By Christy Goodman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Calvert County charities, schools, businesses and government officials are working together in a partnership called End Hunger in the county.
During October, food collection bins will be placed in every public school, branches of PNC banks and other locations. Organizers estimate that about 400,000 items could be collected in school locations alone. The food will be distributed to county food pantries.
The effort has received the support of local government officials, the Calvert Chamber of Commerce, the Calvert public school system, Calvert United Way, the College of Southern Maryland and Calvert Memorial Hospital, plus more than 30 local businesses.
"This is the type of community effort that has always made Calvert County a great place to live," Maryland Sen. President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) said. "It's neighbor helping neighbor. I'm proud to be a part of the End Hunger in Calvert County project."
The group plans to work with local educational institutions to give low-income residents tools to improve job skills. It will also hold other events, such as concerts, to raise awareness.
"The response already has been so amazing; we're working hard just to keep up with all the people who want to be a part of this," said the Rev. Robert P. Hahn, chairman of the partnership and pastor of Chesapeake Church.
For information or to get involved, contact End Hunger in Calvert County at 410-257-5672 or info@endhungercalvert.org.
Women's Equality DayHouse Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) will host the sixth annual Women's Equality Day and Networking Fair today at Middleton Hall in Waldorf.
The event will feature remarks by Elizabeth Ross, a cardiologist, and an update on local health-care issues by the Women's Network Advisory Committee of the 5th Congressional District.
Women's Equality Day is Tuesday. It commemorates the 1920 ratification of the 19th Amendment, granting women the right to vote.
Calvert Visitors GuideThe Department of Economic Development is compiling information for the 2009 Calvert County Visitors Guide.
Museums, dining, shopping destinations, hotels, inns and recreational boating organizations with locations in the county may submit information for possible inclusion in the free guide.
Sites in last year's guide are asked to submit any changes. Forms are available at 410-535-4583, 800-331-9771 and http://www.ecalvert.com/content/visitorsguideforms/index.asp. They can be faxed to the department at 410-535-4585 by Sept. 1.
The 2008 Visitors Guide is available at http://www.ecalvert.com/content/tourism/visitorsguide/.
St. Mary's Professor HonoredKatherine Socha, assistant professor of mathematics at St. Mary's College of Maryland, received the Henry L. Alder Award for Distinguished Teaching and the Lester R. Ford Award by the Mathematical Association of America at MathFest in Madison, Wis. Socha lives in Hollywood.
Baseball Stadium DedicationOfficials will officially dedicate Charles County's minor league baseball stadium to longtime Southern Maryland politician John T. Parran Jr. tomorrow.
Parran, a Democratic state senator and delegate from Charles from 1955 to 1966, dedicated more than half a century to public service in Southern Maryland. He died in 2006.
He also helped create the Tri-County Council in 1964 and was a vocal advocate for increasing the region's high-tech military presence.
Parran was a talented athlete who was a star pitcher for the Indian Head Indians, a recreational league team. When he died, friends said he had always been devoted to baseball at all levels in Southern Maryland.
Shortly after Parran's death, county commissioners proposed naming the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs stadium, which was under construction, in his honor. But the decision was left up to the Maryland Stadium Authority, which sold naming rights to regional chain Regency Furniture under a $2.88 million, 10-year contract. Officials decided instead to dedicate the stadium complex to Parran.
Commissioners will unveil a plaque commemorating Parran at the stadium at 5 p.m. tomorrow, followed by a first pitch ceremony by some of Parran's Indians teammates and a 7:05 p.m. game.
New Cellphone ZoneA swath of Charles long known for having inadequate cellphone reception will be a dead zone no longer.
Telecom Capital Group is finalizing plans to build a 180-foot telecommunications tower in Charlotte Hall after the county zoning board granted the company an exception to build on 60 acres on Olde Mill Road. The land is zoned for agricultural conservation.
The tower is expected to improve cellphone communication in the largely rural southeastern part of the county, where residents have complained about unreliable reception. The company said the tower would fully support cellphone communications in Charlotte Hall and the surrounding area.
Blue Crab Internet BroadcastThe Southern Maryland Blue Crabs will broadcast the last 16 home games of the season live over the Internet, the team announced Tuesday.
Blue Crabs officials struck a deal with http://sportsjuice.com, one of the country's largest sports webcasting providers, to stream audio of the games on http://www.somdbluecrabs.com. The team has hired Doug Hughes, a veteran minor league broadcaster, to announce the games.
This is the team's first effort to make its games accessible to fans outside the stadium. General manager Mark Viniard said the team plans to broadcast road games beginning next year.
Staff writer Megan Greenwell contributed to this report.
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