St. Mary's THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2021
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
FREE St. Mary's THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2021 CountyWWW.COUNTYTIMES.SOMD.COM Times REVIVING Next Year It's Back to South County NORMAL Grace Fuller, feeds Jamie the horse at Summerseat Farm, one of many volunteer roles she has take on over the last 40 years. 2 The County Times Thursday, April 1, 2021 CONTENTS LOCAL 3 COPS & COURTS 12 LOCAL 4 St. Mary’s County boasts a healthy population of Bald Eagles. COMMUNITY 13 FEATURE 15 EDUCATION 19 SPORTS 20 COVER 15 The St. Mary’s County Public PAX RIVER 21 School System is planning on a full COMMUNITY 13 return to classes next school year. County man seeks community’s help. CONTRIBUTING WRITERS 23 “WITH TREES NOT HAVING ALL THEIR LEAVES CALENDAR 24 IT’S A GOOD TIME TO TRY AND SPOT THEM BECAUSE THEY’RE NESTS ARE MASSIVE.” OBITS 26 DNR MANAGER GWEN BREWER ON OPPORTUNITIES TO SEARCH FOR BALD EAGLES AND THEIR NESTS THIS SPRING. BUSINESS DIRECTORY 30 WEEKLY FORECAST FUN & GAMES 31 DO YOU FEEL CRABBY WHEN YOU GET YOUR INSURANCE BILL P.O. Box 250 • Hollywood, Maryland 20636 IN THE MAIL? 301-373-4125 CountySt. Times Mary’s County ● Calvert County www.countytimes.net GIVE US A CALL.BRYANS ROAD YOU’LL BE GLAD YOU DID. LEONARDTOWN Burris’ Olde Towne Insurance Auto • Home • Business • LIFE LEONARDTOWN BRYANS ROAD As of March 31 301-475-3151 301-743-9000 WWW.DANBURRIS.COM 6,373 122 AN INDEPENDENT AGENT REPRESENTING ERIE INSURANCE GROUP Information provided by St. Mary's Health Department Thursday, April 1, 2021 The County Times Local News 3 Brewster Warns of New COVID-19 Surge By Guy Leonard ages of 65 and 74 have been vac- Staff Writer cinated; about 72 percent of resi- The rate of new COVID-19 cases dents over the age of 75 have been continues to rise here in St. Mary’s, vaccinated. Dr. Meena Brewster, the county There is also evidence that the health officer said this week. current vaccines can be more effec- New, weekly COVID-19 cases tive against some of the new vari- dropped from a pandemic high of ants of the COVID-19 virus that 433 in late December precipitously have been shown to be more infec- to a weekly low of 74 by the first tious, Brewster said. week of March. Also, those who have already had However, those new, weekly cas- COVID-19 and been vaccinated es have begun to rise significantly seem to have “pretty strong” resis- with 110 new cases the week of tance to the disease, Brewster said. March 14 and 135 new cases by the Once someone receives their first week beginning March 21. shot of either the Moderna or Phiz- “These… are the troubling signs er vaccine, evidence suggests that of us entering another surge,” it begins to provide much greater Brewster told the Commissioners immunity against the virus – up to of St. Mary’s County as they met 80 percent. March 30 as the county Board of By the second dosage, Brewster Health. said, resistance to the virus usually “We really need our public to attains a rate of over 90 percent. continue to mask, practice social St. Mary’s County is also one distancing and get vaccinated.” step ahead of the state, Brewster Hospitalizations are declining, said, and is already in Phase 2C of though, Brewster said, and this is vaccinations; this means that any likely largely due to high vaccina- resident above 55 years old can get tion rates of the population aged 65 a vaccine as well as anyone 16 and and older. older with a disability and anyone “This is good news,” she said. aged 16 to 54 with eligible medical According to the latest county conditions is also eligible. health department data, roughly 78 [email protected] percent of residents between the 3.5” x 2.5” | Maximum Font Size: 30 pt 10TH ANNUAL SPRING David McDonough Prepared for rising rates? Financial Advisor edwardjones.com CONSIGNMENT Member Ask SIPC for our report. 41680 Miss Bessie Dr Suite 302 David McDonough AUCTION Leonardtown, MD 20650 Financial Advisor 41680 Miss Bessie Dr Suite 302 301-997-1707 Leonardtown, MD 20650 301-997-1707 IRT-4395E-A edwardjones.com MKT-5894K-A David McDonough APRIL 24TH Financial Advisor STARTINGedwardjones.com AT 8:30 AM HAYESMember AUCTION SIPC SERVICES 41680 Miss Bessie Dr Suite 302 GREEN MANOR FARM Leonardtown, MD 20650 38250 NEW MARKET TURNER RD 301-997-1707 David McDonough MECHANICSVILLE, MD 20659 Financial Advisor edwardjones.com Member SIPC FOR MORE INFO VISIT SOMDAUCTIONS.COM OR CALL (301) 861-7738 41680 MissIRT-4395E-A Bessie Dr Suite 302 LOCAL FAMILY OWNED & OPERATED Leonardtown, MD 20650 301-997-1707 IRT-4395E-A 4 Local News The County Times Thursday, April 1, 2021 Item#4 Friday, May 21 FREE EVENT - REGISTER AT BIKE BikeToWorkMetroDC.org Eagles Soar In St. Mary’s TO WORK Pre-Register by May 14 for FREE T-SHIRT* & BIKE RAFFLE DAY Free refreshments & giveaways while supplies last. 20th A nniversary Still working from home? No problem! Bike to your local “pit stop” for your free T-shirt and back home again. SOUTHERN MARYLAND PIT STOP LOCATION: Bike Doctor Waldorf 3200 Leonardtown Rd, Waldorf, MD 20601 It's fast, free, and easy to register for BTWD at www.biketoworkmetrodc.org or by calling (800) 745-RIDE Bald eagle photographed in southern St. Mary's County By Guy Leonard they sat on the eggs to incubate them. Staff Writer The shells were weakened by a por- Register free at Visit biketoworkmetrodc.org for pit stop locations and times. Once on the endangered species list, *T-Shirts available at pit stops to first 15,000 registrants. tion of DDT’s chemical composition, More than 90 pit stops in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia! the American Bald Eagle has made a Eberly said, and the adults would inad- Staggered hours and a strict COVID policy will be in place. stunning comeback and is most abun- vertently crush them. #BTWD2021 Bike to Work Day is funded by DDOT, MDOT, VDOT, and USDOT. 2021 REGISTER TODAY AND dant in the Chesapeake Bay area in the This led to virtually no reproduction continental United States, according to of the species regionally. the conservationists who have watched But their recovery is a major success PICK UP A FREE T-SHIRT their progress. story, he said, with at least 1,400 nesting And St. Mary’s County plays no small pairs in Maryland. part in providing habitat for the national “They are really expanding and doing bird to not just survive but thrive. well,” Eberly said. “They’re experienc- AT BIKE DOCTOR Chris Eberly, with the Maryland Bird ing a pretty huge growth curve.” Between 10:00 am to 5:00 pm Conservation Partnership (MBCP), said Gwen Brewer, science program man- the Bald Eagle is abundant in Southern ager for the Department of Natural Re- Maryland and in St. Mary’s. sources (DNR) Wildlife and Heritage “Eagles tend to nest close to the water, Service, said other improvements to the that’s where their [preferred] food is,” local habitat have also helped the eagles Eberly said. “The Potomac and Patuxent flourish. rivers and Chesapeake Bay, those are “With taller trees and doing a better key areas where you’ll find the highest job of cleaning up our waterways, that density of eagles’ nests.” gives them more places to nest and it’s a According to the MBCP, there are nicer food base,” Brewer told The Coun- about 40 to 50 nesting pairs of Bald ty Times. Eagles in Southern Maryland with 16 Also, the eagles do not seem to be known nesting pairs in St. Mary’s. bothered by being in close proximity to All but four of those are monitored by humans. volunteers working with MBCP. “They seem to adapt well to that,” Eberly said there are almost certainly Brewer said. “Many don’t have a prob- more. lem being close to people. “I would guess there are five to 10 “They’re quite tolerant.” more we haven’t documented,” said DNR scientists have stopped monitor- Eberly. ing the progress of the eagle population Most of the nests in St. Mary’s that since they made a strong recovery in have been identified were found near about 2005, Brewer said, and have since roads or highways; many places in the come to rely on citizen volunteers, such county where Bald Eagles might choose as those with the MBCP, to help track to nest are in areas close to water where the health and progress of the birds. they are far more difficult to access. More volunteers to do the sometimes- In the mid-1970s their population was arduous work are always needed. critical, with only about 44 nesting pairs “They’re a valuable source of infor- known in Maryland, Eberly said. mation for us,” Brewer said. “People get CONTACT US This was the result of the proliferation excited about seeing eagles. George Clark, Tri-County Council for Southern Maryland of the pesticide DDT, which entered into “With trees not having all their leaves [email protected] 301-643-7257 the food supply of the eagles and when it’s a good time to try and spot them be- ingested affected the ability of their eggs Bike Doctor, [email protected] 301-932-9980 cause their nests are massive.” to withstand the pressure of the birds as [email protected] Thursday, April 1, 2021 The County Times Local News 5 Commissioner Election The Bloomin Best Bill Gets Senate Hearing “For Your Easter Flower & Gifts” By Guy Leonard supporters; they also said the in- Staff Writer trusion into the affairs of other EASTER SUNDAY 9AM - 3PM Del.