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COUNTY NEWS County Watching Cemetery Bankruptcy Process The Calvert Gazette Thursday, December 22, 2011 6 Safe Nights Offers Beds, Meals to People in Need By Guy Leonard Staff Writer State officials announced this week that Badtec, Inc., the company that owns Southern Memorial Gardens in Dunkirk, has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland. The cemetery had been in foreclosure since the summer and a cease and desist order has been in place since August from the county’s Circuit Court that prohibited the owners from performing any new burials, according to information from the state’s Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (DLLR). The Office of Cemetery Oversight (OCO), part of DLLR, filed an injunction earlier this year against the cemetery owners, Daniel and George Martin, the principals in Badtec, Inc., and the problems surrounding the cemetery led to criminal and civil charges against both. Burials have been allowed to continue since mid-August, a DLLR press release stated, but only if customers had owned a plot at the site prior to August 12 of this year and if the burial was being performed by another, independent contractor. The problems started when over the summer the property became subject to foreclosure by the bank, the state reported, and the OCO sought criminal charges against the owners for allegedly operating the cemetery without the proper permits and registration. Terry Shannon, county administrator, said the county is closely watching the proceedings and has worked with the state to try to maintain the site. “The biggest issue when it comes to us was the property being maintained,” Shannon told The Calvert Gazette. “You really feel for the folks with family there.” Shannon said that grass often went uncut there and the site was in generally lackluster condition, but volunteers have come forward to maintain it. “It’s been very heart warming,” she said. Badtec, Inc.’s creditors are scheduled to meet with state representatives Jan. 10 to discuss the future of the property, a DLLR press release stated. Parties with an interest in Southern Memorial Gardens are welcome to attend a Jan. 10 meeting of creditors at 11:30 a.m. The meeting will be on the sixth floor of the United States Bankruptcy Court of the District of Maryland at 6305 Ivy Lane in Greenbelt. guyleonard@countytimes.net MELLOMAR GOLF PARK By Sarah Miller Staff Writer Safe Nights is back for its fourth winter, offering assistance to people in need throughout the county. Mary Ann Zaversnik, who runs Safe Nights with her husband Joseph, said the number of host churches has grown to 23, and there are another 8-10 assisting churches offering additional support. Safe nights is offered now through April 8. Everyone in the program gets a warm place to sleep every night, and two meals plus a sack lunch every day. Zaversnik said people who register for Safe Nights are expected to be at the host church every night or at a pick up point to be transported to the church. Not coming without being excused can result in being suspended from the program, Zaversnik said. While the rules may be strict, Zaversnik said they are designed to keep everyone safe and help the program run smoothly. While the normal hours are 7 p.m. until 7 a.m., during holidays and some Sundays when libraries and other public locations are closed the host churches will have daylong programs. Safe Nights works closely with Project ECHO. Project ECHO offers people a place to sleep for 90 days and coordinates with Safe Nights to help people who will reach the end of their 90 days and have nowhere to stay. “We want to try to work hand in hand with them,” Zaversnik said. Project ECHO also gets community support. Girl Scout Troop 1610 from Lusby recently held a cookie mix sale to help purchase items for sack lunches sent to Project ECHO. “It was hard for them to understand they were doing one project to raise money for another project,” troop leader Casey Hanback said. She said the project helped the girls get involved in community service. The troop has supported Project ECHO in various ways for the past few years. “I like the fact that I’m just helping out,” said Girl Scout Jordan Abell. Even though they want to help anybody who needs it, Zaversnik said Safe Nights doesn’t publicize what church they will be at on a given night because they would prefer the residents register for the program. “We did find we were being used as a drop in shelter,” Zaversnik said. The registration process also helps the group keep a count of the people they are expecting so they know there will be enough food and beds. For more information, call 443-486- 8670 or visit calvertinterfaithcouncil.org/ SafeNights.html. sarahmiller@countytimes.net Gift Certificates: $5 and Up Any $100 or more: 10% OFF Obscurely Located: 6215 Scaggs Rd., Owings, Maryland 20736 410.286.8212 www.mellomar.com Mini Grant Funding Opportunities The Southern Maryland Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Board has announced that applications for the Mini Grant Program are available. Projects selected for funding will assist RC&D in implementing its Annual Plan and Area Plan which are both focused on community development, land conservation, land management and water management in Charles, Calvert, St. Mary’s and Anne Arundel counties. The maximum amount for each mini grant award is $500. The Southern Maryland RC&D Board will accept applications at its office in Leonardtown via email, fax or regular mail. The Mini Grant Program will operate on a rolling basis throughout the fiscal year (July 2011 to June 2012) while funds are available. Applications are due the 1st of every month. Visit the website at www.somdrcd.org for more information about RC&D. Call the RC&D office at 301-475-8427 X 6 or email denitra.brawner@somdrcd.org if you are interested in applying and would like to receive an application. The RC&D is a nonprofit organization that carries out community development and conservation projects in Charles, Calvert, St. Mary’s and Anne Arundel Counties.
7 Thursday, December 22, 2011 The Calvert Gazette Breakfast With Santa COUNTY NEWS Brent Sulhoff, Braden Blonshine and Ricardo Fabila grab some breakfast between shifts as Santa’s Helper Elves. Photos by Sarah Miller The Patuxent High School JROTC orchestrated their first Breakfast with Santa Dec. 18. JROTC Booster President Chris Tilley, said they brought in $1,365 before factoring in cost of the breakfast. “This is amazing considering our target audience were allowed to come in for free,” Tilley said. The JROTC will share 10 percent of the proceeds with the SMILE Food Pantry. By Sarah Miller Staff Writer State Proposes More Time for WIP When the Chesapeake Bay’s Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP) was first introduced by the EPA, Maryland volunteered to reach the 100 percent reduction goals by 2020, instead of 2025 as required by the EPA mandate. Now, with less than 10 years until 2020, the state is proposing to move their goal back to 2025 in order to have more time, according to Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) spokesperson Samantha Kappalman. “The targets are constantly shifting,” Kappalman said. She said since the start of Phase I of the WIP, the state recognized a need to move the timeline out. “The early target date would be too hard to reach,” Kappalman said. In the draft of WIP Phase II the state submitted to the EPA, they proposed moving the self-imposed deadline back to 2025, in addition to other changes to be reviewed by the EPA before being adopted. “We’re now on track to meet it by 2025,” Kappalman said. Representatives of individual counties support moving the deadline back. “It certainly would help,” said Calvert County Principal Environmental Planner David Brownlee. Currently, Calvert is working on a WIP Phase II to be submitted to the state and the EPA. He said the county wouldn’t have met the goals by 2020, though efforts have been made to come in line with the EPA mandates. According to a Dec. 6 presentation by Brownlee to the Board of County Commissioners, some of the efforts made haven’t been fully recognized by the state and continued growth presents an additional challenge. “We need to turn the tide on pollution and we have made progress,” Brownlee’s presentation reads. “However, growth continues to set us back on the progress we are making.” There will be a second work session to discuss the Calvert County WIP Phase II on Jan. 10. Brownlee said they will be addressing some of the concerns the commissioners had during the first work session. Jeff Jackman, senior planner for St. Mary’s County, said the county could probably meet the goal by the current deadline of 2020, but the process is “intricate, challenging and expensive.” “It is something we have to move forward with” Jackman said. He said the additional years could be useful, but if the state continues to change the deadline, he said there would need to be an understanding between the state and the individual counties so the counties deadline isn’t continuously changing as well. What it comes down to is money, officials from both counties said. In order to get on track and stay on track for the reduction goals, funding is required. Calvert County commissioners have not yet committed funding to the WIP Phase II, something Brownlee said will be discussed during the next work session. Jackman also said the “missing piece” is money. sarahmiller@countytimes.net Wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas and a safe and joyful holiday from the Stephen D. Mattingly Insurance Agency Ava Riley visits with Santa Claus. Top Row: Carolyn Quade, Shirley Mattingly and Barbara Livingston. Bottom Row: Betty West, Steve Mattingly and Alice Kingsley Stephen D. Mattingly Insurance Phone: 301-884-5904 28290 Three Notch Road Mechanicsville, Maryland 20659
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