SMECO Gets State Approval For Power Line in Calvert

The Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative has received state approval to install a 230-kilovolt transmission line in Calvert County.

The line will run through existing power line corridors from Holland Cliff in northern Calvert to a new switching station in the southern part of the county, then south to Solomons and across the Patuxent River to SMECO's Hewitt Road switching station in Lexington Park.

The line, known as the Southern Maryland Reliability Project, is designed as a "loop" to improve delivery and ensure reliable power, officials said. In the past 30 years, SMECO's customer base has tripled, and the amount of energy used has increased fivefold.

SMECO President Austin J. Slater Jr. said the project would not substantially affect customers' bills.

"By following the same route as the current line and staying within existing rights-of-way, this project will have a minimal effect on current rates or the environment," Slater said in a statement.

For more information, see http://www.smeco.coop.

Retired Navy Captain Joins Melwood

Retired Navy Capt. Matthew T. Scassero was recently hired as a senior vice president for contract services for Melwood, a Maryland nonprofit agency that serves people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Scassero will oversee government contracts in Melwood's AbilityOne program, which employs more than 530 people with disabilities in custodial, landscaping, recycling and facilities management capacities.

"My career up until now has been defending the dream of 'hope.' My goal has been to continue that service, and fulfilling Melwood's vision and mission allows me to do that," Scassero said in a statement.

Scassero retired from the Patuxent River Naval Air Station in June after a 27-year naval career. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1982. He received his Naval Flight Officer wings in 1983 and flew combat missions in Iraq and Kosovo.

Scassero is a member of the boards of Leadership Southern Maryland and the Center for Children, a Southern Maryland nonprofit agency that provides mental health care to children.

PAWS Buys Land for Low-Cost Clinic

The Patuxent Animal Welfare Society recently bought property on Route 4 for construction of the Calvert Well Pet Clinic, which will provide low-cost spay and neuter services and other treatments.