Family, Friends Still Mourning the Loss of Ethan Chewning
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
PRSTD STD US Postage Paid Permit No. 145 Waldorf, MD Thursday, April 12, 2007 • St. Mary’s County, Maryland Established 2006 • Volume 2 • Issue 15 • FREE RPD Task County Force Mulls Gives the Over The Go-Ahead Mandatory to New Selling of Elementary TDR’s School in By Adam Ross Staff Writer Wildewood The St. Mary’s Board of County Commissioners implemented the Rural By Adam Ross Preservation Task Force to recommend Staff Writer effective ways to protect land in Ru- ral Preservation District. After its first The St. Mary’s County Planning Com- meeting Monday, the task force found mission gave final approval Monday to the itself engulfed in a number of situation- Photo by Guy Leonard concept site plan for the new elementary al dilemmas - created in part by other Donna Meador of Mechanicsville looks to her husband Rob Meador during the candle light vigil in memorium of Ethan school slated for Wildewood, after noise task forces that have spent years trying Chewning, the 16-year-old Chopticon High School student who was killed last week in an automobile accident. and accident concerns made by local pilots to iron out the county’s future. The Meadors joined more than 100 people at the Chewning resident to support the family. and the airport advisory committee were At times Monday, members agreed put to rest. to disagree, citing philosophical differ- Final approval was then given by the ences to the Transferable Development Family, Friends Still commissioners Tuesday for the site’s water Rights (TDR) plan that offers money up and sewer amendments. Both approvals front to landowners in exchange for the will lead to a ground breaking scheduled for future development rights to their land. the end of August, according to J. Bradley The current program designates Clements, chief operating officer of public one TDR for every three acres of de- Mourning The Loss schools. velopable land. If the St. Mary’s Board Tuesday marked the end of a long of County Commissioners approves road for the new school plan, which has changes to the ordinance, that amount had to endure tenuous battles with the St. would change to one TDR for every Of Ethan Chewning Mary’s County airport and surrounding five acres. The program is intended to neighborhoods. provide incentives for landowners to By Guy Leonard berant nature and his wisdom Representatives from the airport advi- sell development rights, while allowing Staff Writer that exceeded his years. sory committee, and pilots that utilize the builders to acquire extra building den- “He drove me crazy and airport, have previously voiced concerns sity for projects going forward in other The family and friends of kept me sane at the same time,” that the school site was subject to excessive areas. Ethan Chewning, the 16 year she said. “He was a good boy, aircraft noise and accidents because of its Rural Preservation Task Force old Chaptico high school stu- he always did what I told him. location underneath the flight pattern of the Chairman Robin Hahnel said the dent killed in a tragic car ac- “But he always corrected airport. However, George Erichsen, the air- changes proposed by the TDR and APF cident last week are still com- me because he always knew task forces would not solve the county’s ing to grips with his death and better. And you know he was See Go-Ahead page A- looking for healing. usually right.” See RPD page A- Throughout the week fol- The tragedy was magnified lowing his death the communi- family members say because ty rallied around the family that it happened so close to the has lost a member they say was Easter holiday; a traditionally dear to their hearts. happy time of gathering for the Civic Group More than 100 people gath- family. ered at the Chewning home Virginia Quade, Ethan Index Monday night for a candlelight Chewning’s grandmother, said Continues vigil to help say goodbye to she nearly decided not to hold their lost loved one and remem- the Easter celebration, com- ber the impact he had on their plete with an Easter egg hunt Photo Courtesy of Virginia Quade Fight With lives. for the family’s young ones, be- His mother, Kaye Chewn- Ethan Chewning, 16, of Chaptico who ing, remembered her son’s exu- See Fatal Accident page A- was killed April 4 in an automobile ac- cident on Sunnyside Road in Clements. County, Developer Encroachment A-2 Leonardtown Man Killed Over Myrtle In Weekend Wreck Point Friends and family mourn the By Guy Leonard Staff Writer loss of Kenneth Bacon The Potomac River Association is go- Track Meet B-1 ing head-to-head with the county govern- By Guy Leonard ment and a local developer in Circuit Court Staff Writer next month over their claim that the county ignored its own zoning law to allow houses Op.-Ed ..........Page A - 4 The county has suffered its to be built on lots in Myrtle Point. Obits .............Page A - 5 second fatal accident in only the The court case marks the latest round in Police ............Page B - 5 past week with the death of Ken- a battle that goes back to last year in which Classifieds.....Page B - 7 neth “Kenny” Bacon, 24, of civic activists sought to stop housing de- Leonardtown. velopments they say cause soil erosion in Just three days earlier, Ethan critical watershed areas thus damaging the For Continual News Chewning, 16, of Chaptico was environment. “The county doesn’t seem to have a Updates killed in a head on collision on Sun- nyside road in Clements. high priority for saving the creeks [at Myr- Visit: According to reports from the tle Point], said Erik Jansson, president of the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office, Potomac River Association [PRA]. “Some- somd.com Bacon was driving his 2001 Toyota thing’s got to give here. Tundra south on Route 5 in the early “The county’s basically decided to vio- late the law on behalf of a developer.” Local Weather morning hours of April , and, as he passed Route 243 in Leonardtown, At the core of the association’s argu- ment, according to papers filed at the Cir- Friday he failed to make the curve in his ve- hicle and ran into an embankment. cuit Court, is that the county Department Partly Cloudy The vehicle rolled over on its roof, of Public Works and Transportation errone- 57° and Bacon died on the scene, police ously issued grading permits to developer said. P.F. Summers Myrtle Point LLC to build homes on six lots out of a total of 55 that had Saturday Investigators are still looking slopes with a greater than 15 percent grade. Few Showers into the cause of the crash but they believe speed and poor weather were The county Board of Appeals dis- 65° contributing factors. agreed, court papers stated, and upheld the Bacon’s mother, Susan Bacon, Photo Courtesy of Susan Bacon decision of the department to issue the per- Sunday mits in June of 2006. was still stunned by her son’s death. Kenneth Bacon, 24, who was killed April 7 in an automobile wreck in Leonard- She said she remembered him as Their interpretation stated that the law T-Storms town served in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. Here he is shown seated in a allows the county to issue such permits if 55° throne in one of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s presidential palaces. Bacon served with the 3rd Infantry Division during the invasion of Iraq. See Kenneth Bacon page A-3 See Myrtle Point page A-3 Section A - The County Times Thursday, April 1, 007 Commissioners Thrust Encroachment Into Spotlight, Again By Adam Ross Staff Writer During its short tenure, the current St. Mary’s Board of County Commissioners has pushed one issue more than most others: protecting operations of the Naval Air Station Patuxent River from encroachment. That support has en- joyed strong bi-partisan sup- port among the commission- ers, who appear unified and committed to protecting St. Mary’s County’s most valu- able economic engine. Monday, the commis- sioners took another step to- wards that resolution by di- recting Land Use and Growth Management Director Denis D. Canavan to draft a text amendment of the Compre- On May 3, 2007 The County Times will publish a hensive Zoning Ordinance to special pull-out section to prohibit future residential de- velopment in zone two of the honor Mother’s Day! accident potential zone (APZ), which is one of three zones’ surrounding the base. We would like you to write to us in 50 words or Forms of encroachment Commissioners review plans for a text amendment to the county’s comprehensive zoning ordiance at Tuesday’s meeting. Photo by Adam Ross less, why your mother, are urban growth, airborne noise, frequency spectrum, Mother’s grandmother, aunt, sister, etc. are so special to Mail To: lighting pollution, threatened the Navy since the AICUZ,” said Canavan. “The main While the text amend- encroachment threats, a col- One point of contention you. 4351 Rescue Lane, P.O. Box 50 endangered species and mari- said Commissioner Thomas thrust is to reduce the likeli- ment for APZ-2 is not part of laboration on analyses and Tuesday was a plan for a 58 time transportation issues. A. Mattingly Sr. (D- Leonard- hood of new residences in the Cooperation Agreement data collection, an agreement dwelling unit subdivision on Hollywood, Maryland 0636 The text amendment is town). “Some underestimate APZ-2.” between the commissioners to protect from encroachment 34 acres inside the APZ-2 Day is Deadline for copy one of a series of events that the commitment that has been However, sound-reducing and Pax River, both have had threats beyond the county, zone.