalins, John Seipp, Joseph \”Samuel\” Seipp and Sally Leapley. She was the mother of the late Louis Johnson.

Visitation is from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. at Lee Funeral Home Calvert, 8125 Southern Maryland Blvd., Owings on Wednesday, where services will be at 11:30 a.m. Thurs-day. Burial will follow at 1 p.m. in Maryland Veterans Cemetery, 11301 Crain High-way, Cheltenham. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Hospice of the Chesa-peake, 445 Defense Highway, Annapolis, MD 21401.

SectionA-� The County Times Thursday,September6,2007

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first saw use for grain storage, Miller said, but once grain prices dropped and tobacco was in demand the purpose of the barn was changed to keep profits rolling in to Mackall’s 1,700-acre estate.

Aside from its uses in the agricultural life of Maryland in the 18th century, the barn’s structure gives historians a glimpse into ancient English building methods.

While the barn was built in 1785, the techniques used to erect it came from 17th cen-tury England nearly 100 years before.

The use of tilted false plates as a way of securing the roof, a kind of pegging tech-niques0 to keep the timbers of the barn together for so long point to a time long past, Mill-er said.

“We’re lucky this has sur-vived, so lucky,” Miller said of the Mackall barn.

But the story the barn can tell historians about the land’s past doesn’t end there, Miller

said.By boring down into

the ground underneath the barn, where no rain has fallen since 1785 and the pollen has stopped seeping and winding through the soil, historians and scientists can ascertain from pollen samples what crops were grown in the area and when.

This gives historians and scientists a more accurate vi-sion of what the environment was like around St. Mary’s City centuries ago and chang-es that have occurred since.

Richard Moe, chair of the St. Mary’s Commission, said the tobacco barns of Southern Maryland were an endangered breed and worth preserving.

The Mackall barn was particularly important, he said.

“It’s been an anomaly for a long time and we thought about what to do with it,” Moe told The County Times. “It was never an option to destroy it, it was too significant.”

RestorationContinued from page A-�

ByAdamRossStaffWriter

Using a $6.2 million fed-eral grant awarded this month, the Maryland State Depart-ment of Education is cook-ing up a special education development portal, a “super site” with online resources, courses and tools to help edu-cators and parents manage the educations of children with disabilities.

The site will be read-ily accessible to local school systems across the state via the Internet, outlining seven MSDE solutions to train-ing, retraining and retaining

special education teachers, along with enhancing interest and awareness of the state’s curriculum.

The grant is spread out over five years, with the first planning meeting scheduled for Sept. 18, according to Sharon West, a section chief for instructional support and professional development at MSDE.

“We are going to come together and roll out a plan,” West said of the first meeting. “But we would like to first see what pieces we have on-line and get those together as a foundation and build from there.”

MSDEAwarded$6.2MillionGranttoCreateOnlinePortal

West said all of the state’s local school systems have unique needs, but the grant is broad based dealing with training and recruitment of highly qualified teachers, and access for parents to the state’s special education curriculum.

The portal will contain links for teachers interested in obtaining a highly qualified status by acquiring different certifications offered through-out the state.

“With special education a lot has to do with service delivery,” West said. “Highly qualified status for special ed-ucators, if they are a teacher, they are responsible for con-tent, they have to be certified in a content area.”

The money will also go towards bringing on an addi-tional alternative teacher pro-

gram in local schools. One currently exists where teach-ers can partner up and co-teach in a content area, how-ever MSDE would like to see an additional program imple-mented for special education.

Furthermore, another goal is to increase interest and awareness of special educa-tion, enhancing the quality of life for students. MSDE has partnered with John Hopkins University Center for Tech-nology in Education to meet the project’s seven goals.

“This grant will help MSDE’s work in several areas critical to improving success for many of our most vulner-able students,” said State Su-perintendent of Schools Nan-cy S. Grasmick in a written release. “We continue to place a high priority on the search

for new funding to continue this important work.”

Part of future funding efforts will go towards the improvement of preschool special education, including knowledge and personnel enhancements.

“This is a collaborative partnership to provide state-wide resources for parents with questions about what is happening for their child at the preschool age,” West said of the preschool portion.

For parents without Inter-net access, West said MSDE is working with Parents Place of Maryland, a center for fam-ilies and children with disabil-ities, to address the issue.

“We would like to use an-other grant funding to maybe buy some computers to be housed at the parent training

centers at local school sys-tems,” West said. “Also a pos-sibility of using computers at libraries across the state.”

The parent information and training centers are locat-ed within each school system. Parents can also contact their local special education citi-zens advisory committee for any issues they might have.

“Anything we can do to enhance communication with parents is critical,” West said.

The grant is worth $1.24 million a year, awarded from the U.S. Education Depart-ment’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.

Photo by Guy Leonard

Photo by Adam Ross

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The St. Mary’s Board of County Commissioners declared September as National Youth Court month, in response to the overwhelmingly successful teen court program. Commissioners Thomas A. Mattingly Sr. and Francis Jack Russell give a proclamation to Cynthia Brown, the county’s community services manager and Kelsey Bush, a county youth coordinator. The teen court program has offered resolution to nearly 250 cases, with just a 15 percent recidivism rate, half of the national average. In teen court, juvenile offenders try their own cases, acting as lawyers, judges and prosecutors.

The Mackall barn, built in 1785, was used to store grain, tobacco and livestock throughout its life. It has also given scientists and historians insight into the environment and agriculture in Maryland’s colonial era.

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Thursday, September 6, 2007 • St. Mary’s County