2008 05 01 A

Thursday, May 1, 2008 St.
Marys County, Maryland

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Permit No. 145
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Established 2006 Volume 3 Issue 18
St. Marys Largest And Only Locally Owned Newspaper 17,144 Readers
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Op.-Ed .......... Page A - 4
Obituaries..... Page A - 9
Community... Page B - 3
Police ............ Page B - 5
Classifeds..... PageB-9
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Updates
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P
IN
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Y POINT LIGHTH
O
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County Times
The
Weekly Specials Inside!
By Guy Leonard
Staff Writer
A jury took more than four hours deliberating the fate of
Guy Vivian Butler last week after a two-day trial where the
prosecution portrayed him as a man who led police on a danger-
ous high speed chase last year that culminated in him attempt-
ing to ram two deputies in a pursuing police cruiser.
But the jury did not agree with Assistant States Attorney
Robyn Riddles argument and instead found Butler guilty of
three lesser counts of second-degree assault on pursuing depu-
ties as well as on charges of unlawful taking of a motor vehicle
and theft.
Testimony from several St. Marys County Sheriffs depu-
ties and one state trooper recalled the high-speed chase that took
place last Oct. 26, a day marked with heavy rain.
Butler, 42, of Mechanicsville, was suspected of driving a
stolen Ford Windstar van that day when then Detective Antonio
Malaspina, a state trooper, spotted Butler at the Target depart-
Man Not Guilty Of First-
Degree Assault On Deputies
Jury fnds guilt of lesser charges stemming from police chase
By Guy Leonard
Staff Writer
As the St. Marys Board of County
Commissioners (BOCC) work to fnalize
the fscal 2009 budget, it is unclear if they
will be able to provide tax relief for citi-
zens or if the $327.5 million budget will
stay as it is.
With revenues from the state likely to
be stagnant or shrinking, said Commis-
sioner Thomas A. Mattingly (D-Leonard-
town), there will be little chance of cutting
taxes.
Fate Of County Budget
To Be Determined
Deputies From The St.
Marys County Sheriffs
Office Participated In
Strike Force Sobriety
Checkpoints
See Story pg. A-10
See Budget page A-
See Not Guilty page A-6
By Guy Leonard
Staff Writer
Three men involved in a
break-in of a residents home on
Stephen Young Court in Leon-
ardtown last year with the intent
of robbing him have taken guilty
pleas to the crime in St. Marys
County Circuit Court.
Nico Matthew Adams, 19, of
La Plata; Garrett Michael Dyson,
21, of Port Tobacco and Antoine
Three Men
Take Pleas
In Home
Invasion
Case
See Invasion page A-6
Weve all gotten our share
of key hits.
Senior Catcher
Andrew Burgess
Raiders Rally For Victory
Lisa Bachmann, a fscal specialist working in St.
Marys County government was named the 2008 Distin-
guished Employee of the Year April 29 by the Board of
County Commissioners.
The honor is granted annually by consent of the 700
employees in county government.
The other nominees for the award were Patricia My-
ers, manager of the Wicomico Golf Course, Janice Black-
istone, a fscal specialist in the Department of Land Use
and Growth Management, Becky Trossbach a fscal spe-
cialist in the county Finance Department and Cpl. Richard
W. Russell, with the county Offce of the Sheriff.
Bachmann has worked in county government a little
less than three years.
Bachmann Honored As County
Employee Of The Year
Andrea Shiell
Staff Writer
At a small house on Kennedy
Court in Mechanicsville, Lisa Thom-
as stood in her back yard, surveying
all the people on her property, some
installing her new windows, others
installing her new appliances, while
still others installed new foors in her
kitchen and bathrooms. Sonny Birch,
founder of Birch Oil, was meanwhile
cutting up pieces of a large tree with
his chainsaw in her back yard. Her
property was fooded with volunteers
Homeowners Get A Helping Hand at 18
th

Annual Christmas In April
See Christmas in April page A-
The Mayor and Council of Leonardtown would like
to remind all Leonardtown residents to vote in the upcom-
ing Town election. Anyone living in the corporate limits
of Leonardtown that is already registered as a St. Marys
County voter is eligible to vote in the election. You may
verify your voting status by calling the Town Offce at
301-475-9791.
The Town election will be held at the Town Offce on
Tuesday, May 6, 2008 between 12:00 and 7:00 pm. Resi-
dents can cast their votes for the Mayor and two Council
members for a term of four years.
The Town Offce is located at 41660 Courthouse Drive
in the Profftt Building. Voters will be directed to the frst
foor conference room.
Leonardtown Election
Sonny Birch carves a fallen tree for a home owner during this years Christmas in April
Photo by Andrea Shiell
SectionA-
The
County Times Thursday,May1,008
J ames C. Boyd, MD
Board Certifed Internal Medicine
Chr i st i ne Raw l i ngs, CRNP
Certifed Family Practice
Nurse Practitioner
Dhi mi t r i Gr oss, MD
Board Certifed
Family Practice
St. Marys Medical Associates is a primary care medical
group serving patients of Southern Maryland since 1995.
Our approach to delivering health care is that of being in a
partnership with our patients. Together, the provider and
patient make health care decisions, set goals and institute
therapy. We offer services for well baby/child, well women
issues, school physicals, routine physicals, DOT Pre-em-
ployment physicals, chain of custody drug collections, drug
testing, medical review offcer services, disease manage-
ment and preventative care. The offce is open from 8am
until 5 pm Monday through Thursday and from 8am until
3pm on Friday. We look forward to meeting you in our new
offces located adjacent to St. Marys Hospital in Leonard-
town.
Caring for patients of all ages
For Appointments Call:
301-997-0055
or 301-997-0114
Fax 301-997-0066
New Location:
St. Marys Medical
Associations, LLC
41680 Miss Bessie Drive
Leonardtown, MD 20650
(next to St. Marys Hospital)
Most Insurance Accepted
Welcoming New Patients
Offce: 301-884-4977
www.somdcountry.com
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ByGuyLeonard
StaffWriter
Bob Sorrells, owner of
Freds Liquors in Charlotte
Hall,saidbackinMarchthat
he might consider a lawsuit
if the electronic gaming ma-
chines operating in his store
were shutdown in March by
thestate.
Hes done just that, and
withhimseveralcharitiesthat
were reaping profts from the
proceeds of pull-tab dispens-
ershavealsojoinedinonthe
suit.
The gaming devices,
which resembled slot ma-
chines, came under close
scrutiny by the Offce of the
Sheriff and the Maryland
State Comptrollers Offce in
Marchwhenanopinionfrom
the Attorney Generals Offce
declaredthemachinesoperat-
inginabout30establishments
throughout St. Marys was
likelyillegal.
Manyofthepull-tabma-
chines have been either shut
down or removed from those
establishments.
Sorrells has kept the ma-
chines in his establishment
shut down, according to the
lawsuit fled at St. Marys
County Circuit Court April
24.
The defendants named
in the suit are the county
government and the state of
Maryland.
He,alongwiththegroups
Alternatives for Families and
Youth and Center for Chil-
dren, Inc. in Charlotte Hall
and La Plata respectively,
want the machines turned
back on until they are made
illegalbylawrecentlypassed
inthestatelegislature.
Thatlawrequiresthema-
chines be made illegal as of
July1ofthisyear.
Sorrells and the charities
wanttousewhatlittletimeis
left until then to make more
money off the machines, the
lawsuitstates.
I know that its a short
amount of time but anything
at all is worth something,
Sorrells said of the suit. We
fgure we can get more money
forthecharitieswiththetime
wehaveleft.
Sorrells said he would
abide by whatever decision
camedownfromthecourts.
If they go, they go; if
they stay thats great, Sor-
rells said. If they say no Ill
gladlywalkaway.
I just want to put some
closuretoit.
Pull-tab dispensers be-
ganproliferatinginthecoun-
ty around December when
StatesAttorneyRichardFritz
gave an opinion that because
they did not operate on a
random basis there was a
determined number of win-
nersineachpull-tabmachine
that they were not slot
machines.
The lawsuit fled by Sor-
rells and the non-proft chari-
ties represents the frst time
theSt.Marysissuehasbeen
triedincourtandnotthrough
attorneyopinion.
The frst part of the law-
suit fled for temporary and
permanent injunctive relief,
petitioning the court to have
the machines turned back on
immediately.
That motion was denied
byCircuitCourtJudgeKaren
Abrams, according to court
documents, but a hearing on
the lawsuit is scheduled for
May2.
Some who leased space
for the operation of the elec-
tronic gaming devices com-
plained during the investiga-
tion that they were being un-
fairlytargeted.Theysaidthat
powerfulforcesinAnnapolis,
likeSenatePresidentThomas
V.MikeMiller(D-Dist.27)
ofChesapeakeBeach,wanted
to sweep aside any competi-
tionforthepossibilityofstate-
controlledslotstobedecided
byreferenduminNovember.
It is kind of upsetting
how this went down in An-
napolis,Sorrellssaid.Imso
disillusionedrightnowthis
hashurtmetothebone.
LiquorStoreOwner,CharitiesSueTo
TurnGamingMachinesBackOn
ByGuyLeonard
StaffWriter
The Potomac River Association says
county government is trying to monitor
all the storm water management facilities
in the county, (SWM) but it just does not
haveenoughpeopletodothejob.
So, the group has put together a pro-
gramthataimstotrainvolunteersinlocal
communities to check the facilities them-
selves and report malfunctioning ones or
thoseinneedofrepairtothecounty.
The Potomac River Association com-
missioned a study last year that argued
threeoutoffourtypesofpollutioncontrol
measuresusedbythestateandthecounty
werenoteffective.
The study showed 75 percent of sites
visited, which were projects built in the
Chesapeake Bay Critical Area, had storm
watermanagementfacilitiesthatwerenot
functioningproperly.
The volunteer program uses the work
packet A Citizens Guide to Preserving
AquaticAssetsbyMaximizingStormWa-
ter Management Benefits as a basis for
training volunteers. The packet was as-
sembledbyCommunityandEnvironmen-
tal Defense Services (CEDS); the same
Owings Mills-based environmental con-
sultantthatpublishedlastyearsstudy.
Richard Klein, the CEDS director,
said an estimated 21 percent of the coun-
tysareaisdevelopedwithaconsequential
risktothecountyswaterways.
Its probable that about 21 percent of
thecountyswaterwaysareinmoderateto
poorcondition,Kleinsaid.
Proper maintenance of storm water
managementfacilities is not theonly way
to reduce pollutants that came after rains
such as oil and chemicals from streets,
roadways, soil and other sediments, but it
isimportant.
Its not a panacea, Klein said. But
it can go a long way to reducing the
impacts.
Thestormwatermanagementfacilities
aredesignedtofilterallmannerofpollut-
antsoutthatareharmfultotheChesapeake
Bayandothermajorwaterways.Increased
pollutants sully the water and riverbeds
and degrade aquatic flora
andfauna.
Kleins citizens guide
helps would-be volunteers
identify and give a cursory
assessment of the state of
a particular storm water
facility.
Volunteers examining
the state of the facilities
can check for drainage of
the site to ensure that it is
clear a couple of days after
rainfall.
If the facility is not
clear and still retains water
it is likely a sign that it is
notfunctioningproperlyandcouldbeal-
lowing large amounts of watertoflowto
theChesapeakeBaywithoutbeingtreated
forpollutants.
Many of the facilities in the coun-
ty are probably more than 20 years old,
Klein said, which means they are proba-
blynotincompliancewiththelateststate
requirementsfrom2000.
Maintenance is the Achilles heel of
storm water management, Klein said.
The best guess is that any facility 20
yearsoldorolderprobablyneeds$20,000
to$50,000ofrepairs.
Klein estimated that perhaps 95 per-
centofthestormwaterfacilitieswouldnot
conformtothelateststandards.
Thecitizensguidecouldbeusedasa
basic tool for local communities to keep
trackofthefacilityshealthwithalittleef-
fortandnotawholelotoftechnicalskill.
What were asking people to do is
prettydarnsimple,Kleinsaid.
Robert Elwood, one of the leaders of
thePotomacRiverAssociation,saidinitial
attemptsatgettingvolunteerstocomeout
andobservethestormwaterfacilitieshave
been slow, but the organization will con-
tinuetogetthewordout.
He said PRAs work is a cooperative
effortwiththecountygovernmentandthat
thecountyvaluestheirvolunteerefforts.
Anyone can be trained to do that,
Elwood said of the facilities monitoring.
Someofthetypesoffailuresareeasyto
recognize.
It appears [county government]
doesnthavetheresources,soweretrying
tolendahelpinghand.
PotomacRiverAssociation
LookingForVolunteers
The Potomac River Association is looking for volunteers to help check the health of storm water management
facilities like this one on Chancellors Run Road. The association is making available a citizens guide to help train
volunteers on what malfunctions at these facilities look like.
Photo by Guy Leonard
AndreaShiell
StaffWriter
On Monday, Representa-
tive Steny Hoyer presented the
College of Southern Maryland
(CSM)with$286,899foritsPart-
nershipfortheAdvancementof
Construction and Transporta-
tion Training program. The
program will provide courses
andtrainingtomeetthegrow-
ingdemandintheconstruction
andtransportationindustriesin
SouthernMaryland.Thefunds
wereappropriatedintheFY08
Omnibus Appropriations bill
passedinDecember2007.
Itsbasicallyaboot-camp
program that these funds will
be used for, explained Karen
SmithHupp,CommunityRela-
tionsDirectorfortheCollegeof
Southern Maryland. She said
thatthenewprogramwoulden-
tail10weeksofintensivetrain-
ingforthoseseekingentry-level
positionsineithertheconstruc-
tion or transportation indus-
tries. Other courses centering
onthosetwodisciplinestripled
from1999to2005,andthecol-
legeisexpectingover4,000stu-
dents to be enrolled in similar
careercoursesbytheyear2015.
This new fux of funding will
be used to help jump-start the
program and draw recent high
schoolgraduatesandunderem-
ployed or unemployed workers
into the feld.
In Southern Maryland
andinareasacrossthecountry,
wearecurrentlyfacingasevere
shortage of skilled profession-
als in the building and trans-
portation trades, said Hoyer.
Throughthespecializedtrain-
ing offered through this pro-
gram the College of Southern
Marylandisuniquelypoisedto
respond to the specifc work-
force needs of our region and
equip workers with the skills
theyneedtoexceltothetopof
theirtrade.
This is really designed
forpeoplewithnoexperience,
saidHupp,addingthatthepro-
gramwouldprovidealternative
training for carpentry, HVAC
andelectricalwork.Itwasde-
signed specifcally for students
whowouldnototherwisebego-
ingtocollege,totrainthemfor
apprenticeshipsintheconstruc-
tionandtransportationtrades.
The need for trained
professionals in the trades is
reaching alarming levels that
threaten the well-being of
SouthernMaryland,saidCSM
PresidentBradGottfried.The
fundssecuredbyCongressman
Hoyer will permit the College
ofSouthernMarylandtojump-
startaninnovativeprogramthat
could be replicated across the
country.
Itsawaytomeetan
educational need quickly, said
Hupp,andhelppeoplegetinto
the workforce. The new pro-
gram is expected to start this
fall.
NewConstructionAndTransportation
TrainingProgramGetsFederalFunding
Thursday, May 1, 2008
The
County Times Section A -
Weekend Dinner Specials
Fully Prepared In Our Kitchen
Weekend Dinner Specials
Fully Prepared In Our Kitchen
Route 245
Hollywood, MD 20636
301-475-2531
Route 246 & Great Mills Rd.
Lexington Park, MD 20653
301-862-7702
Route 5 & Mohawk Drive
Charlotte Hall, MD 20622
301-884-5636
Wildewood Shopping Center
California, MD 20619
301-866-5702
The Shops at Breton Bay
Leonardtown, MD 20650
301-997-1828
Price Effective Friday, April 25 - Sunday, April 27
8pc. Fried Chicken Bucket
1 lb. Store Made Potato Salad
1 lb. Store Made Cole Slaw
doz. Fresh Dinner Rolls
2 ltr. Coke or Pepsi
W
i
t
h

G
o
l
d

C
a
r
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$
9
.
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9
Price Effective Friday, May 2 - Sunday, May 4
SectionA-
The
LetterstotheEditor
Ifyouwishtosendalettertotheeditor,pleaseincludeyourname,addressand
phone number for confrmation purposes. We will only publish your name and city of
residence. We can withhold your name by request if circumstances merit it. We must
receive all letters by Monday morning for publication in the next issue. Any letter re-
ceived later than Monday will be held for the following issue.
Editorial&Opinion
P.O.Box250Hollywood,Maryland20636
News, advertising, circulation, classifeds: 301-373-4125
JamesManningMcKay-Publisher
Tobie Pulliam - Offce Manager...........................tobiepulliam@countytimes.net
AndreaShiell-GovernmentCorrespondent......andreashiell@countytimes.net
ChrisStevens-SportsCorrespondent.............. ........chrisstevens@countytimes.net
GuyLeonard-CommunityCorrespondent................guyleonard@countytimes.net
KaraFernald-AdvertisingRep...........................karafernald@countytimes.net
The County Times
DearEditor,

Tornadoseasonishere,andourcommunity
hasthechancerightnowtotakesomesimple
stepsthatcansavelivesifwearethreatened
this year by a storm. The disaster relief work-
ersattheSouthernMarylandChapterofthe
American Red Cross work hard in this com-
munityeverydaytoprovidereliefforthose
whose lives have been torn apart by disasters.
However,inadditiontohelpingafteradi-
saster, the Red Cross mission calls for us to
play an equally important role in preparing
communities BEFORE disaster strikes so that
familiescanlearnwaystostaysafewhenfac-
ing the annual tornado season.
We know that our region is at risk every year,
soitisparticularlyvitalthatweworktokeep
ourfamiliessafebypreparingfortornado
season now. Taking a few moments to discuss
somesimple,common-sensepreparedness
stepswithyourfamilycansaveyourlifeand
the lives of the ones you love.
CreatingandpracticingaHomeTor-
nadoPlan:Pickanunclutteredplacewhere
familymemberscouldseekshelter:abase-
ment,acenterhallway,bathroom,orcloseton
the lowest foor.
Assembling a Disaster Supplies Kit:
Kits should contain a frst aid kit and essen-
tialmedications,cannedfoodandmanual
can opener, bottled water, fashlights and a
battery-poweredradiowithextrabatteries
andotheremergencyitemsforthewhole
family.
Heeding Storm Warnings: Listen
toyourlocalradioandTVstationsforup-
dated storm information. A tornado WATCH
means a tornado is possible in your area.
When a tornado WARNING is issued, go to
thesafeplaceyoupickedtoprotectyourself
from glass and other fying objects. If you are
outside,hurrytothebasementofanearby
sturdy building or lie fat in a ditch or low-ly-
ing area. If you are in a car or mobile home,
get out immediately and head for safety.
Preparing for High Winds: Make trees
morewindresistantbyremovingdiseased
anddamagedlimbs,thenstrategicallyremov-
ing branches so that wind can blow through.
Installpermanentshuttersonyourwindows
andaddprotectiontotheoutsideareasofslid-
ing glass doors. Strengthen garage doors and
unreinforced masonry. Move or secure lawn
furniture,outdoordecorationsorornaments,
trashcans,hangingplantsandanythingelse
thatcanbepickedupbywindandbecomea
projectile.
Formoreinformationontornadoprepared-
ness,contacttheSouthernMarylandChapter
of the American Red Cross at 888 276 2767,
go online to www.redcross.org or call 1-800-
RED CROSS.

MikeZabkoCEO
SouthernMarylandChapter
American Red Cross
TornadoSeason
Recently while employed as an automo-
biledamageassessorforalocalautobodyre-
pairshop,Iencounteranumberofemployees
smoking an illegal substance while on duty.
Being a retired fre fghter with close ties to
the law enforcement community, I was not
abouttoturnablindeyetosuchillegalactivi-
ties;especiallywhenitinvolvestheproperand
safe repair of those vehicles within my own
community.
One would think such illegal activities
wouldbethegroundsfortheimmediatetermi-
nation, especially when this was not the only
reportedcaseconcerningoneoftheindividu-
als,orforthatmattermanyoftheotherindi-
viduals employed there.
Now here is the ironic part, instead of ter-
minatingtheselfacknowledgedindividuals,I
receivedalectureonhowIwasimposingmy
life style upon the employees, and how 80% of
the population smokes marijuana.
I am not without fault, but according to
thelateststatistics,outofatotalUnitedStates
population of 304 million people, 30 million
people smoke marijuana. That is totally unac-
ceptablebymystandards,butitonlyrepresents
9.86% of the population.
Now herein lays the crown jewel the other
90.14% law abiding citizens would say, or just
plainly stated the law: Maryland Marijuana
laws state an individual that is in the posses-
sion of marijuana can be charged with a mis-
demeanororfelony
With our countries waning economy,
home foreclosures, and the fnancial collapse
of many of our fnest fnancial institutions, at
whatpricedoweturnablindeyetotheillegal
activities we may encounter in our homes or
workplace?
Theanswerissimple,Thereisnoprice!
Especially, if it involves the trust and safety
our community has bestowed upon us.
Michael D. Ramos,
Retired Fire Fighter
Waldorf
AtWhatPriceDoWe
TurnaBlindEye?
DearEditor:
The residents of Leonardtown have an impor-

tant election for Mayor on May 6th. I believe
the best candidate for Mayor is H. S. Lanny
Lancaster. Lanny has not only been my close
personal friend for 30 years, but also has been
a friend to many other residents of St. Marys
Co. during his lifelong commitment to serv-
ing our community. He has throughout his
lifeworkedtoimprovethelivesofothers,and
now would like to serve the citizens of Leon.
as Mayor.
Lanny has demonstrated his leadership abili-
ties in his many years of service to St. Marys
Co. He served 20 years on the Bd. of Direc-
tors of the Walden-Sierra Counseling Center,
and 9 years on the Bd. of St. Marys Co.
Assn. for Retarded Citizens. For 10 years he
hasbeentheExecutiveDirectoroftheThree
Oaks Center, a non-proft housing services
agency,andhasbeenanadvocateforour
neediest citizens.
Lanny is very experienced and knowledge-
ableintheareaoflanduseplanning,hav-
ingservedfor5yearsasVice-Chairofthe
CountyPlanningCommission,andcurrently
is Vice-Chair of the Town Bd. of Appeals. As
Mayor, Lanny will insure citizens will have
inputintothelanduseplanningprocess,a
processthatissocrucialtotheprogressofour
town.
Lanny will improve communication with
boththeresidentsandbusinesspeoplecon-
cerning Town issues. He will help to institute
programs to meet the needs of all citizens,
both young and elderly.
In any job that Lanny has tackled, he has
demonstratedtheutmostintegrity,abil-
ity, and dedication to public service. He
will make effcient use of taxpayer dollars,
andhaspledgednottodrawanysalaryas
Mayor. Lanny is a dedicated family man,
andwillworkhardtoserveallthefamilies
of Leon. I would, therefore, strongly urge
all residents of Leon. to vote for H. S. Lanny
Lancaster as Mayor on May the 6th.
Verytrulyyours,
John Weiner
Lexington Park
ImportantElection
I am strongly supporting J. Harry Norris III
re-election for mayor. I have been a resident of
Leonardtown for over 35 years and during his
terms as mayor have seen the fne progress the
town has made. Therefore, I believe in the old
adage, If it aint broken dont fx it
Under the leadership of Chip Norris, the
town has more than prospered. I remember dur-
inghurricaneIsabelhowChipworkedcease-
lessly to get the power turned on at the sewer
pumping station at the bottom of Washington
Streetsothatrawsewagewouldnotspillintothe
bay. His hard work kept the courthouse here in
thecenteroftownwhenmanypushedtobuilda
newer one out at the governmental center. Who
does not remember how sad the center green
looked before The Mayor and his competent
staffgaveusthebeautifulcentergreenwenow
have. Or how about the decaying and dangerous
Wharf area, the water entrance to Leonardtown.
Iwatchedformanyyearsasitwentfurtherinto
disuse. Now under his leadership we soon will
dedicate a wondrous park worthy of our town.
Another example is all the fun restaurants that
havecomeintotownandhaveattractedpeople
to come here, not leave here. Those who think it
allwouldhavehappenedanywaymustalsobe-
lieve in the tooth fairy.
I have seen Chip Norris work through
physicaldiscomfortdayafterdayforthebetter-
ing of Leonardtown. He is on top of the growth
of housing projects and does not need on the
job training to know what to do, J. Harry Nor-
risIIIisamanofcourage,characterandinteg-
rityandIbelievewearetrulyluckytohavehis
leadership. Come out on May 6, and vote for
this man.
Herbert Winnik
Proud Resident of Leonardtown
Re-electMayorChipNorris
After reading your editorial & opinion
from 4/24/08 I felt compelled to send the fol-
lowing comments. I have lived in St. Marys
Countymywholelifeandhavewatched
many changes occur. I watched as Leon-
ardtown started its decline in the 80s not
realizing what was really happening. Seeing
thetowncircleandwharfareabecomerun
down was very sad. You only had to drive
throughandlookatwhatoncewasabeauti-
fuloldtowntodiscoverwhatwasbecoming
old and neglected. I want to say publicly
Thank You to Chip Norris for all you have
done. Without your hard work and dedication
Im not sure what I am enjoying now with my
family would be there. We too have enjoyed
thenewbusinessesandwalkingthrough
town. The festivals have been awesome. My
childrenhavemanyfondmemoriesofHal-
loweenandSantathatarepartoffestivalswe
have attended. Although many things have
changedandIamsuremyopinionisnotthe
same as everyones, I think things could have
been very different had Mr. Norris not been
its mayor. He has done a great job and Im
sure has many more great things to offer. I do
notpersonallyknowhimnorcanIvoteinthe
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ity)butwouldstillliketoextendmysincere
thanks. Your hard work and dedication is
evidentandIcanonlyhopeyouhavetheop-
portunitytocontinuetoserveabeautifulold
town.
JeanetteCameron
Leonardtown
LeonardtownRevitalization
Some state lawmakers are
callingtherecentactionbythe
Maryland Legislature to re-
peal the states computer ser-
vices tax a victory for Mary-
land business. Unfortunately
thesearethesamelawmakers
who passed this ill-advised
tax increase just last fall. In
an attempt to correct their
own misguided public policy
actions,theyonceagaingotit
wrong.
The expansion of the
Maryland sales tax to include
computer services was first
enacted during the November
2007 Special Session. It was
added to the already historic
tax increases in, literally, the
darkofnightinaSenatecom-
mittee, with no discussion or
input from the public.
At the time, Republicans
in the state legislature, who
holdasmallminority,leadby
our own Delegate ODonnell,
argued on the floor of the
HouseofDelegateshowdam-
agingthistaxwouldbetothe
burgeoning tech industry in
Maryland, and to the states
economy.
Republicans offered as an
alternativespecificreductions
intherateofgrowthinspend-
ing to address the looming
state deficit. The Republican
effortfailedandthelegislature
wentontopassthelargesttax
increase in Maryland history,
which included the tech tax.
After hearing from their
constituents how damaging
this tax would be on Mary-
land businesses and jobs, the
legislatorswhopassedthistax
went back to Annapolis in Jan-
uaryfeelingpressurenotonly
from Republican lawmakers
torepealthistax,butfromthe
folks back home as well.
Unfortunately, Governor
OMalley and the Democratic
leadership choose once again
to ignore the suggestions of
the Republicans who recom-
mendedrepealingthetechtax
and reduce state spending,
therefore there would be no
need to create another tax to
replace the tech tax. Instead,
the tech tax was repealed and
replacedwithyetanothernew
tax,anewtaxincreaseonthe
so-called rich.
Thisincreasedincometax
is likely to have an equally
damaging effect on Mary-
lands economy. Many of the
individuals who qualify for
thisincreasedtaxareactually
smallbusinesseswhofile
as Subchapter S corpo-
rations, thus once again,
the new tax that will be
damaging to Marylands
small business.
C a l i f o r n i a
passedasimilartaxonso
called rich people in that
state several years ago.
Since then, 5,000 of the states
25,000 highest income earn-
ershaveleftthestate,causing
California to have a $7 billion
deficit, largely attributable to
the new tax. Clearly, the deci-
sion of a few of these highest
incomeearnerstoleaveMary-
landwouldhaveahugeimpact
on our States finances, which
are already unstable.
Once again the Mary-
land Legislature and Gover-
nor OMalley got it wrong,
Maryland doesnt have a tax
and revenue problem, Mary-
land has a spending problem.
ComputerServicesTaxMishandled
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Terri Bartz Bowles
On a recent business trip,
I pulled the airline maga-
zine out of the seat pocket
to peruse. Sometimes there
are interesting articles, you
just never know, so I always
glance through. Well, was I
surprised! Youll never guess
what was in there an article
about the St. Marys County
Oyster Festival! The frst
three words of the article were
St. Marys County and as a
co-worker happened to be sit-
ting right behind me, I turned
around and poked him and ex-
citedly show him the article.
He was as surprised as I was
as were a couple of other
folks on the same fight. Its
just pretty cool to open a mag-
azine that covers the country
and see little ol St. Marys
County featured. The author
is an oyster lover and attended
the Oyster Festival last year.
She wrote at length about
the shucking competition and
the recipe contest. You know,
some folks who live here
dont realize that our little
old Oyster Festival, which is
sponsored each year by the
Lexington Park Rotary Club,
is the home of the National
Oyster Shucking Champion-
ship. National, people, as in
the entire nation. The best
shucker in America is chosen
right here in Leonardtown ev-
ery year. Its the equivalent of
picking the Americans who
make the Olympic teams,
thus representing the USA
in world-wide competition.
It is the absolute best of the
absolute best. The champion
then travels to Galway, Ire-
land to compete in the Guin-
ness World Oyster Opening
Championship. Oyster open-
ing wonder why they dont
call it shucking?
The author did a good job
of explaining oyster anatomy
and shucking basics, as well
as different styles of shuck-
ing and the tools used. She
walked the reader through
the warm-up and the compe-
tition and captured the spirit
of it. She waxed poetic about
oysters in general, you can
tell shes a real oyster lover.
Bleah. Ill tell you again, I
just dont like the little blobs.
They dont do a thing for me.
Hey, that just leaves more for
the rest of you to enjoy! The
competition is not just about
speed. The good oyster shuck-
er possesses a combination of
speed and skill that leaves an
attractive oyster in the shell.
Nicks, cuts or pieces of shell
left behind all mean a deduc-
tion of points. The contes-
tants serve their shucked oys-
ters to the crowd once theyve
fnished the competition, so
the audience gets to enjoy the
little beasts when its all over.
How many audiences get
fresh seafood just for watch-
ing a competition?
The National Oyster
Cook-off is also feature of
the Oyster Festival and has
been for 28 years. Besides
the bounty of oysters to enjoy,
there are all kinds of goodies
to enjoy during the two-day
festival from caramel apples
to barbecue. The one huge
mistake the author made in
her article pertained to that
most southern Maryland of
items, stuffed ham. She was
listing the various foods avail-
able and she wrote Maryland
ham. What the heck is that?
Anybody reading the article
thats familiar with St. Marys
County would know immedi-
ately that she meant stuffed
ham and just misunder-
stood something. But there
are undoubtedly thousands
of people wondering what
Maryland ham is. They may
Google it and they still wont
know unless they pursue it
a little bit. I checked. I got a
couple of hits on Maryland
ham that referred to a specifc
type of curing. It did pop up
Maryland Stuffed Ham so if
the researcher sticks with it
a little, theyll be able to read
about stuffed ham. But they
still wont know that stuffed
ham is what the author re-
ally meant to say. We can only
hope a few people will decide
to visit the Oyster Festival af-
ter reading the article and see
for themselves what the fuss
is all about. Visit the Oyster
Festival the third weekend in
October and treat yourself to
a slice of Americana.
You can email the Coun-
try Girl at countrygirlram-
blings@gmail.com
Emily Finch
Contributing Writer
On this day in 1931, the Em-
pire State Building in New York
City was officially dedicated as
the tallest building in America.
Some Friendly
Competition
The idea for the Empire State
Building is said to have been born
of a competition between Walter
Chrysler of the Chrysler Corpo-
ration and John Jakob Raskob of
General Motors, to see who could
erect the taller building.
Chrysler had already begun
work on the Chrysler Building
in Manhattan. They finished the
1,047 foot, 77 story tall skyscrap-
er May 27, 1930.
Not to be outdone, Raskob
assembled a group of well-known
investors, including former New
York Governor Alfred E. Smith,
to choose the architecture firm.
Shreve, Lamb and Harmon As-
sociates was chosen to design the
Art-Deco building, with Greg-
ory Johnson as the main archi-
tect. The plans are said to have
been based in large part on the
look of a pencil, but were also
builder-friendly.
Excavation on the site began
Jan. 22, 1930 and construction
officially began on St. Patricks
Day that same year. The entire
$40 million building went up in
just over a year, under budget and
well ahead of schedule. During
certain periods of building, the
frame grew an astonishing four-
and-a-half stories per week.
At the time of its completion,
the Empire State Building, at 102
stories and 1,454 feet high to the
top of the lightning rod, was the
worlds tallest skyscraper, sur-
passing the already completed
Chrysler Building.
Money During a Great
Depression
The Depression-era con-
struction employed as many as
3,400 workers on any single day,
most of whom received an excel-
lent pay rate, especially given
the economic conditions of the
time. The new building instilled
New York City with a deep sense
of pride, desperately needed in
the depths of the Great Depres-
sion, when many city residents
were unemployed and prospects
looked bleak. The grip of the De-
pression on New Yorks economy
was still evident a year later,
however, when only 25 percent
of the Empire States offices had
been rented.
In fact, in its first year of op-
eration, the observation deck took
in approximately 2 million dol-
lars, as much money as its owners
made in rent that year. The lack of
renters led New Yorkers to deride
the building as the Empty State
Building. The building would
not become profitable until 1950.
The famous 1951 sale of The Em-
pire State Building to Roger L.
Stevens and his business partners
was brokered by the prominent
upper Manhattan real estate firm
Charles F. Noyes & Company for
a record $51 million. At the time,
that was the highest price ever
paid for a single structure in real
estate history
Tall Today
The Empire State Building
stood as the worlds tallest build-
ing for more than forty years,
from its completion in 1931 until
construction of the World Trade
Centers North Tower was com-
pleted in 1972. However, the
World Trade Center became the
second larg-
est building
in America
in 1974 when
Sears Tower
was completed
with 108 floors.
Although the
tallest in Amer-
ica, it is the
fifth tallest in
the world. That
title goes to Tai-
pei 101 Build-
ing in Taipei,
China at 1,671
feet tall.
Deja Vu
At 9:40 a.m. July 28, 1945,
a B-25 Mitchell bomber, piloted
by Lieutenant Colonel William
F. Smith, Jr., who was flying in
a thick fog, accidentally crashed
into the north side of the Empire
State Building between the 79th
and 80th floors, where the offices
of the National Catholic Welfare
Council were located. One engine
shot through the side opposite the
impact and another plummeted
down an elevator shaft. The fire
was extinguished in 40 minutes.
Fourteen people were killed in
the incident. Elevator opera-
tor Betty Lou Oliver survived a
plunge of 75 stories inside an el-
evator, which still stands as the
Guinness World Record for the
longest survived elevator fall re-
corded. Despite the damage and
loss of life, the building was open
for business on many floors the
following Monday.
Interesting Facts
The Empire State Building
got its name from New Yorks
nickname. It has been named by
the American Society of Civil
Engineers as one of the Seven
Wonders of the Modern World.
The building and its street floor
interior are designated landmarks
of the New York City Landmarks
Preservation Commission, and
confirmed by the New York City
Board of Estimate. It was des-
ignated as a National Historic
Landmark in 1986.
Race To The Sky
St . Mar ys Ci t y
St. Mary's City
DATE HI GH LOW HI GH LOW
Fri. May 2 5/ 1 11: 26 p. m. 5: 57 a. m. 11: 54 a. m. 5: 56 p. m.
Sat . May 3 12: 16 a. m. 6: 58 a. m. 12: 48 p. m. 6: 48 p. m.
Sun. May 4 1: 04 a. m. 7: 54 a. m. 1: 41 p. m. 7: 41 p. m.
Mon. May 5 1: 53 a. m. 8: 48 a. m. 2: 33 p. m. 8: 34 p. m.
Tue. May 6 2: 42 a. m. 9: 41 a. m. 3: 25 p. m. 9: 28 p. m.
Wed. May 7 3: 32 a. m. 10: 34 a. m. 4: 18 p. m. 10: 25 p. m.
Thu. May 8 4: 25 a. m. 10: 26 a. m. 5: 13 p. m. 11: 22 p. m.
LOCATI ON HI GH LOW
Bret on Bay "+ 31 min. " "+ 29 min. "
Bushwood Wharf "+ 45 min. " "+ 45 min. "
Colt on' s Point "+ 50 min. " "+ 24 min. "
Point Lookout "- 19 min. " "- 3 min. "
Piney Point "+ 9 min. " "- 8 min. "
Wicomico Beach "+ 58 min. " "+ 63 min. "
Solomons I sland "+ 22 min. " "+ 36 min. "
SectionA-
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mentstoreinCaliforniainthevehicle.
Malaspina testifed that he followed But-
ler in the stolen vehicle down Route 235 and
then down onto Chancellors Run Road where
deputies had set up a staging area to attempt to
catch Butler.
When Butler approached the deputies set
up in front of Fox Chase Apartments, he at-
tempted to fee.
The van simply accelerated and sped
between two sheriffs deputies, Malaspina
testifed.
The deputies and Malaspina gave chase
and even reached speeds of 90 miles an hour
on Indian Bridge Road, Malaspina testifed.
Butler drove in the opposite lane on the
two-lane road, the state trooper testifed, and
ran oncoming vehicles off the road.
By the time Butler had come out on St.
Andrews Church Road other deputies joined
in the chase and followed him down Route 235
once again, Malaspina testifed, just as rush
hour traffc was beginning to increase.
It never crossed your mind to call of the
chase, Butlers attorney Sean Moran asked
Malaspina from the witness stand.
I thought about it a couple of times,
Malaspina said, who added that he decided to
keep up the pursuit.
Deputies Jean Vesozzi and Anthony Whip-
key, who eventually wound up on the left side
of Butlers van after he made a turn onto Great
Mills Road, testifed that Butler made a sharp
left turn that caused them to collide and wreck
bothvehicles.
This portion of the incident led to Butler
being charged with two counts of frst-degree
assault on both deputies.
Vesozzi, who was driving the police cruis-
er, testifed that his partner Whipkey was able
to see Butler during the chase and motioned
for him to slowdown and pull over to end it.
But Butler refused, Vesozzi said.
He was smoking a cigarette and shook his
head No, Vesozzi testifed. The [van] took a
sharp left turn into our vehicle I thought we
were going to get run off the road.
Both cars eventually separated and But-
lers van spun out and struck a utility pole.
Offcers were able to extricate Butler from
the vehicle; they testifed that he continually
resisted and kicked Malaspina in the chest dur-
ing the struggle.
Butler testifed that he was merely trying
to get away from the deputies because he was
driving on a suspended license and was afraid
he would return to prison if he were captured.
Butler had six prior convictions for bur-
glary and faces more charges of burglary after
the outcome of his April 25 trial.
Butler said he did not steal the van after
burglarizing a Waldorf home, as he had been
charged, but instead was given the keys to the
van after a party the previous evening.
Butler said he had been drinking the night
of Oct. 25 at the party and stayed at the resi-
dence. He borrowed the van to go to the WaWa
gas station on Route 235 to get cigarettes and
food, he testifed.
Detective David Alexander, the Bureau
of Criminal Investigations offcer who inter-
viewed Butler after his arrest testifed that But-
ler admitted to stealing the van after burglariz-
ing the Waldorf home, but Butler testifed that
the report was a lie.
I was driving on a suspended license and
didnt want to go to back to jail, Butler testi-
fed. They [Vesozzi and Whipkey] ended up
hitting me to stop me.
I didnt want to hurt anybody, I just want-
ed to get away.
Moran admitted that his client made many
criminal mistakes that day, but argued his cli-
ent did not mean to seriously injure anyone
during the chase.
Its not about feeing and eluding or
speeding or bad weather conditions, Moran
said. Its about whether Butler had the intent
to kill or seriously injure the deputies.
NotGuilty
Continued from page A-
Marco Watson, 20 of La
Plata plead guilt to various
charges associated with the
crime April 15.
According to charg-
ing documents filed by St.
Marys County Bureau of
Criminal Investigations
Detective Clayton Safford,
residents of the Stephen
Young Court home awoke
to the sound of suspicious
noises from outside the
home in the early morning
hours of Oct. 24.
One resident, charg-
ing documents state, saw a
Chrysler passenger vehicle
parked outside and then
saw three males run across
the front lawn.
At about 2 a.m., a little
more than an hour after the
first disturbance, charging
documents stated, Adams
kicked in the front door
of the residence and con-
fronted the victim Michael
Carter with a 12-gauge
shotgun.
But a struggle ensued
and Carter was able to wrest
the shotgun away from Ad-
ams, charging documents
state.
After losing the strug-
gle, Adams, Dyson and
Watson fled in the Chrys-
ler-brand vehicle but were
stopped by police units
shortlythereafter.
Police also found a .38
caliber revolver in the ve-
hicle with the suspects,
two of the suspects admit-
ted the intent was to rob
the residents that morning
and all three admitted they
were at the Stephen Young
Court address, charging
documents stated.
Adams, the defendant
who made the unlawful
entry, pleaded guilty to at-
tempted armed robbery,
possession of a short bar-
reled shotgun and posses-
sion of a regulated fire-
arm while being under
21-years-old.
Adams was not pros-
ecuted on the most seri-
ous charge of first-degree
assault.
Dyson pleaded guilty
to conspiracy of attempted
armed robbery, court docu-
ments showed while Wat-
son pleaded to conspiracy
torob.
All three defendants are
scheduled to be sentenced
June 25.
Invasion
The
Andrea Shiell
Staff Writer
Tiffany Lettau ran her fn-

gersoverhergoldmedal,smil-
ing shyly as her escort, Sue
Batterson, talked about her
fear of heights. She doesnt
like heights, said Batterson.
So she would not get on the
podium.
Tiffany admitted that
she liked running the best,
thoughthemedalshewonhad
been for shot-put. She would
alsobeparticipatinginajump
laterthatday.
I think its wonder-
ful, said Batterson. This is
my frst time volunteering and
its just great to see the com-
munitycomingtogether.
On the other side of
the tracks, Clarence Yeager,
who graduated from Leonar-
dtown High School in 2004,
stoppedeveryfewfeettosmile
and shake hands with girls as
he proudly donned his silver
medal for the long jump, and
his ribbons for running and
throwing. My moms going
to be proud of me, he said,
smiling. And Im a ladies
man,too!
This years Spring
Special Olympics saw a great
turnout, according to many
of the volunteers there that
day.EventDirectorMaryLou
Bucci foated from site to site
on the other side of the track
at Leonardtown High School,
surveying the runners taking
off,theBandBoostersselling
hotdogs,andthemanyparents
and athletes who came up to
hertosayhello.
From 10 am to 2 pm
onTuesday,237athletescom-
peted for their medals, each
participating in three events,
one run or walk, one throw,
andonejump.Itsreallyless
timethanwewouldliketorun
it,saidBucci,explainingthat
theschoolstransportationsys-
tem would need to maintain
thatschedule.
Thiswasthe38
th
yearfor
theSt.MarysCountySpecial
Olympics,andtherewasafair
amount of excitement in the
air, which shifted from hot to
coldwiththewaxingandwan-
ingsunlight.
Bucci explained that
though some of the athletes
hadbeenpracticingforseveral
weeks,allwhowerecompeting
on Tuesday had trained since
March 29
th
, being placed dur-
ingpracticesintheirrespective
heats, or groups designated
by age and ability. She said
therewasnoagelimitoncom-
petition,butathleteshadtobe
atleastsixyearsoldtopartici-
pate.Alotofitissocial,es-
peciallyfortheadults.Thisis
sotheyhavesomewheretogo,
some kind of exercise, some
kindofinteraction.
As for who could
participate, Bucci explained
that the rules for admission
were fexible. Anyone in the
school system in an IEP can
compete,shesaid,addingthat
thegameswereopentoallstu-
dentsdiagnosedwithphysical
or learning disabilities, from
mild to severe, but all must
haveaphysicalexamtoverify
theirdisability.
Though the Spring
games draw a fair amount of
attention,Bucciexplainedthat
her job involved a year-round
organizationofmanydifferent
sportsforphysicallyormental-
lydisabledchildrenandadults,
all of which were involved in
theSpecialOlympicsprogram.
Mostpeopledontrealizewe
actually run 14 sports year-
round, she said. We have
kayaking and sailing in May,
then cycling in mid-July, then
golf, and then bowling and
soccer.
Buccialsomentioned
swimmingeventsheldinMay
that would determine place-
ment for athletes for some of
the summer games, which
wouldbeheldfromJune6
th
to
June8
th
atTowsonUniversity.
This years statewide summer
games are expected to draw
close to 1,200 athletes, 400
coaches,and2,000volunteers.
We have the third or fourth
largest delegation that does to
the summer games, which is
reallygoodforasmallcounty,
saidBucci.
Of the hundreds of
volunteerstherethatday,some
wereparents,students,orsib-
lings.Onejovialgroupfrom
the Center for Life Enrich-
ment perched themselves at
a picnic table to refect on the
days events. Carrie Gibson,
a driver for the center, and
her colleague, George Mor-
gan, smiled as she described
the clients excitement about
thegames.Alloftheclients
really enjoy this, she said,
explaining that of the 246 cli-
ents she and the other drivers
brought to and from jobs, ap-
pointments,andathleticevents
such as this one, the majority
regularly participated in Spe-
cialOlympicsevents.
Were fortunate to
have the support of the com-
munity,thevolunteers,andthe
businessesyou can see the
appreciation in their smiles,
and their medals! said Gib-
sonasoneofherclients,Glo-
ria Armstrong, sat down next
to her to show her the bronze
medalshedwonforrunning.
Direct care staffer Kathy
Pfeiffer refected on the impor-
tanceofthegames,sayingwe
make them superstars, and
they ARE superstarstheyre
competing in this world, and
insomanyways,theyrealot
strongerthanweare.
Odd News
The Republicans Are
Revolting!
A group of Bay Area College Re-
publicans loudly took to the streets of
SanJosetoprotestCalifornialawmak-
ersproposedtaxonbeer,whichwould
addabout$2tothepriceofasix-pack.
The law is being drafted as a way
to help close the states current budget
defcit.
Thisisataxonpoorstudents,said
LeighWolf,a21year-oldstudentwith
theSanFranciscoStateRepublicans.
About ffty students congregated
outside the offce of Assemblyman Jim
Beall, some waving signs saying, No
taxation on intoxication! The pro-
posed tax on brewers would increase
thetaxpergallonby$2.88,translating
toa 30 centincreasepercanorbottle,
andabout$1.80persix-pack.
The tax is expected to generate a
projected $2 billion a year to help de-
fraythehighcostsofcrimeprevention,
health services, and programs to treat
addiction and alcoholism. The total
economiccostofalcoholusebyunder-
age Americans equals almost $52 bil-
lionayear,including$29billioninal-
cohol related crime, $19 billion in traffc
crashes,andover$1.5billionasaresult
ofsuicideattempts.
Butthesestudentsseemundeterred
bythestatistics,claimingthatnostud-
ies are required to fgure out that col-
legestudentsdrinkalotofbeertorelax,
sothebillwoulddisproportionatelyaf-
fectthem.Theyorganizedtheirprotest
under a Facebook page they created
BEERTAXREVOLT!!Fightforyour
righttoparty!
Spellin Skilz Opchinal
As a rule, bad spelling has always
been the frst thing to land any resume
orcoverletterinthetrash,butonecom-
panyclaimsthatbadspellingmayactu-
ally be an asset for applicants looking
for a job screening goofy pet pictures
forICANHASCHEEZEBURGER?
a premier site for so-called Lolcat
pictures.
Ben Huh, founder of Seattle-based
Pet Holdings Inc. said that he has al-
readyreceivedhundredsofapplications
since the job was posted on Monday
with the headline Kittehs Want Moar
Workerhumans.
Whenaskedaboutmisspelledcap-
tions and cover letters, Huh said We
wont knock you out for spellingthe
traditional resume screening methods
dontapplyhere.
Woman Delivers Surprise
Package
A man in Illovo, Johannesburg,
SouthAfrica,pickedupaprostituteand
took her to a hotel. The man grabbed
herwhensherefusedtostrip.
Letsjustsaythatwhenhetouched
her he realized he wasnt touching a
woman, said police Inspector Moses
Maphakela.
Themanrealizedthattheprostitute
wasstrongerthanhim,sohepaid300
Rand(about$51)andtoldthepros-
titutetogetout.
The police got involved when the
manrealizedhiscellphonewasmissing
and reported the theft. The hooker si-
multaneously fled an assault complaint
whilethemanwasatthestation.
Their charges canceled each oth-
er out, according to the prosecutor,
who dropped both charges. The po-
lice inspector was impressed by the
transvestite.
Maphakela said the prostitute was
wearing a very skimpy skirt, and he
wore so much make-up, there was
no way you could tell it was a man,
though her former customers may ar-
guethatwoulddependonhowtightthe
skirtwas.
Praying For Cheap Gas?
Rocky Twyman, a choir director
fromWashington,D.C.haslauncheda
newpray-incampaignatgasstations
chargingmorethan$4agallonaround
the San Francisco Bay area, where
pumpsseemtobechargingthemost.
Twyman works as a community
organizerandapublicrelationsconsul-
tant,andhasruncampaignsinthepast
tonominateOprahWinfreyfortheNo-
belPeacePrizeandtoencourageAfri-
canAmericanstodonatebonemarrow.
In his latest campaign, which he
hopeswillreducegasprices,heisalso
saying that those praying for cheaper
fuelshouldalsowalkmoreandusecar
pools.
Man Sues For Starving in
Jail
Broderick Lloyd Laswell seems to
havehitthedietingjackpot,losing105
poundssinceSeptember2007.Butnev-
ertheless, he has done so from Benton
CountyJailinBentonville,Ark.,andhe
isfarfromhappy.
He has fled a federal suit against
the county for putting him on what he
calls a starvation diet. According to
the suit, Laswell weighed 413 pounds
when he was jailed in September after
allegedlybeatingandstabbingamanto
death, then setting his house on fre.
He attributes his weight loss to
noneotherthanthejailsskimpy3,000
calorieadayprovisions,whichhecom-
plains are not ample enough to keep
him satisfed.
About an hour after each meal
my stomach starts to hurt and growl.
I feel hungry again, wrote Laswell in
hiscomplaint,alsopointingoutthathe
does not exercise, so there is no other
reasonforhisweightloss.
Theonlyreasonwelostweightin
here is because we are literally being
starvedtodeath,hewrote.
Laswells suit was fled without a
lawyerinU.S.DistrictCourtinFayette-
ville,anditdemandsnotonlythatmore
food be provided (even though a typi-
calwesterndietisconsideredmorethan
ampleifitprovides2,000to3,000calo-
ries a day), but also that the jail serve
hot food, which it has not provided in
years.
Maryland Government In
Action
According to a March Baltimore
Sun investigative report, nearly $1.8
million in damages has been paid out
by the state of Maryland since 2003
to drug dealers, violent offenders and
other criminals who, though violent
criminals themselves, were injured by
violentcrime.
In one example, burial expenses
wereawardedforacarjacker,avictimof
aninter-gangkilling,andasexoffender
whowasbeatentodeathinprison.
Maryland courts have ruled that if
theapplicantwasnotengagedinacrime
atthetimetheywerehurt,maimed,or
killed,thentheymustbeconsideredfor
anaward.
By Guy Leonard
Staff Writer
A man who was
charged with sexually
abusing two teenage girls
last year pleaded guilty
in St. Marys County Cir-
cuit Court April 18 to two
counts of third-degree sex
offense.
Jose Vazquez, 35, of
California was scheduled
togototrialthisweekbut
instead took a plea to the
lesserchargesagainsthim.
Prosecutorsdidnotpursue
twochargesofchildsexu-
al abuse, neither did they
prosecuteonachargeofa
continuing course of con-
ductofsexualabuse.
Vazquezwassentenced
to a total of 18 months of
incarceration for the two
counts of third-degree sex
offenses. Vazquez origi-
nally received two five-
year sentences for each
crimepleadedto,butboth
were suspended down to
18monthsofincarceration
and were to run concur-
rently,accordingtoon-line
circuitcourtdocuments.
Vazquez was also sen-
tencedtofiveyearsofpro-
bationaftercompletinghis
jailtime.
According to charging
documents filed by Det.
Charles F. Earle of the St.
Marys County Bureau of
Criminal Investigations
back in October two fe-
male victims who had
closecontactwithVazquez
cameforwardandreported
thesexoffensestopolice.
With one 14-year-old
girl, charging documents
stated, Vazquez reached
under her shirt to fondle
her breast and under her
skirt to fondle her vagina
atleasttwicebetweenMay
andAugustof2006.
Charging documents
went on to state that
Vazquezrepeatedthesame
kind of sex offense on the
second 14-year-old victim
betweenthesametimepe-
riodasthefirstvictim.But
charging documents state
that Vazquez committed
thatactapproximatelyfive
to six time during those
months.
Vazquez also attempt-
ed to kiss the second vic-
timonthemouth,charging
documents stated, and on
three separate occasions
he entered the bathroom
where the second victim
was taking a shower and
snapped naked photos
of her using his cellular
phone.
Vazquez also ordered
the two victims not to re-
port the incidents to his
wife, who also had close
contact with the two
victims.
The victims, charg-
ing documents stated,
were afraid of Vazquez
and wanted to have no
contact with him. When
questioned by detectives
Vazquez admitted to the
sexual offenses, charging
documentsstated,andgave
arecordedconfession.
California Man
Pleads Guilty
To Sex Offenses
Special Olympics Brings Together Athletes In Spirit of Competition
Athletes line up for a race at this years Special Olympics Spring Games.
Daniel Carter and Patrick Boyle show off their medals.
Allen Hill huddles next to his escort before the shot-put competition.
SectionA-
The
Funds provided by the State of Maryland
Alcohol and Drug Abuse Administraton
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Hesaiditisunlikelythatthecountywillchoosetorein-
stitute the constant yield tax rate, which ensured that while
propertyassessmentswouldgoup,theratewouldbereduced
by a corresponding amount to ensure residents would not
havetopaymoreinpropertytaxes.
Residents in certain parts of the county will also
have to pay a higher rate on the fre and rescue tax if the
budgetispassedunchangedtohelppayforoperations
atlocalemergencyresponsecompanies.
In the late 1990s, Mattingly said, this practice
helped the county fall into fnancially tough times for
lackofrevenuecollection.
If it were anything at all [tax relief] It would be
minimal I think, Mattingly told The County Times.
Youvegottobelookingbeyondthisyearsbudgetand
intofundingfuturebudgets.
The BOCC will hold a series of work sessions on
the budget starting May 5 before adopting the fnal
budgetinJune.
Commissioner Daniel H. Raley (D-Great Mills)
heldouthopesthatthecommissionerswouldbeableto
fnd some room for tax relief in the budget as well as for
cutting some expenditures, though he would not give
specifc examples.
Raley said he hoped to pare down the proposed
debtof$35millionthecountyplannedtoborrowfrom
thebondmarketinthenearfuturefortheconstruction
ofcapitalprojects.
He said he was wary of saddling the county with
toomuchdebt,especiallyintougheconomictimes.
Raleysaidthecommissionerscouldchoosetouse
money from the countys fund balance of about $13
milliontohelppayforfacilitiesconstruction.
Isthebudgetadonedeal?RaleysaidNoIstill
believe theres a signifcant amount of work to do.
Commissioner Lawrence D. Jarboe (R-Golden
Beach), the only commissioner to vote against taking
thebudgettothepublichearingprocess,saidthecoun-
tys budget was more representative of local govern-
mentexpandingthanoftighteningitsbelt.
Jarboe pointed to the recent approval of the Offce
ofHumanServices,whichhevotedagainst,thatwould
bring services like the Local Management Board and
theMentalHealthAuthorityunderoneorganization.
Itsagoodexampleofbureaucracyexpandingit-
self,Jarboesaid.Countygovernmentneedstodown-
sizefromthetopdownnotthebottomup.
JarboesaidthatdespitetheboardofCommission-
erswillingnesstodenyvariousdepartmentsextraem-
ployeestoprovideservices,theywerenotwillingtocut
directorspositionsbyconsolidatingdepartments.
JarboearguedthatconsolidatingtheDepartmentof
Emergency Management under the Offce of the Sher-
iff and the Department of Economic and Community
Development with the Department of Land Use and
Growth Management the county could cut some high
levelpositionsandstillprovidenecessaryservices.
ButIdontseethemajorityoftheboardgoingin
that direction, Jarboe said, who also decried the in-
creaseintaxeswithlittlechanceofreliefforcitizens.
Therealityiswehavehighertaxes,Jarboesaid.
Anyone who has property has seen at least a fve-per-
centorbeyondincreaseinwhattheyrepaying.
Along with the oil companies, the [county] gov-
ernment will get more money out of the people this
time,Jarboeadded.
Budget
from across the county and
fromCentury21.
Thomaslookedemotional
asshesawallthepeoplewho
had come to complete reno-
vationsonherhome,allatno
charge. The divorced mother
ofthreelivesatthathousewith
twoofherchildren,andifnot
for the crews on her property
thatday,shemighthavefaced
serious safety issues with her
home,whereshehadlivedfor
thelast20years.Imtrying
not to cry, she exclaimed,
grinning wide as she fanned
herself. Words cant explain
it.Imverygrateful.
Lisawasnottheonlyper-
soninSt.MarysCountytoget
ahelpinghandwithherhome
on Saturday. Over 1,500 vol-
unteerscametogethertorepair
atotalof23homes,whichgot
allmannerofrenovationsand
updates in what has become
theultimateyearlycelebration
ofneighborlygoodwill,Christ-
masInApril.Downthestreet,
on Holt Road, Representative
Steny Hoyer made an appear-
anceatthehomeofGeorgiana
andJohnGray,whowereget-
ting a new roof, among other
things.
Meanwhile, Execu-
tive Director Mary Anne
Chasen juggled work
at the warehouse on the
county fairgrounds while
answering numerous calls
from different houses. She
routed plumbers and electri-
cians and equipment from
venderstodifferentworksites
acrossthecounty,allwhiletry-
ingtositforamomentandtalk
aboutthisyearsChristmasin
Aprilevent.Itsaveryhectic
day,shelaughed.Inthedis-
tance, volunteers were setting
up Christmas trees decorated
with bows and lights on the
fairgroundsstage.
ChristmasinAprilactual-
lyhaditsbeginningsinTexas,
butChasensaidthatMaryland
has one of the third largest
programsinthecounty,which
sawits18
th
yearofoperations
thispastweekend.
When you think about
it,thewaypeopleusedtohelp
each other, they would start
early in the morning and fnish
attheendoftheday,shesaid,
likening the project to some-
thing similar to a traditional
Amish barn-raising. Still,
Chasen said that some of the
houses on this years list had
had crews working on them
for weeks. House #5, for ex-
ample, wasinitseighth week
of repairs, having had its foors
replaced from extensive ter-
mitedamage.
Every house is dif-
ferent, Chasen said, explain-
ing that houses were chosen
based on the extent of their
problems, as well as the in-
comeofthefamiliesapplying.
Wewishwecouldpickevery
single home for every single
family that applies, she said,
explainingthatthecriteriafor
selectionhadtoberatherstrict
in order for money to stretch
farenough.
Toqualifyforhomerepairs
and renovations courtesy of
ChristmasinApril,homeown-
ers must be low-income. The
majorityearnbetween$12,000
and$18,000peryear.Chasen
explained that the board es-
tablished houses needing new
roofs as frst priorities, with
wheelchairrampscomingina
closesecond.Projectsranged
this year from eight-week be-
hemoths involving roofng,
fooring, heat pumps, and
plumping, to lighter projects
involving wheelchair ramps
or landscaping. Some homes
neededhelpwithsafetyissues,
suchasthehandrailsthatwere
installedfor85year-oldChar-
lotteEdwardsonWilsonRoad
in Mechanicsville, while oth-
ersneededCOmonitors,dead-
bolts, or new windows. 12
homesreceivednewroofsthis
year,whilesixhomesreceived
new entranceways, and many
othersgotfreshcoatsofpaint
andnewdoorsorsheetrock.
Chasenexplainedthat
their most expensive home
repair project was a home on
Hicks Drive in Leonardtown.
When you pull up you won-
derwhywechoseitbecauseit
lookssonice,shesaid,butits
ashellofahomeinside.On
Saturday, crews from Hayden
Electriccompletedafullelec-
trical system overhaul on the
homewhileHVACspecialists
installedanewheatpump,and
crews replaced all the fooring
andwindows.Theyredoing
so much with that house they
cant even begin to list every-
thing, said Chasen, who had
just gotten off the phone with
oneofhervolunteersaboutthe
heatpump.
All of this work,
of course, comes at a price.
Chasen noted that none of it
would be possible without
donations and earnings from
the groups many fundraisers,
some of which are headed by
volunteergroups,includingre-
ligious organizations or com-
munitygroupsliketheRotary
Club or the Optimist Club.
Everyyear,oneofthebiggest
fundraisers is the Southern
Maryland Farm Life Festival,
which is sponsored by CMI
GeneralContractorsInc.own-
erJohnParlett,Jr.
It all adds up, said
Chasen.Wesaytheres1,500
peoplevolunteering,butreally
wehavesomanymorewhodo
fundraisersforustoo.
Some volunteers
skippedwhatcouldhaveeasily
been a day in bed relaxing to
pitchinfortheeffort.AtLisa
Thomass house, Crocket
Pulliamworkedwithhisbroth-
ersPuggieandDragonto
install windows, even though
he had recently gotten out of
thehospital.BobHoustin,who
hadrecentlyhadhisfourthhip
replacement surgery, manned
thewarehousefromhiswheel-
chair with his wife, Virginia.
Istillcomeoveranddowhat
Ican,hesaid.
At the picnic held
thateveningatthefairgrounds,
volunteers came together to
sip beer and eat dinner while
listening to music and refect-
ing on the days work. Some
had projects they would need
to complete later, like James
Morgan, who will be going
back next Saturday to fnish
thesidingandreplacethegut-
tersatthehomeheworkedat
thatday.
Others talked more about
how great it had been to give
back.Iloveit!saidPatRus-
sel, who had spent his day
doing siding and painting, in
addition to a complete yard
cleanup. Because you see
someonewhoneedshelp,and
youcomeoutandtheresabig
smileontheirface.
RusselscolleagueCharlie
Roach stood next to him sip-
ping a beer and grinning as
thoughhewastheonewhohad
gottenhisownhouserepaired.
Yourepayingitforward,he
said,proudly.
ChristmasinApril
Senator Roy Dyson and volunteer Robert Harold Younger kick back after
work at the Christmas in April event.
The
Obituaries
Natalie Grissom Fay, 42
Natalie Grissom Fay,
42, of Hollywood died April
21 in St. Marys Hospital,
Leonardtown.
Born June 11, 1965 in
Petersburg, Va., she was the
daughter of Edward Scott Gris-
som and Nan Lucy Grissom of
Courtland, Va. Mrs. Fay was a
homemaker.
In addition to her parents,
she is survived by her husband
Joseph P. Fay, two sons, Jo-
seph Edward Fay and Nathan
Lee Fay all of Hollywood and
a sister Annette G. Stephenson
of Courtland, Va.
A Funeral Service was
conducted Friday, April 25 at
2 p.m. in the Wright Funeral
Home in Franklin, Va. Inter-
ment followed in Riverside
Cemetery, Courtland, Va.
Local arrangements by the
Brinsfeld Funeral Home, P.A.
in Leonardtown.
L.C. Fox, 78
L . C.
Fox, 78,
of Great
Mills died
April 26
in his
residence.
Bor n
March 6,
1930 in
Okl aho-
ma City, Okla. he was the son
of the late Lester and Violet
Dewdrop Weiland Fox.
He is survived by his lov-
ing wife Barbara Fox and his
children: John M. Fox of Ra-
leigh, N.C., Robert W. Fox of
Wake Forest, N.C., James A.
Fox in the Foreign Service,
Allan Fox of Cleveland, Ohio,
David L. Fox of St. Marys
County, and Cynthia Lawin
of Montana, as well as eight
grandchildren.
He was preceded in death
by his sister Dorothy Fox.
As a youth he graduated
from high school and attended
Navy Technical Schools and
Civil Service Schools. L.C.
served in the U.S. Navy from
1948 to 1968 and fought in the
Korean War. After retiring
from the Navy in 1968, he was
employed as a logistics man-
ager in the Civil Service for the
U.S. Government, retiring in
1997. He was transferred from
Florida to St. Marys County
by the U.S. Navy in 1966. He
was a wonderful husband and
father and honorably support-
ed the Navy for 53 years.
The family received
friends Tuesday, April 29 from
10 11 a.m. in the Mattingley-
Gardiner Funeral Home where
a funeral service was held at 11
a.m. with Pastor Steve Kooy
offciating. Interment will take
place Thursday, June 19 in
Arlington National Cemetery,
Arlington, Va.
Contributions may be
made to Hospice of St. Marys,
P.O. Box 625, Leonardtown,
MD 20650.
Arrangements provided
by the Mattingley-Gardiner
Funeral Home, P.A.
Richard Knight
Gardiner, 51
Rich-
ard Knight
Gardiner,
51, of
Leonard-
town died
Saturday,
April 19
in his
residence.
Born in Leonardtown,
Jan. 28, 1957, he was the son
of the late William Greenwell
Gardiner and Suzanne Knight
Gardiner. Richard graduated
from Ryken High School in
1975, and attended Towson
State College.
Richard is survived by
his sister, Mary C. Gardiner
of Annapolis, and his brother,
William G. Gardiner, Jr. of
Leonardtown.
Family and friends attend-
ed Richards Life Celebration at
the Brinsfeld Funeral Home,
22955 Hollywood Road,
Leonardtown, MD, Saturday,
April 26 from 10 11 a.m.
with prayers offered at 11
a.m. Interment followed in St.
Aloysius Catholic Cemetery,
Leonardtown.
Condolences to the family
may be made at www.brins-
feldfuneral.com.
Arrangements by the
Brinsfeld Funeral Home, P.A.,
Leonardtown.
Hilda Marie Wathen
Merritts, 87
Hilda
Marie Wa-
then Mer-
ritts, 87, of
Leonard-
town died
April 27 in
St. Marys
Nu r s i ng
Center, Leonardtown.
Born April 23, 1921 in
Leonardtown, she was the
daughter of the late Parran Wa-
then and Estelle (Essie) Payne
Wathen of Compton.
She graduated from St.
Marys Academy and attended
St. Marys Seminary in St.
Marys City. Until her mid
thirties, she lived in Compton.
During that time she was the
owner of one of the frst chil-
drens clothing stores in Leon-
ardtown and Lexington Park.
She was also a writer for the
Enterprise. She enjoyed her
sailboat, playing bridge, and
her blue Chevy convertible.
After her marriage, she
left the area and spent several
years in Newfoundland with
her family. Eventually, she
settled in Temple Hills, Md.
from 1961 until 1999. Having
always loved antiques, she op-
erated Hildas Antiques Store
in Northern Virginia for many
years. She was very honored
when named the fund rais-
ing chairman of Southern
Maryland for the National
Symphony.
In 1998 she returned to St.
Marys County to reside at Ce-
dar Lane Apartments for the
Elderly. She was a very social
person and enjoyed the atmo-
sphere of friendship at Cedar
Lane and catching up with her
friends in the area from her
youth. She has resided at St.
Marys Nursing Center since
2000.
Hilda is survived by
her son, Michael Merritts of
Temple Hills, daughter Eliza-
beth Marvin and her husband
Patrick of Lacombe, La.,
grandchildren Lisa Berkman
and Nicholas Berkman of La-
combe, La., great granddaugh-
ter Ashtyn Berkman, brother
Francis T-Mar Wathen of
Compton, sister in law, Jeanne
Wathen, and step sister Rose-
mary Abell, nieces Beverly
Guy and Andrea Buckingham,
and nephew Pete Wathen. In
addition to her parents, she was
preceded in death by her broth-
ers James Randolph Spriggy
Wathen, Thomas A. Wathen,
J. Franklin Wathen, and Mc-
Guire Wathen.
Family received friends
Wednesday, April 30 from 5
8 p.m. in the Brinsfeld Funeral
Home, P.A., Leonardtown.
Prayers were recited at 7 p.m.
A Mass of Christian Burial
will be celebrated Thursday,
May 1 at 11 a.m. in St. Fran-
cis Xavier Church, Compton.
Reverend John Mattingly will
be the celebrant. Interment
will follow in St. Francis Xavi-
er Cemetery.
Serving as pallbearers will
be Joseph C. Guy, Pete Wa-
then, Bill Hicks, Nick Buck-
ingham, Bill Gardiner and Pat-
rick Marvin.
made to the Friends of Cedar
Lane, 22680 Cedar Lane Court,
Leonardtown, MD 20650.
feldfuneral.com.
Arrangements by the
Leonardtown.
Josephine Jo Mary
Morse, 8
J o -
s e p h i n e
Jo Mary
Morse, 89,
of Leon-
ardt own,
and for-
merly of
Manches-
ter, Conn.
died April 25 in St. Marys
Nursing Center.
Born Dec. 11, 1918 in
Manchester, Conn she was the
daughter of the late Mary and
John Odermann.
She was the loving wife
of the late Robert B. Morse,
Sr., whom she married Aug.
17, 1945 in St. James Church,
Manchester, Conn. and who
preceded her in death April 15,
1989.
She is survived by her
daughter Patricia Carney and
her husband Daniel of Leon-
ardtown and her son Robert B.
Morse of Manchester, Conn.
as well as four grandchildren,
three great-grandchildren and
her sister Gertrude Morse of
Weber, Mass.
She was preceded in death
by her siblings Albert Oder-
mann, Estelle Perry and Marie
Carr.
She attended high school
in Manchester, Conn., gradu-
ating in 1936. Josephine was
employed as an aircraft tech-
nician for Pratt and Whitney
Aircraft for 20 years, retiring
in 1977. She loved gardening,
cooking and traveling.
A Mass of Christian Buri-
al was celebrated Wednes-
day, April 30 at 10 a.m. in St.
Bridgett Catholic Church,
Manchester, Conn. Interment
followed in East Thompson
Cemetery, Conn.
Funeral Home, P.A.
John Moses Owens, 74
J o h n
M o s e s
Owens, 74,
of Lexing-
ton Park
died April
26 in his
residence.
Bor n
Dec. 15,
1933 in Morganza he was the
son of the late Elbert John Ow-
ens and Mary Agnes (Morgan)
Owens. John spent several
years employed by St. Marys
Disposal.
John is survived by his
loving wife, Gay Elizabeth
Owens, whom he married
Jan. 23, 1965 in La Plata. He
is also survived by his beloved
children, John Thomas Ow-
ens, Sr. and his wife Katrina
of Lexington Park, Timothy
Michael Owens of California,
Judy Lynn Lynch and her hus-
band Greg of Hagerstown, and
James Joseph Owens of Hag-
erstown, eight grandchildren,
two great grandchildren, and
brothers, Albert Russell and
Joe Owens.
He was preceded in death
by siblings, Douglas Ow-
ens and Florence Rebecca
Morgan.
Family will receive friends
Friday, May 2 from 5 8
p.m. in the Brinsfeld Funeral
Home, P.A., Leonardtown. A
funeral service will be con-
ducted May 3 at 11 a.m. in the
Brinsfeld Funeral Home Cha-
pel. Pastor Brian Shepard will
offciate. Interment will follow
in Charles Memorial Gardens,
Leonardtown.
Serving as pallbearers
will be John Thomas Owens,
Sr., John Thomas Owens, Jr.,
Timothy Michael Owens, Greg
Lynch, James Joseph Owens,
and Keith Michael Owens.
feldfuneral.com.
Arrangements by the
Leonardtown.
Helen Marie Paradis, 85
Helen
Marie Par-
adis, 85, of
St. Marys
City died
April 22 in
Washing-
ton Hospi-
tal Center,
Washing-
ton, DC.
Helen was born Dec. 16,
1922 in Evans, Ore., and was
the fourth daughter of the fam-
ily. She attended school in
Wallowa, Ore., and Eastern
Oregon College of Education
in LaGrande, Ore.
An avid aviation enthu-
siast, she started fying at 16
from a local cow pasture. She
worked at a newspaper and the
First National Bank of Port-
land before joining the Navy
Dec. 24, 1942.
She attended boot camp
in the frst class at Hunter Col-
lege, New York City. Follow-
ing duty stations were NATTC,
Memphis, and Whiting Field
and Mainside at Pensacola.
She married John Paradis
Oct. 5, 1946, after discharge
from the Navy with 43 months
service and many fight hours
in Navy and civilian aircraft.
They lived in Norfolk, Va.,
Atlantic City, N.J. and moved
to St Marys County in April
1948.
Helen was a member of the
Grey Ladies at Patuxent River
for years and of St. Marys
County Garden Club 40 plus
years. She was a founding
member of the St. Ignatius So-
ciety and spent several years
on the church renovation, es-
pecially on the paintings of the
Stations of the Cross and the
large painting behind the altar.
She was an avid sailor
beginning while stationed in
Pensacola, Fla. and continuing
while crewing with her hus-
band for some 50 years. They
sailed extensively in the Ches-
apeake Bay plus many cruises
to New England and back. In
1980, they sailed to Glacier
Bay Alaska and back to San
Francisco, Calif. with friends
Barbara and Tuck Tucker for
a great three and a half month
cruise.
Helen taught youth sailing
and water safety to some 20
youngsters at St. Marys River
Yacht Club at St. Marys City
during the 1950s and 1960s.
She served many years as
Race Committee Chairman
and Vice Commodore of the
yacht club.
Helen taught sailing at St.
Marys College from 1967-
1972, in recognition of which
a room in the new college sail-
ing center will be named in her
honor.
In 1982 she purchased
Breton House Gift Shop with
Carol Neidhold and Joan Sul-
livan, which they ran for some
six years.
She enjoyed a full, busy
and interesting life and will be
missed by many.
Helen is survived by her
husband, John Paradis, and
her three sons, John Paradis of
Norfolk, Va., Peter and his wife
Debra of San Jose, Calif., and
Richard Paradis of St. Marys
City, grandson, Carter Paradis
of Spotsylvania, Va., nephew
Stephen Martin and his wife
Carol and three grown children
of Baker City, Ore., brother-in-
law William Paradis of Lyme,
Conn., niece Lea Ann Paradis
and husband Jim Venditto and
daughter Taryn of North Ston-
ington, Conn., nephew Wil-
liam Paradis, Jr. of Philadel-
phia, Penn., niece Dawn Peret
and children Samuel, Michael
and Grant of Mount Vernon,
N.H., niece Kim Blanchard
and husband Allan and chil-
dren Kelly and Travis of North
Tinsbury, Conn., nephew Al-
lan Paradis and wife Caryn
and daughter Vivian of Deep
River, Conn., nephew Kristian
Paradis of Philadelphia, Pa.,
and many other friends.
The family will receive
friends Thursday, May 1 from
5 8 p.m. in the Brinsfeld Fu-
neral Home Chapel, Leonard-
town. Prayers will be recited
at 7 p.m. A memorial mass
will be held Friday, May 2 at
10 a.m. in St. Cecilias Church,
St. Marys City. Interment
will follow in Trinity Church
Cemetery.
made to SMAWL (St. Marys
County Animal Welfare
League), P.O. Box 1232, Leon-
ardtown, MD 20650 or the St.
Marys College Sailing Center,
c/o St. Marys College of Mary-
land, 18952 E. Fisher Road, St.
Marys City, MD 20686.
feldfuneral.com.
Arrangements by the
Leonardtown.
Edsel Bruce Potter, 83
E d -
sel Bruce
Potter, 83,
of Califor-
nia died
April 22
in Calvert
Memorial
Hospital,
P r i n c e
Frederick,
Md.
Born Aug. 18, 1924 in
Dahlgren, Va., he was the son
of the late Vennie Marcelus
Potter and Carrie Belle Pounds
Potter.
He treasured his family
and friends. He enjoyed his
life as a Civil Servant work-
ing aboard the Patuxent River
Naval Air Station for 42 years.
His passion was to hunt and
fsh whenever possible. Hunt-
ing was his life and he always
aimed for excellence at his
sport. He also had a passion for
carving and painting wooden
duck decoys. He was also a
lifelong member of NARFE,
Chapter 969 of St. Marys
County and a member of
Ducks Unlimited. Mr. Potter
was a life long member of the
Mattapany Rod & Gun Club.
He is survived by his wife
of 60 years Angeline Potter,
his children Yvonne Moss of
Marco Island, Fla., Gary Pot-
ter of St. George Island, his
sisters, Jean Whittemore of
Herndon, Va., JoAnn Schluse-
meyer of Vienna, Va. and Elvy
Hovarter of Ashland, Wis.
He was the father-in-law
of Brian Moss and Denise
Hanson-Potter and the grand-
father of Jason Todd Wright of
Washington, D.C. and Benja-
min Edsel Potter of St. George
Island. Mr. Potter was pre-
ceded in death by a grandson,
Brian David Wright.
The family received
friends Monday, April 28 from
10 11 a.m. at the Lexington
Park Baptist Church in Lex-
ington Park. A Funeral Service
was conducted at 11 a.m. with
the Reverend Mark Garrett of-
fciating. Interment followed in
the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Catholic Church Cemetery in
Lexington Park.
Serving as pallbearers
were his grandsons, Jason
Wright and Benjamin Potter
and his dear friends, Bernie
Goldsborough, Orem Ham-
mett, Ken Zaverl and Kevin
Booth
Arrangements by the
Brinsfeld Funeral Home, P.A.
in Leonardtown.
Lucille V. Righter, 87
L u -
cille V.
Righter, 87,
of Holly-
wood died
April 24
in Civista
Me d i c a l
Center.
B o r n
June 20,
1920 in Washington, D.C., she
was the daughter of the late Ed-
ward L. and Lucy V. Creamer
Clementson.
She was the loving wife of
the late Paul M. Righter, whom
she married Oct. 3, 1942 in
Washington, D.C.
children, Patricia A. Richards
of Cheltenham, Md., James
M. Righter of Tucson, Ariz.
and Gwendolyn L. Ploud of
Wakefeld, N.H. as well as her
brother Lewis Clementson of
Hillcrest Heights, Md., eight
grandchildren and twelve
great-grandchildren.
by her sister Hilda ONeil.
The family will receive
friends Friday, May 2 from
10 11 a.m. in the Matting-
ley-Gardiner Funeral Home,
Leonardtown, where a funeral
service will be held at 11 a.m.
with Fr. Eamon Dignan off-
ciating. Interment will follow
in the Washington National
Cemetery, Suitland, Md. at
1:15 p.m. Pallbearers will be
David Hall, Zachary Mobley,
Randolph Richards, Benjamin
Hall, Brandon Mobley and
Stacey Hall-Richards.
Funeral Home, P.A.
Dorothy Lynn White, 60
Doro-
thy Lynn
White, 60,
of Mechan-
i c s v i l l e
died April
22 in her
residence.
B o r n
April 24,
1947 in
Paw Paw, W.V., she was the
daughter of the late Paul Jonas
Whitacre and Marie Snider
Whitacre.
Dorothy is survived by her
husband, Ralph (Ed) White,
children, William Wockenfuss
of Mechanicsville, Edward
White of Leonardtown, and
Cassandra Gardner of Leonar-
dtown, siblings, Mary Martin
of Pennington Gap, Va., Bob-
by Whitacre of Ontario, Calif.
and Pauline Scaggs of Las Ve-
gas, Nevada.
A Memorial Service was
held Saturday, April 26 at
2 p.m. in the Brinsfeld Fu-
neral Home Chapel, Leonard-
town. Pastor Michael Barberl
offciated.
feldfuneral.com.
Arrangements by the
Leonardtown.
William Darian White,
Infant
William Darian White,
Infant, of Mechanicsville died
April 21 in St. Marys Hospi-
tal, Leonardtown.
William is survived by his
parents, Priscilla L. Dyson of
Mechanicsville and Darian
M. White of Lexington Park,
brother, Darian M. White, II,
and sister Diamond Y. White
both of Lexington Park, grand-
parents, William and Pauline
Holt of Mechanicsville and
Joan Courtney of Oakville.
Funeral services were
private.
feldfuneral.com.
Arrangements by the
Leonardtown.
Mary Ruth Woodburn,
87
Ma r y
R u t h
W o o d -
burn, 87, of
Cal laway
died April
24 in her
residence.
B o r n
Dec. 21,
1920 in Pearson, Md. she was
the daughter of the late George
Leonard and Rose Etta De-
ment Stone.
She was the loving wife
of the late Kenneth Aloysius
Woodburn, whom she married
March 24, 1940 in St. Regis
Rectory, Holy Face Church
and who preceded her in death
Feb. 6, 2002.
daughters Brenda Nash and
Rose Marie Bean, both of Cal-
laway; six grandchildren, Rob-
ert Bean and his wife Susan of
Callaway, Susan Bean Hall
of Lexington Park, Deborah
Bean of Great Mills, Harry
Nash and his wife Gail of
Leonardtown, Michael Nash
and Mona of Callaway and
Bill Nash and his wife Kathy
of Lexington Park as well as
eight great-grandchildren and
fve great-great grandchildren.
by her brother Earl Benedict
Stone in 1986.
A lifelong resident of St.
Marys County, Mary Ruth
graduated from Great Mills
High School Class of 1939
She was a lifetime member
of the Catholic Daughters of
America and was a dedicated
wife, mother and grandmoth-
er. Her number one occupation
was as a homemaker, but she
also worked at The Hub De-
partment Store, Style Center
& Deitz Shoes as a clerk from
1968-1983.
The family received
friends Sunday, April 27 from
2 5 p.m. in the Matting-
ley-Gardiner Funeral Home,
Leonardtown, where prayers
were said at 3 p.m. A Mass of
Christian Burial was celebrat-
ed Monday, April 28 at 10 a.m.
in Holy Face Catholic Church,
Great Mills, with Fr. Joseph
Sileo offciating. Interment fol-
lowed in the church cemetery.
Pallbearers were Robert Bean,
Harry Nash, Michael Nash,
Bill Nash, Robert Bean Jr. and
Kenny Nash.
made to Hospice of St. Marys,
P.O. Box 625, Leonardtown,
MD 20650 and/or Second Dis-
trict Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 1,
Valley Lee, MD 20692.
Funeral Home, P.A.
SectionA-10
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Accepting New Patients
Waldorf, MD
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301-290-5666
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301-997-0666
Clinton, MD
301-868-0777
SARAH SEYMOUR:
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Eye Exam
With hundreds of frames,
Sterling Optical has your style, too.
Mr. MAGOO and associated character names, images and other indicia are
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Must present coupon at time of purchase.
May not be combined with any other sales,
discounts or third-party plans. Prior purchases
excluded. See store for details. Expires 5/31/08.
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Suite 16038
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Accepting Most Health Insurance Plans, Including: CareFirst BCBS,
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St. Marys Yachting Center
46555 Dennis Point Way
Drayden, MD 20630
301-994-2404
Fax:301-994-2405
www.stmyc.com
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Displaying what is
important to you,
our community.
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spread the word.
Call Now To Place Your Ad
301-373-4125
On Saturday April 26, 2008 be-
tweenthehoursof9:00p.m.and12:00
a.m. deputies from the St. Marys
CountySheriffsOfficeparticipatedin
Strike Force Sobriety Checkpoints
along with the Calvert County and
Charles County sheriffs offices. The
St.MarysCountysobrietycheckpoint
wasconductedonMDRoute4atNorth
PatuxentBeachRoadinCalifornia
More than 700 vehicles passed
through the checkpoint with three be-
ingpulledoverforfurtherroadsideso-
brietytesting.WilliamThomasFrank-
lin,27,ofLexingtonParkwasarrested
by Cpl. Mark Clark and charged with
drivingundertheinfluenceofalcohol.
The drivers of the other two vehicles
were given roadside sobriety tests and
determinedtobewithinthelegallimit
tooperateamotorvehicle.
CheckPoint
Mayor Norris
Has Been Dedicated
To Providing
Public Access
To Leonardtown
Waterfront
Visit Leonardtowns Newest
Waterfront Park Today!
Please Vote On May 6
th
To Re-Elect
Mayor J. Harry Chip Norris
Paid for by Mayor Norris, Candidate
If You are a
Registered
County voter
and live in
town you can
vote!
Photo Provided by Lt. Edward Willenborg of the St. Marys County Sheriff s Office
St. Marys County Sheriffs deputies operate a sobriety checkpoint April 26 on Route 4 and North Patuxent Beach
Road.

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The residents of Leonardtown have an impor-

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