College Building Cleared by Suspected Gas Leak

WYE MILLS, MD - No injuries or illnesses were reported after a suspected gas leak Thursday afternoon at Chesapeake College, which resulted in the evacuation of the college's Manufacturing Training Center.

The emergency response began after a college employee noticed an odor coming from a storage area that housed canisters of chlorine and hydrogen sulfide. There were no classes in session in the building.

The building's occupants, all employees, were examined by paramedics as a precaution. Firefighters from of the Queenstown Volunteer Fire Department, the Grasonville Volunteer Fire Department and the Queen Anne-Hillsboro Volunteer Fire Department responded as well as an ambulance from the Queenstown VFD and paramedics with Queen Anne's County EMS.

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Talbot Group Wants to End Liquor Sales at Grocers

EASTON, MD - A group working to reform Talbot County's liquor code dropped a restriction on single sales, a cap on the number of off-sale licenses and agreed to an underserved market test at a meeting last week.

It kept, however, a proposal to end sales at grocery and drug stores, including businesses that already have licenses. Talbot County has granted six licenses at grocery stores since 1994, and the group's recommendation would end those licenses after two years.

Talbot County Chamber of Commerce President Al Silverstein said he can't support that proposal, as alcohol sales are a significant part of revenue for those businesses.

Proponents of the proposal argued that sales in those stores expose children to alcohol. Others pointed to the uniqueness of Talbot County's liquor code, which was enacted in 1973 and last revised in 2005. Talbot allows sales at grocery stores, which no other county permits.

Talbot County Councilman Corey Pack said he wanted to include that recommendation, and see what the public says at a future hearing.

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Police Arrest Man Wanted in St. Michaels Shooting

CAMBRIDGE, MD - Cambridge police Saturday arrested Clifton Levante Morton, 36, of St. Michaels, who was wanted on charges relating to an alleged shooting in St. Michaels.

Morton, of 111 Mitchell St., is being held without bond at the Talbot County Detention Center on charges of first- and second-degree assault, possession of a handgun and reckless endangerment.

According to St. Michaels police, officers responded at 10:15 p.m. Monday, July 18, to Morton's home for a reported shooting. Upon arrival, police said a man identified as Christopher Carroll allegedly hit Antwan Johnson in the face. During the fight, police allege Johnson was shot in the leg by Morton and Morton left the home on foot.

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DelMarVa Post Offices Face Possible Closure

Well, it’s really MarVa post offices. Curiously, no Delaware post offices are under consideration for closure from the US Postal Service.

The Eastern Shore PO’s “under study” are:

Assawoman	VA		Massey	MD
Betterton	MD		Sanford	VA
Bivalve	MD		Saxis	VA
Craddockville	VA		Sherwood	MD
Crocheron	MD		Townsend	VA
Ewell	MD		Tyaskin	MD
Harborton	VA		Tylerton	MD
Henderson	MD		Upper Fairmount	MD
Hillsboro	MD		Willis Wharf	VA
Locustville	VA		Withams	VA

For a full list of the Maryland post offices “under study”, CLICK HERE.

For a full list of the Virginia post offices “under study”, CLICK HERE.

If you’re from Delaware, send a thank you note to Joe Biden.

Mountaire Will Not Purchase Allen Family Foods

In a statement released Tuesday, July 26, Mountaire Farms officials announced the company is no longer seeking to purchase Allen Family Foods, which filed for bankruptcy protection last month.

Mountaire submitted a proposal to purchase several of Allen Family Foods' operations including a hatchery in Seaford and the Harbeson processing plant.

Chris Shigas, spokesman for Mountaire, said the company has decided discontinued purchase plans for any of Allen properties.

“Mountaire Farms has discontinued efforts to buy assets of Allen’s Family Foods at a bankruptcy auction process held on July 25, 2011. Mountaire wishes the best for the Allen family and everyone at their companies," said Shigas in the release. "Mountaire Farms will continue with its plan to expand facilities. As soon as practical, the company will be adding jobs in the community under an expansion plan looking to add employees, growers and other service needs. Driven by its deep-rooted commitment to quality service and value, Mountaire Farms looks forward to future business growth and strengthened ties with the communities in which it operates.”

from Rachel Swick @ the Cape Gazette

Talbot Landfill to Charge Fees

Beginning today, residents will be charged $5 per trip to take as many as seven bags to the Mid-Shore I Regional Landfill homeowner drop-off site off Barkers Landing Road in Easton. Residents also may purchase a punch card for $10 for five trips, or $20 for 10 trips.

The landfill accepts yard waste (one to seven bags or a small pickup truck load per trip), trash (one to seven bags), used oil and antifreeze (free), batteries (free) and recyclables through Mid-Shore Igloo Service (free).

Residents unloading more than seven bags of trash or debris, furniture, appliances, construction debris, scrap metal or tires must use the scale and will be charged $63 a ton, which includes a $5 transfer fee to Mid-Shore II. The charge is prorated and will be a minimum $7 for 160 pounds or less.

Customers using trailers, box trucks, dump trucks, flatbed trucks, panel vans or other commercial vehicles also must use the scale, at the same price per ton.

Yard waste disposal charges are $23.50 per ton, including the $5 transfer fee for quantities larger than seven bags or for a small pickup truckload. Plastic bags must be emptied.

Since Talbot County began hosting the Mid-Shore Regional Landfill 20 years ago, MES operated and maintained a free homeowners' drop-off facility, also referred to as the HODO (HomeOwners' Drop-Off) facility.

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Chesapeake College Nearing Fall Enrollment Record

WYE MILLS, MD - A five-week enrollment surge at Chesapeake College has the college in position to set a fall semester enrollment record for the sixth straight year.

According to Chesapeake College, as of Tuesday, Chesapeake College began the day with 2,471 students registered for the 2011 fall semester, which is a 1.7 percent increase compared to the same point last year when 2,431 students were enrolled.

Chesapeake College remained about 3 percent below last fall's enrollment pace on June 13 before the five-week surge. Between June 13 and 18, 747 students enrolled at the college, a 15.3 percent increase over the same period in 2010.

"We've registered an incredible number of students over the last five weeks," said Kathy Petrichenko, Chesapeake College dean for recruitment services. "The fall enrollment period actually began rather slowly, but enrollment started picking up in mid-June and hasn't slowed since."

Petrichenko said a survey disseminated in July to Spring 2011 students, who had not yet registered for fall 2011, showed students were registering later than in previous years.

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Police Still Searching for Shooter

This is an UPDATE from Wednesday’s post.

ST. MICHAELS - Clifton Levante Morton, 36, of St. Michaels, who is wanted for first-degree assault, remains at-large after he allegedly shot another man in the leg Monday night in St. Michaels.

Morton, of 111 Mitchell St., is wanted on charges of first- and second-degree assault, possession of a handgun and reckless endangerment. Morton is black, 5 feet, 11 inches tall, 215 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.

According to St. Michaels police, officers responded at 10:15 p.m. to Morton's home for a reported shooting. Upon arrival, police said a man identified as Christopher Carroll allegedly hit Antwan Johnson in the face. During the fight, police allege Johnson was shot in the leg by Morton and Morton left the home on foot.

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http://sbynews.blogspot.com/2011/07/police-search-for-shooter.html

Shore Health Names New CEO

Kenneth D. Kozel has been named President and Chief Executive Officer of Shore Health System.

Kozel has 23 years of health care experience, including most recently as president of the two hospitals that comprise Upper Chesapeake Health in Harford County. During more than eight years in executive leadership at Upper Chesapeake Health, Kozel helped guide the organization through multiple major projects resulting in improved patient safety and an enhanced environment of care, including a $35 million patient tower expansion and infrastructure renovations for Upper Chesapeake's two hospitals.

"I am very excited about becoming the next President and CEO of Shore Health System," Kozel said in a statement to The Star Democrat. "It has been a career aspiration of mine to become a CEO of a community hospital system and Shore Health is exactly the type of community I was hoping to find. In addition to finding the ideal community setting, there are so many similarities between Upper Chesapeake Health and Shore Health that will help to ensure my success. These similarities include the size of the hospitals, the scope of services provided and most importantly, the outstanding people who work for the health system and live in the community. Finally, the engagement and commitment to excellence demonstrated by everyone on the Shore Health Board of Directors, the medical staff, and the leadership team was great to witness and I am eagerly looking forward to becoming part of the Shore community and calling the Shore my home."

Kozel is scheduled to begin working at Shore Health System by Oct. 3.

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Police Search for Shooter

Local law enforcement agencies are looking for Clifton Levante Morton, 36, of St. Michaels, who is wanted for allegedly shooting another man in the leg Monday night in St. Michaels.

St. Michaels Police Chief Miguel Dennis said Morton, of 111 Mitchell St., is wanted on charges of first- and second-degree assault, possession of a handgun and reckless endangerment. Dennis said Morton is black, 5 feet, 11 inches tall, 215 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.

On Monday night, St. Michaels police responded at 10:15 p.m. to Morton's home for a reported shooting. Upon arrival, police said a man identified as Christopher Carroll allegedly hit Antwan Johnson in the face. During the fight, police allege Johnson was shot in the leg by Morton and Morton left the home on foot.

Dennis said Johnson, 26, drove himself to Memorial Hospital at Easton, where he was treated and released. Dennis said Maryland State Police, Talbot County Sheriff's Office and Easton and Oxford police are assisting St. Michaels police in the search for Morton.

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Habitat for Humanity Dedicates St. Michaels Home

Habitat for Humanity Choptank's house dedication ceremony Saturday morning proved once again that every affordable home the organization establishes is much more than simply a house.

"It's an example of what a community can do when it pulls together to achieve a common cause," said Steve Clineburg, board president of Habitat Choptank, to an audience of more than 40 people, who each, in some way, helped make the house a reality. "Speaking as a St. Michaels resident myself, I'm very proud of what our community has done and I'm hoping it can be repeated many times."

The quaint, cream-colored house, which sits along the nicely-shaded Brooks Lane, was dedicated to its new occupants Lori Whitehead, her two children, Becca and Robert; and, the most recent addition to their family, an American husky named Roxy.

"You don't realize what a difference you've made. I never thought I'd be able to afford to live here in a house of my own," Whitehead said, with a slight tremble in her voice and tears welling in her eyes. "A great big thank you to everybody involved, not just in my house build, but every Habitat house."

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Easton Cable to Increase Home Internet Rates

Easton Cable will increase residential high-speed Internet prices in August for the first time since launching service 13 years ago. The utility said hardware and software upgrades are driving the higher fees.

Effective with August bills, Residential Starter Service will increase to $30 per month from $25 and V10 (formerly Residential Full Service) will increase to $45 per month from $40. Packages including either of these services, including the Triple Play, will increase by $5.

In the past year, Easton Cable said in a release that it has doubled the maximum download speed of its V10 service. Since launching cable modem service in 1998, Easton Cable has increased maximum download speeds to 100 times the original levels.

Easton Cable Vice President of Operations Geoff Oxnam said even with the increase, Easton Cable offers the fastest Internet in town at prices lower than comparable service from other regional providers.

"Our goal is to deliver the performance our customers demand at competitive prices," Oxnam said. "The Easton Cable Velocity upgrades are essential to continue to meet that goal today and into the future."

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Pair Indicted in Easton PNC Bank Robbery

Two people accused of robbing the Easton PNC Bank on Marlboro Avenue on Monday, April 25, were indicted in the United States District Court for Maryland on charges of bank robbery and aiding and abetting.

According to the indictment filed July 14, Donald Tyrone Gross and Sherice LaCheryl Gunther "by force, violence and intimidation, take from the person and presence of the employees of PNC Bank ... money in the amount of $5,000 more or less, ... and in the course of committing said robbery, the defendants did place in jeopardy the lives of the employees at said bank through the use of a dangerous weapon and device."

In response to the federal indictment, charges in Talbot County District Court were dropped.

Baltimore County police and Easton police detectives working in Randallstown on Wednesday, April 27, arrested Gross, 43, and Gunther, 32, each on charges of armed robbery, robbery, use of a handgun in a violent crime, handgun in vehicle, handgun on person, first-degree assault, second-degree assault, theft between $1,000 to $10,000, reckless endangerment and conspiracy to all charges.

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28 Allen Employees Laid Off at Cordova Processing Plant

A Talbot County official says 28 employees at an Allen Family Foods processing plant in Cordova have been laid off.

Paige Bethke, director of economic development for Talbot County, says the layoffs Friday were related to market conditions and not to the company's ongoing bankruptcy reorganization. Bethke says the plant has more than 400 employees.

The Seaford, Del., company filed for bankruptcy protection last month and said it plans to sell nearly all of its assets to a new affiliate of Mountaire Farms, which may add an undetermined number of jobs. The company has facilities in Delaware, Maryland and North Carolina.

Bethke says the county is awaiting a July 28 bankruptcy court hearing in Wilmington, Del., to learn more about the future of the plant.

from the Wilmington News-Journal / AP

Man Bites Ear in Tilghman

Maryland State Police are looking for a man who allegedly bit off part of another man's ear lobe during an assault at about 11:30 p.m. Saturday at the Bridge Restaurant in Tilghman.

Police said an unknown Hispanic man assaulted Christopher Andrew Tyler, 23, of Tilghman, who also had cuts from the incident. Anyone with information should call Tfc. Myers at 410-819-4747.

from the Star-Democrat

Sherwood Man Faces Sex Abuse Charges

Louie Barney Johnson, 70, of Sherwood, was arrested Friday by Talbot County Sheriff's Office deputies and faces multiple sex offense charges after he allegedly had inappropriate contact with a girl between 2001 and 2009.

Johnson is charged with sex abuse of a minor continuous course of conduct, second-degree sex offense, four counts each of third- and fourth-degree sex offense, three counts of sex abuse of a minor, and four counts of second-degree assault.

He was released from the Talbot County Detention Center on $150,000 bond.

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Four Mid-Shore High Schools Rank Among Nation’s Best

Four Mid-Shore high schools were recently named by the Washington Post as being among the elite public high schools in the nation for college preparedness.

Easton (ranked 1,494), Colonel Richardson (1,741), Queen Anne's County (1,762) and North Caroline (1,886) high schools made the list that included 1,953 high schools.

Jay Matthews, the Washington Post education columnist, has been ranking Washington-area public schools using the Challenge Index since 1998. This year, the Post expanded its rankings to high schools across the nation.

According to the Post, the Challenge Index measures how effectively a school prepares its students for college. The formula divides the number of Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate or other college-level tests a school gave in 2010 by the number of graduating seniors.

According to the Washington Post, the rating can reveal the level of a high school's commitment to preparing average students for college.

Easton High School finds itself on the new Washington Post list after five years of being named one of the top public high schools in the nation by Newsweek.

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We discovered an error in the article (a good one, actually).  North Caroline HS also made the ranking. Sadly, no schools on the Lower Shore were included. – Ed.

Talbot MSA Scores Up

Overall Maryland School Assessment (MSA) math and reading scores continue to climb toward the 100 percent proficiency mark for elementary and middle school students in Talbot County Public Schools in 2011.

The Maryland State Department of Education released the 2011 MSA math and reading scores on Wednesday, and Talbot County Public Schools placed at or ahead of the state averages in all overall categories. All third- through eighth-grade students in the state are tested annually in reading and math as required by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) federal law. Each year, passing standards are raised because NCLB requires 100 percent of children to score at the proficient or advanced level by 2014.

According to MSDE, more than 80 percent of all elementary and middle school students in Talbot County earned a proficient or advanced score in reading and math in 2011. The TCPS elementary reading average is about 90 percent at the proficient/advanced level while the state elementary school average is 88 percent.

TCPS middle school reading scores are at 83 percent at the proficient/advanced level with the state middle school average at 83 percent.

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Talbot Public Schools Cuts 18 Positions for FY 2012

Talbot County schools cut 18 positions Wednesday night in approving the school budget, but only one staffer will be laid off, Talbot County Public Schools said Thursday. The other workers will take vacant positions elsewhere in the school system.

Dr. Karen Salmon said Thursday she would not reveal what specific positions were eliminated.

The school system gave a general outline of the cuts in a press release. The 18 positions being eliminated include one senior staff administrator, 5.5 mid-level administrators, 4.5 support staffers and seven instructional staffers.

Instructional positions include teachers; support staff includes maintenance, transportation and secretaries; and mid-level administration positions include school principals, assistant principals and school managers.

The cuts account for 2 percent of instructional staff, 3 percent of the support staff and 10 percent of mid-level administration, with salaries and benefits for those posts totaling more than five percent of the operating budget.

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