Citing More Pressing Needs, Calvert Sheriff Shelves Patrol-Car Makeover

Calvert School Board Members Sworn In

Three new Calvert County Board of Education members were sworn in Tuesday, changing the face of the five-member board. All three are parents of public school students. None of the members they are replacing had children in the system, nor do the other two members.

The Calvert school board race drew considerable interest in November because of a charter school application that was denied by the board last year and a divisive elementary school redistricting issue that preceded the opening of Barstow Elementary School in Prince Frederick in the fall.

The new members are William "Bill" Chambers of Lusby (District 1), Tracy H. McGuire of Huntingtown (District 2) and Rose Crunkleton of Owings (District 3).

Conservation Association Elects Officers for 2009

Andy Hughes was recently elected chairman of the 1,800-member Coastal Conservation Association of Maryland. Hughes, an Annapolis resident, said he plans to focus on oyster-restoration issues during the coming year.

Other officers elected by the association's board of directors are Ed Liccione of Queenstown, vice chairman; Ed Roach of Port Republic, secretary; and Larry Jennings of Silver Spring, treasurer.

Hughes has appointed Scott McGuire of Lexington Park to head the group's Maryland Fisheries Committee. Lew Armistead of Hollywood and Ken Lewis of Baltimore will continue to lead communications and government relations efforts, respectively.

Coastal Conservation Association is a national organization of 100,000 members in 17 states. Its goal is to promote the conservation of marine resources.

SMECO Applies to Build Line in Calvert, St. Mary's

The Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative has submitted an application to the Maryland Public Service Commission for a certificate of public convenience and necessity to build a power line in Calvert and St. Mary's counties.

Austin J. Slater Jr., SMECO's president and chief executive, said the new line is expected to be finished in five to six years and "will have a minimal effect on current rates or the environment if we are able to follow the same route as the current line and stay within existing rights-of-way."

SMECO is a member-owned electricity co-op that serves 142,000 customers in the three Southern Maryland counties and Prince George's County. In the past 30 years, SMECO's customer base has tripled, and the amount of energy used has quintupled, company officials said.

The new line, which would more than triple the capacity of an existing line, would run south from Holland Cliff through Calvert, cross the Patuxent River into St. Mary's and end in Lexington Park.

SMECO has said it will consider alternative routes but said that new rights-of-way are not necessary along the preferred route, with the exception of areas such as the lower Patuxent River crossing. The Public Service Commission plans to conduct public hearings on SMECO's application in April.

For information about the project, visit http://www.smeco.coop.