Thursday, July 10, 2008 • St. Mary’s County

Andrea ShiellStaff Writer

What could be more American than soft shell crab sandwiches, fun-nel cake, rock and roll, puppet shows, lawn chairs, fireworks, and…belly dancers?

Hundreds gathered to enjoy these and other attractions, and all seemed to blend seamlessly during this year’s 20th annual Freedom Fest, held at the St. Mary’s County Fair-grounds this weekend.

Families looking to celebrate America’s 232nd birthday this year had no shortage of options when it came to local festivities. On Friday, jazz vocalist Hilary Kole sang at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, as part of the River Concert series, leading into a fireworks display, and simi-lar events were held at Solomons as well.

On Sunday, Jeffrey Silberschlag and the Chesapeake Orchestra Brass Quintet performed on the front lawn

Thursday, July 10, 2008 • St. Mary’s County, Maryland

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Residents Enjoy A Fabulous Fourth Of July

Andrea ShiellStaff Writer

Bomb Technicians with the Office of the State Fire Marshal’s Bomb Squad charged a St. Mary’s County man with possession of fireworks with the intent to discharge this weekend.

The charge stemmed from a large stash of fireworks confiscated June 28, found on a barge anchored in the Patuxent River, not far from the community known as Patuxent View in Prince Frederick.

Investigators discovered $10,000 worth of fireworks purchased from various locations in the Commonwealth of Virginia and be-longing to Jack R. Beckwith, 58, of Mechanicsville. Beckwith did not have a permit for the display, and he was not a licensed shooter in the state of

Mechanicsville Man Charged With Possession of Illegal Fireworks

By Guy LeonardStaff Writer

Detectives with the St. Mary’s County Bureau of Criminal Investigations have charged a 16-year-old juve-nile from Great Mills with raping a 12-year-old female over the holiday weekend.

John K. Edison, Jr. remains incarcerated at the St. Mary’s County Detention Center after he was denied bond Monday by District Court Judge John Slade.

Edison has been charged as an adult and also faces second and fourth-degree sex offense charges as well as a second-degree assault charge.

According to charging documents filed by Detective

Suspect, 16-Years-Old, Charged With Rape


As Deputy First Class Angela Muller started up her class Tuesday, she reviewed with her small group of 5th and �th graders what they had learned about the dangers of to-bacco and smoking cigarettes in the previous day’s lesson.

“There’s 200 poisons in tobac-co,” one student called out. “You can get yellow teeth,” another said.

And so began the second day of the return of the D.A.R.E. program (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) after a hiatus of several years to St. Mary’s County.

The programs is designed to bring educators, law enforcement officers and students together to teach children through Kindergar-ten to the 12th grade the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse and how to avoid them.

Tuesday’s lesson focused on how children in their younger years can take a more critical look at advertising methods of tobacco

Kids D.A.R.E. To Stay Drug Free

See D.A.R.E. page A-�

See Rape Charge page A-5

Deputy First Class Angela Muller, talks with Sydney Armitage and Danielle Hutchinson at D.A.R.E Camp during a game of musical chairs to jog their memories on what they learned about the af-fects of alcohol and tobacco.

Photo by Guy Leonard

Photo by Andrea Shiell

Whenourbatsareonfire,wecancompetewith anybody.” –BeldenManagerSamCooper

Belden Drops Bud Light“

On July 2nd, Congressman Steny Hoyer (D-MD) announced the award of a $43,500 grant for the en-hancement of visitor access to the Piney Point Light-house Museum and Historic Park in St. Mary’s Coun-ty, one of the oldest original lighthouses built on the Potomac. The funding was awarded through the Na-tional Park Service’s Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Water Trails Network grant program, which helps sup-port more than 15� museums, parks, wildlife refuges, Indian reservations, water trails, and other attractions in six states and the District of Columbia. The project will replace the site’s small pier on the park’s north campus and add a 6’x10’ floating step down platform to facilitate the launching and retrieval of kayaks in the protected creek off the Potomac River.

Hoyer Announces $43,500 Grant For Piney Point Lighthouse

County residents can now access a link on the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office Web site that can show them which crimes are happening where in their communities.

The new link to the Web site, CrimeReports.com, can be accessed through the www.firstsheriff.com site, according to information from the sheriff’s office.

The CrimeReports site gets its information di-rectly from the sheriff’s office’s incident and crime reports and then relays them back to the information seekers.

Once the site has been accessed citizens can type in either an address, city state or zip code to see which crimes have occurred in their neighborhoods and at what time within a two-mile search radius, ac-cording to sheriff’s office information.

Those accessing the site can use in a zoom-in and zoom-out feature that allows them a closer look at where the crime took place.

The user can also access an analysis of the crimes on the Web site to view crime trends, the number of crimes and particular crimes as a percentage of total crimes.

Anyone accessing CrimeReports.com can also view crime statistics in neighboring counties that participate with the Web site.

Citizens Can Access Crime Activity Stats On-line

This year’s spectacular fireworks show was but one of the highlights of the 20th annual St. Mary’s County Freedom Fest.

SectionA-� The County Times Thursday,July10,�008

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Did You Know???

ByGuyLeonardStaffWriter

A Lexington Park man accused ofmurdering his estranged wife’s boy-friendandattempting tokill her in theprocessmustcontinuepayingchildsup-portfortheirthreechildren.

ArulingbyCircuitCourtMasterF.Michael Harris last week determinedthatKoummaneVirasithmuststillmakethe child support payments to MelissaVirasithdespitebeingdetainedintheSt.Mary’sCountyDetentionCenter.

The double shooting that took thelife of Thomas John Saunders, 38, andseriously injured Melissa Virasith, 40,occurredApril10.

Before the shooting occurred, Me-lissa Virasith had filed two domestic

violencecomplaintsagainstherhusbandfor alleged abusive behavior. The cou-pleseparatedin2006,courtdocumentsstated, with Koummane Virasith madetopay$400amonthinchildsupport.

Melissa Virasith wrote to the courtin late June stating that child supportwasnowvitaltoherkeepingherfamilygoingwhileshewasrecoveringfromtheshooting.

“Ihavenoincomeandwillnothaveanyincomeforsometimetocome,”Me-lissa Virasith wrote. “I feel that he isstill responsible for the support of ourthreesonsandIdonotwant tomodifyoursupportagreement.”

MelissaVirasith stated inher letterthatshewascurrentlyaparaplegicasaresultoftheshootingandwasundergo-ingtherapyatahospitalinBaltimore.

Ina letter to thecourtwritten littlemorethanaweekafterKoummaneVira-sith allegedly shot the two victims, hestatedthathehadalwayspaidhischildsupportontimeeverymonthwhilegain-fullyemployed.

His incarceration in the detentioncenter now made that impossible, hewroteintheletter.

Harrisagreedtoenforcethecurrentorder, court records ref lect, and evenmoreHarrisactuallyfoundthatVirasithhadhadhimselfincarceratedsothathecouldavoidmakingthepayments.

Virasith was first ordered to startmaking the payments in October of2007.

Pauline Mandel, an attorney withtheMarylandCrimeVictim’sResourceCenterwhorepresentsMelissaVirasith,

saidthatherclientdeclinedtocommentonrecentproceedings.

Virasith is set to be tried forSaun-ders’ murder and the shooting of hiswife in September, according to courtpapers.

State’s Attorney Richard Fritz toldTheCountyTimesthathewillseeklifeimprisonment for Koummane Virasithfor the double shooting; Fritz said hewasalsoconsideringfilingmotionsthatcalled for the defendant to imprisonedwithoutthepossibilityofparole.

FritzsaidinahearingbeforeCircuitCourtJudgeC.ClarkeRaleythathehadbeenwaitingforthreetofourweeksforan attorney from thePublicDefender’sOfficetoenteranappearanceasKoum-mane Virasith’s lawyer in the murdertrial.

Thepublicdefender’sofficehastak-enthecase.

Fritz said progress in the case hadstalled as he was waiting for anotherattorney to receive the discovery of alltheevidenceuncovered in the shootinginvestigation.

“I’m happy because discovery cancontinue and we can move towardstrial,”Fritz said. “Wewant to stay oncourse.”

MurderSuspectOrderedToContinuePayingChildSupportFromJailWife Injured In Shooting Still Recovering

ByGuyLeonardStaffWriter

TheheadofaregionalgroupoftheInter-national Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF)says that decisions by the chief of District-based federal firefighters, Regional Fire Chief EdwardG.Stillwell,tocutjobsintheDistrictcouldbeawarningsignalthatthesamemayhappen at Patuxent River Naval Air Stationandotherfederalworkplacescloseby.

Greg Russell, president of the NationalCapital Professional Federal Firefighters Lo-cal 121, which represents federal firefighters in Maryland,VirginiaandtheDistrict,saidStill-well’sdecisioncomesaboutthreemonthsafterthe local union took a vote of no confidence in their leader, in which Patuxent River NAS fire-fighters took part.

If similar cuts in federal firefighting staff happen at the local U.S. Navy base, Russellsaid, the basemayhave to call upon countyalreadystrainedcountyresourcestocompletetheirmission.

“If they’re willing to make cuts in thenation’scapitalthentheywon’thesitatetocutmembers in rural locations like St. Mary’sCounty,”Russellsaid.

There are about 60 to 70 federal firefight-ersassignedtothebase,Russellsaid,butthatnumbercouldactuallybelessbecauseofsup-posedattritionproblems.

“Since Stillwell has been in charge at-tritionrates[intheunion’sregion]havebeenhigher than in previous years,” Russell toldTheCountyTimes.

Russell said that the no-confidence vote came after Stillwell persisted in not heedingfirefighters’ concerns about safety precautions

andpropertrainingforhistroops.Stillwellalsodidnotprovideadequatesafe-

ty equipment to firefighters, Russell claimed, aswellasradiothatcouldbeusedonmilitaryfrequencies.

The recent cuts in the District, Russellsaid, meant that for every four-person crewassignedtoanapparatus, therewasonenowtakenaway.

For the 20 firefighters on duty in the Dis-trictatfederalsitesonagivenshiftthatreducedthe number to 16 firefighters available, Russell said,orareductionofabout20percent.

Stillwell has already cut the number ofpositionsatthestationatPatuxentRiver,Rus-sellsaid,byabout6positionsayear-and-a-halfago.

“Theywereessential,”Russellsaidofthepositions cut at the base fire house. “They’re takingacalculatedriskinmakingthesecuts.”

TherecentcutsintheDistrict,madeJuly2 according to Russell, had federal firefighters worried.

“It’sjustonemorethingthatindicateshedoesn’tcareforoursafety,”Russellclaimed.

PhonecallstoStillwellwerenotreturnedasofpresstime.

RussellsaidthatifStillwelldidnotacttoei-therreinstatethepositionsortakeactionontheunion’ssafetyconcerns,theywouldtakeacen-sure resolution drafted from the no-confidence voteinMaytotheIAFFyearlyconvention.

Russell said the local union would pushthe largerunion tobringpressure tobearonStillwell’scommandtobringaboutthechangetheywanted.

The local federal firefighters union rep-resents about 200 firefighters in the capitol region.

UnionRep:FederalFirefighter Cuts In DistrictCouldHappenIn St. Mary’s

AndreaShiellStaffWriter

Those wishing to volun-teer for St. Mary’s CountyPublicSchoolswillnowhaveto go through a more exten-sive screening process to beapproved. Beginning withthe 2008-2009 school year,SMCPS will implement newproceduresforscreeningvol-unteerstoensureanappropri-atelevelofbackgroundchecksfor all community memberswho provide volunteer hourstoitsschools.

Under the new proce-dures, two classifications of volunteers have been estab-lished. “Registered volun-teers,” who serve on an oc-casionalorroutinebasismay

have unsupervised contactwithastudentatorawayfromtheschoolsite.Thisgroupin-cludes,but itsnot limited to,chaperones for field trips and overnightschooltrips,coach-es,tutors,mentors,schoolof-fice and classroom aides, and student teachers. Registeredvolunteerswillberequiredtocompleteanapplicationforaformalbackgroundscreening,the costs for which will becoveredbytheschoolsystem.

The other classification is for “temporary volunteers,”who participate in singleevents and do not have un-supervised contact with stu-dents, to include chaperonesfor field trips, school dances, and guest speakers. Underthe new procedures, tempo-

rary volunteers will have tocompleteavolunteerapplica-tiontobescreenedagainsttheNationalSexOffenderRegis-try,forwhichtherewillbenocorrespondingcosts.

All of this comes in thewakeofarashofarreststhathappened in April involvingsuspected sexual offenseswithin the school system.One involved 24 year-oldScott Strandberg of Lexing-tonPark,aformerdrumlinecoach forLeonardtownHighSchoolwhowas arrested forallegedly having sexual con-tactwitha16year-oldfemalestudentbothathishomeandonaschoolbusbetweenSep-temberandNovemberoflastyear. Under the old system,asapaidvolunteer,hehadnot

been subjected to the sametypeofbackgroundcheckasother school system employ-eesorsubstituteteachers.

Also in April, 54 year-oldDavidEmileGuillemettewasarrestedandchargedwithcommitting sexual abuse to-warda15year-oldfemalewhohadvisitedhishome,aswellas third-degree sex offenseand second-degree assault.Guillemettehadworkedasasubstitute teacher at variousSt.Mary’sCounty elementa-ryschools,andhadbeensub-jectedtoabackgroundcheck,whichshowednopriorcrimi-nalrecordsaveforchargesre-lated to traffic citations and a peace order that had been filed against him by complainantswhofailedtoappearincourt.

School SuperintendentMichaelMartiranoannouncedhis intentions to initiate atougherscreeningprocessforvolunteers after these arrestswere made, explaining thatvolunteerswouldbescreenedagainst the National Sex Of-fenderRegistrytostartwith.

SupervisorofSafetyand

Martirano Implements New Screening ProcessforSchoolVolunteers Security F. Michael Wyant

saidthatSMCPSisanticipat-ingscreeningmorethan2,000volunteersinthenextyear,butpotential volunteers will nothave to wait long to find out iftheyareapproved.“We’reexpectingaturnaroundof24to48hoursbutwe’reexpect-ing them to anticipatewherethey’re at as early as possi-ble,”Wyantsaid,addingthatpeople who had volunteeredin previous years would besubjecttothesamescreeningprocedures as newcomers tothesystem,andthatthosein-terestedinparticipatingintheschool system’s many volun-teeropportunitieswouldneedtogettheirapplicationsinassoonaspossible.

The background screen-ing process for registeredvolunteers includes a stateof Maryland criminal back-groundcheck,socialsecurityverification, and residential history. Those who havelived in Maryland for sevenyearsormoremayormaynotbesubjectedtoanout-of-statecheck,dependingontheirin-dividualrecords.

Many other communitygroups such as little leagueand the boy scouts are in

the process of implementingsimilarmeasures,ifnonearecurrently in place. In manycases,thesegroupshavebeena step ahead of the schoolsystem when screening vol-unteers. Michelle Smith,manager of theLusby centerof Boys and Girls Clubs ofSouthernMaryland says thatinher three-year tenurewiththeorganization,backgroundchecksforallvolunteershavebeenmandatory.“Theyhavean application they have to fill out,andwedoabackgroundcheck with fingerprints,” she explained,addingthatallap-plicants are checked againstthe state and federal sex of-fender registry. The Cen-ter for Children in SouthernMaryland also has measuresinplacetoscreenvolunteers,checkingapplicantsagainstanational child abuse registryin addition to completing acriminalbackgroundcheck.

“We’re going to be issu-ing photo identification cards throughouttheyearaswell…we’rejustlookingtoenhanceour existing procedures andbe more thorough with ourscreening,” said Wyant, whosaidthatwithanyluck,futureincidentsmaybeavoided.

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Editorial&OpinionAHEARTFELTTHANKYOUTOSOUTHERNMARYLAND!!!

The Fight Back Express made its suc-cessful visit to Southern Maryland 06 June08 in the Prince Frederick Walmart parkinglot.SouthernMarylandwasthepremierestopinourstateandoneofthemostenergizedandtouchingstopstodate. ParticipantsfromtheCalvert,Charles, andSt.Mary’sCountyRe-layForLifeeventswereapartofthespiritedcrowd.Atthisstop,wewereabletoshowtherestofthestatethatthetri-countyareaistrulya community that cares and iswilling to dowhatittakestoenddeathandsufferingfromcancer.SouthernMarylandhasaverystrongcontingencyofvolunteersandgrassrootsef-forts to all joined in a fight to end death and suffering from cancer. I want to thank theresidentsformCalvert,Charles,andSt.Mary’scountiesforthisincredibleevent.Itwastrulywonderfultoseethosewhoattendedtheeventandthosewhodroppedbyastheywereshop-pingandsawthebus.Everyonewhostoppedby signed the bus leaving messages of hopethat celebrate the lives of those who are fight-ing, will fight, and have fought the disease; re-member those who we have lost; and pledge to continue to fight back against this disease. We alsocollectedpetitionsandpersonalstoriestosendtoourstateandfederallawmakers.TheFightBackExpress isabus representing thecollectivevoiceofvolunteersfromtheAmeri-can Cancer Society Cancer Action Network(ACSCAN)thatistravelingacrossthenationuntiltheNovemberelection.Itbringsthefac-esofcancertotheforefrontandremindselect-ed officials that cancer is not merely a number or a statistic, but a disease that causesdeathandsuffering.Itwillremindallthatcancerisadiseasethataffects thecommunitynot justan individual. It tellsour leaders thatcancermust be eradicated and kicked to the curb!!!TheMaryland legof theFightBackExpresswasdedicatedtoabeautifulyounggirlnamedTaliaMariePleasantwholostherbattletothisdisease24May2008attheageof4.Hersto-ryischronicledbyhermotherathttp://www.caringbridge.org/md/taliapleasant. Duringthebattleforherlife,herparentshadtoeitherpay out of pocket or change their insurance.Thechangeininsurancedelayedherradiationtreatmentbyatleast10days.Herparentshadinsurance,yet theystillhad toovercomeac-cesstocareproblemstoreceivethebestpos-sibletreatmentandimproveTalia’schances.IemceedtheeventandwasabletoshareTalia’sstorywiththosewhowerepresentalongwith

several additional speakers who shared theirstories and reminded us that cancer toucheseveryone. I would like to thank our speakers; Mr.MikeMiller,MarylandStateSenatePresi-dent,whospokeabouthowhehaspersonallybeen touched by cancer and was even con-vincedtojoinACSCANinapersonalpledgeto fight back; Donna Ferguson, represented Dr. EdithPatterson(CharlesCountyCommission-er),whogaveDr.Patterson’scompellingstoryand pledge to fight back; and an ACS CAN Ambassador from Calvert County, ElaineKoogler. Photos from the event canbe seenat http://www.flickr.com/photos/americancan-cersociety/sets/72157605554223866/?page=5 Iwouldalsoliketothankthevolunteerplanningcommittee for the stop: Peggy Kidwell, SueMoats,WendyCallins,NatalieThomas, SueLyddon-HayesandBetsyGallunfortheirded-ication and commitment in this fight. Thank youtoWalmartfortheuseoftheparkinglotand donatingwater, PaneraBread for bagelsandcreamcheese,andStarbucksforcoffee.Icannotconveyhowwonderfultheinvolvementof our community reflects upon all of us. You canlearnmoreaboutACSCAN,theFightBackExpress and why I fight at http://action.acscan.org/goto/georgette.b.gaskin or contact me atmdacscan@jhu.edu.Toomanyofuscontinuetoloselovedoneswhofoughtvaliantlytowintheirpersonalwarsagainstcancer. It is timeto fight back. If one person can battle this dis-ease,thevoiceanationcandefeatit.Togetherwith our elected officials we can fight back tokickcancer to thecurb!!! Iagainwant tothankMr.Miller andDr.Patterson formak-ing the pledge to fight back against this hor-riddisease.Iurgetheirconstituentstothankthem.Iencourageeachofyoutocontactyourcommissioners,statelegislators,CongressmanHoyer,SenatorMikulski,andSenatorCardinto encourage them to join us in our fight! They caneitherjoinusorbeleftbehindbythemo-mentum we have started in our great com-munity!! Always remember… It takes onevote,onevoice,ourvoicetokickcancertothecurb!IAMPROUDTOBEAPARTOFACOMMUNITY LIKE SOUTHERN MARY-LAND–OURCOLLECTIVEVOICEWILLKICKCANCERTOTHECURB!!!Sincere-ly, Georgette B. Gaskin http://action.acscan.org/goto/georgette.b.gaskin American CancerSociety Cancer Action Network volunteerMaryland State Lead Ambassador ContactInformation,notforpublication:44790LocustRidgeCourtUnit846California,[email protected]

GeorgetteGaskinCalifornia,Md

GreenwellFoundationGratefulforSupport

OnMay16,theGreenwellFoundationhelditsfourthannualGreenwellGala. Thisisourbiggestfundraisingeventoftheyearandalloftheproceedsdirectlysupporttheinclusivepro-grams offered at Greenwell State Park. ThisyeartheGalacelebratedtheFoundation’snew-estendeavor,VacationsforVets™-aprogramdesignedtogiveournation’srecoveringservice

membersandtheirfamiliesano-costweek-endvacationatGreenwell’sKnottLodge.WewerehonoredtohaveasourguestspeakerRearAdmiralStevenR.Eastburg,CommanderoftheNavalAirWarfareCenterAircraftDivisionandAssistantCommander forResearchandEngi-neeringattheNavalAirSystemsCommandatthePatuxentRiverNavalAirStation.Greenwellisthankfulforhispresenceatourevent.

Suchaneventisonlypossiblewiththegra-cious support of many sponsors and donors:CSCRange&EngineeringServices,GeneralDynamics IT, ManTech Systems EngineeringCorporation,NorthropGrummanCorporation,W.M.Davis,Inc.,WyleLaboratories,Inc.,Chris-tineWray&JohnFelicitas,BlazerEnterprises,HeritagePrinting&Graphics,PNCBank,Tri-CountyAbstract,Gary&MaryBlakely,CherryCove Land Management, County First Bank,CombsandDrury,DCSCorporation,DavidW.

Densford, Joseph Densford, P.C., The DorseyLaw Firm, The Patuxent Partnership, RED–INC.,SladeandSlade,LLC,EleanorF.Slater,Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc., Cynthia Broyles,Burch Oil Company, Guy Distributing Com-pany,Inc.,TaylorGasCompany,ImagineOneTechnology & Management, Southern Solu-tions,LLC,andMr.&Mrs.A.W.ZahniserIII.

Thecontributionsof the followinghelpedmakethegalapossible:J.T.DaughertyCenter,Upstroke, and Alex Paige. Thank you to themore than 150 people who attended the galaandtothestaffandvolunteersattheGreenwellFoundationfortheirhardworkanddedication.

This year the gala raised $20,000.00. Your generosity will help us continue to offer ourmany inclusive programs, including therapeu-tichorsebackridingandsummercamp,anditwillallowustogrowourVacationsforVets™program.

Thankyou,MaryBlakelyChair, Secretary, Greenwell Foundation

BoardofTrusteesChair,GreenwellGalaCommittee

KendallSorenson-ClarkExecutiveDirectorGreenwellFoundation

LettertotheEditor

Ipraythatlastweek’scorrespondenttotheeditorialpagedoesn’tholdthemajorityopinionof our countrymen. Comparing “A terroristmightknockdownbuildingsandmaybesomeextremeexampletheymightblowupacity...”toourpeople’smonetarydebt,representsextremeblindnesstofactandthreat.Noticethatthereisnomentionofnearlythreethousandneighbors,relatives,friendsandacquaintanceswhoweremurderedinthedestructionofbuildings.NoristhebombingofoneofourNavyshipswithconsequentlossofsailors’livesseeminglyabigdeal.Embassies,trainstations,airportsarejustmaterialthings.Lifetothekillersisimmateri-al...andapparentlysotosomeofourowncoun-trymenwhoproclaimmoneyoutranksthegiftoflifeandthethreattoourpromiseofrightstolife,libertyandthepursuitofhappiness.SenatorObamaisstillinpoliticaldiapers.HehastobechangedaftereverypublicappearancewherehiswordsarenotrollingonaTVscreen.Factsstillshouldoutrank“ifitfeelsgood,doit”,“young,handsome, non-confrontational, can’t we alljustgetalong,kumbayyah”mayhavecutitatWoodstock,butleadingthecountryshouldbemuchmoreamaturerequirement.Obamaain’tgotit,friends.OneofReverendBillyGraham’steamhas gathered some factswhichmust beremembered.BillBrown,isahighlyrespectedretiredmemberoftheBillyGrahamteam.The‘rockstar’imageObamahasandgrowingcon-cernatthecelebritystatusthemediahasfoisteduponhimnecessitatesareviewoffacts. “Weare witnessing a political phenomenon withBarackObamaofraremagnitude.Hisspeech-eshaveinspiredmillionsandyetmostofhisfol-lowershavenoideaofwhathestandsforexceptplatitudesof‘Change’orthathesayshewillbea‘Uniter’.Thepowerofspeechfromacharis-maticpersontrulycanbeapowerfulthing.Cer-tainlyBillyGrahamhadcharismaandbothhismannerofspeechandparticularlythecontentchangedmillions.Ontheextremeotherhand,the charisma of Adolph Hitler inspired mil-lionsandtheresultswerecatastrophic.BarackObamacertainlyisnoHitleroraBillyGraham,butformanyAmericansouttherefeelingjust

likeasurferwhomightbeecstaticandeuphoricwhileridingatidalwave,therealstoryiswhathappenswhenithitsshore.JustSomeofWhatDefines Barack Obama: He voted against ban-ningpartialbirthabortion.Hevotednoonno-tifyingparentsofminorswhogetout-of-stateabortions. Supports affirmative action in Col-legesandGovernment.In2001hequestionedharshpenaltiesfordrugdealing.Sayshewilldealwithstreetleveldrugdealingasminimumwageaffair. Admittedmarijuanaandcocaineuseinhighschoolandincollege.Hisreligiousconvictionsareverymurky. He iswilling tomeet with Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez, Mah-moudAhmadinejadandKimJungIlwithnoprior conditions. Has said that one of his first goals after being elected would be to have aconferencewithallMuslimnations.Opposedthe Patriot Act. First bill he signed that waspassed was campaign finance reform. Voted No onprohibitinglawsuitsagainstgunmanufac-turers. Supports universal health-care. .Votedyes on providing habeas corpus for Guanta-namodetainees.Supportsgrantingdriver’sli-censestoillegalimmigrants.Supportsextend-ing welfare to illegal immigrants. Voted yesoncomprehensiveimmigrationreform.Votedyesonallowing illegalaliens toparticipate inSocialSecurity.Wantstomaketheminimumwagea‘livingwage’.VotedwithDemocraticParty96percentof251votes.Isabigbelieverintheseparationofchurchandstate.OpposedtoanyeffortstoPrivatizeSocialSecurityandinsteadsupports increasing theamountof taxpaid.HevotedNoonrepealingtheAlternativeMinimumTax.HevotedNoonrepealingthe‘Death’Tax.HewantstoraisetheCapitalGainsTax.HasrepeatedlysaidthesurgeinIraqhasnotsucceeded....Heisrankedasthemostlib-eralSenatorintheSenatetodayandthattakessome doing.” Mature? Promotes the Ameri-canperspectiveon thecountry’sneeds? Abletoeffectivelysitacrossthetablefromnation’sor movement’s leaders--friendly or not (eventerrorists)?Wakeuppeople!

LarryLutzLexingtonPark,Md


Ramblings of a Country Girl

Nature’s Chorus

Terri Bartz Bowles

Have you noticed the ci-cadas are starting to sing? One more sound to add to na-ture’s chorus. The frogs start it in the spring, along with the

birds. The songbirds are rais-ing babies and talking to each other and filling the day with music. The frogs are calling to each other and answering and filling the night with a myriad of sound. The cicadas

sing during the day and the crickets and katy-dids sing at night. There’s always some-thing to hear if you just listen.

You don’t need to live on a farm or have 10 acres of your own to hear nature’s cho-

rus. It’s every where, you just have to pay attention. Go for a walk and find a quiet place. There are still quiet places left in the county, it need only be a small spot, just a little bit of green and a little bit of quiet. It can be along a road or it can be your own backyard. The hardest part is making your-self slow down and listen. Just stop all the stuff you’re doing, all the busy things, all the chores – just stop. I know it’s hard, I struggle with it myself. But if you can make yourself do it, just once in a while, it will be a good thing. So, make some time and find your personal arena to listen to nature’s chorus. Next, give yourself a block of time to lis-ten. Even if you’re out doing yard work, just stop and make note of the sounds around you. Listen to the different bird songs, the breeze rustling the leaves on the trees. If you don’t know the songs identi-fied with different kinds of birds, you can get recordings so you can learn to identify them. You can also get books

to help you identify birds by sight; they have photos as well as descriptions of where each type of bird lives, the kind of nest it builds, what the eggs look like and descriptions of their song or call.

In the evenings, you will be delighted by the sounds of crickets and other insects and frogs. Every variety of frog makes a different sound. Find a wet spot, a pond or some-thing, and listen to the wonder of frogs. Heck, it can even be one of those drainage ponds they leave when they build a shopping center or something. Go in the evening, just before dark and settle in. Yes, you might encounter some bugs, but rub on a little bug stuff and you’ll be fine. Just be qui-et and listen. They start slow and they don’t all call at once. You’ll hear one kind and then a few of his friends will chime in and then a different kind will start. There’s an amaz-ing variety of frogs out there and the sounds they make are comical and musical and wonderful. They might all

get quiet for a bit and then the cacophony starts again. It’s great. It makes you laugh and fills you with wonder. And some of the littlest frogs make the biggest noises! If you’re really lucky, you’ll see a few bats swooping around getting their dinner.

Please don’t be afraid of the bats! Bats don’t attack people, they don’t want to be around people, they just want to be left alone. They eat a BUNCH of insects every night. Bats are your friends, folks, they eat mosquitoes and all kinds of stuff. Just be quiet and let them do their thing. They’re amazing to watch, si-lently dancing around as they hone in on their dinner.

So, please, find a place to listen to nature and then take a few minutes once a week or so to indulge. It should relax you and fill your soul with won-der – all a gift from Mother Nature.

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William E. Raddatz of the Bureau of Criminal Investigations, the victim alleged that she was raped and assaulted by Edison while at his res-idence when he pulled her into his room and forcibly removed her pants.

Edison pushed the victim to the ground, charging documents allege, but she tried to

fight him off while trying to keep her pants on during the assault.

During the alleged attack, the victim also scratched the victim on both arms leaving visible marks, but she was not

able to force Edison back as he used force to hold her down.

Edison was able to remove her pants, charging documents state, and was able to force vaginal intercourse with the victim, court papers allege.

After forcibly penetrating the victim, court papers read, Edison sodomized her and then struck her with a belt after the al-leged rape.

Edison denied being with the victim at the time of the incident, charging documents state, until he was confronted with the cousin of the victim who witnessed both Edison and the victim together.

Edison gave several versions of the events that took place July 5, court papers state.

Edison told detectives he was unsure if his penis actually entered into the anus of the victim, but he did admit to inserting his finger inside her vagina, charging documents state.

The 12-year-old victim did not want any sexual contact with the defendant, charging documents state.

Edison admitted to detectives that he did strike the victim with a belt, charging docu-ments state, but he said he did so in a playful manner.

If tried as an adult and convicted, Edison faces 20 years in prison for the second-degree rape charge as well for the second-degree sex offense.

The second-degree assault charge carries a 10-year prison sentence while the fourth-de-gree sex offense carries a one-year jail term.

Edison is set to have a preliminary hearing into the charges against him in District Court August 5.

Rape ChargeContinued from page A-�


Robert M. Scriber, 35, from Lexington Park was sentenced Monday to 10 years in prison in the Maryland Department of Cor-rections for two convictions of possessing and dealing cocaine to a confidential police infor-mant back in February.

The distribution conviction netted Scriber six years in jail, while the distribution charge totaled up to four years of incarceration.

Both terms were to be served consecu-tively, according to the orders of Circuit Court Judge C. Clarke Raley who handed down Scriber’s sentence.

Scriber, who had other convictions for burglary and drug possession, admitted that much of his life and been wasted on drugs and his admitted addiction to them.

His lawyer, Cynthia Panos, argued that he was not a hardcore drug dealer, rather he dealt drugs to support his own habit.

If he were to break the cycle of addiction, she said, he would not be apt to sell narcotics.

“I chose to be with the wrong people who had the same problem and not the solution,” Scriber said.

Raley also sentenced an admitted long-time drug addict for his conviction on being caught with a large amount of narcotics he was intending to sell.

John Colleary, 54, of Valley Lee received a sentence of four years in the Department of

Corrections for his dealing of narcotics to help pay for rent on a property he had acquired on the St. Mary’s River.

“I got in a financial bind a year ago and I made a bad choice,” Colleary told Raley dur-ing his sentencing. “I got caught; I’m guilty and I deserve to go to jail.”

Raley, who was familiar with Colleary’s long past association with drug use, lamented the defendants addiction problems and what it had cost him.

“He’s 54 years old and he’s going to pris-on,” Raley said. “It’s pretty sad when you think about it; I hope this is the last time.”

Colleary was caught in July of last year with narcotics and $3,381 in cash, according to State’s Attorney Richard Fritz.

“He’s been in the business,” Fritz said of Colleary’s past with narcotics. “He’s more than the boy driving down the street with a bag of marijuana and few ounces of cocaine in his pocket.”

Agnes Dickerson, 44, of Clements was also sentenced to one year in the county de-tention center for simple possession of just 2.2 grams of cocaine.

She received 138 days credit for time she had already served.

Man Gets 10 Years In Prison For Cocaine DistributionDrug Possession, Dealing Also Earns Other Defendants Sentences

John K. Edison, Jr.

SectionA-� The County Times Thursday,July10,2008

and alcohol purveyors, and how to say“no”tothatfirstsiporpuffunderpeerpressure.

“Folks,ineverythingwedo,mediainf luences us,” Muller told her nearly

20 students. “Are advertisers trying tohelpyouorgetmoremoney?”

Aquickquizonadvertisingslogan’sandjingleshelpedshowjusthowmuchadvertisinginfluencedpeople.

“Howaboutthis:JustDoIt,”Mullersaid. “Nike!” was the response. “BuiltTough?” “Ford [trucks]!” the studentsanswered.

Studentspouredovercopiesofmag-azineadvertisementsthatshowedalco-hol and tobacco consumers living thegood life and having fun, but withouttheyellowteeth,smellybreathorasso-ciatedhealthproblems that come fromtheabuseofeithersubstance.

Studentshadlearnedthedaybeforethatchemicals likearsenic,used in ratpoison,andformaldehyde,usedtoem-balmthedeadwerecommonlyfoundincigarettes.

“IfItrytosellyoumyproductandItellyouit’sjustlikeeatingratpoison,areyougoingtobuyit?”Mullerasked.

Students answered “no” almost inunison.

But howdo you say no to a friendwho is intent on getting you to try acigarette with them for the first time?Muller said saying no was tough, soshe gave her students some practicalpointers.

Justworkingupthecouragetosaya

simple“no”wasagoodresponse,shesaid,andsowastellingtheirfriendwhatwasactuallyinacigarette.

Butwhen the pressurewas get-ting heavy to give in, Muller gavethematechniquethatwasjustabout

guaranteedtowork.“If you’re being pressured by a

friendwhatcanyousaythattheycan’targue with?” Muller asked. “You can

say: ‘Man if my mom [or dad] smellssmokeonmeshe’llwhipmytail.”

Students had a lot to say about theD.A.R.E. program, about how muchthey learned but also about their rea-sonsforgettingintoitintheirplace.

Sydney Armitage wanted to comebecause of the chance to spend somesummertimewithherfriends.

“And it looked fun, too.”Armitagesaid.

For Danielle Hutchinson it was amatter of helping to change someone’slife.

“Icameherebecausemysisterhaddone itbefore,”Hutchinsonsaid.“AndIwantedtomakeadifferenceinsome-one’s life who’s been a smoker [for alongtime.]”

Armitage said the program hadpeakedherinterestaboutdrugabuse.

“Igotmemotivatedtowanttolearnmore about marijuana and smokingandhowitcancausedeath,”Armitagesaid.

Muller said that the D.A.R.E pro-gramwasthebestmethodthatsheknewofteachingyoungpeopletosteerclearofalcohol,cigarettesandnarcotics.

“What better way to talk aboutdrugstokidsthanputtingacopinfrontofthem?”Mullersaid.

Maryland.“Basically, theywentandbought

fireworksfromoutofstateand theyweregoing to set themoff,but theygot caught,” said Deputy State FireMarshal Joseph G. Zurolo, explain-ing that Beckman was charged withbothpossessionoffireworkswithoutapermitandpossessionoffireworkswithintenttodischarge.Bothcharg-esaremisdemeanorsandcarryfinesofupto$250.

Investigators served a DistrictCourt Criminal Summons to Beck-with July 4, but a trial date has notyetbeenscheduled.

Maryland state regulations pro-hibitexplodingdevices.

“Anythingthatshootsupintotheskyandexplodesintheairisillegal,”explained Zurolo, adding that Beck-with’sboathadbeenfilledtothebrimwith such aerial devices. “Every-thinghehadwas illegal in the stateof Maryland,” he said. Most coun-ties like St. Mary’s have ordinancesprotecting the use of ground basedsparklingdevices,snap&pops,gold

sparklers,andothernoveltyitems,butsome counties have outlawed thementirely,includingHoward,Hartford,Montgomery, Prince George’s, andBaltimoreCity.

Beckwith’s possession chargetopsthelistoffivecriminalcitationsissued this year for fireworks viola-tions in Southern Maryland. Zurolosaid the Maryland State Fire Mar-shal’sofficetypicallyissuesbetweentenandtwelvecitationseachyearatthistime,butenforcingcountyordi-nancesonfireworksisdifficult

Despite the citations, this year’sFourth of July weekend was quiet.The Maryland State Fire Marshal’sOfficereportednofires,thoughCin-dy Allen of the St. Mary’s CountySheriff’sOfficesaidtherewasamod-est increase in calls from residentscomplainingofnoiseordisturbancesfromfireworks.

“Itwasalittlebusy…wehadsometrespassing complaints, some fire-works complaints,” she said. “But itwasanormalbusyholidayweekend.Nothingmajortranspired.

D.A.R.E.Continued from page A-�

IllegalFireworksContinued from page A-�

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The Maryland State Department ofEducation(MSDE)awardedbothMechanic-svilleElementarySchoolStudentCouncilandBenjamin Banneker Elementary School theSherrie Unger Award, recognizing projectsthatexemplifyservice-learningbyaddressingacommunityneed,developingstudent lead-ership, and establishing community partner-ships.Eachschool’sprojectwillbefeaturedon theMSDEservice-learningwebpageandthey will also receive $300 each for futureprojects.

The Mechanicsville ElementarySchool Student Council project was called“Operation Red Carpet,” where studentsrecognized officers returning from overseas deployments during welcome home parties.“Our studentsmadepatriotic posters to dis-play in theatriumof theNavalAirSystemsCommand Headquarters,” wrote PrincipalBarbaraCookseyAbellinanemailcommentonherstudents’recenthonor.Thestudentsworkedwith the PatuxentRiverNavalBaseto develop posters and patriotic gift bags torecognizeandwelcomehomelocalnavalper-sonnelwhocompletedtheiroverseastoursinIraq,Afghanistan,orCuba.

OperationRedCarpetwasoneofseveral

projectscompletedbytheMechanicsvilleEl-ementarystudentcouncilthispastyear.“Thisyear’sMechanicsvillestudentcouncilhadthemission statement to become better people,”shewrote,addingthat theyhadcompletedanumber of community projects including aneyeglass collection for the Lions Club, andholidaycardsand“comfortkits”fortheChar-lotteHallVeteransHome.“Theyhavelivedup to theirmissionstatement towork tobe-comebetterpeople,”Abellwrote.“Iamveryproudofthem.”

Also this past year, Benjamin BannekerElementary School developed a partner-shipwith theHabitat forHumanity to assistthe non-profit organization with purchasing supplies. To accomplish this task, studentsimplemented a can-recycling program, andincreasedawarenessofways to improve theenvironment.Thisonestudentinitiativecol-lected more than 622 pounds of aluminumcans.

The Sherrie Unger award, named for aprominentservice-learningprofessionalfromMarylandwhopassedawayin2002,isgiveneveryothermonthtoaMarylandpublicschoolstudentswhocarryoutprojectslinkedtotheirowncurriculum,independentprojectsbystu-dentsorstudentgroups,orprojectssubmittedbyacommunitybasedorganizationandcar-riedoutbyyouth.

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Deputy First Class Angela Muller looks over the shoulders of Danielle Hutchinson and Luke Martin as they analyze the message behind advertisements for alcohol and cigarettes.

Photo by Guy Leonard

Photo by Andrea ShiellThese were but a portion of the stash of illegal fireworks confiscated from a barge in Prince Frederick late last month. Their owner, Jack R. Beckwith, 58, of Mechanicsville, has been charged with illegal possession of fireworks with the intent to discharge. (Photo courtesy of MD State Fire Marshals)


ObituariesCarol Yvonne Asbury, 81

Carol Yvonne Asbury, 81, of Leonardtown died June 29 in Washington Hospital Center.

Yvonne was born in Cin-cinnati, Ohio Dec. 17, 1926 and was the wife of Jack Frank Asbury who preceded her in death after 45 years of marriage on July 22, 1990.

She is survived by her daughter Carol Lynn Asbury Pratt and son-in-law Larry Pratt of Leonardtown; three sons: Donald Lee Asbury of Clinton, Tenn., Martin Wayne Asbury of Lively, Va., and Dale Francis Asbury of Lees-burg, Fla.; her cousin Clorin-da Caproni of Ripley, Ohio; six grandchildren: Erika Car-ol Pratt Chua (and husband Mike) of Los Angeles, Calif., Kasie Marie Pratt Heeres of Fairfax, Va., Sarah Asbury of Murfreesboro, Tenn., David Asbury of Knoxville, Tenn., Christine Yvonne Asbury, and Trista Nichelle Asbury; and two great grandchildren Emma and Shawn Asbury.

Memorial contributions may be made to: Maryland State Library for the Blind, 415 Park Avenue, Baltimore MD 21201-3603.

James McGuire “Jim” Beaver Jr., 34

J a m e s M c G u i r e “Jim” Bea-ver Jr., 34 of Avenue died July 1 in his residence.

B o r n Dec. 4, 1973 in Leonard-town, he was the son of Ruth Ann Beaver of Avenue and the late James McGuire Bea-ver Sr. He is also survived by his sister Deborah O’Donnell of Chicago, Ill.

Jim was a lifelong resident of St. Mary’s County, where he graduated from Chopticon High School “Class of 1992” and obtained an AA degree in elementary education from the College of Southern Maryland in 1995. He was employed as a disc jockey for Beaver’s DJ Service for seven years.

The family received friends Monday July 7 from 9 – 10 a.m. in the Matting-ley-Gardiner Funeral Home where a memorial service was held at 10 a.m. with Fr. William Gurnee officiating. Interment followed in Sacred Heart Cemetery, Bushwood. A01 Edward T. O’Donnell served as Pallbearer.

Contributions may be made to the 7th District Vol-unteer Fire Department, P.O. Box 206, Avenue, MD 20309 and/or 7th District Volunteer Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 7, Avenue, MD 20609.

Arrangements provided by the Mattingley-Gardiner Funeral Home, P.A.

Ruth Annie “Momma Guy” Guy, 94

R u t h A n n i e “ M o m m a Guy” Guy, 94, of Cal-laway, and formerly of D r a y d e n , Md. died July 2 in St. Mary’s Hospital.

Born March 3, 1914 in Drayden, Md., she was the daughter of the late William Bernard and Agnes Lillian DeBitt Ridgell. She was pre-ceded in death by her first husband, Turner Dyer and then by her second husband Malcom Guy, whom she mar-ried in Leonardtown in 1960, in 1961.

She is survived by her Grandchildren: Anna Mae Dean and her husband Dan-ny of Drayden, Md., Sharon Pilkerton and her companion Mark Thomas of Callaway, and Wayne Pilkerton and his companion Dale Abell of Great Mills; her Great-Grand-children: Michele and Jamie

Jordan of Valley Lee, Danny and Mandy Dean, II of Dam-eron, and Heather Hewitt and Billy Hewitt, II both of Cal-laway; Great-Great Grand-children: Jamie B. Jordan and Hannah Jordan both of Valley Lee, Danny B. Dean, III, Madison Dean and Lexy Longfield all of Dameron, nieces Shirley Purcell Long and Ann Ridgell Weiver and her caregiver Chuck Charles.

She was also preceded in death by her children Robert Dyer and Claudia Bell as well as her siblings: Dorothy De-nitto, Agnes Faunce, Bernard Ridgell, Woodley Ridgell and Robert Ridgell and her great grandson Christopher Hewitt.

Mrs. Guy was a lifelong St. Mary’s County resident, where she attended Great Mills High School and worked at Dents Store on Cherryfield Road in Drayden, Md. before becoming the owner of Guy’s Self Service for 30 years un-til her retirement in 1990. She enjoyed her family and friends as well as playing cards and Bingo and feeding the birds and ducks.

The family received friends Monday, July 7 from 5 – 8 p.m. in the Mattingley-Gardiner Funeral Home with prayers being said at 7 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Tuesday, July 8 at 10:30 a.m. in St. George Catholic Church with Msgr. Karl Chimiak officiating. Interment followed in the church cemetery. Pallbearers were Chuck Charles, Danny B. Dean, II, Jamie M. Jordan, Jamie B. Jordan, JR Knott and Mark Thomas. Honor-ary Pallbearers will be Danny B. Dean, III, Heather Hewitt, Billy Hewitt, II and Kristian Sheilds.

Memorial Contributions may be made to the Second District Volunteer Fire De-partment and Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 1, Valley Lee, MD 20692.


John Graham Lancaster, 90

J o h n G r a h a m Lancaster, 90, of Cali-fornia, died July 1 in St. Mary’s Hospital in L e o n a r d -town after a brief illness.

Born Jan. 31, 1918 in Farmville, Va., he was the son of the late John Wesley Lancaster and Annie Moss Lancaster.

John accepted Christ at an early age and was an ac-tive member of First Baptist Church, Farmville Va. serving as choir director. He received his early education in Prince Edward County. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Agricul-ture from Hampton University (formerly Hampton Institute), a master’s in Adult Educa-tion from George Washington University, and an Advanced Graduate Specialist degree from the University of Mary-land in Agriculture and Ex-tension Education.

Throughout his life, John was a consistent voice for quality education and citizen participation in government. In 1940, after graduating from Hampton, John returned to his native Prince Edward County to succeed his father as the Negro county extension agent. His job was abolished in 1955, in retaliation for his involvement in the fight for equal education, after the Brown v. Board of Education decision was rendered by the Supreme Court.

In 1957, after working for North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company in Richmond, Va. for a year, John moved his family to St. Mary’s County to work as an extension agent. He worked as a 4-H agent in the county, and later as a program specialist at the University of Maryland in College Park.

After retiring in 1978, he devoted himself to volunteer-ing – serving as chair of the Housing Authority, chair of the Youth Commission, and a director of the Cedar Lane Apartments. In addition, he was appointed to the St. Mary’s County Board of Edu-cation. In 1982, John ran un-successfully for County Com-missioner of St. Mary’s Coun-ty; however, he came back for a successful run in 1986, be-coming the first Black elected to the post. He was re-elected for a second term in 1990.

John was a member of many civic, religious, and community organizations. He was a deacon at First Mission-ary Baptist Church. He was also a member of the Demo-cratic Club of St. Mary’s County; Lexington Park Li-ons Club; Minority Business Alliance; National Associa-tion for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP); Randolph Lodge Number 30 Free and Accepted Masons of Farmville, Va.; Tau Lambda Lambda Chapter, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.; Jolly Gents Sportsman’s Club; Salt and Pepper and the National Epsilon Sigma Phi Extension Fraternity. He served as presi-dent of the National Associa-tion of 4-H Agents in 1972.

As a result of John’s tire-less efforts in his community, he received numerous awards, honors, and citations. Among them were St. Mary’s County Democrat of the Year (2001), National 4-H Hall of Fame (Inaugural Class), Who’s Who Among Black Ameri-cans (1988), Distinguished Personalities of the South and Outstanding Leaders of America (both in 1972). One of his most prized recogni-tions came in 2001 with the dedication of a 47-acre park named in his honor (The John G. Lancaster Park at Willows Road in Lexington Park).

At the time of his death, John lived at the Cedar Lane Apartments in Leonardtown, where he enjoyed fellowship and camaraderie with the oth-er residents.

He was a board member emeritus of Lott Enterprises, a minority corporation. His connection to his birthplace was never far from his mind – and he was looking forward to celebrating the 100th year anniversary of the purchase of his family homeplace, af-fectionately known as Restful Acres. His dedication to its renovation and preservation will be celebrated in August at the annual Lancaster Fam-ily Reunion.

John was predeceased by his first wife, Thelma Por-ter Lancaster, and his sec-ond wife, Albertine Thomas Lancaster.

He is survived by the chil-dren of his first marriage; son, John G. Lancaster, Jr. of San Francisco, Calif., and daugh-ter Shirley Elaine Gholston of Greenbelt, Md.; a grandson, Bruce J. Lancaster; grand-daughter-in-law, LaShawn A. Lancaster; two great-grand-sons Miles Christian and Cole Wesley Lancaster, all of Clin-ton, Md.; two sisters, Thelma L. Coleman of Philadelphia, Pa. and Mary Ann Wilson of Houston, Texas; two sis-ters-in-law, Mary Bullock of Morrisville, N.C. and Audrey Whitehead of Murfreesburo, N.C.; two brothers-in-law, William C. Keen of Roanoke, Va. and Raymond Whitehead of Murfreesboro, N.C.; a host of nieces, nephews and other extended family members.

The family received friends for John’s Life Cel-ebration Tuesday, July 8 from 6 – 9 p.m. at First Missionary Baptist Church, 47359 Lin-coln Ave., Lexington Park, MD 20653. Acknowledge-ments were held at 7 p.m. Homecoming Service were celebrated Wednesday, July 9 at 11 a.m., with the viewing held one hour before services, at First Missionary Baptist Church. The final Homegoing Service will be celebrated on Thurs. July 10, at 1 p.m. in the First Baptist Church, Farm-ville, Va., followed by inter-

ment at Oddfellows Cemetery in Farmville, Va.

Memorial contributions may be made to the First Mis-sionary Baptist Church Build-ing Fund, P.O. Box 1663, Lex-ington Park, MD 20653.

Condolences to the family may be made at www.brins-fieldfuneral.com. Arrange-ments by the Brinsfield Funer-al Home, P.A., Leonardtown.

Michael Victor Lucien, infant

Michael Victor Lucien, infant, of Lexington Park died July 3 in St. Mary’s Hospital.

Born July 3 he was the son of Lyndon A. and Anitres M. Lucien of Lexington Park. He is survived by his siblings: Lyndon A. Lucien, Jr., Antho-ny R. Lucien and Kevin I. Lu-cien all of Jacksonville, Fla., Tyrrell R. Lucien, Juwan C. Lucien and Xavier H. Lucien all of Lexington Park; mater-nal grandfather Leon Hender-son McLeod of Jacksonville, Fla. and paternal grandparents Edmay and Victor Lucien of Trinidad, West Indies.

A Graveside Service was held Tuesday, July 8 at 11 a.m. in Charles Memorial Gardens, Leonardtown with Deacon Ed Flamboe officiating.


Lillie Kathern Tyree Mc-Fadden, 66

L i l -lie Kathern Tyree Mc-Fadden, 66, of Leon-a r d t o w n , passed away peacefully at home with her husband and two boys by her side Tuesday, July 1.

She was born in Piney Flats, Tenn. Nov. 18, 1941 to the late Sally and Charles Tyree.

Kathy grew up in a strong Presbyterian household and took great pride in the fact that her family founded the Pres-byterian Church in Tennessee. Music was a part of Kathy’s life from a very early age. She was the church organist by the age of ten, and her musical in-terest carried over into college at Maryville College and later East Tennessee State Univer-sity. Her concert at age fifteen at the college was a source of great pride for her. She met her husband John at age six-teen, and a wonderful lifelong love blossomed.

She adored John and they married in their senior year, when Kathy was twenty. She spent the next several years following John as the wife of a Naval Aviator and had two wonderful sons, John and Greg. Shortly after that, John was hired by United. They quickly realized they truly loved Southern Maryland and moved back in 1971.

Kathy taught in the St. Mary’s County public school system from 1964 until 1995. Kathy also taught music edu-cation part-time as an Asso-ciate Professor at St. Mary’s College from 1984 until 2006. She earned her master’s in Music Education from Trinity College. Kathy also served on the St. Mary’s Ryken High School Board, the St .Mary’s Arts Alliance and the St. Mary’s College Arts Alli-ance. She also took great joy in the many friends she made through her involvement in the St. Mary’s Riding Club, De La Brook Foxhounds, the South-ern Maryland Sailing Asso-ciation, the Corinthian Yacht Club and the Aero Squadron and Anchoring Society. She also truly cherished her time with her grandchildren, John and Megan who were a source of great pride for her.

Kathy is survived by her husband John, sons, John and Greg, Sister Nicie Devault and grandchildren John and Megan.

Family received friends for Kathy’s Life Celebra-tion Sunday, July 6 from 4 – 8 p.m. in the Brinsfield Funeral Home, 22955 Hol-lywood Road, Leonardtown, MD. A Funeral Service was held Monday July 7 at 10 a.m. in the Patuxent Presbyte-rian Church, 23421 Kingston Creek Road, California, MD. Reverend Michael Jones was the celebrant. Interment fol-lowed in Charles Memorial Gardens, Leonardtown.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Hospice House of St. Mary’s, P.O. Box 625, Leonardtown, MD 20650 or the Hope Lodge of Baltimore, 636 West Lexing-ton Street, Baltimore, MD 21201.

Condolences to the fam-ily may be made at www.brinsfieldfuneral.com.

Arrangements by the Brinsfield Funeral Home, P.A., Leonardtown.

Betty Jean “Miss Betty” Murphy, 49

B e t t y Jean “Miss Betty” Mur-phy, 49 of St. Inigoes died July 6 in Georgetown University H o s p i t a l . Born Nov. 10, 1958 in Derry, N.H. she was the daughter of the late John Lear and Sally Hilton Pearson Watkins.

She was the loving wife of James Wayne Murphy whom she married Oct. 26, 1991 in Mechanicsville. She is also survived by her son Christo-pher Wayne Murphy and her brother Donald Watkins of N.H.

Betty moved to St. Mary’s County in 1990 from Millers-ville, Md. and was employed as a school bus driver.

The family will receive friends Thursday July 10 from 9 – 10 a.m. in the Mat-tingley-Gardiner Funeral Home, Leonardtown, where a funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. with Deacon George L’Heureaux officiating. Inter-ment will be private.


Nancy Evelyn Norris, 60

Nancy Evelyn Norris, 60 of Leonardtown, and formerly of Valley Lee, died June 30 in St. Mary’s Hospital.

Born Aug. 20, 1947 in Valley Lee she was the daugh-ter of the late William Henry Carter and Melba Tabitha Carter of Valley Lee.

She is survived by her children Tammy Shea and Jerry Simpson both of North Haven, Conn. and Thomas “Bo” Norris and his wife Noel of Chesapeake, Va., grandchil-dren Todd Jr. “TJ” and Emily Shea, Aurora and Jesse Simp-son and Evan and Andrew Norris. She is also survived by her siblings, James Nelson Carter and his wife Mildred, Ronald Matthew Carter, Don-ald Francis Carter and his wife Donna, Lucy Ella Hammett and her husband David, Har-vey Dale Carter and his wife Lynnette, William Roy Carter and his wife Rosie, Dwight David Carter, Samuel Ray Carter and his wife Betty, all of Valley Lee, Yvonne Gene Stiffler of California, Bobby Lee Carter and his wife Mar-gie of Leonardtown and Doy-lus Henry Carter of Richwood, W.V. and brothers in law Bass Freeman and Gary Williams.

She was preceded in death by her sisters Janice Freeman and Lola Inez Williams and sister in law Susan Carter.

A lifelong resident of St. Mary’s County, Nancy gradu-ated from Great Mills High School and was a home health-care provider. She belonged to the Lexington Park Rescue Squad and enjoyed Shuffle-board Bowling with the Fleet Reserve, FOP and Mikes. She also liked playing softball and bingo, shopping at G&H

Jewelers, going to Bennett’s Bar and attending yard sales. She loved to cook and was very organized and energetic. She helped with many family events and was very proud of all her grandkids. She also en-joyed watching NASCAR and was a huge Jeff Gordon fan.

The family will receive friends Wednesday July 2 from 5 – 8 p.m. in the Mat-tingley-Gardiner Funeral Home, Leonardtown, where prayers were said at 7 p.m. A funeral Service was held at 10 a.m. in the Mattingly-Gardin-er Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Harry Harper officiat-ing. Interment followed in St. George Episcopal Cemetery, Valley Lee. Pallbearers were Bobby L. Carter, Dwight D. Carter, Samuel “Ray” Carter, James Nelson Carter, Ronald M. Carter and Harvey D. Cart-er. Donald F. Carter served as honorary pallbearer.


Mignon Adaline Magda-lene Wallace, �4

Mignon Adaline Magda-lene Wallace, 74, of Mechan-icsville, formerly of Colorado Springs, Colo., died June 28 in St. Mary’s Hospital.

Born July 12, 1933 in Sim-la, Colo., she was the daughter of the late John Whyte and El-dora (Allan) Whyte.

She is survived by her son George John Wallace, and his wife Cassandra, and three grandchildren; George Joseph Richard Wallace, Jacob Don-ald Wallace, and Grace Hanna Wallace, all of Mechanics-ville. She is also survived by her sister Ireana Campbell of Colorado Springs, Colo., sev-en nieces and two nephews.

She worked as a telephone operator for the Yellow Cab Co. in Colorado Springs for 32 years and was loved by ev-eryone who met her. She had a very caring and generous heart and a witty sense of humor.

She is preceded in death by her brother, Jack Whyte, her sister Shirley Benton and her nephew Gary Wallace.

All services will be private.

Condolences to the family may be made at www.brins-fieldfuneral.com.


Melvin T. White, 58

Melvin T. White, 58 of Canton, Ohio passed away un-expectedly Saturday, June 21 in the comfort of his home.

He was born in Scotland, Md., March 1, 1950 to the late Richard White, Jr. and Lottie Louise (Barnes) White.

He had recently retired from Stark County Board MRDD after 28 years of ser-vice. He was an avid fisher-man and he loved working on and racing cars. He was a kindhearted man who con-stantly extended himself to others.

Melvin is survived by his wife Shirley, daughters, Mili-cent White and Angela Som-merville both of Maryland, sons, Brandon White and Michael Harley both of Can-ton, Ohio, brothers, Arnold (Donda) White of Virginia, and Richard (Joyce) White, III of Africa; grandchildren Lanaiya Sommerville, Logan Sheppard and Jasmine Mann, and a host of other relatives and friends.

He is preceded in death by his only sister, Rose Ma-rie White and niece, Marisha White.

The family will receive friends Saturday, July 12 from 2 – 4 p.m. in the Brinsfield Funeral Home, 22955 Hol-lywood Road, Leonardtown, MD 20650. Friends may share memories of Melvin from 4 – 4:30 p.m.

Condolences to the family may be made at www.brins-fieldfuneral.com.


SectionA-� The County Times Thursday,July10,200�

of the Sotterley Plantation Mansion inHollywood.

But Saturday’s Freedom Fest wasoneof theonlycelebrationsnotmarredwith the threatof storms thisweekend,and attendees seemed happy to spreadout in the grass, eat popcorn, listen tomusic,andrelax.

“We’ve tried to be very diverse inour entertainment,” said CommunityServicesManagerCynthiaBrown,add-ing that in addition to $10,000 for fire-works, the Department of CommunityServicesarrangedforadiversearrayofperformances, including a reptile show,puppetshows,bellydancing,andmusi-calperformances.“Wewanted it tobe reflective of the people here,” shesaid.

Not far from theusual offerings offruit smooth-ies and funnel

cakes,aboothwassetupofferingDUIsimulationsaspartofacampaigntoedu-cate residents on safe driving anddrugandalcoholabuse.

“Ourprimary focus is toprovide afamily friendlyatmosphere that isdrugandalcohol free,” saidCommunity ser-vicesliaisonVietNguyen,describingtheDUIsimulationsaspartofawidespreadpublicoutreachcampaign.

“Ihavebeenenjoying thebands,”said Timothy Pilkerton as he satonablanketatthefairgroundsbefore the fireworks. “It’s been alotoffunsofar,andI’mhoping toseea spectacularshow.”

Timothywas not disappointed, andafter what one out-of-towner describedas the best fireworks show she had ever seen,heatlighteningcontinuedtosparkacross the sky as residents headedhome.

July4thContinued from page A-�

The Farm Life By Teddy Perez

Hi, my name is Buddy.This here is my new pet .

He landed in my corn. I had to

keep my new pet a secret cause the town went nuts. The news was all over it.

Rumors areflying and people

want to know.

Ahh, one ofmy hens...

Hens like chicken feed.I reckin I got some in

my pocket.

Where’d she go?Fast littlebugger.

A meteor? In our little Town? I am reporting live

from the Lumpkins’ Farm...

He fell from the sky in a big rock.

cluck

cluck

cluck

7-10thefarmlifecomic.com

Photos by Andrea Shiell


Newly licensed drivers in the Tri-Countyareaarenowbeingofferedachancetoparticipateinanewprogramaimedattarget-ing bad driving behavior, using cameras andparent notifications to curb some of the habits thatcauseaccidentsforinexperienceddrivers.“Ourgoalistolearnwhetherparentalusageofthis technology can prevent future tragediesand build stronger, more experienced, con-fident young drivers,” said Neil J. Pederson, AdministratoroftheMarylandStateHighwayAdministration.

AgrantthroughtheStateHighwayAdmin-istration(SHA)willbeproviding300familieswith monitoring devices called DriveCams,

whicharein-carcamerasystemsthatturnonany time the vehicle goes through a “g-forcetype of event,” including swerving, brakingsuddenly,suddenacceleration,orcollisions.

Theidea,asPedersonputsit,istoletpar-entsknow“iftheirchildneedshelpindevelop-ing skills, building confidence or determining appropriatebehaviorsbehindthewheel.”

“It’snottheretoteachdrivingskills,”explainedRebeccaMartin fromtheSouthernMaryland Community Traffic Safety Program, who has been promoting the new devices inCharlesCounty. “Therehastobesomethingthat triggers an event,” she said, adding thatonce an “event” happens, the car camerasswitchontorecord10to20secondsoffootageinfrontofandinsidethevehicle.DriveCamre-views footage of these events and notifications

arethensenttoparents. “Whatwe’re looking for ismore parent

involvement,”Martinsaid,addingthatDrive-Camwouldalsohelpparentsdevelopcoachingtechniquestoaddressthebehaviorsthatleadtotheirteenagers’events,suchasinattentiveness,ordistractingbehaviorssuchastalkingoncellphonesandtextmessaging.

Typically, less than 1 percent of a teen’sdrivingisrecordedbyDriveCam.Asthenum-berofeventsdecreases,theirprivacyincreases.Driverswillknow if theyarebeing recordedby the system because a light will flash on their camera unit. Parents are also notified if their teensareseenwithoutseatbeltsduringevents.

Martinsaidthat thesesystemshavebeenusedsuccessfullyinMinnesotaandWisconsin,and that former participants would typically

have as many as ten events per week when first startingtheprogram,butthenumberofeventsdwindledtothreeorfouramonthovertime.

The DriveCam program, which Martinsayswouldtypicallycostabout$900forinstal-lationand$30amonthforpayingcustomers,isbeingofferedforfreethroughtheSHAforthe next year, and a number of slots are stillavailable.Camerainstallationsarealreadyun-derway,andfreesystemswillremaininteens’vehiclesthroughthecoming2009-2010schoolyear.

Public meetings will be held on July 10that Huntingtown Volunteer Fire Departmentat 7 pm, and on Friday, July 11that theLeon-ardtown Campus of the College of SouthernMarylandforthoseinterestedinsigningupfortheprogram.

DriveCamProgramtoPilotinSt.Mary’sCounty

In addition to fireworks, this year’s Freedom Fest included belly dancing performances and a reptile show.

Thursday, July 10, 2008 • St. Mary’s County

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Transcript of Thursday, July 10, 2008 • St. Mary’s County