local on in 'cupcake wars' - County Times - Southern Maryland Online

January 5, 2012 

Priceless 

Gazette 

Calvert 

Everything Calvert County 

Local on TV 

in ‘Cupcake Wars’ 

Page 8 

Photo By Sarah Miller

The Calvert Gazette 

Thursday, January 5, 2012 2 

Also Inside 

3 County News 

5 Business 

6 Community 

7 Education 

8 Feature Story 

9 Letters 

10 Obits 

12 Games 

13 Newsmakers 

13 Health 

14 Entertainment 

15 Sports 

education 

Calvert County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Rick Cox takes Mount Harmony Elementary School 

students into the SWAT vehicle during the school’s career day. 

entertainment 

They may not be starving artists, but the Twin Beach Players troupe is homeless, a 

fact the group is working to remedy by raising money for a Twin Beach Arts Center. 

On T he Cover 

Cindy Selby, owner of Blondie’s Baking Company 

in North Beach, appeared on the Food Network TV 

show “Cupcake Wars” on New Year’s Day. 

out & about 

FOR EVENTS HAPPENING IN 

YOUR AREA, CHECK PAGE 14 

IN OUT AND ABOUT

3 Thursday, January 5, 2012 


Gay Marriage, Tax Hikes to Dominate Legislative Session 

By Sarah Miller 

Staff Writer 

The fast approaching 2012 legislative session 

in Annapolis should prove fraught with 

social issues to be debated. 

“There’s a renewed push to legalize same 

sex marriage,” according to Todd Eberly, Assistant 

Professor of Political Science and Public 

Policy at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. 

Eberly said Governor Martin O’Malley 

wants to be U.S. president someday, and he 

anticipates the governor will follow trends set 

in New York, and push to legalize same sex 

marriage. 

Tax hikes might also be on the horizon. 

In St. Mary’s and Calvert counties, Eberly 

said bills involving same sex marriage 

and tax increases are likely to see opposition 

from <strong>local</strong> representatives Sen. Roy Dyson and 

delegates John Bohanan, John Wood and Tony 

O’Donnell. 

Along with the hot button issues, Eberly 

said there is a “wild card” coming up during 

the legislative and election season – a citizens’ 

petition to vote on the Maryland Dream Act. 


Staff Writer 

Calvert County Board of Education recently came out with its stance on issues for the 2012 

legislative session, with the district opposed to using daily attendance instead of enrollment in 

state formulas; including home-schooled children in extracurricular activities; and, moving the 

burden of funding teacher pensions to the <strong>local</strong> level. 

Calvert County Public Schools (CCPS) Superintendent Jack Smith said the board based its 

stance on past legislation, the Maryland Association of Boards of Education (MABE)’s legislative 

positions and the known needs of the school system. 

During the session, Smith said he and members of 

the board go to Annapolis and testify before the legislature 

on behalf of the school district. 

Smith said the same issues typically come up year 

after year, and he doesn’t expect any brand new issues 

to pop out of the woodwork this session. 

The push to shift teacher pension costs should be 

a big issue during the session, Smith said. The CCPS 

legislative position states the shift could lead to further 

budgetary problems for the districts. 

As a whole, the district opposes anything that 

would be a “one size fits all” change or that compromises 

the autonomy of the individual school districts, 

Smith said. 

Such overarching changes include school discipline. 

CCPS opposes the state adopting a state-wide 

code of discipline; mandated penalties for certain infractions; 

and, what disciplinary actions need to be recorded 

on a student’s permanent record. 

Issues like the inclusion of home schooled children 

in extracurricular activities is something Smith has 

seen become mandatory in other states, and the district 

opposes it because of the insurance issues it would 

create. The school doesn’t have access to the records 

of home-schooled students, and therefore the school 

doesn’t know if there are existing health concerns that 

should be documented, he said. 

The full legislative document can be found at 

www.calvertnet.k12.md.us. 

sarahmiller@ocountytimes.net 

The Dream Act gave illegal immigrants a shot 

at a college education for the lowest possible tuition. 

Eberly said citizens have petitioned to put 

it on the ballot to vote on, and that could lead to 

the act’s reversal. 

Maryland Senate President Mike Miller 

echoed Eberly’s belief that same sex marriage 

will be an issue during the session. Miller also 

added capitol punishment to the hot button list. 

Miller said he intends to take a stand 

against same sex marriage. The last time same 

sex marriage was brought up, it passed in the 

senate in a vote of 25-22, then died in the house, 

where all Southern Maryland delegates voted 

against it. He said he anticipates the vote being 

just as close this session. 

Delegate O’Donnell (R-29C) said he sees 

the same sex marriage issue being bigger 

this year than it was last year, especially with 

O’Malley intending to take a stronger stand to 

promote the issue rather than stay on the sidelines 

as he did last year. 

He also said Republicans will “never forgive” 

a tax increase; even if it is used for much 

needed projects, such as a replacement for the 

Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge. 

Board of Ed Takes 

Stance on Legislative Issues 

April Hancock 

PO Box 407 

Bryans Road, MD 20616 

301-743-9000 

Delegate Wood (D-29A) said increasing 

taxes, while occasionally necessary, should not 

be the answer every year. Part of the problem 

comes when the state uses monies that were 

earmarked for other purposes to balance the 

budget. 

In the case of the transportation funds being 

funneled to the general fund, this has led 

to roads being in disrepair, and other potential 

safety hazards, Wood said. 

“That’s wrong and we’re paying for it,” 

Wood said. 

Aside from social issues that come up during 

the legislative session, passing the budget 

is always the top priority. Balancing the budget 

is “one of the few things that we have to do,” 

Wood said. The budget takes precedent over 

the 2,500 to 2,800 bills that come before the 

legislators. 

O’Donnell sees balancing the budget being 

a big challenge, especially in the face of a 

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COUNTY 

NEWS 

billion-dollar deficit. Like Wood, he said increasing 

taxes is not the only answer. As important 

as having the money is, decreasing state 

spending is also necessary. 

Sen. Dyson (D-29) said tax increases 

would hurt rural areas more than urban, a fact 

he said will “see tension grow between rural 

and urban legislation.” He said he is opposed 

to the tax increases like the flush tax or gas tax. 

With 87 percent of the budget dedicated 

to education, law enforcement and health care, 

there is only 13 percent to be divvied amongst 

the rest of the groups vying for finding. Wood 

said it is important to make sure the funding 

gets distributed fairly and evenly. There is no 

one sector that should be cut balance the budget. 

Instead, everyone should be taking a little 

bit of a hit to spread the impact. 

“There can’t be a sacred cow,” Wood said. 

sarahmiller@countytimes.net 

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COUNTY 

NEWS 


North Beach Hosts Polar Bear Plunge 


Photos By Sarah Miller 


Staff Writer 

What better way to celebrate the New Year than to strip 

down to a bathing suit and run into the waters of the Chesapeake 

Bay with hundreds of other people? 

That’s exactly what residents of North Beach and Chesapeake 

Beach did Sunday morning during the annual Polar 

Bear Plunge. For some, like Scott VonBerg, and Tom Rodilosso, 

taking the plunge is a yearly tradition to ring in the New 

Year. 

“I try to drag along as many people as I can with me,” 

VonBerg said before going into the water for the fourth year. 

Rodilosso said he has been doing the Polar Bear Plunge 

for the past 10 years and he uses it as a gauge for how the year 

is going to be – if he goes in and makes it out alive, healthy and 

without hypothermia, it’s going to be a good year. 

For others, this was the first year taking the plunge. Donnie 

Bowen, Jr., said he only came out due to peer pressure. 

“I lost a bet last night (New Year’s Eve) so I got dragged 

down here,” Bowen said. 

Lenoir Green took the plunge for more wholesome reasons 

– she wanted to start the New Year by taking a risk and 

having an adventure. 

The Polar Bear Plunge is free of charge, and participants 

have to sign a waiver before diving in. Each participant gets a 

free tee shirt and all the hot chocolate and cider they can drink. 


Cliff Advisory Committee Weighing Action Plans 


Staff Writer 

The Cliff Stabilization Advisory Committee 

is coming into its second year in existence 

and the group continuing to craft recommendations 

to send to the Calvert County 

Board of Commissioners. 

Cliff homeowners want to see the process 

for saving their homes and preventing 

Robin MaRshall 

Life • Disability Income • Farms • Businesses 

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& 

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erosion become more streamlined. Currently, 

in order to do remediation work the 

homeowners must apply for permits from 

different groups from the <strong>local</strong> to the state 

levels. As a result, documents can get lost or 

misplaced, delaying the process. 

Cliff stabilization committee 

members discussed streamlining the 

process in various ways, as well as 

adding a deadline by which the documents 

have to be reviewed to avoid 

long delays. 

“When you can take a branch out 

of the decision tree, it’s a good thing,” 

said committee member Virginia 

Haskell during the committee’s Dec. 

20 meeting. 

They also discussed getting 

model documents together, showing 

homeowners how applications 

should be filled out and other pertinent 

information. 

The committee also talked about 

the cost of the permits, especially 

when added to the fees for simply filing the 

paperwork. By the time they have gotten all 

the permits necessary, a fix that could be 

cheap becomes expensive. 

The committee also discussed what information 

real estate agents are required to 

tell homeowners looking at cliff side properties. 

For some committee members, the realtor 

didn’t tell them about the issues with erosion. 

While the neglect could be due to lack 

of knowledge as easily as it could be willful 

to make the sale, but the committee members 

discussed having information guides to give 

to new cliff side owners. 

The guides could inform them about the 

hazards and difficulties included in erosion, 

as well as information to owning property in 

the critical area. 

The next meeting of the committee will 

be at 6 p.m. at the courthouse square building 

in Prince Frederick on Jan. 17. 

sarahmiller@countytimes.net



COUNTY 

NEWS 

County Working on 

Instructional Videos 

Bully Bling Teams Up With 

Pro Racer 

Professional AMA Supercross/ 

Motocross rider Eric McKay and 

Bully Bling Energy Drink, announced 

this week a new partnership 


for the 2012 East Coast racing 

Staff Writer 

series. 

McKay, who’s home Motocross 

With the prominence of visual media websites such as You- park is Budd’s Creek in St. Mary’s 

Tube, Calvert County is trying to reach the general population in County, will be participating in a 

new ways by creating instructional videos for the planning process. series of races in 2012 that only few 

Mark Volland, Calvert County public information specialist, can even dream of racing in, including 

said the county is on the first step in the process, and starting with 

eight East Coast Supercross 

the New Year, the county will be working on what topics they want rounds in Atlanta, Daytona, Fla., Indianapolis, 

to make videos about. He said they will likely start with one project 

St. Louis, Toronto, New 

and “see how folks take to it” before making more videos on other Orleans and twice in Texas. 

topics. 

Bully Bling Energy Drink is 

He said the idea is one the county has been tossing around for a a <strong>local</strong>ly owned company with its 

while. Based on feedback from county residents about how confusing 

headquarters in Calvert County and 

the planning and zoning and permitting possesses can be, he a satellite HQ in St. Petersburg, Fla. 

said there is definitely interest in the videos. 

The company launched more than a 

Other municipalities across the state have similar programs, year ago making custom bulldog collars 

and Volland said he has been watching those videos to get ideas of 

and transformed into an energy drink company, with 

what Calvert wants to do and doesn’t want to do. 

products for sale in 400 locations and growing nationally, 

The funding for the project is coming from the public information 

including over 120 locations in Southern Maryland. Bully 

budget, and another reason they are starting small is because Bling also recently started a clothing line called “Bully 

the video project has no funding source of its own. If the project is a Bling EnerGEAR.” 

success, he said they would begin putting a budget toward it. 

Bully Bling and McKay are kicking off a new marketing 

approach <strong>local</strong>ly and nationally – which will include 

QBH sarahmiller@countytimes.net 

St M County TImes Half Ad:Layout 1 3/1/11 3:28 PM hosting Page 1and participating in cookouts, parties, trade shows, 

events at night clubs, etc. At these events, the public and 

fans will be able to talk about Bully Bling products, Supercross/Motocross 

racing, have autographs signed, take 

photos with the Bully Bling girls and more. 

“This is a great opportunity for Bully Bling and myself 

as a professional racer to grow together nationally and 

to mutually promote ourselves and push the boundaries 

of an extreme sport working along side an energy drink 

exploding on the scene,” said McKay. ‘I’m really excited 

about what we have in store for 2012.” 

See www.bullyblingenergy.com for more information. 

MHBR 

No. 103

Community 



Spotlight On 

Fundraiser for 

Fallen Volunteer 

Roy Rogers is holding 

a benefit fundraiser for 

the family of Keith Dowell 

who passed away Dec. 8 

while volunteering his time 

putting up a steeple at the 

Potter Place Church in St. 

Leonard. He leaves behind 

his wife Valerie, and 

two children, Autumn and 

Justin. 

Where: Roy Rogers - 

14000 H.G. Truman Drive 

Solomons Island MD 

When: Thursday Jan. 

12, 5 – 9 p.m. 

Twenty five percent of 

all proceeds from dining in 

and drive through customers 

will be donated to the fund for Autumn and Justin. 

Dowell was born in Calvert County on Dec. 31, 1966. Dowell 

had built a porch roof over the entrance of the church to protect 

congregants from the weather and had told his wife he wanted to 

build a steeple for the church. 

He had previously been a deacon at Southern Calvert Baptist 

Church. Dowell also served with the Solomons Volunteer Fire 

Department and Rescue Squad, where he eventually became a 

sergeant. He served for five years in the U.S. Army as a military 

officer and later in the Army National Guard. He became a U.S. 

Capitol Police Department officer in 2002. 

Sneade’s Donates 

$2,000 to 

Calvert Hospice 

From left is Dr. Raymon Noble, Lynne Sneade, Dana Sneade Banyasz, 

Jeanne Coonan, and Tricia Willis. 

Lynne Sneade, Tricia Willis, and Dana Sneade Banyasz of 

Sneade’s Ace Home Center presented Dr. Raymon Noble, Calvert 

Hospice Interim Director and Medical Director with a $2,000 

check for the Festival of Trees on Friday, Dec. 30. 

“We are still putting the numbers together,” said Jeanne 

Coonan, of the Festival of Trees Steering Committee. “But I think 

we did really well this year judging by the foot traffic. Checks are 

still trickling in - we’re so grateful to have the support of community 

businesses like Sneade’s.” 

Both Lynne Sneade, co-owner of Sneade’s Ace Home Center 

and Tricia Willis, retail marketing programs manager have been 

on the Festival of Trees committee in the past. 

“We’ve been a part of the Festival for a number of years,” said 

Lynne Sneade. “And you know how it is, the whole family gets 

involved. I remember when it was at Patuxent High School. There 

have been a lot of changes, but the cause remains the same and 

Calvert Hospice is a great cause.” 

Willis’ father went through hospice care. “Being involved 

with the Festival of Trees is a great way to give back,” she said. 

Schools and NAS Pax River 

Partner for Future Employment 

By Corrin M. Howe 

Staff Writer 

Calvert County Public School Superintendent Jack 

Smith told over 100 parents and students in an informational 

meeting before winter break that the nation is 

facing a critical shortage of qualified employees in Science, 

Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) 

fields. 

“I heard on NPR over the summer there are a million 

jobs left unfilled because of the skills gap,” Smith said. 

Kathryn Glockner, NAVAIR Outreach Coordinator, 

confirmed Smith’s statement. 

“We are extremely committed to pursuing programs 

like STEM. It is more than just a NAVAIR issue,” Glockner 

said. 

One way the school system and the Naval Air Station 

Patuxent River officials plan to home-grow future 

employees is by providing a number of summer internships 

and jobs for both high school and college students. 

Glockner said she’s seen videos of “How Engineering 

Changes Your Life” using the examples of iPhone, 

iPad, and Lexus’ automatic parallel parking. 

“People are living longer and better lives because 

of engineers. It all starts with an education pathway, like 

Project Lead the Way,” she said. 

Project Lead the Way is a curriculum 

used in Calvert schools to introduce 

students to STEM principles 

at early ages. 

Taking parents and students 

through a PowerPoint slide program, 

Glockner highlighted some of the 

programs offered through Patuxent 

River. She also walked everyone 

through the application and resume 

process on their website www.ndep. 

us/LabsPax.aspx. 

“It’s a long and complicated application. 

I recommend you start now 

and prepare to do a good job on it,” 

said Glockner. 

Glockner told rising middle 

school through high school students 

to be very careful not to become in 

drugs or illegal activities and be financially 

responsible, as it will affect 

their ability to pass a background 

check. 

She said to get help with the resume. 

“There is nothing worse than 

misspelled words or incomplete information.” 

Also, keep the resume to 

a page and prioritize all their strongest 

skills and experience. “You can 

put that you play football on the resume, 

but remember we are looking 

for engineers.” 

Finally, don’t neglect opportunities 

for non-paid internships. 

“This is often the foot in the door 

for future employment,” she said. 

A copy of the slide program 

explaining all the different opportunities 

can be found at www.ndep. 

us/Labs/Pax/DestinationPaxRiver2012.pdf. 

corrin@somdpublishing.net 

Mark Wilding, Principal at Calvert Career and Technology Academy, mans 

the sign in table for students and parents interested in learning more about 

summer job opportunities at Patuxent River Naval Air Station and Calvert 

School’s STEM program. 

Student Opportunities 

• Cooperative Education Program: 

This program offers tuition assistance and book reimbursement for college 

level students. Students are employed by the Navy, and work on the complex during 

the summer months, along with holiday breaks. A service obligation is required for 

this program. Contact the program office at (301) 757-4119 for more information or 

go to http://www.ndep.us/Labs/Pax/engineering_co-op_flyer_ver5.pdf. 

• Pax River Student Summer Employment Program: 

NAWCAD has a limited number of engineering technician positions open to 

students. All candidates must apply on-line through the NAVAIR jobs website. Students 

must be at least 16 years old. Students can get a head start on their career with 

the Navy by applying for the Office of Naval Research Science and Engineering 

Apprentice Program (SEAP), which offers a limited number of summer positions 

at Patuxent River. The goals of SEAP are to encourage participating students to 

pursue science and engineering careers, to further their education via mentoring by 

laboratory personnel and their participation in research, and to make them aware of 

Department of Navy (DoN) research and technology efforts, which can lead to employment 

within the DoN. The annual application process, deadline and other details 

may be found at http://seap.asee.org. Call (301) 757-4123 for more information. 

• Mechanical Engineering Degree Program Partnership: 

The University of Maryland in partnership with the NAWCAD offers an undergraduate 

Mechanical Engineering degree at the Southern Maryland Higher 

Education Center, providing students with an education and career opportunity in 

Naval Aviation. Contact Dr. David John Barrett Director of Engineering Education 

and Research Partnerships (301) 342-9360 David.Barrett@Navy.mil 

• Naval Research Enterprise Intern Program (NREIP) 

NREIP provides competitive research internships to approximately 238 college 

students (174 undergraduate students and 64 graduate students) each year. Participating 

students typically spend 10 weeks during the summer doing research at 

approximately 18 Navy laboratories. To participate, a student must be enrolled at 

an accredited four-year U.S. college or university. For more information see nreip. 

asee.org. 

• The Science, Mathematics And Research for Transformation (SMART) 

Scholarship for Service. An opportunity for students pursuing an undergraduate 

or graduate degree in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) 

disciplines to receive a full scholarship and be gainfully employed upon degree 

completion. See smart.asee.org/



Spotlight On 

Working to Fill the Gap 

in STEM Career Fields 


Staff Writer 

Piggybacking on 

Naval Air Station Patuxent 

River’s informational 

meeting about summer 

job opportunities, Calvert 

County Public Schools 

informed more than 100 

parents and students about 

classes and programs focusing 

on Science, Technology, 

Engineering and 

Math (STEM) skills. 

The presentation 

started off with pictures 

of Career and Technology 

Academy students set to 

Only Won’s rap song “I 

Want To Be An Engineer” 

with the chorus “Every 

time I close my eyes, I calculate 

a new design. I want 

so freakin’ bad to optimize 

the things I’ve always 

had.” 

Patuxent High School teacher Jon Vandeverter 

talked about the Project Lead the Way’s 

Pre-Engineering program currently being taught 

there and at Calvert High School. Eventually students 

will receive four years of classes that introduce 

engineering design, principles of engineering 

and digital electronics. 

“I love it because it is changing the way students 

think. They don’t have to wish their product 

is better. We are teaching them how to design 

them better,” Vandeverter said. 

The culmination of the four years of studying 

aerospace engineering is to take a real world 

engineering problem, design a solution and then 

defend their work before a panel of five professional 

engineers. 

Kristin Pratt, teacher at Calvert High 

School, is in the third year of the Bio-Medical 

pathway. 

“Healthcare field is huge. It is a constant. 

There are jobs and not just about being a doctor 

or nurse. There are forensics, pharmacy, research 

Natalie Cloak and Gabriella Fratantuono are building a windmill. They design 

blades, test the blades and then go back to change the blades to improve the 

design. 

Teddie Delehanty 

is learning how to 

build and program 

a stop light. Eighth 

grade students 

trace the history 

and development 

of automation and 

robotics. 

and innovations for injuries,” Pratt said. 

She said she likes to call her classes, “CSI 

meets ER” where students take a hypothetical 

dead body and discover the cause of death. It 

could be homicide or medical. Either way, the 

students learn about pandemics, how to read an 

autopsy, monitor an EKG test and write grants, 

among other real world skills. 

Next year, all four county high schools will 

offer both STEM pathways. These are courses in 

which students can take in addition to their college-bound 

curriculum. In some cases, colleges 

are accepting the Pre-Engineering and Bio-Medical 

programs and offering an academic credit. 

The Career and Technology Academy also 

offers pathways from the Project Lead the Way 

curriculum, designed to better prepare students 

to compete globally. 

At the end of the Manufacturing, Engineering 

and Technology program students will possess 

a broad and fundamental knowledge of electrical, 

electronic, mechanical, civil, industrial 

and manufacturing engineering. 

The Computer-Assisted Drafting program 

teaches students to free-hand 

sketch and then use a number of 

software-based design programs. 

Instructor Gary Chapman 

said he recently received an email 

from a former student now at Webb 

Institute, a four-year, engineering 

college specializing in naval architecture 

and marine engineering. 

“He thanked me because he’s 

so much further ahead of most students 

because of what he learned,” 

said Chapman. 

Project Lead the Way has 

courses in four of the middle 

schools. In sixth grade the students 

learn design and modeling, 

in seventh they learn about energy 

and the environment and in eighth 

grade automation and robotics. 


Mount Harmony Kicks 

Career Day Up a Notch 


Staff Writer 

Mount Harmony Elementary 

School has taken “Career Day” to entirely 

new level this year. 

Instead of the traditional day of 

guests coming in to talk to students 

about their careers, the school has three 

days dedicated to the futures of their 

young professionals. 

Prior to winter break, the school 

set aside three days to start kids thinking 

about the years ahead that will present 

them with decisions about further 

education, job interviews and types of 

jobs available, according to Guidance 

Counselor Katie Sinclair. 

On Wednesday the students wore 

clothes from colleges and universities 

and attend an assembly about the importance 

of continuing their education. 

“We had one teacher tell the kids 

she decided to attend her college because 

she liked the name,” Sinclair said. 

Thursday the students came 

dressed for job interviews. The schoolwide 

assembly that day talked about 

dressing for success. 

On Friday, Tony Navarro, the former 

MHES principal, kicked off the traditional 

career day as the guest speaker. 

He talked to the 

students about 

why it is important, 

even at their 

age, to think about 

careers. Then he 

shared with them 

information about 

his career as a 

reading specialist 

working for both 

Prince George’s 

and Calvert County 

and then his path 

Kindergarteners Kelly Speyer and Tate Coffey dress up for College 

Day at Mount Harmony Elementary School. 

Photos by Corrin M.Howe 

Hailey Fowler, 4th grade and Mrs. Carla Fowler, 5th 

grade teacher 

Calvert County Sheriff Deputy Rick 

Cox takes students into the SWAT 

vehicle. 

through his other positions. 

Community members 

representing the military, 

Secret Service, <strong>local</strong> garden 

nursery, healthcare industry 

and engineers spoke to the 

individual classrooms. In all, 

25 speakers shared information 

and answered questions. 

Some students were introduced 

to unique careers such 

as elevator technician, cryptology, 

and counter-piracy. 

corrin@somdpublishing.net



STORY 

Local Baker Hits the Big Time 


Staff Writer 

Every week, viewers tune in to the Food 

Network to watch the latest episode of their favorite 

food-based show, often not knowing the 

contestant. This week, a born and raised Calvert 

countian competed in the latest episode 

of Cupcake Wars – Cindy Selby of Blondie’s 

Baking Company in North Beach. 

In the Jan. 1 episode, contestants were 

competing to cater the cupcakes at the Los 

Angeles premier of the play “Wicked”, which 

is a take on “The Wizard of Oz”. 

With four chefs and three rounds, the 

stakes were high right from the beginning. 

Selby made it through round one, but was cut 

at the end of the second round. 

In the first round, each participant had 

to bake cupcakes using two ingredients from 

the Elphaba (Wicked Witch) or Glinda (Good 

Witch) categories. The Elphaba side consisted 

of darker ingredients like portabella mushrooms, 

port wine and dark chocolate, while 

the Glinda side had brighter ingredients such 

as honey, lemons and peppermint. Selby declared 

herself a “Glinda girl” and made a beeline 

for the bright side and the lemons. One of 

her two first round cupcakes utilized a lemon 

curd filling, a recipe she learned from one of 

her first cooking instructors and considers it 

one of her specialties. 

In the second round, Selby had to make 

three different types of cupcakes, each based 

on the Wicked theme. She chose to make cupcakes 

based on Elphaba (a chocolate spice 

cake), Glinda (a classic Blondie cupcake) and 

the Emerald City (pistachio cupcakes with 

raspberries). While the flavors were creative, 

Selby said there was a technical 

error with the Blondie 

cupcakes that kept her from 

advancing to the third and final 

round. 

The road to Cupcake 

Wars began over a year ago. 

Selby said she originally 

applied to be in the third season 

of Cupcake Wars at the 

urging of a few friends in 

March of 2010, and was surprised 

when she got a call in 

February 2011 asking if she 

was still interested in being 

on an episode of Cupcake 

Wars. 

She said in between her 

submitting the application 

and being invited to go to Los 

Angeles, the producers and 

Food Network had plenty of 

time to check out her business 

and background and “figure 

out who [we] are.” 

The interviewing process 

included a primary 

phone interview, talking to 

the Cupcake Wars producers 

and Food Network representatives. 

In addition to being 

an established baker and businessperson, 

Selby said having 

the right personality is important 

for getting on the show. 

Part of the interviewing process involved 

posting a video to YouTube about 

her and her operation. She said normally 

contestants are given a week to film and 

post their videos, but because she went 

nearly a week without checking the answering 

machine for the store (a habit 

she has since remedied) she only had 24 

hours to get the video filmed and uploaded, 

a challenge due to her lack of a video 

recorder, let alone other equipment. With 

the help of the <strong>local</strong>ly based group Career 

Puppy, she got it done in time. 

She finally got a confirmation from 

Food Network and then was advised by 

the Cupcake Wars producers to not talk 

about the matter. She was barred from 

talking to media outlets and the public 

about the episode and its outcome until 

after its premier Jan. 1. 

She got another call Sept. 15 telling 

her filming would be in Los Angeles on 

Oct. 1. Going into the studio, Selby didn’t 

even know what the theme would be, 

and said she was worried she would get 

a theme she knew nothing about, in addition 

to ingredients she normally wouldn’t 

use. 

“It’s very gut wrenching,” Selby 

said. 

In addition to going in blind on the 

theme, the contestants have to memorize 

recipes for the cupcakes, fillings and 

frostings. Being in an unfamiliar kitchen 

where utensils like food processors and 

blenders are not the same brand to which 

the chefs are accustomed was also a challenge. 

Little issues that normally would 

have been easy to overcome were magnified 

under the studio 

lights and the pressure 

of the cameras and the 

countdown, she said. 

To practice, Selby 

said she and her assistant 

used donated 

materials to bake in 

bulk and experiment 

with recipes, donating 

the cupcakes to school 

functions and fundraisers 

as they went. 

Selby has already 

been asked if she is interested 

in coming back 

for another episode and 

while she was unsure at 

first, she said now she is 

ready and willing to go 

again. She said having 

gone through the process of filming once, she 

feels like she has more of an edge and knows 

what to expect. She said the winning team 

already had experience on reality TV, which 

allowed them to keep their cool under the 

added pressure of the cameras and unfamiliar 

kitchen. 

With another chance, Selby said she believes 

she could make it to the final round and 

even win. As is stands, she said even getting 

on Cupcake Wars is an honor and will be good 

for her business. 

Before even going on television, Blondie’s 

had grown to a point where Selby is scouting 

for new locations to open a second location. 

For more information, visit www.blondiesbakingcompany.com 

or call 443-964-8140. 

Blondie’s is located at 8905 Chesapeake Avenue 

in North Beach. 

sarahmiller@countytimes.net



c 

ommissioners 

Happy New Year! 

By Susan Shaw 

Calvert County Commissioner, 

2nd District 

c 

orner 

The Board of County Commissioners 

(BOCC) is elected for a four 

year term and elects officers every year 

on the third Tuesday in December. On 

December 20, the BOCC held the second 

election in this term and elected 

Commissioner Gerald “Jerry” Clark as 

the President and Commissioner Steven 

“Steve” Weems as the Vice President. I 

offer my congratulations to them! 

Does this action mean that I have 

somehow been “dissed” by my fellow 

Commissioners? NO. This action is 

not about me nor about the job I have 

done in the role of BOCC President, as was stressed at the time of 

the election. Rather, the other four Commissioners were all quite 

complimentary about my tenure as President. This action is a 

reflection of the desire to experience a different leadership style 

and to allow others the opportunity to lead. 

Commissioner Clark, like myself, has served as a Commissioner 

for nine long years. He sought the opportunity to demonstrate 

his form of leadership. Nine years is a long time to wait. 

We all sincerely believe we are acting in the best interests of Calvert 

County. Additionally, my style of leadership is not for everyone 

and is not a prerequisite for doing a competent job. One of 

the parts of the Commissioner role that I most enjoy is being out 

in the community, recognizing citizens for all their good works, 

supporting community efforts of all kinds, and gathering information 

about what County government is doing right and where 

we can improve. While enjoyable for me, it is also exhausting 

and time-consuming in addition to all the other crucial duties of a 

Commissioner like budgeting, administrative duties, reading volumes 

of background information, answering 200 to 300 emails 

per day, and interacting with the media. Yes, many less people 

call now, but many more email. While numerous emails can 

be dealt with fairly quickly, others require weeks and months of 

follow-up. Because my children are adults and I am not currently 

running a business, and because I am a very energetic, outgoing 

person, I could make a time and energy commitment that most 

people cannot. Please keep in mind that the County Commissioner 

role is paid for part-time work. 

Commissioner Clark will demonstrate his own competent 

leadership style which is different from mine, and which may 

provide a more realistic model for the other current Commissioners and for future officeholders. 

Commissioner Nutter stated that he does not feel ready quite yet to take the helm 

of the BOCC, but that he felt that experiencing a different way of doing the President’s 

role would help in his preparation and Commissioner Weems seconded that notion. I 

agree. Commissioner Slaughenhoupt voted in solidarity. 

I must tell you that it took me a little while to understand that the other Commissioners 

were not repudiating my work over the last year and that the decision was really 

not about me. 

Commissioner Clark brings important strengths to the Presidency of the BOCC. 

Like me, he has gained a lot of experience and knowledge over these last nine years. He 

has led the Tri-County Council, composed of all the elected people in the three Southern 

MD Counties, over the last two years, and has tightened and heightened the management 

of that entity. As a business owner, who has to make a payroll and a profit on a regular basis 

to stay in business, he is good at decisive decision-making. He is very strong fiscally, 

with an in-depth knowledge of real estate contracts and finance. These skills are crucial 

as we move into a period where we will have significantly less property tax revenue to 

distribute among all our priorities as a County government. He likes to negotiate and I 

teasingly call him a wheeler-dealer in admiration of those skills that will be put to good 

use over the coming year. We share a practicality and pragmatism in our views. He has 

a healthy skepticism about the motives for requests that will serve the citizens well. Most 

importantly, Commissioner Clark cares deeply about Calvert County. 

Consequently, I extend my most sincere congratulations to both Commissioner 

Clark and to Commissioner Weems in their new roles as BOCC President and Vice President 

for the coming year! Calvert County is truly blessed with the elected leadership of 

all five Commissioners. I am proud to serve with each of them. Each brings a unique 

background and perspective that makes our total commitment a formidable force. I will 

continue to play an integral role and will continue to represent you to the best of my ability. 

Thank you for your generous and on-going support. 

Guest Editorial 

Toothless Audits 

By Marta Hummel Mossburg 

One of the most egregious outrages of the financial collapse 

is that none of those responsible for it on Wall Street has 

been held accountable in a court of law. 

A whole movement -- Occupy Wall Street -- grew out of 

the fact that crony capitalism allows a tiny few to reap vast 

financial rewards at the expense of the rest of the country. 

If only some of that anger would be turned on state government’s 

repeated abuses. 

For years, the Office of Legislative Audits (OLA) has been 

churning out reports about malfeasance and misfeasance, laziness, 

waste and general bad management within Maryland 

state agencies. Often the office’s reports find the same flagged 

behavior unchanged in multiple follow-up reports. 

One recent report details how Maryland State Highway 

Administration officials disguised overspending; conspired 

with vendors to hide money in order to bilk taxpayers out of 

more; and shuffled money around within the agency inappropriately. 

In 2004 the OLA found that the same agency violated 

procurement rules by giving (without a competitive bidding 

process) a $750,000 contract to a company where a high-ranking 

employee’s wife worked. 

An audit of the Department of the Environment released 

earlier this month showed the agency circumvented procurement 

rules to give contracts to favored people and performed 

only a fraction of required site inspections. In the past few 

years, auditors have found state employees who used state 

computers to access porn thousands of times per week; thousands 

charged to state credit cards for personal items including 

televisions, clothes and video games; and identified millions 

in missing funds. 

The people of Maryland have no reason to believe anything 

is done about those reports. Legislators express outrage, 

but do not require agency heads to remedy the situation within 

a specific time or lose privileges, dollars -- or their jobs. 

And so OLA soldiers on with its work, relegated to being 

the CEO of trees falling in a forest that no one knows exists. 

This is not to say its work is not important. On the contrary, 

it’s essential to holding government accountable. 

But agency employees should not be forced to spend time 

reporting about behavior that will not be corrected. 

Some have speculated the state needs to budget more 

money for internal auditors within agencies. But there is no 

reason to believe those people will have more of a chance of 

changing a corrupt culture than whistle-blower Eugene Simmers, 

a longtime SHA employee who was forced to leave after 

he outed contractors filing false time sheets and overbilling 

Publisher 

Thomas McKay 

Associate Publisher Eric McKay 

Editor 

Sean Rice 

Graphic Artist Angie Stalcup 

Office Manager Tobie Pulliam 

Advertising 

sales@somdpublishing.net 

Email 

info@somdpublishing.net 

Phone 301-373-4125 

Staff Writers 

Guy Leonard 

Sarah Miller 

Corrin Howe 

Contributing Writers 

Joyce Baki 

Keith McGuire 

Law Enforcement 

Government, Education 

Community, Business 

to the 

Editor 

LETTERS 

the agency. He is vindicated now, but he paid a steep financial 

price for speaking out. Institutions protect themselves above 

all else. Look no farther than the Jerry Sandusky child rape 

scandal at Penn State for evidence. 

Bad audits need to come with real financial consequences 

for agencies in terms of withheld operating funds. Agency 

heads should also be held criminally liable when their institutions 

repeatedly defraud taxpayers. Without those changes, 

OLA will remain political theater for those who hold power. 

Marta Hummel Mossburg is a senior fellow at the Maryland 

Public Policy Institute. 

from heaven to take the form of a baby, later to grow into 

the man of Jesus. Whether you believe that Jesus was both 

fully man and fully God is up to you. But that is what Christians 

profess. One international ministry which teaches about 

Jesus uses the illustration of two cliffs separated by a bottomless 

pit – man is on one cliff and God is on the other. “How 

can man get across to God?” The ministry draws a bridge that 

takes the form of a cross, the place upon which Jesus died for 

proclaiming his message. 

Jesus’ message was about changing hearts. One at a 

time. He said. “There is no greater love than this that a man 

lay down his life for another.” He had two meanings in mind 

when he said this. First he foretold of his dying for his people. 

But he also meant people laying down their lives daily for others. 

Imagine if everyone laid down time spent watching TV, 

reading the Internet Social Networks, working extra hours to 

get ahead … and invested that hour or so a week in developing 

relationships with at risk youth, teaching a job skills class 

in prison or mentoring an inmate who just got out of prison. 

The nation was originally founded by men and women 

who believed in the message of Jesus, the reason for Christmas. 

As the nation moves further away from the lessons 

taught, the prisons fill up. Coincidence? While the Gazette 

doesn’t have space to provide all the prisoner’s responses to 

questions asked, it was interesting to note that the majority 

wrote about getting back to teaching church, morals, respect, 

spirituality, and sanctity of life as solutions for keeping the 

prison population down. 

The message of the Christmas season boils down to this: 

When God considered the struggles of humanity he did not 

just resource a project to help out. He laid aside the comforts 

of heaven and came down to earth. Jesus lived among his people, 

personally touching them at their point of greatest need. 

In addition to the resources of governments and charities, society 

needs more people like Chaplin John Graham and Merle 

Morrow who followed Jesus’ example willingly laying aside 

their comforts to touch those in need. Not just as an act of 

holiday kindness, but throughout the year. 

Calvert Gazette 

P. O. Box 250 . Hollywood, MD 20636 

The Calvert Gazette is a weekly newspaper providing news and information for the residents of 

Calvert County. The Calvert Gazette will be available on newsstands every Thursday. The paper is 

published by Southern Maryland Publishing Company, which is responsible for the form, content, and 

policies of the newspaper. The Calvert Gazette does not espouse any political belief or endorse any 

product or service in its news coverage. Articles and letters submitted for publication must be signed 

and may be edited for length or content. The Calvert Gazette is not responsible for any claims made 

by its advertisers.



Daisy Anderson, 52 

Daisy D. Anderson, 

52, of La 

Plata, also known 

as “Dee Dee” to her 

family and friends, 

passed away at home 

with family at her 

side on Dec. 27, 2011. 

Dee Dee was 

a person that loved 

to have a good time. 

She enjoyed being 

around her family, including her grand babies. 

She was a fan of the Washington Redskins. She 

enjoyed the Sam Grow Band, NASCAR, the 

beach, swimming in her pool, and Coors Light. 

She liked to spend time at the Waldorf Moose, 

and the American Legion-La Plata Post. She 

was very active in the March of Dimes. She 

solely raised $2,000 plus for that charity. Dee 

Dee was always seen laughing, and enjoyed being 

with her pets as well. 

Dee Dee was preceded in death by her father; 

Fred F. Racey, Sr. 

She is survived by her mother, June M. 

Mattingly Racey; husband Craig Anderson; 

brothers, Fred F. Racey, Jr. (Joann), and Jack 

Racey; sons, Chris Cusic (Nikki), Josh Welch 

(Shelia); a step-son, Robert Anderson; a daughter, 

Lyndsey Welch; a step-daughter, Nicole 

Anderson; and seven grandchildren, Bradley, 

Paula, C.J., Zander, Marlee, Kyleigh, and 

Landon. 

A life celebration was held on Friday, Dec. 

30, 2011 at the Arehart-Echols Funeral Home, 

P.A. in La Plata. A Funeral Mass followed on 

Saturday, Dec. 31, 2011 at Sacred Heart Catholic 

Church-La Plata. Interment followed at St. 

Ignatius-Hill Top cemetery. 

Pallbearers were Gene Quade, Sam Grow, 

Jacob Cooksey, Clifford Racey, Mark Borawski, 

and Johnny Racey. 

In lieu of flowers, the family would like 

donations to be made out to the March of 

Dimes or the Susan G. Komen Foundation. 

Shirleen Booth, 63 

Shirleen Alice 

Booth, 63, of Clarksburg, 

WV passed 

away on Dec. 19, 

2011 at United Hospital 

Center, Bridgeport, 

WV. 

Shirleen was 

born Feb. 6, 1948, 

in Calvert County to 

the late Janice Rice and Raymond Herbert. She 

attended and also graduated from District of 

Columbia public schools. 

She was a home maker with an extra ordinary 

gift of making beautiful garments 

and quilts. She had a passion for sewing. As 

a seamstress, Shirleen made her own clothes 

as well as her children’s clothes and was frequently 

requested by family and friends to tailor 

clothes, compose quilts, arts and crafts. She 

also enjoyed cooking and watching the Home 

Shop ping Show. Shirleen was employed as a 

supervisor with Minnesota Fabrics, assisting 

the community and public with their sewing 

projects. 

On April 27, 1968, Shirleen married the 

late Richard Booth and from this union there 

were five children: Michele Crawford, Melissa, 

Melinda, Glenwood (deceased) and Richard L. 

Booth. Shirleen was a spiritual woman who 

loved the Lord and instilled in her children 

to have faith and trust in God. She resided in 

Clarksburg, West Virginia and was a member 

of Mount Zion Baptist Church until her passing. 

She is survived by her four children: Michele 

Crawford (Curtis), Melissa, Melinda 

and Richard Jr; five grandchildren: Dale Britter, 

Danielle Benjamin, Dante Speas, Curtis 

Crawford, Jr and Monet Crawford; one great 

grandson: Alijah Britter; two brothers: Dexter 

V. Herbert, Sr. (Melissa) and Derrick Herbert 

(Darlene); three sisters: Deborah Banks, Denise 

Herbert and Deana Herbert; two broth ers 

in-law; four sisters in-law and a host of nephews, 

nieces, other relatives and friends. 

Funeral service was held on Wednesday, 

December 28, 2011 at 11:00 AM at Sewell Funeral 

Home, Prince Frederick, MD with Rev. 

Theodore McClain, eulogist. The interment 

was at Mt. Hope UM Church Cemetery, Sunderland, 

MD. 

The pallbearers were Dexter V. Herbert, 

Sr., Troy Taylor, Michael Tyson, Derrick Herbert, 

and Mark Ta. 

Funeral arrangements provided by Sewell 

Funeral Home, Prince Frederick, MD. 

Pamela Broome, 48 

Pamela M. 

Broome, 48, of 

Port Republic, MD 

passed away on December 

21, 2011 at 

her residence. 

Pamela Maria 

Broome was born 

on October 25, 1963, 

in Calvert County, 

Maryland. She was 

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the fourth of five children born to William and 

Eliza Gantt. Pamela lost a courageous battle 

with cancer and slipped peacefully into eternal 

rest on Dec. 21, 2011. 

Pamela began her early Christian education 

at Brooks United Methodist Church, under 

the leadership of the late Reverend Joseph Collins. 

She later became a member of Healing and 

Deliverance Church of the Holy Spirit under 

the leadership of Pastor Aniachi Be’lu-John. 

Pamela was educated in the public schools 

of Calvert County. She was employed at The 

House of Grace in Bowie, Maryland as a Private 

Duty Caregiver until her health failed. Pamela 

provided care and unconditional love to 

everyone she worked with. She had one of the 

most beautiful smiles and a pleasant personality. 

She enjoyed spending time with family and 

friends doing some of her favorite things; playing 

cards, watching her favorite football team 

“Dallas Cowboys”, but most of all she recently 

gained an interest in watching WWF (World 

Wrestling Federation) along with her parents. 

If you knew her, you could only imagine what 

that was like. 

Pamela honestly enjoyed life. Her favorite 

saying was “I got a life to live” and she lived 

it. Growing up she was known by her siblings 

and close cousins as “cry baby”. It wasn’t unusual 

for Pam to be seen crying while watching 

Charlie Brown cartoons. She would say 

(between sniffles) “They know they don’t have 

to treat Charlie Brown that way”. Pamela never 

liked seeing people sad or hurting in any way. 

On August 2, 1986 Pamela was united in 

marriage to Ralph Antonio Broome Sr. and 

from this union four children were born. 

She leaves to cherish her fond memories, 

her parents William and Eliza; fatherin-law 

Asia Broome; four children, Ralph Jr., 

Ral’nisha, Ju’shaun and Ju’vawn; three sisters, 

Janet, Audrey, and Sherrylynn; one brother, 

Antonio “Tony”; five brothers-in-law, Asia 

“Mark”, Leonard, Jerome, Thomas (Leslie) and 

Scott (Janice); one sister-in-law, Lynette Savoy; 

five grandchildren, Iyanna, Zayne, Ra-Jon, 

Janyla and Andrew; six aunts, Mamie Jones 

(Herbert), Susie Johnson; Annie Reddic; Helen 

Gantt; Amelia Johnson; Gladys Gantt; two 

uncles, Thomas Johnson (Lois Jean), George 

Gantt (Joanie); one great aunt, Mary Bourne; 

two great uncles Thomas Gray, and Harry 

Gray (Christine). Pamela had two cousins she 

held dear to her heart, James “Jim” Gray and 

Dwan “Terp” Johnson Sr., a special friend Gerald 

Jacks and a host of nieces, nephew, other 

relatives and friends. 

Funeral service was held on Thursday, 

December 29, 2011 at 11:00 AM at Brooks UM 

Church, St. Leonard, MD with Pastor Jason 

L. Robinson officiating. The interment was 

at Brooks UM Church Cemetery, St. Leonard, 

MD. The pallbearers were McKinley 

Broome, Marco Gantt, James (Jim) Gray, Brian 

Hawkins, Richard Hicks, and Dwan Johnson, 

Sr. The honorary pallbearers were Doniele 

Gray, Floyd Height, Jr., Arron Johnson, and 

Ray Johnson, Sr. 



Carol Godfrey, 64 

Carol Ann Godfrey, 

64, of Huntingtown, 

MD passed 

away suddenly on 

Dec. 22, 2011. 

She was born 

Feb. 8, 1947 in Alexandria, 

VA to Carl 

Dempsey and Mary 

Irene (Maupin) Hautz. Carol was the wife of 

the late William “Danny” Godfrey who died 

Nov. 29, 2009. 

Surviving are their children Angela Harkness 

and her husband Brian of Lusby, William 

D. Godfrey, Jr. and his wife Shana of Olney 

and Thomas K. Godfrey and his wife Crissy 

of Sunderland, grandchildren Timothy and 

Kristin Brady, Zachary and Brienna Harkness, 

Samantha, Casey, Baeleigh, Gavin and 

Ethan Godfrey, great granddaughter Ryleigh 

McLaughlin and sisters Mildred Bonner and 

her husband Andrew of Charlotte Church, VA 

and Brenda Frye of Fredericksburg, VA. 

Friends were received on Wednesday, 

Dec. 28, 2011 at Rausch Funeral Home, P.A., 

8325 Mt. Harmony Lane, Owings, MD where 

services were held on Thursday, Dec. 29. Interment 

followed at Southern Memorial Gardens. 

Memorial contributions may be made to 

Church by the Chesapeake, 3255 Broomes Island 

Road, Port Republic, MD 20676 

Patricia Jones, 72 

Patricia Marie 

Jones, 72, of Lexington 

Park, MD, 

formerly of Huntingtown, 

MD passed 

away on Dec. 25, 

2011 at St. Mary’s 

Hospital, Leonardtown, 

MD. 

She was born on 

January 13, 1939 in 

Annapolis, MD to the 

late Wallace Reid and Helen Olsen Caldwell. 

She worked as a nursing assistant at Calvert 

County Nursing Center for twenty years, 

until her retirement in 2002. Patricia was a former 

member of St. Paul Episcopal Church in 

Prince Frederick, MD. She loved to spend her 

free time with her family, friends and her loving 

grandchildren. She had a love of all animals 

especially strays and she rescued many over the 

years. Patricia loved doing crafts, crocheting, 

needle pointing and knitting. 

Patricia is survived by a daughter, Darlene 

Jones of Lexington Park, MD; sons, John Jones 

and his wife Julie of CO, Bobby Jones and his 

wife Katie of Port Republic, MD and Mike 

Jones and his wife Jennifer of St. Leonard, MD; 

seven Grandchildren Wendy, Patrick, Timmy, 

Kaitlyn, Brianna, Ryan and Sam. 

A Life Celebration Memorial Service was 

held on Friday, Dec. 30, 2011 in Friendship United 

Methodist Church, 22 West Friendship Road, 

Friendship, MD 20758, with Pastor Byron 

Brought, Jr., officiating. Inurnment was private. 

Should friend’s desire, memorial contributions 

may be made in her memory to the Well 

Pet Clinic, 21800 N. Shangri-La Drive Unit 

16, Lexington Park, Maryland 20653, www. 

thewellpetclinic.com. 

Arrangements provided by Rausch Funeral 

Home, P.A., Lusby, MD. www.rauschfuneralhomes.com 

David Ligay 

of Dunkirk, MD, 

passed away on Dec. 

26, 2011 at the age of 

65. David was born 

on March 16, 1946 

in Yonkers, NY to 

Alma (Ballas) Ligay 

and the late Alexander 

Ligay. 

David Ligay, 65



He was the oldest of three children and attended 

St. Casimir Elementary School in Yonkers 

and Cardinal Hayes High School, Bronx, 

NY. 

After a period of study at St. Joseph’s 

Seminary, Dunwoodie, NY and Seminary of 

Our Lady of Angels, Albany, NY he was employed 

by Westchester County, NY Department 

of Health. He furthered his education 

at the Catholic University of America, Washington, 

D.C. earning a Master of Social Work 

degree. He was most recently employed by 

Prince George’s County, Maryland Health Department 

as a Medical Social Worker. He was 

a member of the National Association of Social 

Workers and attained several advanced professional 

certifications and licenses. David was 

employed there for thirty-two years, retiring in 

2010. David was an active member of The Covenant 

Community of Jesus the Good Shepherd. 

He had a great culinary passion and was an avid 

lover of antiques, collectibles and religious articles 

of all types. During recent years he most 

especially enjoyed taking pilgrimage journeys 

abroad with Bill and other family members. 

David was preceded in death by his father 

Alexander Ligay and by a brother Peter Ligay. 

He is survived by his life partner of 36 

years, William H. “Bill” Gilbert, Jr. of Dunkirk, 

his mother Alma Ligay of Longwood, FL, a 

sister Susan A. Riehl and husband Michael of 

Beacon, NY, a sister-in-law Lynn Ligay of Mahopac, 

NY, and by numerous nieces, nephews 

and cousins. 

Friends and family were received on 

Thursday Dec. 29 at Rausch Funeral Home, 

P.A., 8325 Mt. Harmony Lane, Owings, MD, 

and on Friday Dec. 30 at Jesus the Good Shepherd 

Catholic Church, 1601 W. Mt. Harmony 

Road, Owings, MD, where a Mass of Christian 

Burial was celebrated. A reception followed in 

the church hall, and burial was at St. John Vianney 

Church Cemetery in Prince Frederick, MD. 

Contributions may be made to a charity of 

one’s choice. For additional information visit 

www.rauschfuneralhomes.com. 

John McCready, 75 

John Berkeley 

McCready, 75, 

of Port Saint Lucie, 

FL passed away 

on Dec. 21, 2011 at 

Palm Gardens. He 

was born on January 

14, 1936 in Calvert 

County, Maryland 

to the late John and 

Grace Humphreys 

McCready. 

Mr. McCready had been a resident of 

Florida for three and a half years, coming from 

Maryland. He was retired from the United 

States Government, having worked as a plumber 

for the White House in Washington, D.C. 

Mr. McCready is survived by his loving 

wife of three and a half years, Juana G. Mc- 

Cready; three step daughters, Jenny Brown, 

Claribel Meserve, and Maria Kolhler; siblings, 

Marie M. Hardesty, Erma M. Breeden, Annie 

M. Batchelor, Lynette M. Ward, Eunice 

M. Habig, Donas H. McCready, and Harold L. 

McCready. He was preceded in death by his 

parents, his first wife, Earlamond McCready 

and siblings, J. Edward McCready, C. Dudley 

McCready, and Ethel M. Grover. 

The family received friends on Wednesday, 

Dec. 28, 2011 from 10 – 11 AM in the First 

Baptist Church of Calvert Co., Prince Frederick, 

MD where a funeral service will be held 

at 11 AM with Pastor Ralph Nevin officiating. 

Interment will follow in the Cedar Hill Cemetery, 

Suitland, MD at 2: 30PM. Arrangements 

provided by Rausch Funeral Home, P.A., Lusby, 

MD. 

Brenda Perry, 70 

Brenda Dixon Perry, 70, of Lothian, MD 

passed away Dec. 20, 2011 at Anne Arundel 

Medical Center, Annapolis, MD. 

She was born September 24, 1941 to Agnes 

(Smith) and Sewell W. Dixon, Sr. at the old 

Annapolis hospital, and was raised in Galesville, 

MD. 

Brenda graduated in 1959 from Southern 

High School in Lothian, MD and then attended 

the University of Maryland in College Park. 

She married Thomas C. Perry of Bristol, MD 

in 1961, and they made their home, their living, 

and raised their family on the tobacco farm in 

Lothian. Besides raising her five children and 

nurturing her 13 grandchildren, her hobbies 

included quilting, Eastern Shore shopping, gardening, 

reading and corresponding with family 

and friends. 

Brenda was preceded in death by her husband 

of forty years, Thomas Chaney Perry, Sr., 

her parents, a brother Sewell W. Dixon, Jr., and 

a brother-in-law John C. Hines, Sr. 

She is survived by four daughters, Dale P. 

Clark and husband Leslie, Heidi P. Meginnis 

and husband Mark, all of Severn, MD, Laura 

P. Brown and husband Scott of Pasadena, MD, 

and Heather P. Jones and husband Charles of 

Lothian, MD; and by a son Thomas C. “Tommy” 

Perry, Jr. and wife Stacy of Reston, VA. 

She is also survived by 13 grandchildren: Trey, 

Oliver and Hudson Perry, Jay and Perry Clark, 

Savannah and Will Meginnis, Elizabeth and 

Morgan Brown, Addisen, Adelle, Charles and 

Ada Jones. Also surviving are her sisters Betty 

Jane Moreland, Sue D. Hines both of Galesville, 

MD, and Dotty Chaney of Lothian, MD, 

and a brother Chuck Dixon also of Galesville. 

Also surviving are numerous nieces, nephews, 

and cousins. 

Family and friends were received Thursday 

December 22, 2011 at Rausch Funeral 

Home, P.A., 8325 Mt. Harmony Lane, Owings, 

MD, where services and a celebration of Brenda’s 

life was held Friday Dec. 23, 2011. Interment 

followed at Smithville United Methodist 

Church Cemetery, Dunkirk, MD. 

For additional information visit www. 

RauschFuneralHomes.com. 

Brooke Reynolds, Sr., 88 

Brooke F. Reynolds, 

Sr., 88, of Prince 

Frederick, MD passed 

away on Dec. 6, 2011 

at Charlotte Hall Veterans 

Home, Charlotte 

Hall, MD. He 

was born on June 8, 

1923 in Calvert County 

to the late Charles 

William Reynolds, Sr. 

and Charlotte Butler 

Reynolds. 

He started his education in the Wallville 

one room school. He was inducted into the US 

Army on July 18, 1943 and served 28 months 

during World War II. He worked for the State 

Highway Administration and moved to the 

Federal Government (Randall Cliff Naval 

Base) until retirement in 1978, due to failing 

eyesight. Upon retirement Brooke Reynolds 

started his Prayer Line Partners Out Reach. 

Mr. Reynolds was doing on an average of 3,000 

hours per year on his prayer line. 

On April 12, 1943 he was joined in holy 

matrimony to the late Mary Elizabeth Harris 

and remained married for 59 years. To this 

union seven children were born. 

In 1957 he became actively involved in 

Brooks Church. He was a member of the Kiwanis 

Club, Honorary Member of Victoria 

Lodge #71, and the American Legion. 

He was preceded in death by his wife, 

Mary; sons, Sherwood and Raymond; one sister, 

and five brothers. 

He leaves to celebrate his life: one daughter, 

Charlotte Clark (Robert Clark) of Prince 

Frederick, MD; four sons, Frank (Karin) of Schweinfurt, 

Germany; Linwood (Lucille) of Prince 

Frederick, MD; Clifton (Bessie) of Mitchellville, 

MD and Allen (Camille) of Prince Frederick, 

MD; 10 grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren; 

two sisters in law; Ruth Reynolds and 

Bernice Harris; a host of nieces and nephews, 

cousins, and special friends Rev. Robert Conway, 

Arthur Sewell, and Ernest Reynolds. 

A memorial service was held on Saturday, 

Dec. 10, 2011 at Brooks United Methodist 

Church, St. Leonard, MD with Pastor Jason 

Robinson officiating. 



Your Online Community for 

Charles, Calvert, and St. Mary’s Counties 

Eugene Smith, III, 59 

Eugene Mc- 

Tyere Smith, III 

“Smitty”, 59, of 

Lusby, MD, formerly 

of Brandywine 

and Waldorf (St. 

Charles), MD passed 

away suddenly on 

Dec. 22, 2011 at Calvert 

Memorial Hospital, 

Prince Frederick, 

MD. 

He was born on July 8, 1952 in Durham, 

NC to the late Eugene M. Smith, Jr. and Avis 

Reeves Smith. “Smitty” married his beloved 

wife Bonnie on Feb. 26, 1999 in Prince Frederick, 

MD and they renewed their vows on 

May 8, 2000 at Gilbert Run State Park, Charlotte 

Hall, MD. 

Eugene served his country for eight 

years, from 1980 to 1988 in the United States 

Army, 19th Combat Engineer Division. While 

serving his country Eugene was stationed in 

Germany. He received the following decorations, 

Army service ribbon, Army lapel button, 

Rifle M-16 MKM qualifying badge, hand 

grenade expert qualifying badge, good conduct 

medal (second award), overseas service 

ribbon and the Army achievement medal. 

“Smitty” worked for IBEW 26 as an electrician. 

He was a member of the U.S. Military 

Vets Motorcycle Club, American Legion Post 

#274, Lusby, MD, ABATE and HOG. 

Eugene is survived by his wife Bonnie 

J. Smith; children Michael and Jerette 

Lerner of Florham, NJ and Kate and Robbie 

Robbins of Gibbsboro, NJ; brother Thomas 

and Kathy Smith of Olympia, WA and four 

grandchildren. 

A Life Celebration Memorial Service 

will be held on Sunday, Jan. 8, 2012, 2 PM at 

the American Legion Post #274, 11820 H. G. 

Trueman Road, Lusby, MD 20657. Inurnment 

will take place at Arlington National Cemetery, 

Arlington, VA at a later date. 

Should friends desire contributions may 

be made in his memory to the Wounded Warrior 

Project, 1120 G Street NW, Suite 700, 

Washington, DC 20005 www.woundedwarriorproject.org. 

Over 250,000 

Southern Marylanders 

can’t be wrong! 

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• Stay abreast of <strong>local</strong> happenings 

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www.somd.com



Kiddie er 

n 

Kor 

CLUES ACROSS 

1. Easy as 1-2-3 

4. Goat and camel hair fabric 

7. A women undergarment 

10. British bathrooms 

12. Assemblages of parts into 

one entity 

14. Semitic fertility god 

15. Dull & uninteresting 

16. Yemen capital 

17. Stare impertinently 

18. Banished persons 

20. Heart failure & energy 

supplement 

22. Reduction in force 

23. Women’s ___ movement 

24. Polynesian wrapped skirt 

26. Double-reed instruments 

29. Own (Scottish) 

30. Summer window 

dressings 

35. Many not ands 

36. Paddle 

37. Being a single unit 

38. Silly behavior 

44. Insecticide 

45. A blank area 

46. Reduces stress 

48. Morning moisture 

49. Tear away roughly 

50. Elevated 

53. Cristobalite 

56. Baseball’s Ruth 

57. Indian monetary unit 

59. Contest of speed 

61. Having a slanted direction 

62. Gross receipts 

63. A river in NE Spain 

64. The brain and spinal cord 

(abbr.) 

65. Dynegy Inc. on NYSE 

66. Japanese monetary unit 

CLUES DOWN 

1. Vestment worn by priests 

2. The trunk of a tree 

3. Transmission line cable 

4. Freshwater duck genus 

5. Bulk storage container 

6. Oil obtained from flowers 

7. Shopping containers 

8. Abnormal breathing 

9. Brew 

11. Bake eggs in their shells 

12. Serviceable 

13. A person in the navy 

14. A child’s slight injury 

19. Fain 

21. Supports trestletree 

24. Parian Chronicle discovery 

site 

25. Greek famous for fables 

27. Farcical afterpiece 

28. Dispatches by mail 

29. Hall of Fame (abbr.) 

31. Aah 

32. Unnaturally pale 

33. Before 

34. Fixed in one’s purpose 

39. Madames 

40. Frosts 

41. City drains 

42. Baseball playoff 

43. Cruise 

47. Steeple 

50. Precipitation 

51. Ancient Greek rhetorician 

52. A unit of two 

53. Viewed 

54. Taxis 

55. 4840 square yards 

56. London radio station 

58. Perform work regularly 

60. Longest geological time 

Last Week’s Puzzle Solutions



Newsmakers 

Scottish Implant 

Pens Novel Set in Calvert 


Staff Writer 

Publishing a book the traditional 

way through agents and publishers, or 

even self-publishing, is difficult; however, 

Stuart Haddon discovered it takes 

even longer when doing it as a part-time 

resident of the United States. 

Haddon, originally from Scotland, 

has a long term visa to the United States, 

where he lives with his American wife 

and in-laws in Port Republic. In fact, 

it is because he splits his time between 

Scotland and the United States that he 

came up with his plot for his recently 

self-published book “The Butterfly and 

The Bull.” 

He was walking the family pet, Joe 

The Dog, when he started thinking of 

the idea for his novel. It is a tale about a 

Scotsman who is seeking to find his abducted 

wife and “in the process becomes 

involved in a conspiracy to restore democracy 

to the land of the free.” 

Those familiar with Calvert County 

will recognize many of the scenes set in 

America and then can learn about Haddon’s 

native land in which the other half 

of the scenes are set. 

However, before Haddon’s characters 

and scenes made it into the selfpublishing 

world of Create Space, which 

provides formatting for the Kindle and 

Amazon.com, the author had to apply for a temporary 

tax identification number in the United States. 

“There is an agreement between the U.K. and 

U.S. that applies. I have to sign an affidavit stating 

that I am following that particular tax agreement between 

them,” said Haddon. 

He didn’t become aware that he needed this 

temporary tax identification until he got to the selfpublishing 

stage. The application process created a 

six to eight week delay in getting his book out. 

Self publishing wasn’t Haddon’s first approach 

to getting his story out. He first attempted to sell it 

to publishers in the United Kingdom because they 

are smaller. “Looking back it was an unrealistic 

expectation.” 

Stuart and 

Juli Haddon 

sailing on the 

Chesapeake Bay 

Then he started using a program called Query 

Tracker which helped him target specific agents and 

publishers. However, he learned that literary agents 

are reluctant to look at books on “a fashion parade. 

They will tell you that they don’t like that and if they 

catch you doing it they won’t look at your book,” said 

Haddon. 

He explains a “fashion parade” is when an author 

sends a manuscript out to several agents at the 

same time. Since they all know each other, it doesn’t 

take long to find out when an author is trying to 

speed up the process of becoming published. 

“I did some research on the net. The chances of 

getting published are almost as low as winning the 

lottery,” he said. 

So now he’s working on promoting his book 

through blogs that critique books, asking friends and 

family to read his book and 

write a review on Amazon. 

com and building upon the 

network of people he knows 

in both the United States and 

United Kingdom. 

The main issue he has 

with his readers from abroad 

is they can’t always access his 

book from the “.com.uk” web 

address. Some of his friends 

have purchased it through 

the United States and paid 

the premium on postage. So 

he’s considering finding a self 

publishing format which can 

make his book more accessible 

for his native land. 


By Debra Meszaros 

MXSportsNutrition.com 

Understanding 

Inflammation 

Debra 

Meszaros 

is a Certified 

Sports Nutritionist 

and Biofeedback 

practitioner 

with 

further educational 

studies 

in Naturopathy, 

Homeopathy, 

Orthomolecular 

Nutrition and 

a d d i t i o n a l l y 

holds fourteen U.S. patents. Through her 

extensive health education, and experience 

of 20-plus years in cellular biology, 

she has developed an all-encompassing 

Holistic health service that allows individuals 

to discover their biochemical 

uniqueness, allowing them to fine tune 

their health. The basis of her service is to 

facilitate access to information that will 

help your understanding of health processes 

and elements that are within your 

area of control. Her services are available 

in Maryland, Virginia and South Carolina. 

She can be reached at (540) 622 – 

4989 Monday through Friday. 

Although tremendously misunderstood 

and overlooked, body language is 

one of the greatest functions of the human 

body. One of the most used forms of 

communication is inflammation. If we 

listen, its message can tell us a lot about 

what is actually going on. Developing 

an understanding of why it happens will 

uncover the reason or reasons it is happening 

in the first place. It can help us 

alleviate health issues that arise when we 

ignore or suppress it, as it can become 

a chronic issue if it is happening for the 

wrong reasons. Inflammation is an immune 

system response. 

There are a wide range of causes 

of inflammation, the one we are most 

familiar with is inflammation brought 

on by injury. When injury occurs the 

immune system responds by increasing 

circulation in the area of injury to help 

the healing process. White blood cells 

travel to the affected area so the body 

can rebuild fibers. This is a beneficial, 

good process but there are diet and lifestyle 

choices that can bring on a different 

form of bad inflammation. Here are some ways to avoid unwanted, harmful 

inflammation. 

• Simply staying hydrated so your body can carry out all its metabolic functions. 

Your muscles depend highly on sufficient water to contract and relax. Drink 

half your body weight in water per day (sipping, not all at once or large quantities 

at once). With adequate water the body will not increase blood flow to the point 

of creating inflammation. 

• AGE (advanced glycation end products) increase inflammation and are created 

by grilled, fried, and overcooked food. Steamed and boiled foods prevent 

AGE’s from forming. 

• Sugar and sugar related products stress the pancreas and when excess insulin 

floods the bloodstream, an inflammatory response is initiated. 

• Managing your stress levels so the nervous system doesn’t create an inflammatory 

response. You can additionally support your adrenals and thyroid 

(both directly related to stress) by incorporating a vitamin B complex and vitamin 

C supplement to your health protocol. Utilizing Tulsi tea (holy basil) is another 

anti-stress option. 

• Utilize curcumin, turmeric, and krill or high quality fish oils to help control 

unwanted inflammation. 

• Following a proper diet of quality protein, quality fats (love that coconut 

oil), and plant-based complex carbohydrates, avoiding simple and processed carbohydrates 

such as flours. Balancing your nightshades (tomato, peppers, eggplant, 

and potatoes) so they are not in excess within your diet. A great rule is not to 

consume these nightshades everyday and adopt a four day rotational eating plan. 

Consuming protein speeds up muscle repair and cellular maintenance. 

• Practice a routine, healthy sleep pattern, making sure you are asleep between 

the hours of 11 PM and 1 AM, when the body does most of its repair and 

rejuvenation work. 

Feel free to explore these options so you can easily manage both good and 

bad inflammation you may be experiencing. 

Disclaimer: When you read through the diet and lifestyle information, you must know that 

everything within it is for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for advice 

from your physician or other health care professional. I am making no attempt to prescribe 

any medical treatment. You should not use the information here for diagnosis or treatment of 

any health problem or for prescription of any medication or other treatment. The products and 

the claims made about specific products have not been evaluated by the United States Food 

and Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease. You 

should consult with a healthcare professional before starting any diet, exercise or supplementation 

program, before taking any medication, or if you have or suspect you might have a health 

problem. Confirm the safety of any supplements with your M.D., N.D. or pharmacist (healthcare 

professional). Some information given is solely an opinion, thought and or conclusion based on 

experiences, trials, tests, assessments or other available sources of information. I do not make 

any guarantees or promises with regard to results. I may discuss substances that have not been 

subject to double blind clinical studies or FDA approval or regulation. You assume the responsibility 

for the decision to take any natural remedy. 

You and only you are responsible if you choose to do anything with the information you 

have read. You do so at your own risk. Use your intelligence to make the decisions that are right 

for you. Consulting a naturopathic doctor is strongly advised especially if you have any existing 

disease or condition.



The Calvert Gazette is always looking for more <strong>local</strong> talent to feature! 

To submit art or band information for our entertainment section, 

e-mail sarahmiller@countytimes.net. 

Theatre Group Looking for a Home 


Staff Writer 

They may not be starving artists, but 

the Twin Beach Players troupe is homeless, 

a fact the group is working to remedy 

by raising money for a Twin Beach 

Arts Center. 

They are looking at existing buildings 

that aren’t historical and that have 

enough parking to accommodate theatre 

goers on production nights, according to 

Twin Beach Players Vice President and 

Youth Troupe director Regan Cashman. 

Finding the right location is proving to be 

a “big challenge” she said. 

The arts center would be the home 

for the Twin Beach Players and the youth 

troupe, as well as providing a venue for 

workshops and other activities. Currently, 

Cashman said the group competes with 

other groups for locations and the facility 

would provide them with dedicated space. 

The first fundraiser for the arts center 

was held during the youth troupe production of Charles Dickens’ 

“A Christmas Carol.” According to Cashman, they took in 

$700 for the playhouse. 

The next fundraiser for the group will be Feb. 12 at the Rod 

‘N’ Reel. The Twin Beach Players will be presenting “Love Letters” 

by A.R. Gurney, featuring Doug Hill of ABC and WTOP 

weather reporting and Lisa Baden, a metropolitan traffic reporter. 

The Valentine’s Day production will be $75 per couple and 

$40 per single ticket, which also buys a “Taste of Southern Maryland” 

meal from the Rod ‘N’ Reel. The event will also feature a 

silent auction. 

Along with the fundraising, Cashman said the group will be 

working with schools and other arts groups to get support, as well 

as applying for grants. She said the idea has taken root in the community 

and is “starting to grow.” 

In addition to working toward their new venue, the troupe is 

also preparing for their upcoming 2012 season. 

The troupe will be presenting a female version of Neil Simon’s 

“The Odd Couple” at the Holland Point Civic Center in March and 

April, as well as Mary Shelly’s “Frankenstein” at a venue to be 

determined in October and November. 

In a recent development, Cashman said the three youth-oriented 

programs have found a home at the Boys and Girls Club 

North Beach Boys and Girls Club. The youth productions include 

Shakespeare’s “The Twelfth Night” in June, the seventh annual 

Kids’s Playwriting Festival in August and the annual production of 

“A Christmas Carol” in the November/December timeframe. 

The Twin Beach Players are also in charge of the U.S.O. performance 

at the Stars and Stripes Festival during Memorial Day 

weekend. 

The troupe is all-volunteer, Cashman said, and has grown to 

more than 100 adults and 80 youths actively involved. She said they 

have begun to outgrow normal venues they rent, yet another reason 

the new center is needed. 

“It’s a good problem to have,” Cashman said. 

She said they have a continuous need for producers, actors and 

behind the scenes workers and have a place for anybody who wants 

to get involved in theatre on stage or off. 

“We don’t turn down anybody,” she said. 

For more information, visit www.twinbeachplayers.com. 


Entertainment Events 

Thursday, Jan. 5 

Live Music: 

“The Piranhas” 

Olde Town Pub (22785 

Washington Street, 

Leonardtown) – 7 p.m. 

Live Music: 

“Sam Grow” 

Ruddy Duck Brewery 

(13200 Dowell Road, 

Dowell) - 8 p.m. 

Friday, Jan. 6 

Live Music: 

“A Day Off Earth” 

Toot’s Bar (23971 

Mervell Dean Road, 

Hollywood) – 8 p.m. 

Live Music: 

“Piney Point 

Playboys” 

Fenwick Used Books 

and Music 

(41655 Fenwick St, 

Leonardtown) - 3 p.m. 

Live Music: 

“Kappa Danielson 

and Paul Larson” 

The Westlawn Inn 

(9200 Chesapeake 

Avenue, North Beach) – 

7:30 p.m. 

Live Music: 

“Dylan Galvin” 



Dowell) – 8 p.m. 

County 

Nights Dance 

Hotel Charles (15110 

Burnt Store Road, 

Hughesville) – 7:30 

p.m. 

Saturday, Jan. 7 

Live Music: “Full 

Steam” 

The Green Turtle (98 

Solomons Island Rd., 

South Prince Frederick) 

– 9:30 p.m. 

Live Music: 

“The Piranhas” 



Dowell) – 8 p.m. 

Live Music: 

“Redwine Jazz Trio” 

The Westlawn Inn 

(9200 Chesapeake Avenue, 

North Beach) – 7 

p.m. 

Live Music: 

“Four of a Kind” 

Cryer’s Back Road 

Inn (22094 Newtowne 

Neck Road, 

Leonardtown) – 9 p.m. 

Sunday, Jan. 8 

Live Music: 

“Sam Grow Band” 

Anthony’s Bar and 

Grill (10371 Southern 

Maryland Boulevard, 

Dunkirk) – 7 p.m. 

Music Trivia 

Toot’s Bar (23971 

Mervell Dean Road, 

Hollywood) – 1 p.m. 

Monday, Jan. 9 

Open Mic Night 

Rustic River Bar and 

Grill (40874 Merchants 

Lane, Leonardtown) – 

5 p.m. 

Tuesday, Jan. 10 

Open Mic Night 



Dowell) – 6:30 p.m. 

Live Music: 

“Fair Warning” 

DB McMillan’s (23415 

Three Notch Road, 

California) – 5 p.m. 

Wednesday, 

Jan. 11 

Live Music: 

“Wolf’s Blues Jam” 

Emerald Cove Restaurant 

(8416 Bayside 

Road, Chesapeake 

Beach) – 8 p.m. 

Live Music: 

“Larry Tierney” 

La Tabella (23154 Wetstone 

Lane, California) 

– 7 p.m.



Sp rts 

All in Awe 

Fur and 

Feathers 

By Keith McGuire 

Contributing Writer 

First of all, I want to extend 

my apologies to Mr. Claus 

for misspelling his name in my 

column last week. I can assure 

you, Santa, it was unintentional 

and I hope you don’t take such 

offense that you will put me on 

your “naughty” list! 

Hunting wise, the calendar 

year ended quite well for me 

on New Year’s Eve. I joined 

two others in the morning for 

a goose hunt. We stood in the 

goose blind and exchanged stories, 

solved the problems of the 

world, and laughed as tundra swans landed in our decoys. 

Soon we crouched like tigers as the Canada geese cupped 

wings to land close enough to shoot. “Take ‘em!” was the 

call that we wanted to hear. When it was all done and the 

geese were collected, we whickered over each others’ misses 

and expressed bravado for the ones we knew fell as a result 

of our own trigger pull. By “trigger pull” count, there 

should have been six or more geese on the water. 

As the last of the morning flights ended, it was apparent 

that we were two short of our limit of two geese each. 

We surmised that the geese would return to the water by 

the end of the day, and that there was a good chance that 

they would come to our decoys again. The other two decided 

to stick it out and stay in the blind for the rest of 

the day until sunset. I chose to take off into the woods 

for the final evening of the muzzleloader season. I took 

the two geese that we surmised to be mine and headed 

straight home to clean them before donning deer hunting 

gear and heading to the woods. 

It was uncharacteristically warm for this time 

of year, which made it difficult to get into the woods 

without breaking a sweat. The wind force told me to 

head to a ground blind and I was able to get there with 

the wind in my face. And then I sat waiting for sunset. 

Since this was the last day of the muzzleloader season, 

I knew that I wanted to leave the woods with an 

unloaded muzzleloader: a firearm that stays loaded for 

the season without a primer charge except when hunting. 

As I sat there in the woods primed and ready, the 

only sound was the wind as it banged tree branches together. 

By 4:00 PM I was ready to see a squirrel or anything 

that I could shoot to unload the muzzleloader and 

head home for a New Year’s Eve dinner. Nothing came 

by. After all, despite my optimism that got me into the 

woods, I hadn’t seen a deer in the woods for 3 weeks! 

Sunset came, and in the fading light I began to eye 

a stump 20 yards from where I was sitting as a likely 

target for unloading. Then, as I glanced to the right, 

there was a deer! It wasn’t a big deer, but it was a suitable 

deer for unloading a muzzleloader on the last day 

of the season. New Year’s Eve dinner would be interrupted 

and delayed. 

Two geese and a deer on the same day! What a 

way to end the year! I was in awe of the day that I had. 

I knew I wouldn’t last until midnight, but I was sure 

that the New Year would start without me. It was time for 

me to rest! 

If you have a particularly interesting hunting story 

and a picture, please drop me a line at riverdancekeith@ 

gmail.com. 

New Year’s Eve Geese 

A View From The 

Bleachers 

By Ronald N. Guy Jr. 

Contributing Writer 

My favorite 

holiday 

songs are Bruce 

Springsteen’s 

version of “Santa 

Claus Is Coming 

To Town” 

and Chuck Berry’s 

toe-tapping 

“Run Run Rudolph”. 

In the 

former’s second 

verse, The Boss’ 

distinct, gravelly 

voice bellows, “He’s making a list, he’s 

checking it twice, gonna find out who’s 

naughty or nice.” Without a doubt, ‘tis the 

season for wish lists and resolutions. I’m 

pretty sure Southern, MD made the bearded, 

kid-charmer’s nice list, wouldn’t you 

agree? And since Santa’s all done delivering 

Nintendo DS and Wii games, and iPads 

New Year’s Wishes 

to the kiddies, perhaps he has time for a 

few last minute wishes for a credit-deflecting 

parent who helped perpetuate his good 

work. Seems fair to me; so without further 

adieu, the 2012 wish list… 

The ‘Skins REALLY need a promising 

young quarterback. Please let one find 

his way onto the roster next year. We simply 

can’t endure another season with the 

human turnover, Rex Grossman, behind 

center. I know young quarterbacks are as 

risky as going for an approach shot with a 

180-yard carry over water, but at this point 

I don’t care. We’re so jaded by the decadeslong 

search for a signal caller that it doesn’t 

matter if he’s any good; it’s that he could 

be really good. A young quarterback, 

while an unknown commodity, symbolizes 

hope. Hope, Santa. Hope for something 

‘Skins fans haven’t had in 20 years: 

sustained excellence. Please, Santa…we’re 

trying to keep hope alive, but it’s in critical 

condition. 

Next up on my 2012 wish list are a 

couple things for our beleaguered Maryland 

Terrapins. First, for the men’s basketball 

team, I’d like a little number in front of 

the name “Maryland.” I’d prefer it to be a 

single number, but a two-digit number will 

do – I’m not greedy. See the little number 

would mean they are nationally ranked… 

as they used to be and should be again. 

This would allow us to dream big again 

come March Madness. For the football 

team, please slip coach Randy Edsall the 

Tin Man’s oil can, Santa. I’m pretty sure 

he can coach, but thus far his approach has 

been far too rigid. If this is going to work, 

the coach needs to be a little more flexible. 

My wish for the Wizards is simple: 

good luck. In the midst of a massive rebuild, 

they’re correctly stashing young talent. 

The problem is that talent is immature 

and, at the moment, not very good. With 

another appearance in the NBA Draft Lottery 

a near certainty, I’d ask that lady luck 

smile upon them and deliver a top pick to 

couple with budding star John Wall. 

A few years ago, what was left of the 

Montreal Expos (after years of incompetent 

self-rule by Major League Baseball) 

relocated to D.C. and became, to this point, 

our lovable losers (the Nationals). One can 

sense, though, that – cue Bob Dylan - our 

baseball “times they are a changing.” With 

good health in 2012 – specifically the continued 

comebacks of pitchers Jordan Zimmermann 

and Stephen Strasburg from elbow 

reconstruction and a full season from 

star 3rd baseman Ryan Zimmerman – the 

Nats could make some noise in the NL East. 

My final wish is for the sports radio 

heads to lighten the ridicule of the home 

teams in 2012. I know theirs is a ratings 

game and the most outrageous often sells 

the best, but we’ve heard enough postmortem 

on the ‘Skins’ dysfunction and the dark 

state of everything that is D.C. sports. Be 

a little gentler with our struggling franchises. 

How about spending as much time 

analyzing ways to transcend the current 

predicaments as you do droning on about 

past transgressions? Please? 

Time will tell if any of these wishes 

land “under our tree” (i.e. on our T.V. 

screens). Regardless, let’s endeavor to incorporate 

some of it – greater personal flexibility 

and less critical critiques of others 

- in our daily operations and wish the rest 

of it – hope for a bright future, the ability 

to dream to the limits of our imagination, 

good health and luck’s favor - on our fellow 

earth-dwellers. Sincerest wishes for a happy 

and prosperous 2012 to you and yours… 

Send comments to rguyjoon@yahoo.com

Now Smart Shoppers Earn Even More 

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Due to the overwhelming success of our “Gas 

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Stores have teamed up with many of our 

suppliers to offer loyal customers even more 

opportunities to earn “Gas Rewards” in 2012. 

McKay’s has negotiated additional dollars 

from our suppliers on products you purchase 

everyday so you can earn more when you 

purchase those items. Additionally, McKay’s 

will continue to offer “Gas Rewards” on overall 

purchases. For every $10.00 you spend, 

McKay’s will give you one cent off per gallon 

of gas, up to 15 gallons. If you make more than 

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