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By Adam RossStaff Writer

The St. Mary’s County Planning Com-mission gave final approval Monday to the concept site plan for the new elementary school slated for Wildewood, after noise and accident concerns made by local pilots and the airport advisory committee were put to rest.

Final approval was then given by the commissioners Tuesday for the site’s water and sewer amendments. Both approvals will lead to a ground breaking scheduled for the end of August, according to J. Bradley Clements, chief operating officer of public schools.

Tuesday marked the end of a long road for the new school plan, which has had to endure tenuous battles with the St. Mary’s County airport and surrounding neighborhoods.

Representatives from the airport advi-sory committee, and pilots that utilize the airport, have previously voiced concerns that the school site was subject to excessive aircraft noise and accidents because of its location underneath the flight pattern of the airport. However, George Erichsen, the air-

By Guy LeonardStaff Writer

The family and friends of Ethan Chewning, the 16 year old Chaptico high school stu-dent killed in a tragic car ac-cident last week are still com-ing to grips with his death and looking for healing.

Throughout the week fol-lowing his death the communi-ty rallied around the family that has lost a member they say was dear to their hearts.

More than 100 people gath-ered at the Chewning home Monday night for a candlelight vigil to help say goodbye to their lost loved one and remem-ber the impact he had on their lives.

His mother, Kaye Chewn-ing, remembered her son’s exu-

berant nature and his wisdom that exceeded his years.

“He drove me crazy and kept me sane at the same time,” she said. “He was a good boy, he always did what I told him.

“But he always corrected me because he always knew better. And you know he was usually right.”

The tragedy was magnified family members say because it happened so close to the Easter holiday; a traditionally happy time of gathering for the family.

Virginia Quade, Ethan Chewning’s grandmother, said she nearly decided not to hold the Easter celebration, com-plete with an Easter egg hunt for the family’s young ones, be-


The St. Mary’s Board of County Commissioners implemented the Rural Preservation Task Force to recommend effective ways to protect land in Ru-ral Preservation District. After its first meeting Monday, the task force found itself engulfed in a number of situation-al dilemmas - created in part by other task forces that have spent years trying to iron out the county’s future.

At times Monday, members agreed to disagree, citing philosophical differ-ences to the Transferable Development Rights (TDR) plan that offers money up front to landowners in exchange for the future development rights to their land.

The current program designates one TDR for every three acres of de-velopable land. If the St. Mary’s Board of County Commissioners approves changes to the ordinance, that amount would change to one TDR for every five acres. The program is intended to provide incentives for landowners to sell development rights, while allowing builders to acquire extra building den-sity for projects going forward in other areas.

Rural Preservation Task Force Chairman Robin Hahnel said the changes proposed by the TDR and APF task forces would not solve the county’s

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Thursday, April 12, 2007 • St. Mary’s County, Maryland Established 2006 • Volume 2 • Issue 15 • FREE

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Index

See Go-Ahead page A-�

See Fatal Accident page A-�

See RPD page A-�

RPD Task Force Mulls Over The Mandatory Selling of TDR’s

Family, Friends Still Mourning The Loss Of Ethan Chewning

County Gives the Go-Ahead to New Elementary School in Wildewood


The Potomac River Association is go-ing head-to-head with the county govern-ment and a local developer in Circuit Court next month over their claim that the county ignored its own zoning law to allow houses to be built on lots in Myrtle Point.

The court case marks the latest round in a battle that goes back to last year in which civic activists sought to stop housing de-velopments they say cause soil erosion in critical watershed areas thus damaging the environment.

“The county doesn’t seem to have a high priority for saving the creeks [at Myr-tle Point], said Erik Jansson, president of the Potomac River Association [PRA]. “Some-thing’s got to give here.

“The county’s basically decided to vio-late the law on behalf of a developer.”

At the core of the association’s argu-ment, according to papers filed at the Cir-cuit Court, is that the county Department of Public Works and Transportation errone-ously issued grading permits to developer P.F. Summers Myrtle Point LLC to build homes on six lots out of a total of 55 that had slopes with a greater than 15 percent grade.

The county Board of Appeals dis-agreed, court papers stated, and upheld the decision of the department to issue the per-mits in June of 2006.

Their interpretation stated that the law allows the county to issue such permits if

Civic Group Continues Fight With County, Developer Over Myrtle Point


The county has suffered its second fatal accident in only the past week with the death of Ken-neth “Kenny” Bacon, 24, of Leonardtown.

Just three days earlier, Ethan Chewning, 16, of Chaptico was killed in a head on collision on Sun-nyside road in Clements.

According to reports from the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office, Bacon was driving his 2001 Toyota Tundra south on Route 5 in the early morning hours of April �, and, as he passed Route 243 in Leonardtown, he failed to make the curve in his ve-hicle and ran into an embankment. The vehicle rolled over on its roof, and Bacon died on the scene, police said.

Investigators are still looking into the cause of the crash but they believe speed and poor weather were contributing factors.

Bacon’s mother, Susan Bacon, was still stunned by her son’s death. She said she remembered him as

Leonardtown Man Killed In Weekend WreckFriends and family mourn the loss of Kenneth Bacon

See Myrtle Point page A-3See Kenneth Bacon page A-3

Photo by Guy LeonardDonna Meador of Mechanicsville looks to her husband Rob Meador during the candle light vigil in memorium of Ethan Chewning, the 16-year-old Chopticon High School student who was killed last week in an automobile accident.The Meadors joined more than 100 people at the Chewning resident to support the family.

Ethan Chewning, 16, of Chaptico who was killed April 4 in an automobile ac-cident on Sunnyside Road in Clements.

Photo Courtesy of Virginia Quade

Kenneth Bacon, 24, who was killed April 7 in an automobile wreck in Leonard-town served in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. Here he is shown seated in a throne in one of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s presidential palaces.Bacon served with the 3rd Infantry Division during the invasion of Iraq.

Photo Courtesy of Susan Bacon

SectionA-� The County Times Thursday,April1�,�007

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ByAdamRossStaffWriter

During its short tenure,thecurrentSt.Mary’sBoardof County Commissionershas pushed one issue morethan most others: protectingoperations of the Naval AirStation Patuxent River fromencroachment.

That support has en-joyed strong bi-partisan sup-port among the commission-ers, who appear unified and committed to protecting St.Mary’s County’s most valu-ableeconomicengine.

Monday, the commis-sioners took another step to-wards that resolution by di-rectingLandUseandGrowthManagement Director DenisD. Canavan to draft a textamendment of the Compre-hensiveZoningOrdinancetoprohibitfutureresidentialde-velopmentinzonetwooftheaccidentpotentialzone(APZ),which is one of three zones’surroundingthebase.

Forms of encroachmentare urban growth, airbornenoise, frequency spectrum,lighting pollution, threatenedendangeredspeciesandmari-timetransportationissues.

The text amendment isoneofaseriesofevents thatwill lead up to an April 20signingceremonyofaCoop-eration Agreement betweenthe commissioners and PaxRiver Commanding Officer Capt.GlenIves,whichpledg-es six terms and conditionsin establishing a “formal co-operativeencroachmentmiti-gation and prevention agree-ment.” That agreement iscrucial in keepingPaxRiverapartofSt.Mary’sCountyforyearstocome.

“This document is prob-ably one of the most signifi-cant documents signed be-tweenthecommissionersand

theNavy since theAICUZ,”said Commissioner ThomasA.MattinglySr.(D-Leonard-town). “Someunderestimatethecommitmentthathasbeenmade…It’sbeen25years inthemaking.”

Bydirectionof thecom-missioners, the text amend-ment would exclude the 702dwelling units currentlyspreadoutoverthe1100acresof APZ zone two. All resi-dentswithdwellingunitsthatcurrentlyexist,orarevacant,but recorded, would still beallowed to make changes totheirproperties.

“The intent of the com-missioners back on Feb. 13wastobesensitivetoexistingresidences that might be al-tered, improvedorreplaced,”

said Canavan. “The mainthrust is to reduce the likeli-hood of new residences inAPZ-2.”

However,sound-reducingmeasuresmustaccompanyallnew construction in APZ-2.WiththeadditionoftheJointStrike Fighter to Pax Riverin thecommingmonths,andgrowingoperations,Canavansaidthetherewillbeagreaternoise impact on surroundingcommunities - more so thanin the 1970s when the air-port installation compatibleuse zones (AICUZ) were first implemented.

Canavanaddedthatthick-erwindows,andothervestingmanagement practices couldbe used to reduce interiornoiseleviedbythebase.

While the text amend-mentforAPZ-2isnotpartofthe Cooperation Agreementbetween the commissionersandPaxRiver,bothhavehadcontinuingdialogsinthepastmonthstodraftthedocument,which according to Canavanshould be signed later thismonthinfrontofHouseMa-jorityLeaderStenyH.Hoyerand Marylands Lt. GovernorAnthonyG.Brown.

Thesixtermsandcondi-tionsoutlinedinthedocumentincludetwiceyearlymeetingsbetween the county and theNavy,aNavytechnicaladvi-sortoreviewalldevelopmentproposals in the vicinity ofPaxRiverandWebsterField,a collaboration on efforts toinform county residents on

encroachment threats, a col-laboration on analyses anddatacollection,anagreementtoprotectfromencroachmentthreats beyond the county,and a continuing of work toidentify easements or othermechanismstoensureprotec-tionofWebsterField.

County AdministratorJohnSavichcalled thedocu-mentan“opportunityforsomepartnership to be defined and finalized.”

“They know we haveto protect the outside of thatgatesotheNavycandotheirmission,” saidCommissionerDaniel H. Raley (D- GreatMills).“Iknowthisboardiscommitted,butwearegoingtodoitprocedurallytherightway.”

One point of contentionTuesday was a plan for a 58dwelling unit subdivision on34 acres inside the APZ-2zone. The subdivision, Es-sex Woods South, receivedpreliminary plan approval,according to Canavan, how-everitcouldbestoppedifthecommissioners pass a textamendment without a specific exemption. If that were tohappenbeforethesubdivisionreceives its buildingpermits,ordigsitsfootings,thedevel-opmentwouldnotbeallowedto proceed in its proposedlocation.

The Commissioners didnot say Tuesday what theirplansforEssexWoodsSouthwouldbe.

CommissionersThrustEncroachmentIntoSpotlight,Again

On May 3, 2007 The County Times will publish a special pull-out section to

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ByEstherA.NguonlyCapitalNewsService

WASHINGTON - St.Mary’sCounty is one of thenation’s fastest-growing “mi-cropolitan” areas, expandingby 14.6 percent since 2000,largelyonthestrengthofmili-tarygrowth,accordingtonewCensusBureaureports.

The area, surroundedby the Patuxent River andthe Chesapeake Bay, gained1,986 people between 2005and 2006, putting it amongthe top-gainers of 577 mic-ropolitan areas in the coun-try. The population may hit100,000nextyearifitcontin-ues at last year’s 2.1 percentgrowthrate.

Amicropolitanstatisticalarea is defined by the Office of ManagementandBudgetasaregion with an urban clustercontaining between 10,000and50,000people.

The Defense Depart-ment’sBaseRealignmentandClosureprocesscreatedmanynewjobsintheregion,espe-ciallyinthemid-90s,spawn-ing continued job growth inthearea,saidMarkGoldsteinoftheMarylandStateDepart-mentof

Planning. The area willcontinuetogrow,hesaid.

The Patuxent Naval AirStation,whichisbasedinLex-ington Park, employs about20,000 people, driving about75percentoftheeconomyinSt. Mary’s County and pro-viding roughly $3 billion tothestateeconomy,saidHansWelch, manager of businessdevelopment for St. Mary’sCounty.

Southern Maryland is afast-growingareainthestate,

andaverydesirablebedroomcommunity for people whoworkintheDistrictofColum-bia, but unlike neighboringCharlesandCalvertCounties,many in St. Mary’s Countyboth work and live in thecounty,saidRobinFinnacom,presidentofSt.Mary’sCoun-ty Community DevelopmentCorporation, a non-profit re-developmentorganization.

The average price of ahome in St. Mary’s Countytoday is $337,501, comparedwithabout$200,000in2003,Finnacomsaid.

Thearea,stillsurroundedby farmland, has a country-sidecharmandhistoricalap-peal, inadditiontohightechjobs,sheadded.

The levelof internalmi-gration, or residents comingfromotherregionsinsidetheU.S,intoLexingtonParkandCambridgehasbeenparticu-larlyhigh,althoughtheCen-sus Bureau statistics do notreflect the number of people cominginandoutofthestateyearly, or where they aremoving.

Cambridge, Easton andOcean Pines are state mic-ropolitan areas growing ata steady pace, mostly dueto high levels of internalmigration.

The report also includedinformation aboutmetropoli-tan areas, and showed sig-nificant out-migration in the Washington area and Balti-more-Towsonregion.

The only metropolitanarea in the state to show adecline in population wasCumberland.

It has been declining inpopulation over the last de-cade, and it dropped below

100,000 in 2006.The regionlost426peoplebetween2005and 2006, 0.4 percent of itspopulation.

Acombinationofthelossof several nearby manufac-turing plants, as well as thearea’sgeography,areblamedfor the trenddownward,saidJohnFrece,professorofurbanstudies and planning at theUniversityofMaryland,Col-legePark.

TheareaisdividedbytheAppalachian mountains andendures harsh winters, andthe closureofmajor tire andfabric plants, once major in-dustriesintheregion,struckahugeblowtotheeconomyinthe1980sand1990s.

“Timeshavechanged...when they lost the economicbase,theylostthepopulationbase,”saidFrece.

“We believe it’s on theturn-around,” said Cumber-land Mayor Lee Fiedler. Heseesthearea’spopulationsta-bilizing,basedonnewhomewater hookup statistics, andthe census figures can’t cap-turethoserecenttrends.

The Hagerstown-Mar-tinsburg, W.Va., area, whichincludes Washington Countyand Berkeley and MorganCountiesinWestVirginia,hasbeenthefastest-growingmet-ropolitanregioninMaryland,followed by the Salisburyarea, which includes Somer-setandWicomicoCounties.

Thereare361metropoli-tan areas defined by the OMB, which comprise 83.2 percentofthecountry’spopulation.

LexingtonParkGrowthPutsItonNationalFastTrack

Photo by Adam RossCommissioners review plans for a text amendment to the county’s comprehensive zoning ordiance at Tuesday’s meeting.

Thursday, April 12, 2007 The County Times Section A - �

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As the Maryland Gen-eral Assembly wrapped up its 90-day legislative session late Monday evening, leaders in the Senate and the House of Delegates pushed forward a number of looming issues – only none of them addressed their fundamental divides.

Issues such as immigra-tion and the abolition of the death penalty made little headway in the closing hours of the 423rd legislative ses-sion. Neither the slot bill, the green fund bill nor the bill to expand health care to low-in-

come workers and children made it to the floor of the Senate.

Both chambers did ap-prove Gov. Martin O’Malley’s $30 billion budget plan, but did so with no clear indication of how O’Malley will close a $1.5 billion gap between rev-enues and expenditures that will likely be revisited next year.

The House voted 133-5 in favor of O’Malley’s bud-get, and the Senate did as well with a 40-7 vote.

The budget plan gives O’Malley nearly all of the money he requested for stem cell research, higher education

and school construction. Lawmakers also approved O’Malley’s capital bud-get plan, which includes $400 million for school construction.

The budget was bal-anced in large part by de-

laying a $53 million payment for the state’s long awaited Intercounty Connector, which would link Interstates 95 and 270 in the Washington suburbs.

However, O’Malley suc-cessfully avoided a face-off over slots machines and tax hikes, which according to some lawmakers would pro-vide nearly $800 million in yearly revenues.

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller refused to con-sider any measures that raised or spent significant amounts of money that were not part of a comprehensive plan to elim-inate the structural deficit. In

addition to slots, his refusal also withheld the state’s Green Fund Bill, which passed the House and would have levied fees on the construction of impervious surfaces to help cleanup the Chesapeake Bay.

Local Delegates John L. Bohanan, Jr., (D-29B), Antho-ny J. O’Donnell (R-29C), and John F. Wood, Jr., (D-29A) all voted against the Green Fund Bill in the House.

Lawmakers did, however, hammer out key differences over the smoking ban on bars and restaurants. Final passage was given, ensuring all busi-nesses are smoke free by 2011, without a number of originally proposed exemptions.

The compromise between the two chambers was over scope of hardship waivers. It was decided that the Depart-ment of Health and Mental Hygiene must draw up guide-lines to provide waivers to

businesses that can prove the ban is a hardship. Local health departments will grant the waivers. However, smok-ing in private clubs was also banned in the legislation.

O’Malley pledged to sign the smoking legislation and if he does it would become law Oct. 1, however because the state health department needs time to draw up regulations for the hardship waivers, it won’t take effect until Feb. 1, 2008.

The House voted 100-40 in favor of the smoking ban, and the Senate passed it Friday.

Other last minute accom-plishments by the Assembly included a required reduction of pollutants from all cars sold in Maryland, and a package of protections for residents whose homes are subject to ground rent.

St. Mary’s County saw a

number of its own bills pass both chambers by the end of the session.

A bill to increase the maximum fine on illegal al-cohol sales to $1,000 unani-mously passed the House and Senate. A bill authorizing the St. Mary’s Board of County Commissioners to transfer property no longer needed for a public purpose with or without consideration to any private nonprofit organization in the county, or to the county Housing Authority, also unan-imously passed both floors.

Further, a bill exempt-ing any county properties that were deeded before Jan. 1, 1994, and improved with a residence before Jan. 1, 2007, from specified subdivision regulations for purposes of constructing additions to the residence or accessory build-ings, unanimously passed both chambers.

Annapolis BuzzLegislative Wrap-Up

30 percent of the land of the overall parcel or lot is less than 15 percent grade.

The county attorney, Christy Holt Chesser, in court papers, said the PRA has ig-nored the full meaning of the law to suit its own agenda.

“You have to view the or-dinance as a whole,” Chesser said. “The board [of Appeals] felt the director [of DPW&T] made the right decision, that it was a reasonable decision.”

Christopher Longmore, the attorney for the devel-oper, supports the county’s interpretation of the zoning ordinance.

“The petitioners have picked one isolated subsec-tion of the ordinance as the sole support of their argu-ments in this appeal,” Long-more wrote.

The PRA, the county and the developer will have their day in court to hash out the law May 25.

Jansson and the asso-ciation’s legal counsel ac-knowledge that the time may be past to do anything about the construction at Myrtle Point because the work on the lots under dispute is already underway.

But, they say, the impor-tant thing is to prove a point.

“If things stay as they are there is no steep slopes law,”

said PRA attorney Douglas Hollman who has represented the civic group in the past. “You can just build where you want by claiming you can push dirt around to make steep slopes go away.”

Hollman said that while the outcome of the case would be critical to ensuring that land with erosion-prone soil would be protected from too much development, there was no guarantee of victory.

“We believe they’ve mis-interpreted the steep slopes law; it looks black and white to us,” Hollman said. “But judges always disappoint somebody.

“Someone always wins and someone always loses.”

The residents who live in Myrtle Point say that their community has already suf-fered from the development.

They claim that the proj-ect has contributed to massive amounts of soil erosion that threatens to clog up water-ways and degrade the wildlife habitat.

Kellie Gofus, who lives on Cove Manor Road in Myr-tle Point, said that since the development began, the wa-ters around her development have become muddier, espe-cially when it rains or high tide comes in.

“When [the soil at Myrtle

Point] is dry it’s like talcum powder and when it’s wet it’s like yogurt. It just washes away,” Gofus said. “Break-ing up the trees and brush [to make way for development] makes for more erosion.”

Residents there are also worried that continued devel-opment will make the erosion problems worse.

P.F. Summers LLC has come to the county with a plan to build more homes in the Myrtle Point community in two more phases. The plan is only in the preliminary stages and has not been approved by the county government.

Alan Schick, Gofus’ neighbor, said on some days in the past two years since the development had begun there, that he has not been able to lower his boat launch all the way into the creek behind his house because of the silt that has washed down from the development.

He said he praised the developer’s efforts to control the soil erosion while work continued but that it was not enough.

“Nothing they do besides not developing [the site] is going to stop it eroding and flowing down into the creek,” Shick said.

Calls relayed to the devel-oper through Longmore went unanswered.

Myrtle PointContinued from page A-1

someone who loved his own and other’s children deeply.

Bacon leaves behind a wife and two children. He is survived by Debra Jean Lath-roum-Bacon, whom he mar-ried in 2005, his seven-month old daughter Kennedy Reyne and step-daughter Kylie Bry-anna Duncan, according to information from the family obituary.

“When he found out he was going to be a father he was ecstatic,” Susan Bacon said. “And he was so wonder-ful with his step-daughter.”

She recounted a story in which her son bought his 7-year-old step daughter a min-iature toy four-wheeler she could drive herself.

He would run behind her holding a tether line attached to the motor, Susan Bacon said, that would shut it off if she drove to fast and broke the connection.

“She just looked so cute her little pink helmet,” Su-san Bacon said. “She used to drive it around right here in my yard.”

Bacon worked at DLC Fabricators in Hollywood making countertops, his co-workers said.

They mourned his death but also remembered a friend, patriot and fearless country boy.

“He worked hard ev-eryday,” said Justin Ellie of

Clements, who remembered growing up with Bacon who was born in Virginia but moved to St. Mary’s County in 1987 and eventually gradu-ated from Chopticon High School. “He was a really good father to his kids.”

His friends said Bacon joined the U.S. Army just two weeks after his high school graduation in 2001 and served in several stations across the country before going to serve in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Bacon was assigned to the 103rd Military Intelligence Battalion, 3rd Infantry Divi-sion and drove a HUMVEE from Kuwait to the Baghdad Airport in March of 2003 to take control of it.

“The day we crossed the line, he crossed the line,” said Jesse Harris, a co-worker and friend from Hollywood who also served in the Iraq cam-paign with Bacon. “The day we took Baghdad, he took Baghdad. He was my best friend and the only person I could talk to.”

Harris said that Bacon en-joyed talking about and work-ing on all kinds of vehicles, but it was driving them that he especially enjoyed; usually in the most audacious way possible.

“There was not a single bit of fear in him,” Harris said of his lost friend. “You would tell him that he couldn’t do

this with a four-wheeler or that and he would say ‘The hell I can’t’.

“He’d find a way to make it happen.”

Lee Payne, of Mechan-icsville, said he knew Bacon only one year on the job but they became good friends be-cause of their shared love of off road riding.

“I only knew him about a year, but after we met the next thing we were riding four wheelers.”

Bacon was especially skilled at popping wheelies on his four-wheeler, Payne said.

“He was a good guy,” Payne said. “A real good guy.”

Ellie said that Bacon’s in-terests also went to the back-woods where he loved to shoot and hunt.

“He loved to shoot guns; he had a whole arsenal at his house,” Ellie said of his friend. “He was a die hard country boy.”

Harris remembered someone who was quiet but extremely friendly, who could make acquaintances right on the spot.

“If you met him and you didn’t like him then you weren’t worth liking your-self,” Harris said.

Services for Kenneth Ba-con will be held this Saturday at Sacred Hearth Catholic Church in Bushwood at 10 a.m.

More information about the funeral arrangements are available on-line at www.mat-tingleygardiner.com.

Kenneth BaconContinued from page A-1







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Big City Boy, Small Town Heart

ByAdamRossStaffWriter

Ladies and gentlemen, black, white, yellow or pur-ple,tallorshort,fatorskinny,buy a warm coat because next winter if you enjoy smoking a cigarette after a hearty meal or a cold drink you’ll have to do it outside.

In the waning moments of The Maryland General As-sembly’s 90-day legislative ses-

s ionMonday, lawmakers approved a smoking ban on all bars and restaurants throughout the state. The measure includes a ban on all private clubs. No one is exempt, unless a busi-ness owner can prove sub-stantial capital loss from thenew law.

And smokers alike, now from New York to D.C., to Maryland, along with a hand-ful of other states have not

only banned smoking; they’ve implemented a license to freeze.

Inthesummer,thesmok-ing ban might actually be cel-ebrated because it’s anotherreason to go outside and en-joy the nice weather. But that won’tcomeuntilafterthelawmakes its way through an ar-duous winter season. The bill will go into affect on Feb 1.

I can just see smokers

now, forgetting their fate until thebartender-turnedlawen-forcer-saysallsmokersneedto take their butts outside– andnot just for today,but,forever.

Forever is a long time to freeze. The worst part is that cold is always painful. It’s not likeafter a fewyearsof sur-viving wintry conditions with a cigarette in hand will make anyone more fit to handle the pain. The cold will always be painful,which iswhy I can-not understand why advocates of thebill think that itwon’tnegatively affect business for bars and restaurants – in thebeginning at least.

And I’m not saying it’s a badbillbecauseithurtsbusi-nesses, I’m just saying people that deny this fact are foolish. Maybe New York City is dif-ferentbecausetheatmosphereis predicated on nightlife - in part because apartmentsrarely exceed 300 square feet.

But for a place like Mary-land, namely Southern Mary-land, where people have nice homes, decent liquor cabinets, andthankfullyforthem,ali-cense to smoke inside - theymight as well be considered plantlife,becausethey’renotmoving.

It’s going to hurt business and it’s going to create chaos when a never ending stream of economic hardship waiv-ers’ find its way to the Depart-ment of Health and Mental Hygiene. But for all the pain, confusionandfrozenfeetthesmoking ban creates, it will all be worth it if it saves just one employeefromcancerassoci-atedwithsecondhandsmoke,or motivates one smoker to quit.

The addiction of smoking is more powerful than any-onewhodoesn’tsmokecouldrealize. It might be that the only way to curb the general public’s propensity to light up

is to take drastic measures. And while money will always be a driving force in much of the legislation that comes to fruition, the Assembly re-ally got this one right. Sav-ing lives and people from the pain associated with smoking are advantages that will go largely unrealized, but will be forever indebted by the people who have held the straight and narrow – the non-smokers. Smoking kills: it’s just that simple.

Bars and restaurants will adapt, and patrons will re-emerge from their holes as time goes by. It’s hard to say how long the financial rami-fications of the smoking ban will linger, but it all falls back on our priority scale. For money or for health? Maybe it’s just me, but I pick health. From one smoker to the next I say; buy a warm coat; winter is only five months away.

SmokingStinks

Tri-CountyAnimalShelter

Hurricane season begins June 1st, and scenes from Hurricane Katrina are stillbeing shown in the news, in-cluding the animals that were left behind. Now is the time toplanforwhattodoincaseofadisaster,whethernaturalor manmade.

The best way to protectyour family and pets fromthe effectsof adisaster is tohave a disaster plan. Differ-ent disasters require differ-ent responses. Whatever the disaster, you may need toevacuate your home quickly, and that includes taking your pets with you. If it’s not safe foryoutostayinthedisasterarea, it’s not safe for your pets. Here are some suggestions to includeinyourfamily’sdisas-

ter plan:Have a safe place to take

your pets. Check with hotels, relatives or friends outside the area, and boarding facilities. Most shelters for people do notacceptpetsdue tohealthand safety reasons.

Create a Portable Surviv-alKitforyourpet,toincludeatleastatwo-weeksupplyoffood and water, food bowls,litter,litterpans,medicationsand veterinary records, cur-rentphotoofeachpet,animalcarriers or leashes. Consider newspapers, plastic trashbags, paper towels and bleach for clean-up and waste remov-al. Update this kit and rotate the food on a regular basis.

Bring all pets inside be-fore the disaster strikes toavoid searching for them if you have to evacuate.

Ifit’ssafeforyoutowait

out a disaster at home, iden-tify an area where you andyour pets can stay together. Keep dogs on leashes, cats in carriers, andmake sure theyare wearing identification.

For more information on pet disaster planning informa-tion, contact the Tri-County Animal Shelter at 1-800-903-1992 or visit our website at www.charlescounty.org/es/animalcontrol. You may also contactTheHumaneSocietyof the United States at (202) 452-1100 or visit www.hsus.org/disaster. To find hotels inyourareathatacceptpets,check out these two web sites: www.petsonthego.com andwww.petswelcome.com.

IncludingYourPetsinaDisasterPlan

St. Mary’s Ryken High School recently discovered theentireschoolcampuswasincorrectly given a designated as a Resource Conservation Area, a classification not in-tended for property that isused as Ryken has been for the past 60 years. The future growth and success of the school is threatened by thisinjustice.

In 1986, under new regu-lations adopted by the Stateof Maryland, counties were required to create maps of all lands lying within 1000 feet of the Chesapeake Bay and it’s tributaries. The purpose of this mapping was to pro-vide the opportunity to bal-ance controlled growth with protections for our sensitive shoreline.

Based upon existing us-age as of December 1, 1985, all lands within 1000 feet of

the Chesapeake Bay, its tribu-taries and its tidal wetlandswere to be given one of three land use designations. All such land was designated as Intensely Developed Area (IDA), Limited Developed Area (LDA), or Resource Conservation Area (RCA). These designations would control future uses of theseproperties.

Land that was largely undeveloped at the time or developed with limited resi-dential use was to be given of RCA designation. Land with commercial usage, active pub-lic usage, dense residential usage, or serviced by public sewage was to be given either IDA or LDA designation or a combination of both.

Unfortunately, St. Mary’s Ryken High School was given a designation of RCA. This inspiteofthefactthatatthe

timetheentirecampus,morethan 80 acres, was actively being used for a high school with educational, residential,recreational, and supporting facilities located throughout the property. Remote parts of the property were even be-ing used as a summer camp facility, complete with cot-tages, swimming pool and other supporting facilities. The campus was even being served by public sewage, as it is today.

No other education fa-cilitythatweareawareofinSt. Mary’s County was given this limiting designation. In-deed,allpublicschoolfacili-ties located within the map-ping area were given either IDA or LDA as appropriate. St. Mary’s College and two organized labor-training fa-cilities; Harry Lundenberg SchoolofSeamanshipandthe

William W. Winpisinger Cen-ter were all given IDA/LDA designations.

As often happens, while government was busy redefin-ing what use private property would have in the future, most property owners were un-aware this was taking place. And most people who were aware believed, as we all too often do, that our government was responsible enough to do the right thing.

It was 20 years later, 2006, that St. Mary’s Ryken discovered that its property had been given a designation that would limit it’s futureuse as a high school. Ryken isunabletodaytoaddnewfa-cilitiestoit’scampustobetterserve the students of Southern Maryland, unless the Critical Areas Commission makes a determination that a mistakewas made in the 1986 map-

ping done by St. Mary’s County government.

Thatallsoundsfairlysimpleandreasonable,butnothing could be further fromthecasewhendeal-ing with the Critical Ar-eas Commission, a State of Maryland agency, and St. Mary’s County gov-

ernment. So far County staff has seemed reluctant to sup-port Ryken’s request to cor-rectthemistake,andtheStateCommission has seemed even more so.

This is such an egregious injustice and such an obvious mistakethatonehastowon-der how could this have hap-pened in the first place? In fact, a good argument can be madethatthiswasnomistakeat all, that those involved with the mapping in 1986 knew exactly what they were doing and wanted it that way.

Some people have always believed that the success of private and parochial schools in St. Mary’s have a negative impact on funding for public schools. Nearly 20 percent of the children in St. Mary’s

County are educated outside the public school system. If not for this, public schoolswould receive more tax dollars.

It is time this matter istakenoutofthehandsofbu-reaucrats. The people we elect to represent us need tocorrect this matter. Senator Roy Dyson and Delegate John Bohanan have stood by and watched as Ryken has been fighting this battle for more than six months, they need to call the new governor and get this matter resolved.

The County Commission-ersshouldnotonlyforcefullysupport Ryken’s request that themistakebecorrected,theyshould also look deeper intothis injustice, find the people responsible for this mistake,and take decisive action to as-sure that person will never do such an injustice again in the name of St. Mary’s County government.

CriticalAreasmappingmistakemaynotbeamistakeatall

TotheEditor

In response to Marcia Lent,itwasnotmyintentforthis issuetobecomeahealthproblem. I do not want people to get sick, You state you just “want to breathe”. Smoking has been around for centu-ries and the people addictedto smoking also have rights. I never quit but I gave it up for Lent and then I decided; how long can I go without a cigarette? It has been 48 years since I have had a cigarette. Most people who smoke are addicted to tobaccoandcan-notsettheirmindtoactuallyquit. Some people say smokers are sick people. It is sad that the large number of smokers are so heavily taxed. A lot of thesmokerscanbarelyaffordto buy cigarettes. They would give up food rather than ciga-rettes. To cut them off com-

pletely would be cruel. I have no desire to stone

anyone.You state maybe the horse

and buggy sellers should have stoned Henry Ford for con-verting people to cars. This is very interesting as the car is heavy polluter of our air. In some cities the exhaust fumes are so thick you can hardlybreathe. Solution: ban the cars and trucks.

It matters not whetherI want the ban on smoking or not. Just give everyone a fair shake. Be aware that the Federal, State and Local gov-ernments depend on smok-ers to supply this source ofrevenue. They are consider-ing a tax increase of a dollar apacktohelppeoplewithoutMedicare. If the tobacco tax revenue ceases, they must tax something else to get the lost revenue. No stoning anyone.

Every law passed for our own good takes away more of our freedom. For everything we do, we must have a license, a permit or pay a tax or fee. Our freedom is slowly being taken away.

Once the governments ban one thing completely, they will seek another itemthat you love dearly. What happensthen?

Daniel J. Wilson

22486 Budd’s Creek RoadLeonardtown, MD 20650Phone: 301-475-9670

Thursday, April 12, 2007 The County Times Section A - �

Hector C. Avelar, 68

Hector C. Avelar, MCPO USN RET, 68, of Lexington Park, Md. died April 5 at his residence.

Born Feb-ruary 16, 1939 in Sonora, AZ, he was the son of the late Maria Guadalupe and Pedro Avelar.

His Navy career began in June 1958. Service years in-cluded NTC San Diego, Ca., NAVTECHTRACEN Nor-man, Okla., NAAS Port Isa-bel, TX, PHOTOCOMPRON SIX THREE/LIGHTPHOTO-RON SIX THREE, NAS Mi-ramar, Ca., U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Team “BLUE ANGELS” in Pensacola, Fl., NSD Subic Bay, Republic of the Philippines, FITRON TWO ONE, ATKRON TWO SEVEN, NAS Miramar, Ca., FAIRECONRON ONE NAS Agama Guam, USS Ranger CV-61, NAS North Island, Ca., FAIRECONRON TWO NS Rota, Spain, AIMSO NAS Patuxent River, Md., NAMO NAS Patuxent River, Md.

Numerous awards include the Navy Commendation Medal (two awards,) Navy Achievement (two awards,) Meritorious Unit Commen-dation (two awards,) Battle “E” Ribbon (two awards,) Seven Good Conduct Med-als, National Defense Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Sea Service Ribbon (with Service Star,) and the Overseas De-ployment Ribbon.

Naval Retirement took place in August of 1988. He then began a new career with SWL in Vienna, Va. as a Lo-gistics Analyst.

He was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the U.S. Navy Memorial Foun-dation, American Legion Post 0297, Vietnam Veterans Memorial and The Disabled American Veterans Asso-ciation. He also was an avid baseball player and fan.

He is survived by his wife, Roberta Avelar of Lexington Park, Md. and his daughter, Michelle H. Avelar-Schnell of Pasadena, Md., brothers, Jose Trinidad “J.T.” Avelar and Pe-ter C. Avelar, both of Kearny, AZ, sisters, Sr. Mary Bereni-ece Avelar of Tucson, AZ, Jo-vita “Jovie” Corral of Mesa, AZ, and Maria Eliza “Licks” Ramirez of Kearny, AZ, sis-ters-in-law, Theresa “Teddy” Avelar, Mercedes “Mercy” Avelar, and Miriam Avelar, brothers-in-law, Alex “Cano” Chiquette, Eddie Corral and Daniel Ramirez, and numer-ous nieces, nephews, great nieces, and great nephews.

The family will receive friends on Thursday, April 12 from 2- 8:00 p.m. in the Brins-field Funeral Home Chapel, Leonardtown, Md. Prayers will be recited at 7:00 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday, April 13 at 11:00 a.m. in St. John Francis Regis Catholic Church, Hollywood, Md. Fa-ther Ray Schmidt will be the celebrant. Interment will be on Tuesday, May 1 at 11:00 a.m. in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va.

Serving as pallbear-ers will be Collin J. Schnell, Thomas E. Krzyzanowski, Robert S. Krzyzanowski, Walt Thio, Steve R. Avelar, and Mark A. Avelar. Serving as honorary pallbearers will be Gregory P. Krzyzanowski, Leonard J. Avelar, and Roger Aveler.

Memorial contributions may be made to HOSPICE House c/o HOSPICE of St. Mary’s, Inc., P.O. Box 625, Leonardtown, Md. 20650.

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

Kenneth Bacon, 24

K e n n e t h “Kenny” Ba-con, 24, of Leonardtown, Md. died April 7 in Leonard-town, Md.

Born March 4, 1983 in Virginia Beach, Va. he was the son of Linda Susan Bacon of Clements, Md. and Robert Benjamin Bacon, Jr. of King George, Va.

He is survived by his lov-ing wife, Debra Jean Lath-roum-Bacon whom he mar-ried on October 21, 2005 in Leonardtown, Md. He is survived by his seven-month old daughter Kennedy Reyne Bacon and his step-daughter Kylie Bryanna Duncan, both of Leonardtown, Md. and his sister Heather Nichole Gener-ous of Bradenton, Fl.

Mr. Bacon moved to St. Mary’s County in 1987 from San Angelo, TX. A graduate of Chopticon High School, Class of 2001, he entered the United States Army on June 28, 2001 and served until Oc-tober 18, 2004 and was sta-tioned in Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., Fort Huac Huca, AZ, Fort Stewart, Ga. and Opera-tion Iraqi Freedom War. He was employed as a Fabricator/Installer for DLC Fabricators and enjoyed drag racing, four wheeling, hunting, fishing and target shooting.

The family will receive friends on Friday, April 13, 2007 from 5 – 8:00 p.m. in the Mattingley-Gardiner Fu-neral Home, with Prayers being said at 7:00 p. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday, April 14, 2007 at 10:00 p.m. in Sa-cred Heart Catholic Catholic Church, Leonardtown, Md., with Fr. Early officiating. Pallbearers will be Dwayne Pilkerton, Gary Griffin, Ben Clarke, Bobby Long, Justin Elle and Marck Generous. Honorary pallbearers will be Jesse Harris, Jay Young, Bob Lishness, Matthew Wood and Brett Shores. Interment will follow in Charles Memorial Gardens, Leonardtown, Md. Arrangements provided by the Mattingley-Gardiner Fu-neral Home, P.A.

Jennie Cecelia Balta, 81

Jennie Ce-celia Balta, 81, of Waldorf, Md. formerly of St. Mary’s City, Md. and Valley Lee, Md. died April 1, 2007 in Civista Medical Center, La Plata, Md.

Born November 10, 1925 in Drayden, Md. she was the daughter of the late Ernest Thomas and Mary Henrietta Boothe Adams, Sr. She was preceded in death by her hus-band Paul Robert Balta, Sr. on July 15, 1990 in Bokeelia, Fl. whom she married on April 29, 1944 in Valley Lee, Md. She is survived by her children: Paul R. Balta, Jr. and his wife Glema of St. Inigoes, Md., Dorothy E. Hindle and her husband Norris of Clements, MD, Mary C. Donaldson and her husband Bill of Mercers-burg, PA, John T. Balta and his wife Nancy of Dameron, Md. and Francis A. Balta and his wife Judy of Valley Lee, Md.; siblings: Ann Goode of Maddox, Md., Joan Marie McCracken of Lincoln, Ca., Gregory Adams and Franklin Adams both of Drayden, Md.; 11 grandchildren and eight great grandchildren. She was also preceded in death by her brother: Ernest T. Adams.

Mrs. Balta was a life long St. Mary’s County resident where she graduated from Great Mills High School Class of 1934. She enjoyed gardening and flowers. She was a member of the Lady’s of Charity of St. Michael’s and St. James, she was also a member of the Knights of Co-lumbus Auxiliary in Ridge, Md.

The family received friends on Monday, April 9 from 5 – 8:00 p.m. in the Mattingley-Gardiner Funeral Home, with Prayers being said at 7:00 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrat-ed on Tuesday, April 10, 2007 at 10:00 a.m. in St. Cecelia’s Catholic Church with Fr. Da-mian Shadwell officiating. In-terment followed in St. James Cemetery. Pallbearers were: Robert L. Moore, Jr., Edward Donaldson, Brian Donaldson, Tony Balta, Cory Balta and Franklin T. Adams, Jr. Honor-ary Pallbearer will be: David A. Moore. Arrangements pro-vided by the Mattingley-Gar-diner Funeral Home, P.A.

Joseph William Butler, 41

Joseph Wil-liam Butler, 41, of Leonardtown, MD died April 5 in Georgetown University Hos-pital, Washing-ton, D.C.

Born December 25, 1965 in Loveville, Md., he was the son of James Edward Butler, Jr. of Leonardtown, Md. and the late Mary Cecilia (Mills) Butler.

He attended school and graduated from Chopticon High School in 1984. Joe enjoyed fishing with fam-ily members and going to the race track at Budds Creek.

In addition to his father, he is survived by his brothers, William Edward Butler and John F. Butler, both of Leon-ardtown, Md. and Marvin C. Butler of La Plata, Md., half-sister, Sarah Barber Young of Lexington Park, Md., and special friends the Grover family.

In addition to his mother, he is preceded in death by his grandparents, Sarah Butler, Rose Scriber, James Edward Butler, Sr. and Francis Scriber, and an uncle, Pete Butler.

The family will receive friends on Saturday, April 14 from 9- 10:00 a.m. in St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Morganza, Md., with a Mass of Christian Burial celebrat-ed at 10:00 a.m. Reverend Keith Woods will be the cel-ebrant. Interment will follow in Queen of Peace Cemetery, Helen, Md.

Serving as pallbearers will be Wayne Dyson, Wayne Biscoe, Rahl, Dwayne Young, Joe Thomas, and Garry Gross.

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


Emma Charlotte (Gran-ny) Bowles, 7�

E m m a C h a r l o t t e ( G r a n n y ) Bowles, 7�, Av-enue, Md. died April 4 in Av-enue, Md.

Born Febru-ary 23, 1932 in Fredericks-burg, Va. she was the daugh-ter of the late Carroll Webster and Nellie Catherine Watts Lumpkins. She is survived by her children: Joseph Ray Bowles, Jr. of Hollywood, Md., Linda Marie Knott of Clements, Md., Sara Ann Thomas of Bushwood, Md., Rachael Catherine Williams of Avenue, Md., George Allen Bowles and Edward Ernest Bowles both of Mechanic-sville, Md.; siblings: Butch Lumpkins of Upper Marl-boro, Md., Mary Catherine Faunce of Abell, Md., George Lumpkins and Sally Estes both of Fredericksburg, Va.; 11 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren. She is also pre-ceded in death by her brother: Gerald Lumpkins.

Granny was a life long St. Mary’s County resident where she attended St. Mary’s Academy. She worked as a dietary aide for St. Mary’s Hospital and retired in May of 1996 after 25 years of service. She enjoyed softball, dancing, spending time with her chil-dren and watching her special

grandson (Buster) play bas-ketball and baseball. T

he family received friends on Tuesday, April 10 from 5 – 8:00 p.m. in the Matting-ley-Gardiner Funeral Home, where Prayers were said at 7:00 p.m. A Mass of Chris-tian Burial was celebrated on Wednesday, April 11 at 10:00 a.m. in Holy Angels Catholic Church with Fr. John Barry officiating. Interment fol-lowed in Charles Memorial Gardens. Pallbearers were: Joe Bowles, Chris Hammett, Jessie Rollins, Roy Morris, Donnie Knott and Robby Owen. Honorary Pallbear-ers will be: Buster Williams, Nina Bowles, Joey Coon, Dale Coon, Tammy Owen and Bri-an Knott. Contributions may be made to: 7th District Volun-teer Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 7, Avenue, Md. 20609. Ar-rangements provided by the Mattingley-Gardiner Funeral Home, P.A.

Ethan Andrew Chewn-ing, 16

Ethan An-drew Chewn-ing, 16, of Chap-tico, Md. died W e d n e s d a y , April 4, 2007 as a result of an auto accident.

Ethan was born Septem-ber 13, 1990 in Leonardtown, Md. He was the son of San-dra Kaye Quade Chewning and Kenneth Ray Chewning, both of Chaptico, Md. He has three brothers, Kenny Ray and Thomas Chewn-ing and James Fowler. He is the Grandson of Philip Rho-die and Virginia Quade of Chaptico, Md., Brenda Kuhn of Mechanicsville, Md. and Franklin Chewning of Mc-Cormick, S.C. One Great Grandmother: Catherine Lou-ise Quade of Chaptico, Md. His aunts & uncles are Julie Quade Burch, Philip, Adam, Willie & Clayton Quade and David & Robbie Chewning. His cousins are Gene & Aus-tin Burch, Rhodie & Mason Quade, Hunter Quade, Emily Quade, Christopher & Katie Chewning and Leah & Jake Chewning.

Ethan was a student at Chopticon High School and was active in the Theater Group and on the Track and Field Team. He was also an ac-tive member of Christ Church Chaptico Youth Group and a member of Boy Scouts Amer-ica Venturing Crew 1782. He was always busy and loved to run and spar with his friends. He was a free spirit and full of life. Earlier in the week before his death he and two friends dressed in suits and ties and went to the mall in Waldorf. While there, they helped shoppers carry pack-ages to their cars. They did that for hours. That was Ethan, he loved to help people. His mother called him her magi-cal baby.

The family will receive friends on Friday, April 13 from 10 – 11:00 a.m. at Sa-cred Heart Catholic Church, Bushwood, Md. where a memorial mass will be cel-ebrated at 11:00 a.m. with Fr. Timothy Baer officiating. In-terment will follow in Christ Church Cemetery, Chaptico, Md. Pallbearers will be his uncles, Philip, Adam, Willie and Clayton Quade and David and Robbie Chewning. Me-morial Contributions may be made to the Venturing Crew 1782, P.O. Box 1425, Mechan-icsville, MD 20659 or Christ Church Youth Group, P.O. Box 8, Chaptico, Md. 20621.Arrangements provided by Mattingley-Gardiner Funeral Home, P.A.

Warren Westre Dean, 88

W a r r e n Westre Dean, 88, of Holly-wood, Md. died April 1, 2007 in Washington Hospital Cen-ter, Washington, D.C.

Born February 8, 1919 in Omaha, Neb., he was the son of the late Earl Warren Dean

and Georgia Ella (Morton) Dean.

He was a Pearl Harbor survivor and retired from the Navy after thirty years. While stationed at Patuxent River, he then retired from Civil Service after eighteen years. He and his wife, Pauline en-joyed their home on the water in Hollywood, Md. for many years both before and after his retirements.

Mr. Dean was an active member of the St. Mary’s County Amateur Radio As-sociation and the Thomas K. Shryock Lodge 223 AF and AM.

He is survived by his daughter, Carol Lynn Mur-phy of Rancho Cordova, Ca., two sisters, Betty Schooler of Craig, Mo. and Carol May Matties of Fort Collins, Co., brother-in-law, Ernest Brick-head of Brandywine, Md., four grandchildren, Deborah Knotts, David O’Bryan, Mi-chael Payne, and Lisa Rexius, nine great-grandchildren, four great-great grandchil-dren and numerous nieces and nephews.

In addition to his par-ents, he is preceded in death by his wife of 58 years, Pau-line Brickhead Dean, brother, Morton Dean, and sister, Dor-othy Dean Hartman.

The family received friend Thursday, April 5 from 5 -8:00 p.m. in the Brinsfield Funeral Home Chapel, Leon-ardtown, Md.; with a Funeral Service conducted at 7:00 p.m. Reverend Dan Moore will conduct the service. Inter-ment will be on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 at 9:00 a.m. in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va.


Robert Morris (Bobby) Lee, 7�

Robert Mor-ris (Bobby) Lee, 7�, of Mechan-icsville, Md, died April 4 in Georgetown Uni-versity Hospital, Washington, D.C.

Born July 29, 1931 in Oakville, Md. he was the son of the late Myrtle Marie Curry Lee and Edward New-ton Lee Sr. He is survived by his loving wife, Mary Cay-wood (Peggy) Lee whom he married on June 14, 1958 at Christ Church, Chaptico, Md. He was the loving brother of Mary Lee Pilkerton, Helen Lee Long, Edward Newton (Ike) Lee Jr. and John Kin-caid (J.K.) Lee all of Mechan-icsville, Md. and brother in law of Rosalie Caywood Lee of Mechanicsville, Md., and Kathrine Caywood Bean of Valley Lee, Md. He was dear-ly loved by his many nieces, nephews, great nieces, great nephews and great great niec-es and great great nephews. He was preceded in death by his sister: Bertha Lee Russell.

Mr. Lee was a lifelong St. Mary’s County resident. He enjoyed history, puzzles and country music. A graduate of Margaret Brent High School class of 1948, Mr. Lee was a partner with Lee Brothers sawmill and logging operation until his retirement in 1992.

The family received friends on Tuesday, April 10 from 5 – 8:00 p.m. in the Mattingley-Gardiner Funeral Home, with Prayers being said at 7:00 p.m. A Funeral Service was held on Wednes-day, April 11 at 10:00 a.m. in Mt. Zion United Methodist Church with Rev. Philip Ayers officiating. Interment followed in the Church Cemetery. Pall-bearers were Wallace Abell, Bobby Cusic, Kell Davis, Jay R. Long, Joe Pruett and Matt Spalding. Honorary Pall-bearers will be Jamie Abell, George Bean, Buddy Burch, Sonny Burch, Robbie Cusic, James Daughtery, Ricky Die-hl and Jimmy Quade. Con-tributions may be made to the Mechanicsville Volunteer Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 15, Mechanicsville, Md. 20659. Arrangements provided by the Mattingley-Gardiner Fu-neral Home, P.A.

Leonard Allen Potts, 69

Leonard Al-len Potts, 69, of Chaptico, Md. died April 4 at Georgetown Uni-versity Hospital.

Born August 1, 1937 in Ellicott City, Md., he was the son of the late Leonard Thornton and Catherine Louise Riddle Potts.

Prayers were said on Wednesday, April 11 at 7:00 p.m. in the Mattingley-Gar-diner Funeral Home, Leonar-dtown, Md. where the family received friends from 5:00-8:00 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Thursday, April 12 at 11:00 a.m. at St. Aloysius Catholic Church, Leonardtown, Md. with Fr. Ron Potts officiating. Interment followed at Queen of Peace Cemetery, Helen, Md. A full obituary will ap-pear at a later date. Arrange-ments provided by Matting-ley-Gardiner Funeral Home.

Louise “Lou” Santos, �1

L o u i s e “Lou” Santos, �1, of California, Md. died April 4 at her residence.

Born Octo-ber 14, 1955 in Brooklyn, N.Y., she was the daughter of the late Oscar Lien and Ethel Hathaway.

She was the wife of Carlos Santos, whom she married on June 14, 1986 in Reno, Nev.

From New York, she moved to the San Francisco Bay area, where she met her husband, an active duty sailor. She has been a resident of Cal-ifornia, Md. since 1995 and was employed at NAS Patux-ent River. Known by many as an outstanding cook, her passion for the culinary arts began in 1986 and included many ethnic foods. She has also been a loyal supporter of law enforcement for over 20 years.

In addition to her hus-band, she is survived by two children, Lisa Brouillette and her husband, Jamie of Gulf Port, Miss. and Timo-thy Robert Sloan, Jr. and his wife, Stacey of Montana, four grandchildren, Myles Brouil-lette, Bailey Brouillette, Ash-ton Sloan, and Nolan Sloan, brother, Joseph Lien of Long Island, N.Y., sisters-in-law, Judy Sloan and Chiquita Sims, and brother-in-law, Da-vid Santos. In addition to her parents, she is preceded in death by her brothers, Billy Lien and Pete Lien.

The family received friends on Wednesday, April 11 from 5- 8:00 p.m. in the Brinsfield Funeral Home Chapel, Leonardtown, Md. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Thursday, April 12, 2007 at 10:00 a.m. in Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church, Lexington Park, Md. Father Jack Ken-nealy will be the celebrant. Interment will be on May 8, 2007 at 11:00 a.m. in Arling-ton National Cemetery, Ar-lington, Va.

Memorial contributions may be made to Concerns of Police Survivors, 3096 South Highway 5, P.O. Box 3199, Camdenton, Mo. 65020 or www.nationalcops.com.


Lester Theodore “Ted” Vickers, 69

Lester The-odore “Ted” Vickers, 69, of California, Md. died April 6 at his home.

Born No-vember 6, 1937 in Chelsea, Ma., he was the son of the late Lester Theo-dore Vickers and Sarah Helen (Bowen) Vickers. He gradu-ated from Medford High School in Medford, Ma. and the Peterson School of Steam

Obituaries

See Obituaries page A-8


InYourCommunity

Route 245Hollywood, MD 20636

301-475-2531

Route 246 & Great Mills Rd.Lexington Park, MD 20653301-862-7702

Route 5 & Mohawk DriveCharlotte Hall, MD 20622301-884-5636

Wildewood Shopping CenterCalifornia, MD 20619

301-866-5702

CSMPresentationThe status of America’s

healthcare system will comeunderreviewattheCollegeofSouthern Maryland’s FridayNightLectureSeriesApril20attheLaPlataCampus.Pan-elists Sandy Genrich, chairofCSM’snursing andhealthtechnology department, BobSchaller,chairofCSM’sbusi-ness, economics and legalstudiesdepartment,andAlan

A.BusterJr.,vicepresidentatSt.Mary’sHospital,willdis-cuss the condition of health-carein“HealthcareintheU.S:PlayNoworPayLater.”Thepresentation will begin at 7p.m.,attheLaPlataCampus,Learning Resources Center,LR102

LiveBluegrassThe American Legion

BluegrassSeriesispresenting

is final show of the season. ThisSundayApril15th,we’llhaveBluegrassmusicbyErnieBradley&GrassyRidgealongwith Wayne Taylor/KeithArneson & Appaloosa. Themusic will start at 2:00pmand a Spaghetti dinner willbeginanoon.Ticketsfortheshowwillbe$12perperson,and the dinner will be $6per plate. We’ll have 50/50raffles, CD giveaways, door

prizes, tickets for upcom-ing shows, andgive awayaRedWhite&BlueAmericanGuitar.Chancesfortheguitarare $5 each or three for $10.Lotsofsurprisestoo.It’sgo-ingtobeafundayforall!

SMCOpensTicketmaster

On March 16th, St.Mary’s County’s only pub-

lic accessible Ticketmastercounter opened. The coun-ter is located inside the XHSports&GiftwareFanShopinSt.Mary’sSquare.Manycounty residents have had tomakethedrivetoWaldorftopurchase tickets for upcom-ingConcerts,Oriolesgames,NationalAquarium,etc.TheTicketmaster counter at XHSports&Giftwaresells tick-ets formostvenues/events inMaryland, D.C., and Northern Virginia. No more waitingfor tickets to be mailed andhopingtheyarecorrectwhenyougetthem.You’llleavethestorewithyourticketsinyour

hand.

EducationalProgram

The public is invited tojoinEducationCuratorChris-tinaBarbour at theNorthernSenior Center in CharlotteHall, at 11 a.m. for an edu-cation program. The topicwillbe“Maryland’sAnimalsGreat and Small.” From thewatersoftheChesapeakeBayto themountainousregionofthe panhandle, learn aboutthe animals that are part ofour Maryland environment.Animals from the MuseumDivision’s taxidermy collec-tion will be available for ahands-on experience. Those 55 and older will be seatedfirst. Call the Museum Divi-sionat301-769-2222foraddi-tionalinformation.

CherryBlossomCelebration

Mark your calendars forthe 2007 National CherryBlossom Festival SaturdayApril 14. The day will be-gin with the annual parade.It is a spectacular event forchildrenofallages.Talentedmarching bands compete for16covetedspotsintheparadeand provide colorful musi-cal entertainment. Dance and drumming performanceteams from Japan and theUnitedStateshighlighttheartoftaikodrumming.TheNa-tionalCherryBlossomFesti-val All Star Tap Dance team and Choir perform musicalnumbersforeageraudiences.Clowns, horses, antique carsand mascots all add to themerriment on parade morn-ing.Thefeeis$28perperson;call Sandie Greene for moreinformation at 301-475-4200ext. 1801.

AwardsBreakfastThe20thAnnualHuman

Relations Awareness Day and AwardsBreakfastwillbeheldattheHarryLundebergSchoolat9:00a.m.Thecost for theevent is $12. Please reserveyour seat by calling 301-4754200, ext. 1849. Nomination arebeingsoughttorecognizecompanies and/or individu-als who work to further theAmerican ideal of equalityand justice for achievementsin the area of human rightswithin St. Mary’s County.Nominations can be mailedinto the Division of Commu-nity Services, P.O. Box 653, Leonardtown, MD 20650.

BreastCancerBenefit

Hyperspace invites youtoanafternoonoffamilyfunand excitement April 15, from 12p.m.to6p.m.Joinsusforaspring chopper fling when we raffle off a custom built mini chopper, with 100 percent ofthe proceeds going to benefit the fight against breast can-cer. Kidsofallagesareen-couragedtobring theirbikesforourBicycleRodeo.Comelook at Southern Maryland’smostbeautifulHaley’sinHar-ley Bike Show and Contest.Kids pick the winner! Formoredetailsorquestionscallusat301-373-6210.

NAMIWalks2007NationalAllianceonMen-

tal Illness for So. MD will host awalkSunday,April29,2007.Walkercheckin:10AM,WalkStartTime:11AMCentennialPark, Ellicott City, MD Lunch willbeprovidedforallwalkers&volunteers.Formoreinfor-mation call 301-904-9926 oremail [email protected].

SouthernMarylandSailingAssociation

Camp For Kids In Solo-mons. June 18 – August 17,2007AtSMSAclubhouseonSolomonsHarbor

Kids8to15yearsold$250-$265perchild,per

week ( members get up to a20%discount)

Contact Tom Moulds [email protected] or write to: SMSA Sailing Camp,17695SaintInigoes,Road,St.Inigoes, MD 20684

Thursday, April 12, 2007 The County Times Section A - 7

cause of the tragedy but later decided it was the right thing to do.

“I thought ‘I can’t do that to these kids,’” Quade told The County Times. “It was a tough call I had to make but I went ahead with it.

“We must have had about 30 or 40 people come here, it was a little overwhelming sometimes. I had to go into my room and calm down for about 10 or 15 minutes but I got back out there and got right back into the pace of things.”

The accident that claimed Chewning’s life happened April 4 as he and two other

boys were riding in a car on Sunnyside Road in Clements when the driver, Sean Gibson, 17, of Mechanicsville, lost control of the vehicle, police reports said, and struck an-other car head-on as it veered into the opposing lane.

Chewning died on the scene, police said, and Gib-son and the other passenger, Nathan Fitch, 16, of Clements were injured. Gibson was only incapacitated, police said, while Fitch sustained life-threatening injuries and is now in stable condition.

Police say that “driver error and speed” were likely contributing factors.

The driver of the other vehicle, Amber Russell, 20, also of Clements, survived the crash.

Gibson laughed and joked with friends and family of Ethan Chewning that Mon-day night but when he spoke to those assembled the smiles turned to sadness.

“There’s nothing I can say to make this right,” Gib-son said. “I want to apologize to the family.”

Ethan was a struggling student when he first started his classes at Chopticon High School but this year had re-ally turned his grades around, family members said. He was athletic, a track team member, and had a love of the martial arts.

Friends and family wore pins with his picture on it and

with the inscription of “Ninja” to honor one of his favorite pastimes.

His friends spent Mon-day afternoon tying purple ribbons to the trees and light posts in the Chopticon High School parking lot to honor his memory.

They even pushed Sty-rofoam cups into the fence surrounding an athletic field to give the message “We love “U” Ninja, We will miss you Ethan.”

Virtually every friend or family member gathered at the vigil had a fond story or memory about their lost loved one.

“He was very special,” said King Norris, Ethan Chewning’s great uncle at the vigil. “This is about the worst thing I’ve ever seen happen

to this family.“I always called him ‘E,’

nobody else called him that except his mother when she was yelling at him.”

Norris remembered that his great nephew was very ar-tistic, quiet and loving.

Elisa Farrell, a 14-year-old St. Mary’s Ryken High School student grew up with Ethan Chewning and wished that she had kept in closer contact when he went on to Chopticon High School.

“He was like a brother to me,” Farrell said. “We used to go to his dad’s house and sled down the hill [in winter] and have snowball fights.”

Despite their loss those

gathered at the vigil shared in the fate that they would see Ethan Chewning again in the hereafter.

“My family will never be together completely until we’re in Heaven,” Quade said tearfully. “But I really think he’s up their looking down on us. We just have to thank God for giving him to us for 16 years.”

Ethan Chewning will be buried this Friday at Christ Church Cemetery in Chap-tico. The preceeding service for him will take place at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Bushwood at 11 a.m.

Go AheadContinued from page A-�

Fatal AccidentContinued from page A-�

YOU CAN WINA 60” FLAT SCREEN TV

FROM

The County TimesIN CELEBRATION OF

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

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

EXAMPLE:City Fun Son Soon Pure Mop Run

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

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

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

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

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

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port’s manager, and director of Public Works and Transporta-tion put those concerns to rest Monday.

“We looked at the acci-dent data, location, risk, con-structability of the school to help mitigate noise,” said Er-ichsen. “If noise does become a problem we can change our patterns, but the patterns ad-opted do not present an issue to the school.”

Erichsen added that when the airport went through its environmental assessment with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), both entities specifically studied the Wildewood site and found “no significant impact” from

the airport. Eighty percent of

accidents occur within 500 to 1000 feet of the airport, the school site

is located roughly 6000 feet away from the centerline of the runway. This is part of the reason that a school site is considered permitted use within the Airport Environs zone four of the county’s com-prehensive zoning ordinance, concurrently the zone which SMCPS 0606 would be lo-cated in.

Furthermore, from a noise standpoint air traffic at its worst rate would see about two landings per hour, most occurring over the weekends and after 5 p.m., according to Erichsen.

“Our airport is still some-what a recreational airport,”

added Erichsen. “The worse case scenario is the two per hour… The Hollywood school is also in the flight path and there have been no registered complaints of noise so far.”

Because the airport has been approved for runway ex-pansion, which in the future could bring in noisier aircraft, Erichsen said the options to change the approach pattern or strengthen the voluntary “Fly Quiet Program” could be evaluated.

The Fly Quiet Program outlines guidelines for pi-lots to reduce their aircrafts’ noise levels on the surround-ing community: Approaching the runway at a higher alti-tude, and gradual assents on takeoff.

Shelby P. Guazzo and Su-san P. McNeill, both of whom

were skeptical of the school’s location contributed to the unanimous vote of approval for site plan, after Erichsen’s explanation.

Kimberly Howe, supervi-sor of capital planning for the public schools, said in Janu-ary the building is planned for occupancy at the start of the 2009-2010 school year.

The $26,621,000 million concept includes an elaborate and modern design that fo-cuses on limiting its impact on the ecosystem. SMCPS 0606 achieves this by the way of a rainwater harvesting system that stores rain runoff and filters it to toilets, and a rooftop made up of a highly reflective substance to natu-rally cool the building.


Lt. Michael Merican, sheriff in charge of the coun-ty’s Adult Detention Center in Leonardtown, has a big job. Each day he has to ensure that he and his corrections of-ficers can maintain order in a jail that has too many inmates for its current space.

He said the county is still working on ways to raise funds to expand the facility to deal with an overcrowd-ing problem that has grown sharply since 2001.

Merican said that back then the average daily popu-lation of the jail was 165 in-mates; since that time the average daily population has grown to about 326 inmates.

The county jail’s capacity is just 245 beds.

“That’s a 97 percent in-crease,” Merican said. “That’s pretty significant.”

The state denied the fund-ing for the planned expansion of the county jail this year, Merican said, which meant that the county would have to wait about another year to get the funding for the proj-ect, which totals about $33 million.

The county would likely put up about half of the mon-ey to renovate the jail with the state putting up the other half, Merican said.

“The county, state and sheriff’s office have been working diligently to address how we’re going to raise the money to pay for the ad-dition,” Merican told The County Times. “Discussions have been long and arduous.”

Commissioner Thomas A. Mattingly, Sr. (D-Leonar-dtown) said the county had

money set aside for the fis-cal 2009 budget to create the minimum security expan-sion to the facility because of funding shortfalls with the state budget.

Also included in the pack-age is a modernization of the existing building to include the booking area and kitchen renovations.

“The state has limited funding,” Mattingly said. “When the state allocates their share we can move forward.”

Merican said he was con-fident that the money would come through next fiscal year but said that it would take more time to make the chang-es needed at the jail.

“Even if they approve it tomorrow it could be three years before we’re in [an ex-panded facility],” Merican said.

That means that Merican and his staff have had to make some changes to ensure they can maintain order in a more cramped environment.

Cells that usually hold only one or two prisoners now have to have two or three. In some instances, prisoners who have committed more serious offenses like armed robbery or murder have to share a cell; not the most ideal of circum-stances because of security reasons, Merican said.

Less dangerous inmates, or those housed in areas called “pods,” sometimes have to share a cell among three inmates.

Corrections officers have to be on the lookout for more potential conflicts or breaches of security because of this situation, Merican said.

“It’s not advisable but it’s not uncommon because ev-eryone is suffering from the

same thing we are, with over-crowding,’ Merican said of the shared cells situation for more dangerous inmates. “It becomes an issue of control-ling the inmates.”

Moreover, the security equipment inside the jail is aging and in need of replace-ment, Merican said.

He said he needs new sur-veillance equipment to watch prisoners and that the locks in the prison need to be replaced more often.

“The reason our locks are failing is that they’re be-ing used more,” Merican said. “They’re wearing out faster. It’s not a security issue, they get repaired. It’s more of a disruption.”

The plans to renovate the county jail started as early as 2002, Merican said, but noth-ing firm took place until April of 2005 when a master plan was developed to renovate the jail and the Board of County Commissioners approved a design model in March of last year.

The request went up to the state for approval, Meri-can said, last September but the state didn’t have the mon-ey to give to St. Mary’s.

Merican said the county may have to consider alterna-tives for relief at the jail if the overcrowding problem con-tinues without relief.

“Temporary housing for inmates is an option,” said Merican. “But whether it be-comes an option is another set of rules.” “It takes time to build [the expansion] and that relief factor will come,” added Merican. “I’m optimistic.”

Despite Overcrowding, Situation Under Control At County Jail


land preservation problems.HeandPhilipH.Dorsey, IIIeven went as far as callingTDR’s “a gimmick,” but as-sured members they weren’tagainsttheprogram.

“TDR’s are a gimmickinpart thatyouarebasicallycompensating landowners,not with money coming outoftaxpayerspockets,butin-steadwiththosethatbuynewproperty that come into thecounty”saidHahnel.

“It makes sure peoplecoming into the county arepayingforthe‘ruraleyecan-dy,’”headded.

The discrepancy is lead-ingthetaskforcetoconsideroneofthreedifferentoptionsformovingforward.

IftheAPFandTDRpro-posals are passed, the first optionwouldbetowaitthreeyearsandseehowtheywork.Thetaskforcecouldthenpre-pare recommendations forfurther changes, it is appar-ent theyarenecessarytoad-equatelyprotect landofhighagriculturalandenvironmen-talvalueintheRPD.

The second option is tocreateagriculturalandpreser-vation zones in specific parts of the RPD encompassingroughly60,000acres.Optiontwo would then downzonelandinthepreservesdramati-cally, in exchange for full fi-nancialcompensation.

To the distaste of theother task force membersand Commissioner ThomasA.MattinglySr.,whowasinattendance,Hahnelfullysup-portedthisoption,whichwithHahnel’s explanation wouldnot only support the encour-agementofsellingTDRs,butalsomandateit.

“I know mandatory is anastyword,”addedHahnel.

The full financial com-pensationwouldbe achievedby leaving a base densitypermitting 25 acre farmettesforwhich there isa lucrativemarket,awardingmoreTDRsper acre for land in the pre-serves, and increasing howmanyTDRs are required forvarious zoning upgrades indevelopmentdistrictstoraisethepriceofallTDRs.

However, with the con-ceptofamandatoryprogram,Hahnelinvitedlargeamountsof criticism from his col-leagues, due in large part tothe community’s unwilling-nesstobeforcedintosellingTDRs.

At one point, Mattinglyheldupthecounty’scompre-hensive zoning package andsaidthatittookfouryearstopassbecauseofthecommuni-ty’sunwillingnesstobeman-datedintothings.

“Maybe part of the rea-sonwearenotprotectinglandis because the community

hasn’t understood what willwork,”saidHahnel“andwhatwill not work… It might beresidentsofSt.Mary’sCoun-tycannotpreservetheirruralcharacterbecausethat’swhattheythink.”

AccordingtoHahnel,hisplan would not impose a finan-cial hardship on the averagecounty landowner, but ratheroffer a credible financial com-pensationthatwas“soattrac-tiveitlookslikeagift.”

Dorsey said he would“love to,” implement a fullcompensationpackage.

Thethirdoptionwasorig-inallycraftedbyLandUseandGrowth Management Direc-torDenisD.Canavan,whichcreates voluntary, floating, landpreservationzonesintheRPDwhere landownerswhoarecontiguouscanoptforthesame kind of full financial compensationinexchangeforasimilardownzoning.

No recommendationsweremadeatMonday’smeet-ing, and the task force willcontinuetomeetweekly.

RPDContinued from page A-1

Route 5St. Mary’s City, MD

301-863-7700Monday-Saturday 9-5

Sunday 10-4

Mervell Dean RoadHollywood, MD

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

Sunday 10-4

Azaleas-Tips from our experts

Azaleas- Plant in rich well drained soil. They should not be planted too deeply. Azaleas prefer soft shade, such as under tall oaks or pines. They are shallow rooted plants and should be mulched to a depth of 2” to 3” with shred-ded Hardwood or Pine Bark. During dry spells, insert and

prune water deeply to encourage deeper root growth. Fertilize after flowers bloom with an acid based fertilizer

such as Hollytone. Valerie Grimm

-Garden Center Manager

2 Gallon Azaleas 3 for $35.00 regularly $15.99

Sale Ends: April 30, 2007






Mail To:43251 Rescue Lane, P.O. Box 250Hollywood, Maryland 20636



Photo by Adam Ross

Engineering.His working life at sea

began at age 12 aboard hisfather’s commercial fishing trawler the“LuckyStar”.Hejoined his father in marineconstruction, pile drivingandondrillboats.Hewasaretired ocean-going tugboatcaptain holding aU.S.CoastGuard Master’s license inthe U.S. Merchant Marines.He enjoyed his varied andextensive work experiencesespeciallythecamaraderieofhiscrews,thetug“Mariner”/“Dredge Long Island” jobs,breakingiceforshiptravelintheHudsonRiverandacross-AtlantictriptoTurkey.Fromhis mother, he gained a loveof cooking a variety of cui-sines. He enjoyed entertain-ing,travel,andactivitieswithfamilyandfriends;especially

hisgrandchildren,nieces,andnephews.

Hewasamemberof theInternational Union of Op-erating Engineers Locals 25and4,andapastmemberofthe Seafarers InternationalUnion. He volunteered withthe St. Mary’s County De-partment of Aging and theSt.Clement’sIslandMuseumwatertaxi.

He is survived by hiswife, Grace-Anne Dohrmanof California, Md., five chil-dren; Lester T. “Ted” Vick-ers,IIIandhiswife,RobynofCalifornia,Md.,DavidVick-ersandhiswife,PattyofMed-ford,Ma.,DannyVickersandhiswife,JamieofWestRox-bury,Ma.,RichardVickersofEverett,Ma.,andLilithGuer-rera and her husband, FrankofBoxford,Ma., two sisters;

LillianT.Grossandherhus-band,BillyofFalmouth,Ma.andJudithRichandherhus-band, Fred of Sanbornton,N.H., eight grandchildren;Connor and Cameron Vick-ers,AlexandChristinaVick-ers, Sophie, Nicholas, CassieandDrewGuerrera,anaunt,uncle,andnumerouscousins,nieces,nephews,relativesandfriends.

AMemorialServicewillbeheldatalaterdate.

Memorial contributionsmaybemadetoHOSPICEofSt.Mary’s,Inc.,P.O.Box625,Leonardtown,Md.20650and/or Lexington Park VolunteerRescueSquad,P.O.Box339,LexingtonPark,Md.20653.

Arrangements by theBrinsfield Funeral Home, P.A.,22955HollywoodRoad,Leonardtown,Md.20650.

ObituariesContinued from page A-5

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The Rural Preservation Task Force meets for the first time, and reviews government documents pertaining to trans-ferable development rights and adequate pubic facilities.

weatherthursday,april12,2007•st.mary’scounty,marylandestablished2006•volume2•issue15•frees

Documents

marys county airport

school site

new school plan

future development rights

airport advisory committee

adam rossstaff writerthe

new elementary school

magnified family members