Fowler Vows Court Action Over River

Judging by C. Bernard Fowler's wet sneaker test, the Patuxent River is not getting any cleaner.

Fowler, a former state senator who is a lifelong advocate for the river, stepped into the waters at Broomes Island on Sunday for his 18th annual "wade-in" to measure the health of the river.

It was a short stroll. When he reached a depth of just 21 1/2 inches, he couldn't make out his white shoes in the murky water. That's less clarity than last year, when his sneaker-clad feet disappeared at a depth of 31 1/2 inches.

"Our river is dying," said Fowler, 81. "It's no better than it was 35 years ago, regardless of what all these fancy people tell you about what they've done for the bay."

When he was a young boy growing up in Calvert County, Fowler said, the river was clear up to 12 feet deep. He said the gradual decline of the Patuxent over the past decades is "unconscionable."

Flanked by U.S. Rep Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) and a crowd of onlookers, Fowler said at the wade-in that he would wait only one more year for Maryland lawmakers to take steps that could make discernible improvements in the river's health.

"At the end of the 12 months, if there isn't some positive movement, we're going to raise some funds and we're going to seek some relief in the courts," he said in a telephone interview.

He added: "I'm not getting any younger."

Workers' Pay Increase

The Calvert County commissioners adopted a $174.3 million operating budget for fiscal 2006.

At last week's commissioners meeting, the board also approved a capital projects budget of $23.7 million for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

One of the last issues resolved was the size of a salary increase for county employees. The board approved a 3 percent pay increase, which fell short of the 3.6 percent increase requested by the Calvert Employee Representative Committee.

The commissioners directed the county staff to meet with the committee, which represents about 700 county employees, to come up with a standard for calculating the annual salary increases.