By Megan Greenwell and Christy Goodman
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, April 17, 2008
During their regular press briefing on Tuesday, the Charles County Commissioners declined to answer questions about the decision to award a county retirement salary to a state official.
Nearly a week after published reports said that the commissioners had improperly voted to provide a retirement package to Register of Wills Susie C. Bowles (R), none of the five commissioners has spoken publicly about the issue.
Commissioners President Wayne Cooper (D-At Large) told The Washington Post last week that commissioners would publicly discuss Bowles's pension status when they met as a group, but on Tuesday he postponed that discussion until after a public hearing on the matter that was scheduled for yesterday afternoon.
"I don't think it's appropriate to discuss this before the citizens have a chance to speak their minds," Cooper said Tuesday, responding to a question at the commissioners' briefing.
At a public hearing last year, Bowles asked to be added to the county retirement plan, telling the commissioners she had no retirement fund. But as a state employee, she has been enrolled in the state's pension plan for more than 10 years.
The state comptroller's office sent a letter to County Attorney Roger L. Fink's office in January alerting officials to the problem, and the commissioners acted last week to schedule yesterday's meeting, at which they expected to repeal Bowles's retirement package.
Watershed Plan AdvancesCalvert County's commissioners commended the staff working on a county watershed plan this week, but said they wished neighboring states and other jurisdictions were doing just as much to clean up local waterways.
A review of efforts to protect watersheds from actions that could degrade water quality is required to be included in Maryland localities' 2009 comprehensive plans, according to legislation passed in 2006.
"Once you get that information, the state can see who has a problem," said Commissioners President Wilson H. Parran (D-Huntingtown), who advocated helping to alleviate water quality issues "before the decision is made for us."
One example is the county's growth-control policy, Parran said. But he noted the relationships among jurisdictions: If neighboring counties do not control growth, he said, "that impacts our water quality here."
County staff have been collecting information, including digital maps, house locations, locations of storm water control devices, sewer treatment areas and other land uses, to include in the watershed plan. They are nearly finished with the second of the county's 21 watersheds. A public information meeting on the effort is planned for October.
More information on the presentation to the board, links to county and state resources, and a guide to the county's native plants are available on the county's Web site at http://www.co.cal.md.us; click on the link to the Planning and Zoning Department.
Sale of Bonds SetThe Calvert County commissioners approved the sale of $22.3 million in bonds next week.
The bonds pay "for equipment, construction and design costs for several projects in the capital budget," said Terry Shannon, director of finance for the county.
Projects on the list include Barstow Elementary School, the aquatic center in Prince Frederick and several road improvements.
Public Budget HearingsThe St. Mary's County commissioners will hold hearings on the fiscal 2009 budgets for general operations and construction projects on Tuesday at Leonardtown High School.
Doors will open at 6 p.m., and the hearings will begin at 6:30 p.m. The public is invited to participate. Accommodations for people with disabilities should be requested by contacting the Public Information Office at 301-475-4200, Ext. 1340.
The hearing will be taped and broadcast on county government cable Channel 95.
Citizens planning to make comments are required to sign in before the hearing begins. Comments are limited to three minutes per person. Written comments can be submitted at the hearing or mailed to: Board of Commissioners for St. Mary's County, P.O. Box 653, Leonardtown 20650. Written comments should be submitted by May 5.
The proposed county budget for fiscal 2009 can be found at all St. Mary's public libraries, on the county's Web site at http://www.stmarysmd.com/finance or through a request to the Public Information Office.
Women of VisionThe St. Mary's County Commission for Women honored two local women recently at its annual Women's History Banquet at the Dr. James A. Forrest Career and Technology Center.
In keeping with the National Women's History Month theme "Women's Art: Women's Vision," the commission recognized Yvonne Lynn Patton, art teacher at Mechanicsville Elementary School, for her 24 years of "inspiring students," the organization said in a statement. Other nominees for the award included Morriah Cell for her work with the Newtowne Players, and Stephanie Taylor for performing and teaching dance.
Each year the commission also recognizes one woman who has made significant contributions to the community through volunteering and creativity. Maureen Pomerville of Leonardtown was named Woman of the Year for her "willingness to jump in and help those in need in any way she can, giving freely of her time, groceries, furniture, and most of all, friendship," the group said. Other nominees were Regina Bowman-Goldring from the College of Southern Maryland, Mary Ann Chasen from Christmas in April, Francine Dove-Hawkins for her work in education, Viola Gardner from Christmas in April, Florence B. Lanham for a variety of volunteer activities, and Marguerite Morris for her work in founding Leah's House Shelter for Women and Children.
All nominees were also presented with certificates of appreciation and recognition from Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) and the St. Mary's commissioners.
GOP Man of the YearSt. Mary's County Sheriff Timothy K. Cameron named Republican Man of the Year this month by the county's Republican Central Committee.
Cameron, who was elected sheriff in 2006, was recognized April 10 during the annual Lincoln/Reagan Dinner at the Crystal Room in Callaway.
Dunkirk Citizens' MeetingThe Dunkirk Area Concerned Citizens Association has scheduled a general membership meeting May 1, starting at 7 p.m., at the Dunkirk Firehouse.
Mary Beth Cook, deputy director of the Calvert County Planning and Zoning Department, will make a presentation about the water resources element of the Comprehensive Plan, as well as the Water and Sewerage Plan.
A separate presentation by the Southern Maryland Chapter of the American Red Cross will provide information about disaster service training. More information is available at http://www.daccamd.com.
College HonoredThe College of Southern Maryland has been named a Silver Level Maryland Quality Award recipient as part of the 2008 Maryland Performance Excellence Awards.
The college is one of eight Maryland organizations honored by Sens. Barbara A. Mikulski and Benjamin L. Cardin. The two Democratic senators announced the award April 7.
"It is almost unprecedented for a first-time nominee to win such a high-level award, so I cannot begin to express how proud I was to receive the award on behalf of the college," CSM President Brad Gottfried said in a statement. "This has been a long journey for the college, begun by former president Elaine Ryan." He said the application required the college to examine its leadership, strategic planning, customer and market focus, and results, among other areas.
The award honors organizations for successful processes of continuous improvement and outstanding results. Award recipients are evaluated by an independent board of examiners using the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence.
Since 1983, Maryland's U.S. senators and the University of Maryland have joined to present the awards.
CSM was also recognized as the 2007 Employer of the Year by the Maryland Department of Aging and is a four-time recipient of the Workplace Excellence Award by the Alliance for Workplace Excellence.
Farm NewsletterThe Maryland Department of Agriculture has launched a new monthly online newsletter for farmers, educators and citizens.
The newsletter includes information on many activities to preserve and promote Maryland agriculture.
For more information, visit http://www.mda.state.md.us/publications/mdanews_march08.htm.
Heroes' BreakfastThe St. Mary's County Human Relations Commission is honoring four citizens at its 22nd annual breakfast Saturday. A limited number of tickets remain for this event, themed "Everyday Heroes."
Honorees are Christina Dawson, Stevie-Mari Hawkins, Steve Hawkins and Glynnis Schmidt.
· Christina Dawson is a graduating senior at Chopticon High School who is being honored for her contributions to numerous volunteer organizations, including the Youth Leadership Development Program and the St. Mary's Teen Court.
· Stevie-Mari Hawkins is a junior at Great Mills High School and an honor roll student. She participates in various extracurricular activities such as Future Business Leaders of America and manages the basketball and track teams.
· Stevie-Mari's father, Steve Hawkins, is being recognized for his volunteer contributions to the Global Village Community Learning Center, St. Peter Claver Catholic Church and local schools.
· Glynnis Schmidt is being recognized for years of dedication to the Kiwanis Club, particularly the youth clubs. She has also made significant contributions to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Southern Maryland and is involved in fundraising for leukemia research.
The event, at the Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship in Piney Point, begins at 8:30 a.m. Tickets are $12.
Call the County's Division of Community Services at 301-475-4200, Ext. 1849 for a reservation.
Park Volunteering Is UpRecords for 2007 indicate that volunteerism is on the rise in Maryland's state parks, with a statewide total of 8,956 volunteers performing a total of 176,588 hours of service.
The time volunteered represents a value of more than $3.3 million to the Maryland Park Service and Maryland's citizens, the Department of Natural Resources said in a statement.
"We are so proud of the dedicated efforts of our parks volunteers and greatly appreciate the enthusiasm and energy they offer in educating visitors as well as maintaining and restoring state parks across Maryland," DNR Secretary John Griffin said in the statement.
The 2007 total reflects an increase of more than 21,000 volunteer hours from 2006. Also on the rise are the numbers of student volunteers and volunteer rangers.
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