Hope for the Future

Each year that I attend the various high school graduations in St. Mary’s County, it seems like it was just a few years ago that I was making that same wondrous transition. The caps and gowns on a new generation of students remind me how little things really change in our nature.

The great change that I noticed this year is not the students, but the economic reality that they are preparing to enter. During the ceremony at Chopticon High School this week, we learned that over twenty percent of graduating students will be attending future schooling opportunities. Seven percent who deserve utmost our respect have signed up to serve military service. That means about two thirds of this class will be looking for work in one of the most dismal national job markets since the Great Depression.

This cold hard fact surely did not dampen the many celebrations throughout our County. It will be a part of these new job seekers daily routine as each strives to find the best job they can find in this limited market.

Many of them will have to settle for less than perfect employment if they can find a job at all. This fact of life will likely not change for some years to come.

Watch the fuel prices creep up this summer and choke out any gains that might have been accomplished in our economy. What do you think will happen when the Israelis inevitably eradicate the Iranian reactor that is a threat to world security?

Major shutdown of Middle East oil production will drive our fossil fuel prices to five or six bucks per gallon. While Congress and President Obama have focused on bailing out both GM and Chrysler, they have opened no domestic sources of fuel that can sustain these vehicles should the Arab merchants put the squeeze on supplies.

These simple economic realities that you and I can see clearly seem to be lost on the Federal elected representatives in Washington DC.

Each one of us must seek out our own path toward energy independence as Federal, State, and even our County politicians squander our tax dollars on overpriced and unnecessary projects.

If you are like me and get your ST. MARY’S TODAY hot off the press on Saturday or even Sunday, you can come to the second annual Energy Show n’ Tell Expo that I am sponsoring on May 30-31 at the Southern Maryland Izaak Walton League Outdoor Education Center just south of Waldorf on 4200 Gardiner Road.

This has become an international event with people coming in from all over our Country and the World to show and share their inventions that wisely use energy resources.

One example of the dozens of exhibitors reporting in is a trucker named Bill from Baltimore who called yesterday. He has a Volvo tractor trailer that has covered over a million miles. His 60 series Detroit Diesel engine has been turbocharged to get over 800 horsepower. He studied Internet information and built his own hydrogen booster design that he mounted under the hood. Bill improved his mileage from six and a half miles per gallon to twelve miles per gallon. He is putting a hundred dollars a day of savings in his own pocket, not a wealthy oil baron’s bank account.

Bill the trucker is not interested to sell anything to you. He is bringing his big rig to show how you can take control of your own energy future. That is what this expo is all about.

Interested? My cell number is 240-577-1240.

Which Legacy Will They Choose?

Though some of us may disagree with his socialist political agenda, one of the things that all of us can appreciate about President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s terms of office is the solid public infrastructure that we use today. Much of the beautiful craftsmanship we see in the Federal buildings in Washington D.C. was built during the F.D.R. Era.

Rivers were dammed to create giant reservoirs that provide clean electric generation and fish habitat for recreation that we need and enjoy today. In those days, men were willing to leave their families for a chance to work in camps that established public infrastructure in our National Parks.

Those funds that were designed to stimulate the Depression economy did truly benefit those American citizens, their children and their children’s children. This summer my two granddaughters visited the museums in Washington D.C. The benefits of F.D.R.’s works programs reached to the Greatest Generation’s children’s children’s children as well.

Will the same legacy be left from the Bush-Obama trillion dollar sweetheart deal packages directed to incompetent Wall Street, banking, insurance, and automotive monopoly executives? Rather than outstanding public facilities, will future generations be left with vaporware and the vacuum of insurmountable debt?

I am grateful that Commissioners Dan Raley and Kenny Dement were willing to join my request of our Federal elected representatives to use Federal stimulus funding to provide real future infrastructure in St. Mary’s County rather than doling out hundreds of millions of our tax dollars to AIG and Big Three auto executives.

Establishing a State run electric trolley system on existing railroad right of way will bring real public transportation to the Mother County. This is not a pipe dream. Even communities in rural West Virginia are using their old coal railroad beds for commuting and tourist travel.

At our Public Forum this week, there was widespread support for the present work the St. Mary’s County Commissioners have done to establish an alternative transportation route from Charlotte Hall to the Pax River Navy Base and future use of the rail option. Senator Dyson has long been a supporter of the hiker, biker, equestrian trail and the future rail use as well.

It is now up to Congressman Hoyer and his Democratic cohorts in Washington D.C. to provide those Federal funds for the public good. Our children, our children’s children, and our children’s children’s children are far more important than feeding more pork to the Boss Hogs.

A Request for Federal Dollars for the Future

One of the great disappointments of President Obama’s financial bailout and stimulus package is the white-collar theft of millions of dollars in bonuses directed to AIG insurance executives.

Those funds should be invested into public infrastructure that will benefit not only us, also, our children and our children’s children, as they must eventually pay the price.

The St. Mary’s County Commissioners have been working to establish a 28-mile continuous alternative transportation route along an existing railroad right of way. Senator Roy Dyson presently has a bill in Annapolis to prevent the serious encroachments that the State of Maryland and, to a lesser extent, the St. Mary’s County Commissioners have placed upon this corridor.

In addition to the hiking, biking, and equestrian aspect of this north/south inter-County non-combustion engine connector, a mass transit electric trolley can also roll within the 66-foot wide right of way. Railroad ties are less than nine feet long leaving plenty of room for slower traffic on the other side of a safety wall.

Veterans and senior citizens in Charlotte Hall can easily access shopping in California, Maryland while Pax River Navy off base housing residents in Wildewood can commute to work into the Base. This clean non-polluting mass transit option will cover much of the north/south commuting needs freeing up more east/west STS bus connections that can provide service to rural areas that are presently not covered.

There are hundreds of acres of land that can be used for parking beneath the high voltage transmission lines in Charlotte Hall near such public infrastructure as the library, Veterans Home, Senior Center, and railroad right of way. Our electric cooperative will surely provide both power and infrastructure toward this valuable project.

Rather than funding the bailout of General Motors who has been documented for conspiring to eliminate electric trolley systems and crush highly efficient electric cars, at our request, Congressman Hoyer can take a lead role to bring these Federal dollars to St. Mary’s County. This is the time to plan for a State operated MARC trolley powered by the Smart Grid electric technology that he supports.

Beyond the local commuting and tourism benefits, the clean green connector insures a solid place for St. Mary’s County in future BRAC consolidations.

Will my fellow commissioners support such a request of Federal funding for State planning to implement this clean transportation infrastructure?

S.B. 937: Senator Dyson’s

Bill to Preserve our Future

One of the worst decisions made during the past term of Governor Bob Ehrlich was the destruction of over a mile of railroad right of way in Hughesville that was actually owned by the St. Mary’s County Commissioners. Though the entire Board opposed the State action that took this valuable resource for eminent domain, the State Highway Administration, the Governor’s office, and the Maryland legislature did not see the long-term value of a future rail connection to ease commuter travel.

Instead of simply moving the Hughesville Bypass a few hundred feet east, SHA took the right of way. Not only did they make a major disconnect in this corridor for the future, they also made sure that the town of Hughesville would have no interim trail use to enhance both local quality of life and tourism opportunities. As I have said in the past, thanks to SHA and State Planning, a ride through Hughesville is reminiscent of a Rod Serling Twilight Zone episode.

In St. Mary’s County, there are also major SHA incursions of the right of way corridor that travels all the way to Lexington Park. The St. Mary’s County Commissioners have been no angels on this issue either. Though there are limited crossings that were allowed, I found myself in the minority opinion on an all Republican Board that voted to allow an access road directly on (not just across0 a long section of former rail bed in Mechanicsville.

Senator Roy Dyson has a bill in Annapolis that will secure protection for this valuable public asset from the poor planning decision of our State and County officials. Senate Bill 937 will prohibit the State of Maryland and our local government from selling, disposing, or otherwise allowing an encroachment of the abandoned railroad corridor property of the former Washington, Potomac and Chesapeake Company in St. Mary’s County.

Often, as most County residents are aware of, I am the lone vote on the St. Mary’s County Commissioner Board against property tax increases, developer bailouts, expansion of intrusive government, and over priced land purchases. Regarding S.B. 937, I am the lone commissioner to support Senator Dyson’s efforts to protect the rail corridor from the major State and lesser County encroachments that have occurred. I would also recommend that this legislation include Charles County as the former corridor also extends through and beyond Hughesville.

The people of St. Mary’s County have a wonderful alternative transportation route that is connecting towns and villages today for hiking, biking, and equestrian use as well as a future rail connection. It is a shame that this important public use must be protected from the elected representatives entrusted to its oversight.

The O’Malley Administration is equally culpable of poor planning regarding the commuter rail issue. Given the opportunity to choose a regional park and ride facility directly off the bypass in Hughesville that is adjacent to the existing working rail line, they chose to bailout politically connected developers on Golden Beach Road. Instead, of a bus/train connection to anywhere in the Country easily accessed from all three Southern Maryland Counties, our State and local leaders will pump more traffic on Golden Beach Road. Does anyone else see this as a bad idea?

Putting political connections above public use is bad policy. Senator Dyson’s bill will protect this invaluable asset for today and future generations. The fact that a majority of our Board cannot support the bill is reason enough that it is necessary.

Untaxed Assets

The snowstorm this week did not deter Mike Zabko, CEO of the Southern Maryland Chapter of the Red Cross, from coming to our commissioners’ meeting to promote March as American Red Cross Month.

In addition to the monumental task of keeping our Nation’s blood banks stocked, Red Cross volunteers are there to help you when disasters make life difficult. During the past blizzard, they helped open space at Leonardtown High School to find a warm dry place for County residents who had lost power.

Beyond the relief services they provide are training programs that help those of us willing to learn how to face hardships and help our family, friends, and neighbors through those tough times. The past snowstorm should be a gentle reminder to everyone in Southern Maryland of the need to be prepared for disaster.

Unlike natural catastrophes that cannot be averted, prudent elected leaders in our Federal, State, and local governments could have avoided the present financial fiasco. Unfortunately, both political parties found it much easier to spend our Country deeper into debt, grant entitlement programs to those who did not deserve them, and create a regulatory nightmare for those people who actually wanted to provide real economic and environmental benefit.

An example of the bureaucratic meddling and obstruction of clean energy technology can be explained by St. Mary’s County resident Rich Johnson who is installing a wind turbine to help power his home on the Potomac River. The St. Mary’s County Commissioners have modified our codes to expedite this important technology. The Maryland Energy Administration is in full support. But, the Critical Area Commission has reneged upon their promise to allow such a unit near the water where the wind blows best for power generation.

Despite the promises of the O’Malley Administration to support clean energy technology, they continue to support laws to make it illegal where it will work best.

The Obama Administration is far more dangerous as President Obama assaults our assets to redistribute the wealth as he promised. He could praise our electric utilities for their hard work and dedicated service for their customers while letting citizens design their own off-grid or backup power sources. Instead, President Obama and his Democratic Congress will raise the cost of our electric bill with costly emissions controls on coal plants while Governor O’Malley and the Democrats in Annapolis hold up clean wind generated energy with their own regs against common sense.

Who pays for this? Of course, we do.

The wealth of the next decade will not be secured in currency that is printed of the government, by the government, and for the government. Those of us who can afford to simply pay our taxes are blessed as jobs and investments continue to crumble in response to growingly obtrusive government.

The greatest wealth of the coming decade will be secured as knowledge and faith. These are valuable assets that the Feds have not found a way to tax.

Behind the Curtain

One of my favorite scenes from the classic movie "The Wizard of Oz" is when Dorothy and her intrepid trio of misfit friends encountered the Great Oz. When her little dog. Toto, revealed the man behind the curtain, the truth of the real leadership in that land ultimately had positive effects on the people with newfound freedoms.

Do you wonder who is behind the curtain pulling the strings of our President and his Congress?

During his speech this week to the American people, President Obama got it right when he recognized the importance of energy in the current fiscal fiasco we find ourselves mired in.

However, he fell into the same rhetoric of solutions that will fail our real needs and, within a few months, drive fossil fuel and all energy prices to exorbitant levels. Rather than encouraging the entire energy sector to compete on a massively de-regulated level targeted at clean technologies, President Barak Obama and the Democratic Congress will limit our access to our own energy reserves. This will drive up all fuel prices.

The Middle East oil barons will be happy to tap us for two hundred dollar barrel oil. The World Bank will squeeze their share per deals cut by Henry Kissinger in the Nixon Era. And the wealthy oil families will get their cut of the take as well. Meanwhile, the Chinese will freely slurp from our Gulf Coast reserves.

There is more than one man behind the curtain pulling our President’s strings.

How will each of us survive economically as our President and our Congress drive us deeper into debt to pay off their political cronies and appease the puppeteers behind the curtain?

This past week, SMECO (the Southern Maryland Electric Co-op) published a full page of practical energy information on the back page of ST. MARY’S TODAY.

This information is an excellent way to understand your electric bill and reduce it as well. In addition, there are changes to our County regulations to encourage wind turbine installations. This week, I will also ask the County Commissioners to waive all permit fees for both wind and solar electric installations as requested by a long time resident of our County.

I believe our Federal Government is shoring up the electrical grid for more power as the infrastructure in our cities crumbles. The third reactor at Calvert Cliffs is just one example. During our public forum, the County Commissioners were told about a power plant coming to the Elms Property south of Lexington Park. Though fuel prices may rise to ten dollars a gallon, people in the cities will be far less likely to riot if there is air conditioning and heat.

Here in the country, we must depend on our network of family, friends, and neighbors to get us through the coming decade of depressed economy.

That money you were saving for a flat screen TV, buy a woodstove instead.

A Tale of Two Buildings

A week ago, I sold a heavy-duty double bank gang saw that I had removed from our family sawmill operation two years ago. Though I had paid eighty thousand dollars for it in 1998, I felt fortunate to get five grand for it in today’s depressed market. Unfortunately, the proceeds will be used to pay property taxes rather than business re-investment.

During our meeting of the St. Mary’s County Commissioners on Tuesday, we voted on two buildings that are part of the infrastructure in our local government.

Each building has a cost of one million dollars and is designed to house vehicles and equipment.

The first building we voted upon was the bus shelter to be built behind the Arnold Building at the Public Works complex on St. Andrews Church Road. Like most of the public transportation infrastructure associated with the St. Mary’s Transit System (STS), the State of Maryland will provide for ninety percent of the cost to construct this facility. As the State is pulling back purchase of new busses, we will have to make our busses last longer.

Our excellent mechanics at Public Works can rebuild engines to double up the miles if the bus frames and bodies are kept in good condition. For a dime on the dollar, we get a building that will insure this possibility. Our busses are vital to providing people from all walks of life with affordable transportation for work commutes, doctor appointments, shopping needs, etc.

The vote to secure a million dollar building for less than a hundred thousand dollars was unanimous.

The other building we voted upon will be built on the Leonardtown Governmental Center property. This million-dollar building will be built to house emergency trailers that are designed to be outside in emergency conditions. This building will require thousands of dollars to heat it every year to keep the contents of the trailers warm for the time when they might be needed.

After Hurricane Katrina, I heard no complaints that the relief trailers showed up with a little dust on the side panels. Most of us keep our cars and RVs out in the open. Many of us are getting through this winter with a small ceramic heater in living spaces while the rest of the house is closed off. It would be a lot cheaper to keep the inside of the trailers warm in a parking lot with ceramic heaters rather than build and heat a million dollar building.

The vote was 4-1 to spend over a million dollars of St. Mary’s County tax dollars on a building to house enclosed trailers. We will pay one hundred percent of the cost with no State or Federal assistance. I was the lone nay vote.

As we face a decade of depressed times due to our Federal Government squandering trillions of dollars on Wall Street bailouts and misspent stimulus packages, each of us must choose wisely how we frugally expend our shrinking dollars.

Should not our elected officials exercise the same caution?

Our Choice

Finally, on Tuesday evening, the St. Mary’s County Commissioners held our first monthly public forum that has been delayed for over a year.

Our public meeting room was packed with many people who wished to speak with our local elected representatives. Library patrons, hunters, and public school employees all came to voice their views.

As the advocates spoke for expansion of the Leonardtown Library, which has been budgeted by the St. Mary’s County Commissioners, I was reminded of a new brides list of things to carry. "Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue" is the phrase that summed up from what I have heard from the public.

A decade ago, I fought to keep the historic courthouse function in Leonardtown. This was a great success for people throughout St. Mary’s County as it heralded a re-birth of the town that people are proud of today.

As the State of Maryland is transferring ownership to the County for minimal cost of both the land and historic armory building that houses the library, we are also encumbered by easements placed by the Maryland Historic Trust. The distinctive front façade of the building may not be changed as we make improvements.

Why would we ever want to change the solid brick and mortar impression that fronts the main road?

This sense of history is exactly what our County Seat is all about. Only a fool would destroy the front façade of the Leonardtown Armory building which is likely why the Historic Trust has to put it in print for elected officials.

However, there is a simple cost effective solution to resolving the expansion of the Leonardtown Library issue. This also happens to be the number one option, which was rated highest for practicality in a presentation by George Erichsen, out Public Works Director.

A new addition behind the existing old building does not interfere with the front façade. We get to borrow from the existing family friendly infrastructure of sidewalks and access to local government next door rather than making people walk another half mile to the off road Hayden Farm location. The red, white and blue U.S. flag will still fly in front of the former military building long term library that stands as a testament to the patriotic nature of St. Mary’s County citizens.

The front portion of the library could house the traditional library services that we have known for years while the back building can be a showplace of new informational high tech technology powered by solar panels and a wind turbine to offset energy bills for both sections. As recommended by Leonardtown resident, Paul Kelly, grants from the Maryland Energy Administration and the Federal Government can used to fund these innovations.

As happened with the saving the historic courthouse, expect lots of high-level subterfuge surrounding the Leonardtown Library issue. There are people who have their own agenda beyond history and Smart Growth. Behind the scenes there will be political wrangling to re-arrange tradition and increase taxpayer costs to service the wants and profit margins of the power elite in our County.

Ultimately, it will come down to a vote of the five County Commissioners who have been duly elected to serve you.

We can blend the past with the present, history and high tech, with an expansion at the present location or we can throw our values and tax dollars away.

Our choice.

Not Perfect

President Barak Obama raised himself a notch up, in my opinion, by admitting he made a mistake in requesting a cabinet appointment for Washington insider and tax evader Tom Daschle. None of us are perfect; admission of a mistake simply reaffirms our humanity.

Last week, I too, made a serious mistake. Lately, I have been working three jobs in addition to serving as a third term St. Mary’s County Commissioner and weekly columnist for ST. MARYS TODAY. Unlike many of the Democratic cabinet appointees, I have to pay my taxes. The wee hours before daybreak are about the only time left to pump out a column.

Somewhere in the early morning misty transition of sleep to working consciousness, I lost a day. In my last column, I listed the new date for the Library Presentation/Public Forum as being at 6:30 pm on Feb. 9 at the public meeting room in the Leonardtown Governmental Center. The actual date is Feb. 10, which is Tuesday evening. The place and time are correct.

Many people have called County Government to check on the date that I listed incorrectly. This shows the impact of a local paper and the importance of disseminating accurate information. I will be there Monday evening to notify anyone who missed this column and take time to meet one on one prior to the big public hearing the next night Tuesday Feb. 10.

Hopefully, President Obama will recognize that his pork sausage (they included all the pig) stimulus bill is a mistake as well. We cannot fix America’s fiscal fiasco by wantonly throwing a trillion dollars away to special interest groups.

Most everyone knows, the root of our fiscal woes is our energy dependence upon Middle Eastern oil. As long as people are paying more for untaxed cheaply produced heating fuel oil than taxed gasoline, President Obama will look like a fool being manipulated by the oil companies. Every trucker and farmer who has to pay higher diesel prices than gasoline to produce and deliver his or her goods to market knows this price difference is highway robbery.

The stimulus package should be a focused program to make America energy independent in four years. Energy innovation and transportation infrastructure should be the desired outcome. Cut out the pork and deal with the real problem.

I don’t know if President Obama ever hear what hard working Americans think about his pork sausage stimulus package. At present, we are too busy working extra jobs to provide for our families and pay our taxes. Our retirement programs have been devastated and our investments have been greatly depreciated. We cannot afford to throw money away. Our government should not waste the tax dollars collected from us.

Unlike President Obama, I will be in Leonardtown on both Feb. 9 and 10 to meet with you and seek solutions to our problems. That is my number one job.

Like President Obama, I will likely make a mistake or two in the future. To my knowledge, there was only one perfect man to walk the Earth and they crucified him.

New Time for Public Forum

The snow and ice storm this week had small accumulation, but there were multiple car wrecks and two school busses that were also in accidents. Fortunately, no school children were injured. Though I had lobbied for over a year to hold a public forum that same evening (my fiscal predictions are better than my weather forecasting ability), common sense directed me to ask for another evening to hold the public forum for you to speak out on issues that are important to you.

So, barring no other snow or ice storms, we will be holding the public forum on Feb. 9 following the public meeting on Leonardtown library locations at 6:30 pm. This is a very good time to come and see the huge expenditure that may be incurred by building a new library farther from the heart of Leonardtown as opposed to renovating the current historic facility for minimal cost.

Unlike the Federal Government that prints it’s own money, local and State governments thankfully do not have that authority. We generally rely on taxation or grant funding to provide services. I have been the lone vote on the St. Mary’s Board of County Commissioners to hold the property tax rate to reasonable levels by voting to hold the constant yield tax rate many times in my decade of service to St. Mary’s County residents.

Presently, the national economy is transitioning from the toilet to the depths of the septic tank. I am not a proponent of billion dollar bailouts for Wall Street and manufacturers of fuel inefficient automobiles. Spending an additional trillion dollars on pork barrel projects will only mean that the Federal Reserve will eventually open up the printing presses to roll out more money. The actions of President Obama and the Democrats today in Congress will mean rampant inflation and high interest rates in years to come as they pay off their debts in worthless dollars. Meanwhile, every Americans’ long-term savings and pension fund will be decimated.

On a County level, we can raise property taxes due to inflated State assessments and expand our governmental budget or we can hold the constant yield tax rate and live within our means.

Though almost ten percent of our residents are now living with food stamp assistance and more people are losing their homes due to job loss, I have been the sole voice at the County Commissioners’ table to trim the property tax rate to an affordable level so people can keep their homes and small savings.

Maybe, I have become a grizzled old dusty curmudgeon out of touch with the new Socialism that is sweeping across America. Am I alone on our Board and across St. Mary’s County in my belief that you should be free to earn and keep a large portion of your income, savings, and personal property?

Public Forum has been continued until Feb. 10th

This is your government and Tuesday evening is a public forum for you to tell your commissioners what you think

This coming week, the St. Mary’s County Commissioners will be holding the first public forum of 2009 at the Governmental Center in Leonardtown.. You are welcome to come and voice your questions, concerns, opinions, and suggestions about your local government on Jan. 27 at 6:30 pm in the new public meeting room.

I sincerely hope you can come to either speak out or simply visit with your elected representatives in St. Mary’s County Government.

Over the past two years, the public forum has been eased off the agenda. It has been quite a challenge to get support from a majority of our Board to put this important public function back on our schedule. Please come and make your presence known so the commissioners have no excuse to keep your voice silenced in the coming months.

Many times public forums and hearings are not "love fests" as people hammer elected officials with pent up frustrations. Listening and properly responding to the public is one of our greatest responsibilities as elected officials. Instead of backroom deals, that I have a public record of opposition, which might include under the table payoffs to former administrators, developer bailouts, and land purchases far in excess of appraised value, the public has a public place to address all the elected officials who care enough to listen.

Please help me keep the public forum on our agenda for now and the years to come by attending this Tuesday evening. Thank you.

Mark Your Calendars

Last weekend, I was honored to sit on a panel at the energy forum sponsored by the St. Mary’s County League of Women Voters. Most of the truly innovative ideas came not from the panel members who spoke, but from the audience who also had the opportunity to voice their questions and own ideas.

As a direct result of this forum, the Southern Maryland Energy Alliance is being formed to bring people under one energy umbrella. A very good idea was presented that is most sensible for our location in St. Mary’s County. Since we are nearly surrounded by tidal rivers and the Chesapeake Bay, why not tap the free energy of moving water by installing water turbines? I suggested a small demo project mounted beneath a wharf to prove the feasibility of allowing waterfront property owners to secure free electricity. With the high taxes and excessive regulations on waterfront property, these people deserve a break.

Southern Maryland is a logical place to become a magnet zone for new energy technologies. We are well positioned in the Mid-Atlantic Region between Washington DC, Baltimore, and Richmond. Our cultural diversity extends from the energy self sufficient Amish and Mennonite communities to high tech naval engineers.

Over the years, I have followed the work of navy contractors who are making huge breakthroughs in development of tapping free clean limitless energy from the sub-atomic quantum flux. For some reason, people with a naval background have a tendency to think out of the box. I believe the need to transition between land, air, and water presents challenges that only the best engineers can handle.

Tom Bearden who can be found at [cheniere.org] and Peterr Sumaruck who can be found on a Google search are two former members of the U.S. Navy who are making real strides bringing public attention to this new energy source.

Last June, I was honored to host the first annual Jarboe’s Mill Energy Show n’ Tell Event. The public response to witnessing emerging energy technologies was so phenomenal that I have scheduled the second annual Jarboe’s Mill event for May 30-31. We have had a great offer of an outdoor education conference center and campground on 140 acres in Southern Maryland to hold the event. To fill the need to meet increased attendance, we may have to put the mill on wheels.

Also, after multiple requests, I have secured acceptance from a majority of the St. Mary’s County Commissioners to hold a public forum on Jan. 27 at 6:30 pm in the new public meeting room in Leonardtown. This is your change to speak out to the County Commissioners and all in attendance as well as those viewing on the public access station or the Internet.

The Power of Public Meetings

Last week, the St. Mary’s County Commissioners had a very short agenda. Tucked in the County Administrator’s weekly presentation was a request to approve a revised bond issue for MetCom. The nearly eleven million-dollar loan had been approved in a prior action. This request was to add over 3.5 million dollars more in additional projects to the loan application.

The logic was to create a priority list later of the projects that could be funded from the budget shortfall. The reality is that this sets a new precedent in our budgeting process by making unbalanced loan applications.

Since we are meeting this week with the MetCom Board at the governmental Center, I suggested that we allow the public that is you, to come to our meeting to witness the discussion and express your opinion if you might care to do so. A week later, we could vote on the issue with your input in mind.

The board did not grant a second to my motion to take this action. So, the placement of the 3.5 million dollar unfunded liability.in the loan application was approved by a 4-1 vote with me again providing the lone dissenting vote.

The good news is that you can still come and witness the St. Mary’s County Commissioners meet with the MetCom Board on the afternoon of January 13 in Room 14 at the Governmental Center. It is an open public meeting.

Another open public meeting will be hosted (or is that hostessed?) by the League of Women Voters starting 2:00 pm January 10 at the Lexington Park Library. This is an energy forum where I will be honored to sit with a panel of people who are working to provide energy solutions for our future.

We should all be grateful to the St. Mary’s LWV for their open invitation to public discussion and debate. This is the foundation of our form of government. When elected official forget their power comes from the people, they soon learn just how powerful the people can be.

A Time and Place For the Public

One of the most discouraging developments of 2008 was the removal of the monthly public forum from the St. Mary’s County Commissioners’ agenda. To make matters worse, a public meeting was held on Christmas Eve to vote on a purchase of land in Leonardtown for future school and governmental expansion.

Though I was the lone vote against holding this poorly timed meeting, I attended to express my dissatisfaction with the process of procurement without appropriate public participation. I believed this meeting would be a public hearing where people could speak out. Commissioner Tommy Mattingly was quoted in the County Times as also recognizing the meeting as a public hearing.

I stated the process of holding a meeting on Christmas Eve "smelled worse than a bushel of rotten crabs." Also, I stated that a real public hearing should be held in mid-January after the holidays. Commissioner Mattingly wished to open up the meeting to public comment. Commissioner Dan Raley could not understand my confusion about the nature of the meeting though he did not question Commissioner Mattingly’s quotes. However, Commissioner Raley did wish to allow people to speak. With majority consensus, Commissioner President Russell opened up the meeting for public comment.

As you can well imagine, most people who came and spoke were highly agitated that such an important meeting might be scheduled at such an inconvenient time. Rather than recognizing the public concerns, our Board moved ahead to purchase the property on a 4-1 vote.

Though there may be limited outlet for public participation in our local government in Leonardtown, I would like to invite any concerned citizens to join me at the Northern Senior Center in Charlotte Hall on the first Sunday of the month at 5:30 pm to discuss your issues. I will be honored to bring your concerns to the commissioners’ table during our weekly meeting.

Following the meeting is a country jam session with coffee and cake for those who play or listen.

Our next lone commissioner’s public meeting is on January 4, 2009. You are very welcome to come.

In Retrospect

As we approach 2009, this is a fine time to reflect upon the past year. The Presidential Election consumed much of our media attention as billions of dollars of fuel profits were diverted to the Middle East, the World Bank, and oil corporations.

Locally, in St. Mary’s County, people suffering from this unprecedented transfer of wealth were hit with another huge bill. As our property values fell, the State property assessments rose beyond reality. Rather than helping control these spiraling costs, the St. Mary’s Commissioners, against my recommendation, failed to adopt the Constant Yield Tax Rate that the State calculates to ease the tax burden for property owners.

Having been the lone vote against the present years budget, I presented a plan to cap and reduce governmental spending in this coming year’s budget. This action would help us maintain the constant yield tax cap next year. Instead, despite our failing economy and President Elect Barack Obama’s recognition that things next year will change from bad to worse under his tenure, the St. Mary’s Board supported raising budget requests by an additional 5 percent. Again, I was the lone voice of opposition.

Though the past couple years I have been a minority voice on the present Democratically controlled St. Mary’s County Commissioner Board, there have been other successes beyond politics that I have been involved in.

In April, I organized the first ever hydrogen booster rally to promote awareness of this clean technology. Though we only had three cars that rolled over a thousand miles south to the Florida Keys, we proved the technology can help us transition away from fossil fuel consumption by using existing modified vehicles.

In June, I was honored to host the first Jarboe’s Mill Alternative Energy Show n’ Tell Event. About two thousand people came from places as far as Canada, Trinidad, North Dakota, and Florida to see conventional and unique energy solutions presented by the actual inventors.

The Smack’s Hydrogen Booster demoed at this event was state of the art then with a stoichiometric hydrogen/oxygen output of 1.5 liters per minute. Six months later, the Bob Boyce designed series cell that can be found at [thecell.cc] is pumping over twenty liters per minute. Experimenters who have openly shared their designs on the Internet have accomplished these exponential increases in efficiency. Thus, others can replicate their success.

Being a lone vote against higher taxes and governmental expansion has been somewhat discouraging, but it has been most exciting to play a part in assisting new energy technologies advance beyond barriers presented by Federal, State, and County agencies and the corporate interests they collude with.

I look forward to continuing in 2009 the positive position of helping people become energy independent while continuing to be a voice to reduce the property tax burden on hard working St. Mary’s County families. Bring on the New Year!

Your Gift

One of my favorite quotes from the famous anthropologist Margaret Mead is, "A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has."

Sometimes, only one person can make a very real difference as well.

One of the greatest challenges in any local government is administrating the department tasked with zoning regulation and enforcement. Whether a developer wants to get more homes squeezed onto a parcel of land or two neighbors are using complaints and zoning inspectors to annoy each other, there are many difficult and no-win challenges that elected officials place upon their land use staff.

Denis Canavan, our Director of Land Use and Growth Management, made a very real impact on St. Mary’s County as he worked with everyone to find fairness in our land use ordinances. His job was not an easy one, but he gained the respect and appreciation of all who dealt with him.

By respecting the law, Mr. Canavan took much of the political intrigue out of our local government’s zoning process. His untimely death is a great loss to us. I do not think his shoes will be easy to fill. However, he had many fellow loyal employees in LUGM who have risen to the challenge of covering for their director in his waning weeks.

Within the ranks of St. Mary’s County Government is the knowledge to move forward thanks to the hard work and dedication of Denis Canavan.

Recently, I watched another citizen make a difference in our County. Richard Johnson in Southern St. Mary’s County decided to place a wind turbine on his lot on the water. Unfortunately, our zoning ordinance was not crafted to permit such structures. Richard worked within the system of government to help us craft an ordinance that would allow installation of residential wind turbines for all property owners in St. Mary’s County.

Although the Planning Commission’s draft of the ordinance recommended denial of these free energy systems for small lot owners and people in the Development Districts, the County Commissioners approved an ordinance that allows for all to install. The tower must be located so it cannot fall on a neighboring property.

Most of the best wind in our County can be found on waterfront property controlled by the State of Maryland Critical Area Commission. Mr. Johnson has also received affirmation that wind turbines will be allowed there as well by right, no variance required.

Other people who wish to install these wind power systems will be able to take advantage of Richard Johnson’s groundbreaking work at harnessing the power of the wind and assisting County Government with technical information.

Each of us has a gift to make a difference in this world and our County. The man whose birthday we celebrate on Christmas Day changed the world forever by giving up his life on a wooden cross. What can you give?

Merry Christmas!

Don’t Drink and Drive

One of the toughest jobs in law enforcement is being a correctional officer. Police officers on the street deal with criminals at random while the men and women who police our jails deal with many convicted criminals 24 hours a day.

It was a great honor this week for me to recognize the retirement of Jeffrey Kreps and Joe Wheeler who each served over twenty years as St. Mary’s County Correctional Officers. Each man could write a book with the many situations they experienced dealing with a wide range of miscreants.

One easy way to avoid winding up in jail is simply to not drink and drive. I was also honored to present a proclamation to a consortium of lawmen, bar owners, and community representatives recognizing the increased enforcement effort toward apprehending drunk and drugged drivers during the Christmas Holiday Season.

This is a time when families should be enjoying quality time together. There are free Tipsy Driver cab rides available and plenty of public education and DWI exposure offered in the pages of ST. MARY’S TODAY. There is no excuse for anyone to become inebriated and get behind the wheel of a vehicle.

One of the best DWI enforcement tools that almost all of us now have is your cell phone. An obviously drunk driver is easy to spot on the highway. Should you see a vehicle weaving on the road, use your cell phone to report the vehicle tag number and description to the Sheriff’s Department.

They will make sure the drunk driver has a secure place to spend the evening and you might just keep this Christmas Season a happy one for a family not touched by tragedy.

Don’t drink and drive. Report those who do.

Because We Can

Three weeks ago, County Administrator John Savich told me about predictions of deflation rather than inflation on the fiscal horizon. Immediately, I dismissed the notion, but given time for reflection while driving a log loader, I changed my opinion.

The next week, I told Mr. Savich that we might indeed see short term deflation as oil prices tumble until Inauguration Day and retailers attempt to sell off goods at any price to meet overhead or at least offset losses.

For awhile, it will cost us less to travel in automobiles and planes, but the oil companies will attempt to play President Barack Obama for the same patsy as they did President Jimmy Carter. Watch for the price of gasoline and diesel to escalate following President Obama’s ascendancy to Commander-in-Chief on January 20.

Why will they do this? It is because they can.

Ask why the price of taxed diesel is lower at the gas station rather than untaxed diesel heating fuel or diesel prices are fifty percent higher than gasoline which is more costly to make, the answer is the same: Because they can.

Last week, President Obama re-affirmed my statement made two weeks ago in ST. MARYS TODAY that things are indeed going to change, from bad to worse, as the economy continues to stumble and tumble. I also mislabeled the coming years as the Bush-Obama Depression.

Our financial predicament is not the Depression of the Twentieth Century. We live in a topsy-turvy time when oil companies have the audacity to charge almost twice as much for home heating fuel than on-road taxed gasoline. Automotive executives show up in corporate jets for welfare handouts. And, Wall Street bankers and insurance brokers are given a "Get Out of Jail" card with hundreds of billions of our tax dollars as a reward for shoddy business practices.

We are not facing a depression. This is the Bush-Obama Financial Fiasco!

I hope President Obama has the strength of character to say no to wealthy corporations and union bosses who beg for government handouts. There is always weekend work or late night shift work at convenience stores and fast food restaurants for those executives who now have difficulty fueling their corporate jets.

The rest of us will survive with minimum governmental intrusion and needed tax relief. Can the Democrats who reign supreme in our Federal bureaucracy supply such a simple request?

We will fix our problems from the people up: Because we can. Give thanks that we are still free to do so.

Veterans First; Forget Detroit

About twenty years ago, I was honored to meet Alex Stewart during a picnic with veterans from the Charlotte Hall Veterans Home. At that time, Mr. Stewart was 96 years old. He was the only man that I ever met who served in both World War I and World War II. A photographer from the Enterprise captured him and my daughter Jodi in a peaceful conversation.

Mr. Stewart died not long after the photo was taken and my daughter has two daughters of her own. Time passes on, but our need to remain vigilant against the enemies of freedom is constant.

Regrettably, we live in a time when former proponents of free enterprise, Wall Street, insurance corporations, and the Detroit auto industry hold their hands out for governmental subsidy. Rather than having the courage to demand accountability and quality products for reasonable prices, our cowering Federal officials are digging us deeper into debt and economic depression by bailing out companies that fail to produce competitive products.

The American automotive industry has had many years to engineer cars that get over 100 miles per gallon or run on no fossil fuel at all. During the Jimmy Carter Years, the World famous mechanic Smokey Yunick developed a clean burning, high performance engine that got over 60 miles per gallon. Rather than adopt this technology, Detroit produced clunky SUVs that got poor gas mileage and were prone to roll over.

Worse than the former example, GM destroyed almost all their prototype EV-1 electric cars despite huge consumer demand to purchase every one they had produced. Does a company so arrogantly stupid and patently wasteful as this deserve to be bailed out?

Should incoming President Barack Obama and his Democratically controlled Congress wish to bring the United States back from the present recession, they will adopt free market principles with minimum regulation. However, a leopard is not likely to shed its spots any more than Congressman Barney Frank might adopt conservative values.

This week, I will be speaking at an energy exposition in Palmetto, Florida to share publicly about American energy choices now and in the future. President George W. Bush promised a hydrogen economy eight years ago. Though our own Federal Government has done little to promote this technology, there are dozens of start up companies and thousands of cars privately adapted to use hydrogen boosters to conserve fuel consumption.

These power patriots ask nothing of government but to leave them alone as they help their friends and neighbors survive the lean years ahead.

In a few years, we will see small fabrication shops producing 100-mpg custom cars and 100 mile plus per charge electric vehicles, no thanks to Detroit. No bailout for them. Take care of our veterans first!

County First

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine who has a beautiful home in Bethesda bought a mountain hide-a-way residence in the mountains of Southwest Virginia. He put his Metro home on the market and moved his family away to their retreat. He invited me to come live in a cottage nearby. My reply was simple, "No thanks, St. Mary’s County is my responsibility."

Incoming President Barack Obama will inherit the worst economy since the Great Depression. The historical similarities should invoke a sense of ominous caution for any student of history. Unfortunately, many students have forgotten their lessons. So, history is destined to repeat itself.

Local elected officials and rural County residents have little say to influence policy makers in Washington D.C. The Wall Street bailout is a prime example of this. As our dollars and jobs dry up as they did during the Great Depression and to a lesser extent, the Jimmy Carter Years, each of us has a choice. We can suffer and complain or we can find ways to use our talents and resources to help our friends and neighbors through the lean years ahead.

As a St. Mary’s County Commissioner, I am committed to continue to support reducing the property tax rate to offset the terribly high State assessments that have been unfairly levied against working and retired property owners. This is an uphill battle as there is little will on the present Board to reduce your property tax bill.

Most of my fellow Commissioners have expressed optimism over the election results. Personally, I am glad to see a past era of racism declared officially over with the election of a President who shares both African and American heritage. But, left wing politics will not fix an economy ailing from excessive governmental expenditures and regulatory oppression of small businesses.

With majority control of the United States Presidency, Senate, and House of Representatives, the Democratic Party can move quickly after Inauguration Day to establish liberal policies that will most likely exacerbate our economic woes. Expect change to come. Things will get worse.

Despite President Barack Obama’s statement about spreading the wealth around, do not expect George Soros to write you or me a check from his bank account. We must help each other survive as we tumble from the Republican Recession to the Democratic Depression.

Each of us has talents and resources that we can share to help each other weather the coming years of desperation. Think about what you might do to help other St. Mary’s County citizens have hope as the stock markets continue to tumble and higher tax bills cannot be paid.

On the first Sunday of each month, I have been available at the Northern Senior Center in Charlotte Hall at 5:30 P.M. to hear from local citizens prior to the country music jam session that follows.

This Sunday, I will bring a trailer load of cut hardwood for St. Mary’s seniors to fill up their car trunks with to help stay warm during the winter power outages. Throughout the winter, this will be a regular routine.

As the Democrats in Congress shut down oil drilling, crush coal plants, delay geo-thermal electrical generation, deny new hydro-electric dams, and make sure wind turbines do not spoil Senator Ted Kennedy’s view-shed, there will be a lone Republican in St. Mary’s County providing free renewable energy to heat the homes of elderly citizens.

What can you do in St. Mary’s County to help your friends and neighbors survive the changes that result from our Country becoming the Obama Nation of the world? For now, we must put our County people first.

Are you going to complain or get to work?

Making Decisions on Tough Cuts is

Responsibility Board Can’t Delay

Last weekend upon leaving a dinner theatre hosted by Mt. Zion Methodist Church in Laurel Grove, a woman disgruntled with her property taxes "had a bone to pick" with me over the big tax hike on her property. Other parishioners quickly stepped in to tell her that I was the lone commissioner to vote against the tax increases for this year’s budget that allowed assessments to inflate your tax bill.

I further explained that the County Commissioners had the option of holding the Constant Yield Tax assessment that would cap property taxes at last year’s rate. There must be a majority of our Board willing to make the tough cuts to do this. I was the only commissioner to vote to adhere to the Constant Yield.

This year, we know full well the national economy is on a roller coaster ride. The big downfall is yet to come. The savings and loan failures and Wall Street meltdown are a direct result of both parties unwillingness to establish an energy policy that keeps the price of energy within acceptable limits.

Though we are seeing gasoline prices dip below three dollars a gallon at the pump as the Presidential Election nears. How long do you think this will last after November 4th?

Regardless of whom we elect, most of us know that this economy will be more depressed in the months to come. Both candidates have promised change. Neither told us that the change includes going from bad to worse!

I know that most taxpayers in St. Mary’s County cannot afford higher property tax bills in these lean times. This week, I have presented a series of suggestions to the County Commissioners that will help us cap your next property tax bill. Maybe, other commissioners have better means to achieve this goal. Next year’s St. Mary’s County budget cycle will be a great challenge.

Here is a copy of my suggestions presented to our Board:

Suggestions to hold the Constant Yield to ease tax burden in next year’s budget cycle

A) Consolidate County Government to 5 or 6 departments: This will limit very expensive contract positions and allow merit employees to rise higher in the ranks.

1) County Administrator: Oversees all depts. and PIO

2) Department. of Public Administration: Finance, Personnel, Procurement, Legal, IT

3) Department of Human Services: Human Services, Community Services, Office of Aging, Transportation, Recreation

4) Department of Public Works: Public Works, Vehicle Maintenance, Facilities Management, Grounds & Parks)

5) Department of Land Use and Economic Development: Planning and Zoning, Economic Development:

6) Department of Emergency Services: Emergency Planning, Dispatch, and Animal Control (This dept. could be consolidated into the Sheriff’s Department as it is presently being run by a former sheriff)

B) Freeze all new hiring and COLAs.

C) No new budget requests from the emergency reserve except for true emergency.

D) Should Senator Barack Obama be elected President of the United States, the recommendation of Congressman Barney Frank for a 25% military spending reduction will negatively impact our military facilities particularly the Pax River Navy base. We must re-evaluate all our capital projects for parks and schools in the event that Senator Obama is elected President.

Prepare for Change

Last weekend, I traveled almost two thousand miles to do a presentation on alternative energy in Ruskin, Florida. In addition to setting up a solar powered hydrogen generator for public display, I was honored to meet with other people from around our Country who are working to make America energy independent.

Our conversations about engine modifications, hydrogen cell designs, and new energy sources were completely focused until someone would inject politics into the conversation. Then, the arguments arose.

After a few minutes of heated debate, I took out a coin from my pocket. I noted that there were two sides on the coin, but it was still the same coin. The two sides in Washington, DC have the same agenda as well. This was proven by the way President Bush, Senators Obama, Biden, McCain, and our local Congressman Steny Hoyer united to bailout Wall Street. And, they added 110 billion dollars of earmarked pork for spite.

We agreed to put party politics aside. Sharing energy information with our fellow Countrymen is a higher priority. We must seek our own bailout.

Regardless of who takes leadership of the Oval Office for the next four years, things will change. Odds are things will go from bad to worse. What can you do to survive the deepening recession/depression?

This winter, I am turning down my thermostat on the oil furnace to forty-five degrees. Many rooms in my house that I do not use will have the circulation vents closed and the doors shut. Extra needed heat will come from either the wood stove or a strategically placed ceramic electric heater.

Though my diesel VW vehicles get about fifty miles per gallon, I travel about 500 miles a week dealing with St. Mary’s County events and issues. Since I take no expense account from the taxpayers for fuel, I look to put my EV back on the road for short runs around the Northern end of the County. Also, the STS bus system is a great way to get around affordably.

With my own energy demand reduced, there is an Amish dry goods store just over the County Line. There, I can stock up on basic foodstuffs in bulk like oatmeal and honey should things continue the downhill slide as our Country transitions from the Bush League to the Obama Nation.

Each of us must organize our own individual plan to fiscally and physically survive the next few years. There are no elected officials in our Federal Government who will personally help you. They are too busy paying off the corporate interests who are funding their campaigns.

The first Sunday of each month at 5:30 PM, I have making myself available at the Northern Senior Center in Charlotte Hall to discuss your issues and help as many people deal with situations on a local level.

You are welcome to come with your problems and/or solutions. Then, you might enjoy fellowship with many Southern Marylanders at the Country music jam session that follows.

A Helping Hand

Do you remember the Carter Years? For all the Middle East fiascos, rocketing fuel prices, and economic uncertainty (does this sound familiar?) President Jimmy Carter was a staunch advocate of a wonderful program called Habitat for Humanity.

Unlike the modern phenomena of providing housing loans to people unwilling to do what is necessary to make the payments, people worked together to build their own homes. The sweat equity put into these affordable cottages with low cost building materials insured that the homeowners would not let banks foreclose on their efforts.

This week, I was greatly honored to join all the St. Mary’s County Commissioners as we broke ground with two of the families who will be building their own homes on the Fenwick Ridge property just South of the Patuxent River Navy Base.

The volunteers from Patuxent Habitat for Humanity are providing real affordable housing for real hard working St. Mary’s County families. There is no bailout here, only neighbors helping neighbors.

As the economy continues to decline, it is easy to gripe about the problems that confront us. The tough work is making the extra time and effort to help each other through these challenges.

The volunteers in our fire/rescue community, food pantries, Hospice, Christmas in April, and Habitat for Humanity can use a hand. How about yours?

Bailouts and Copouts

How must President Bush, the majority of Congress, as well as Presidential candidates Senator Barack Obama and John McCain feel now that the bailout bill they passed has had such a negative affect on Wall Street?

Not one of those people had the courage to tell the people the hard facts and present a better plan or simply say no to another governmental bailout of the finance industry.

The American public knows better and will tell you the root of the problem; the high cost of energy has crushed our spending power.

Instead of moving ahead with a comprehensive plan to build American energy independence through unsuppressed competition of all energy markets, our Federal elected leaders have chosen to spend us out of debt. The depression they tried to forestall may be here by Election Day.

Locally, the forecast is not as dismal, but gloomy.

Each year, the State of Maryland publishes a Constant Yield statement so the County Commissioners and everyone else will know just how much more money will be taken from the taxpayers if the tax rate is held level. The St. Mary’s County Commissioners knew this going in to our public hearings on this year’s budget as we held a hearing on the Constant Yield on the same night.

As I recall, three people stood up to support holding the Constant Yield tax rate that would have kept your property taxes capped at last year’s level. Though three people do not sound like a lot, most years no one speaks up.

Cutting out seven million dollars from our budget would have been difficult, but it could be done with a massive departmental consolidation to reduce highly paid department heads and streamline our local government. Instead, I was the lone nay vote to an expansion of County Government that added another department head and five new employees.

I was also the lone nay vote against this year’s budget that so greatly increased your property tax through increased assessments that we were able to offset should we have adopted the Constant Yield tax rate.

Though the State Assessor caused the problem by over assessing properties in a down economy, the State of Maryland did give the solution by publishing the Constant Yield Tax Rate and requiring the County officials to hold a public hearing on it. I find it hard to blame someone for a problem who also provides the solution.

This week, I was again the lone nay vote against buying a piece of land on Indian Bridge Road to use as open playing fields. This densely wooded piece of controversial land that hosts endangered species habitat will in my estimate cost millions of dollars to clear and develop if we can even do so with the constraints placed by the Department of Natural Resources and Maryland Department of the Environment.

Spending three quarter of a million dollars to bailout a developer, as the stock markets tumble, will be likely viewed locally as vile as the three quarter trillion dollar Federal bailout.

There are dozens of acres of cleared ground in the County owned inventory that we can use more quickly if the majority of our Board was not so intent on spending your tax dollars on their own bailout plan.

More Motion, Less Emotion

Though some may disagree, most of us realize the root of the economic problems in our Country today is the huge cost increase of fossil fuel energy. We have moved from the gold standard to an oil based economy. When the price of a barrel of oil jumps one thousand percent over a decade with few major publicly available energy alternatives, there is a huge problem.

The meltdown on Wall Street is just another outcome of this weakness produced by governmental and corporate strangulation of a competitive energy market.

Closer to home, the closure of Bell Motor Company is a tragic consequence of major American corporations not providing dealers with energy efficient products to market to more than willing consumers.

In the Mid-90’s, St. Mary’s County inventor Jon Edwards with investors Danny Muchow and David Tether traveled to Detroit to showcase their innovative electric motor design that was called the Electric Wheel. This motor was so light weight that it could be mounted in the hub of each wheel and so efficient that a car with conventional lead acid batteries would get over two hundred miles per charge. General Motor’s response to the technology was tepid at best as they did think they might use it on multi-speed conveyors in their plant.

Later, GM crushed all of their own EV-1 electric cars prior to the great escalation of fuel prices. No sense having efficient electric vehicles that might offer a better consumer choice.

Toyota took a different tack with the Electric Wheel design. They heisted the patent and incorporated the motor into the drive train of the Prius hybrid vehicle. Should GM have run with this technology there would be 200 mile per charge electric cars and efficient 50 mpg plus American hybrid vehicles sitting on GM showroom floors. Likely, Bell Motor Company would not be facing closure.

This week, the St. Mary’s County Commissioners signed a joint resolution with the Board of Education to conserve energy consumption in both County Government and BOE facilities. Public Works Director George Erichsen has volunteered to accept the additional task of being Energy Manager for County Government. He deserves huge credit for adding this challenge to his workload. As these economic conditions worsen, many more of us will have to work harder.

On a personal level, I have added to my growing task list teaching Amish machinists how to build hydrogen boosters that reduce fuel consumption and reduce emissions. Also, I am working with a forward thinking U.S. Army Major to build free energy trailers. These tag-a-long enclosed trailers have fold out solar panels on the outside and an enclosed battery bank. They will serve as energy modules for disaster relief. The relief trailers can be stored outside to supply added electricity to a home or business while awaiting arrival of the emergency situation.

While we are moving forward with meeting the challenges of a quarter century of failed energy policy, the St. Mary’s Planning Commission delayed implementation of an amendment to our zoning ordinance to allow small wind turbines to help residential property owners produce clean renewable energy for their homes.

As the elected officials gridlock in Washington DC over energy and economic issues, each of us must do what is necessary to survive the coming years of economic depression. We will be turning our thermostats back, returning to wood heat, driving fuel-efficient vehicles, and cutting out things that have become unaffordable to pay for basic necessities.

Our Planning Commission is tasked with planning the future. The delay of technology that promotes American energy independence is a step backward.

St. Mary’s County is surrounded by 400 miles of waterfront facing the Chesapeake Bay, Potomac River, Patuxent River, Wicomico River, St. Mary’s River, and dozens of creeks.

The State of Maryland has mandated a buffer area around the waterfront areas that extends a thousand feet inland. This is called the Critical Area, which has extensive harsh regulations regarding property use for the owners of land in this designation.

The original purpose of this legislation was to clean up our estuaries. Obviously, this legislation has failed miserably in it’s intent. Now, the legislation is being used to intimidate and frustrate waterfront landowners who wish to sensibly improve their large investment. Real efforts like oyster aquaculture being used in St. Mary’s County to clean up our waters are virtually ignored by the O’Malley Administration.

All of the County Commissioners hear about enforcement of these State rules that make no sense at all. I spoke with a property owner who was cited for construction sand that was placed on his property. The inspector said it was impervious surface, but everyone who has a septic system knows that sand is permeable. It only becomes impervious with the addition of concrete mix.

People have expressed fear of removing dead trees that threaten them with certain death should the tree or a large limb might fall through their home. The intimidation is so great they would rather face dying than confronting the government inspector tasked with enforcing Critical Area legislation mandated by the State of Maryland.

Commissioner Dan Raley expressed frustration for people who wanted simply to remove a stump or put down a few walking stones on waterfront property.

Though our legislators in Annapolis require the local governments across Maryland to enforce the Critical Area codes, they give minimal dollars to do so. This week, the St. Mary’s County Commissioners were confronted with accepting a grant for Critical Area support that had been diminished by ten thousand dollars.

Though we did accept the grant to slightly diminish our mandated costs, four out of five commissioners rejected withdrawing the ten thousand dollars from our emergency reserve fund to make up the difference. Only Commissioner President Jack Russell who sits on the Critical Area Commission voted to use your local tax dollars.

As our State Government and Federal Government try to reduce their fiduciary responsibilities, many more grant funded positions may not be funded. With these cuts looming ahead, we must not start appropriating our emergency reserves to keeping grant based positions funded. To do so would have set a bad precedent.

We must be prepared for major disasters like hurricanes or deep snowstorms. These relief efforts will need to be funded.

This is why we have an emergency reserve to protect our local citizens, not to bail out State legislators.

Sin County: Who is pulling the strings in local government?

Did you know that flashing electric digital signs are not allowed in St. Mary’s, Charles, and Calvert Counties? Everyone has seen the bright message boards at the Wildewood and Hickory Hills shopping centers or the County owned message board. These signs are allowed by special exception or public service notification. Waldorf must have dozens of special exceptions.

This week, the St. Mary’s County Commissioners received a request to process a text amendment to allow unlimited proliferation of these distracting signs throughout our village centers, town centers, and development districts in St. Mary’s County.

Though some people may argue these signs display a level of technical evolution, I would point out the long-term highway safety issue of driver distraction and visual aesthetics. Also, small businesses will have difficulty competing with the larger corporate chain stores that can more easily afford to build and maintain these technological marvels. The atomic bomb was also a technological wonder, but, thankfully, its use has been severely limited.

Ironically, there has been no public request to spread these Las Vegas style signs throughout our County. No one at our Board identified any businessperson who supported such a desire though Commissioner Tommy Mattingly referred to a request from the North County.

Most of the people from my district in Northern St. Mary’s County and the Seventh District are not in support of such a change in the character of our County. Hand painted signs advertising fresh eggs or crabs by the bushel are good enough for most of us.

Though I am again in the minority in my opinion with my fellow Board members, I am grateful that Commissioner Dan Raley also is also opposed to crafting this text amendment to make our County rival Waldorf and Las Vegas in flashing LED displays.

Our contention was to review the sign ordinance to help small businesses get their message to the public. Why should we craft legislation that would specifically help wealthy businessmen who lobby behind the scenes to turn our County back to the days when Lexington Park with it’s flashing neon signs was called Sin City?

Fortunately, this ordinance change is moving forward to the Planning Commission where it will be thoroughly scrutinized prior to final approval by our Board. The origins of this text amendment need similar scrutiny. I know of no one who has asked me to craft such legislation. When you see Commissioners Jack Russell, Kenny Dement, and Tommy Mattingly, you might question who has asked them to support such a change in character to St. Mary’s County.

The public does have a right to know who is pulling the strings in local government.

Back to Basics

On Tuesday evening, I took a trip south to Linda’s Café in Lexington Park to celebrate her Twentieth Anniversary of doing business at that location.

Her prices for the week reflected prices on basic meals and drinks that could be found in 1988. Fifty cents for a glass of tea or cup of coffee with a ham and cabbage dinner for less than four bucks makes going out to dinner like a blast from the past.

Though the Leonardtown business venture did not work out, Linda, like so many of us, is going back to basics to re-establish her fiscal well being.

Maybe, you have had to go through similar economic consolidation to make ends meet as the oil companies, oil producing countries, and our own government have reaped windfall profits from our earnings and savings.

Personally, as an example, I have enjoyed the cable service offered by Comcast in Golden Beach by watching both the Democratic and Republican conventions on Fox News. However, the increased taxes that I have seen on our business and residential property must be paid. So, the cable service must go. How many of you are making similar choices to pay the increased County property tax bills?

As the only St. Mary’s County Commissioner to vote against this year’s inflated budget, I am so grateful for your words of encouragement. While dining in Linda’s, many citizens thanked me for doing what I think is best to represent your interests. Many people are wondering why we need to build toad parks to bail out developers or accept construction bids fifty percent higher than budgeted.

Senator John McCain’s promise to return our Federal Government "back to basics" struck a resounding chord with me. I have been the lone vote to say no to expansion of local government and the network politics that have added another department and department head to our local government.

With the term limit loss of both Commissioners Tommy Mattingly and Dan Raley in two years time, we are guaranteed to have a major turnover of our Board. Will there be concerned citizens offering their services for public office who will serve our County that will also help me return our local government back to basics with good old common sense?

Personal character must override party politics.

This week, I shared my viewing of both conventions with an Amish co-worker who obviously does not have cable TV.

I described how old guard Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy gave a solid speech despite his serious health problem. Also, I explained how everyone knows how years ago he killed his secretary while driving drunk.

The Amish man replied, "Yes, I know that."

Then I told him how everyone knows that Democratic Presidential hopeful Senator Barak Obama is a wife beater.

The Amish man said, "I did not know that Obama beat his wife!"

I said, "No, he beat Bill Clinton’s wife!"

Senator John McCain will put up a better fight.

Government should help citizens earn more,

not spend more of what you earn

During the past two weeks, I have been the only commissioner to vote against a million dollars of unnecessary taxpayer funded expenditures. A quarter million dollar extra cost for a contractor to build erosion control is too much. Three quarters of a million dollars to pay for a difficult (if not impossible) to build sports park in densely forested low ground swampland that contains endangered species habitat is far worse.

Thank goodness, the St. Mary’s County Commissioners are not meeting this week. The taxpayers deserve a break.

One of the bright spots of being in political office occurred last week as our Board met with Pax River Commanding Officer Capt. Andy Macyco and his staff in a joint meeting to discuss encroachment mitigation and prevention between St. Mary’s County and the Patuxent River Naval Air Station.

The now long-term cooperation that has evolved through both Republican and Democratic County Boards has helped Pax River weather the threat of Base Re-alignment and Closure actions.

Outside of the navy gate, many citizens are facing job layoffs and diminished salaries. Though I was the only proponent on our Board for the constant yield property tax reduction, many residents of St. Mary’s County agree with this proposal to cap taxes now that the tax bills have arrived.

During an after meeting conversation with Capt. Macyco and Capt. Matt Scassero, Pax River Vice Commanding Officer, about historical past, present and future naval relations between the Pax River navy base and St. Mary’s County residents, I commented on the lack of a central and publicized location outside of the base gate to help local residents secure naval support job opportunities.

County Economic Development Director Bob Schaller and Community Development Corporation Director Robin Finnacom joined the conversation to support this joint initiative. They made a firm commitment to make this happen.

This is how local government can best help our citizens. We need not spend millions of dollars on overpriced projects. Instead, we should support our citizens having access to improved income opportunities and job security.

County Commissioners should foster opportunities to help you earn more, not spend more of what you earn.

The Public Be Damned

 
Despite having a new $2.5 million public meeting room and hall, the board has stopped public hearings on new parks or holding monthly public forums as requested by Commissioner Larry Jarboe. ST. MARY’S TODAY photo

The act of securing land for a public park should be cause for celebration. After many months of public lobbying, the purchase of the Myrtle Point waterfront public park was placed upon the County Commissioners agenda for discussion and vote. Many people came to witness this historic event. The audience on Room 14 of the old Leonard Hall building applauded and cheered as the all Republican Board unanimously supported the motion to purchase two miles of shoreline for the people of St. Mary’s County.

The additional open land beside Lancaster Park was not so greatly heralded. It was part of the Flattops purchase that required extensive negotiations to secure land that supported a blighted ex-naval housing project. At least, from this commissioner’s view, we could expand the playing fields at Lancaster Park in the southern parcel and rejuvenate Lexington Park with private purchase of the northern parcel.

When the request to secure the former Beavans Property for playing fields was quietly slipped into the County Administrator’s agenda, there was virtually no public input. There had been no public meetings with dozens of people clamoring for this park. There was no discussion of the public benefits versus the huge cost of developing playing fields where native woodlands and swampland presently exist.

There was no public discussion of the proximity to the Hackerman Deal property where the State of Maryland has dedicated over eight hundred acres of land to Eastern Narrow Mouthed Toad habitat.

No one from the public arrived to question the limited septic percability or the perception of a governmental bailout for the developer who wanted to unload this parcel on the taxpayers of St. Mary’s County.

Although I did my best to represent these questions for the public interest, Commissioner Dan Raley’s motion to proceed with the acquisition of the Beavans Property seconded by Commissioner Kenny Dement passed on a 3 to 1 vote with Commissioner Tommy Mattingly abstaining. I voted against the motion.

The two swamp areas of this property that host the habitat of the endangered toad will multiply into far deeper morasses as the application proceeds through DNR review and the State of Maryland’s Board of Public Works approval process. Clearing enough land for 15 playing fields in forest interior dwelling birds habitat and swampland will become a major obstacle in addition to the cost to do so.

With so much available parkland in the California/Lexington Park area, why must the taxpayers pay for such a difficult to develop piece of land?

In the past, St. Mary’s County Commissioner Boards held monthly public forums to encourage you to come out to tell us about your concerns with your local government. Though I have repeatedly asked our Board to place a monthly public forum back on the agenda, these requests have not been fulfilled. Sadly, we now have a large new public meeting room and there is no place in our meeting schedule for you to personally bring your issues to us in an open and publicized manner.

On Sunday, Sept. 7 at 5:30 p.m., I will be at the Northern Senior Center in Charlotte Hall to meet with you to bring your concerns to our Board. Later that evening, there is a country music jam session that is held there on the first Sunday of the month. You can both talk to your local County Commissioner and enjoy Southern Maryland musicians playing in harmony.

I hope you can come.

The Edge of Armageddon

Though I was less than ten years old when it happened, I still remember the quiet tension in our own family when the Cuban Missile Crisis occurred in 1962. The threat of nuclear war with Russia was enough for even a boy to think about what it might be like to live or die in a world devastated by a nuclear holocaust.

As President Bush sends U.S. troops on a relief mission into the country of Georgia while Russian troops are still in occupation and Israel readies to annihilate the Iranian nuclear reactor, we are again poised upon the edge of Armageddon.

Beyond simple quiet prayer, there is little any of us can do individually to change these world events. This is a good time to make simple preparations to confront the changes we may see from a world in conflict.

Obviously, it is a good idea to stock up on non-perishable food goods. Also, fill up your heating fuel tank as well as installing a wood or biomass stove for back up heat. Though most St. Mary’s County citizens keep a gun for hunting and protection, this is a good time to stock up the ammo supply as well.

Regardless of the international situation, simple precautions like these can be beneficial in many emergency circumstances.

This week, we waved the flag for our latest casualty in the War on Terror, Sgt. Ryan Baumann. Through his sacrifice and the thousands of young men and women in our armed forces overseas who have given their lives, most of us have seen minimal disruption in our lives here in the United States.

This could change any moment should a post 911 event occur again on our shores. Should it include nuclear material or chemical or biological warfare, you may have to stay at home to be safe.

It is better to be prepared.

Clueless in Congress

As the only elected official to vote against a blanket resolution of resounding support for the third reactor at the Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant across the Patuxent River, I have questioned, "What does St. Mary’s County gain from this?"

We receive no power from the reactors who pump energy into the Baltimore metropolitan area. We generate no tax dollars, but hold as much liability as the potential radioactive plume area from an accident covers our County. Calvert County gets the cash cow and all we get is a truckload of evacuation route signs.

In addition to the threat of long-term health hazard, the thousands of building contractors moving into Southern Maryland to complete construction may be diverted into St. Mary’s County as Calvert County nears filling up it’s growth cap. This week, the St. Mary’s County Commissioners decided to cap St. Mary’s annual growth at less than two percent though this has to come back to us for final legislative approval.

Rather than moving hundreds of families across the overcrowded Thomas Johnson Bridge to impact our schools and tax dollars, I have recommended that the Calvert Cliffs facility adopt the "Live Where You Work" Smart Growth policy and locate worker housing on the two thousand acre property. The success of the Oak Ridge community in the WWII Manhatten Project can be summed up in two words, Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Last week, the St. Mary’s County Commissioners also forwarded legislation to allow St. Mary’s homeowners to erect residential wind turbines to power our homes with free energy. There is a growing movement in our County for energy independence. Unlike the Calvert County citizenry, many St. Mary’s County citizens wish to generate their own energy using free or renewable resources.

As we respond locally to changing energy markets, how do we feel when a majority of our Federal elected officials prefers to take a vacation rather than enacting real energy solutions?

It is a sad day in our Country when Hollywood celebrity Paris Hilton enunciates a national energy policy far superior to the rhetoric endorsed by our Democratic Senators and Representatives in Congress.

The cost of energy will come down as many energy sources are allowed to compete in a free market economy. Tapping our own resources and opening up the Federally suppressed energy technologies will cut the price of fossil fuel in half as people choose the free energy technologies as a better investment.

The Democrats in Congress promised another Manhatten Project. All we got was high priced fuel.

A Declaration of Energy Independence

Last weekend, I hosted the first Alternate Energy Partnership Conference at my lumber mill location in Charlotte Hall.

Thanks to the advance advertising from ST. MARYS TODAY and Star 98 FM as well as Internet networking about two thousand interested citizens came to find out how we can cut our dependency on fossil fuel.

While Congress and our President turn their backs on controlling the pillage of American jobs, incomes, and long-term savings by the corporate oil interests, patriotic volunteers brought their new technologies to display at the transformed lumberyard.

People came to visit and display from as far away as Wyoming, South Dakota, Florida and Texas. There was even a Canadian who lived at the Arctic Circle.

In addition to the Smart Car owned by our librarian, there was a home built electric Mercedes conversion that arrived from Annapolis. Many hoods were lifted to display hydrogen boosters that improve fuel economy and clean up emissions.

Within the kiln buildings that had been converted to display warehouses were hourly energy saving seminars and unique devices that run on reduced or zero fossil fuel. Spodie from Florida ran an engine on hydrogen that he made from water. Nick Gulan showed his Bedini Wheel that draws energy from the environment to charge batteries.

People were particularly interested in the GEET fuel processor that has been shown many times in this newspaper. It is very interesting to see an engine that runs on water mixed with almost any fuel.

Local inventors and entrepreneurs were well represented.

Sid Young from Mechanicsville has a very efficient hydrogen cell that he has designed and is testing in his van.

Budd Gray, owner of CCIPHS, showed his bio-mass stoves that run on pellets, corn, cherry pits, or any other palletized fuel.

Shannon Schmidt of Solar Tech in Hollywood, Maryland showed how a new generation of business people can help us install solar panels and wind generators to free us from dependency on coal fired, grid supplied electricity.

A film crew from Glass Sidewalk Productions in Hollywood, California had flown in specifically to document this landmark event that will be featured in the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.

We are in the middle of another revolution for independence in our Country today.

Thank you for everyone who helped make the Jarboe’s Mill Energy Expo such a great success. We have made our Declaration of Independence once again.

Let’s get it done!

An Invitation to Learn

Now that Congress has gone on vacation without voting to approve offshore drilling, the Chinese can continue to pump from the Gulf of Mexico oil deposits that we could be using in this Country. No wonder they can afford to subsidize the tax rebate checks that are supposed to be boosting our economy.

Why would the Democrats oppose using our own resources when another country is drawing them down? The Arctic National Wildlife Reserve issue is also easy to solve. Just tap the Gull Island deposit in Alaska that is larger than the Saudi oil reserves. Why stick a straw into the smaller ANWR deposit? Sen. John McCain knows that.

At the same time, it is time to open up the suppressed energy technologies that both the Federal Government and the oil companies have conspired to keep from the public. Although the Japanese have developed a car slated for mass production that uses water for fuel, this technology has been invented by Americans and placed upon a black shelf.

Ironically, a car produced in India runs on air pressure, but our Department of Transportation will not allow it to be sold here for highway use (unless it has three wheels).

These are simple solutions that the Democrats could bring to the table that would allow more competition in the energy market. Free competition can bring down prices in the monopolized transportation market. Why not allow all energy technologies compete on an equal playing field? Would the Democrats support such a measure? Not in this Country.

With full control of Congress over the past two years, the Democrats have encouraged gasoline and diesel prices to double. No Senator or Congressman has brought new technology to the legislative process that can reduce our fuel costs.

It was a great honor to host the first Jarboe’s Mill alternative energy event last month. I have received many phone calls of gratitude for the open sourced information that was shown by inventors who wish to make our Country energy independent.

Each weekend since, I have hosted learning groups to help people find affordable alternatives to high priced fossil fuel products. You are welcome to come and learn with us. My cell phone number is 240-577-1240.

Sadly, Congress has abandoned the U.S. and us. We have no choice but to help ourselves.

Why is O’Malley Administration Encouraging

‘Buy Local’ but Shutting Down

Local Farmer’s Markets?

One of my favorite quotes from the Hogan’s Heroes TV series occurred whenever Sgt. Shultz witnessed something that was strange in the POW quarters. He would say, "I see nothing!"

A similar principle has been applied to the enlistment of homo-sexuals in the United States military services. Whether or not you agree or disagree, the "Don’t ask. Don’t tell" policy is a somewhat benign way to deal with a most difficult issue.

In our own County, past Health Department Directors Walter Raum, Dr. Bill Marek, and Dr. Ebenezer Israel used the "Let it be." approach when dealing with the sale of homemade baked goods, jams, jellies, and pickles at local farmers markets as well as school, Church, and non-profit bake sales.

After all, there are plenty of drunk drivers, rabid animals, disease bearing ticks and mosquitoes that are causing real health risks. Why raise a ruckus over food that has never caused a problem? That would be like going after America, mom, and apple pie.

So why is our St. Mary’s County Health Department now going after America, mom, and apple pie in their quest to impose strict State statutes on sales at our local farmers markets?

I asked present St. Mary’s Health Department Director Dr. William Icenhower during our Board of Health meeting when this policy change had taken place and he confirmed that it is a State Department of Hygiene and Mental Health initiative taking place within Governor Martin O’Malley’s administration.

Now that the Democrats have the Governor’s Mansion, majority representation in the Maryland legislature, and a majority of the St. Mary’s County Commissioner Board, they feel empowered to push the regulations to the limit on many of the most quiet, non-offensive people who inhabit this world. In their oppressive minds, a farm wife selling her homemade pickles or a Church volunteer baking a pumpkin pie need strict oversight and inspection of their home kitchen facilities.

It is bad enough that our Federal agencies economically devastated hundreds of tomato farmers over real Salmonella cases that were not caused by tomatoes. Now, our Maryland Blue State DHMH bureaucrats are out to clean up health problems that have not occurred. Baked goods, jams, jellies, and pickle products that are labeled homemade are not expected by consumers to be inspected by the health agencies. Otherwise, they would not be sold as homemade.

If the State health department wants to find a real illegal problem that is impacting the health and quality of life for law abiding Americans, there are twelve million illegal aliens to seek out and quarantine.

The St. Mary’s County Health Department is holding a public meeting at the Charlotte Hall Library Meeting Room on Wednesday, July 30 from 6:00-7:30 P.M. to provide information about safe food handling for the summer market season. This is a good time for us to question why the O’Malley administration is so intent on changing health policy that has served us well for generations.

Come early to get a seat.

Now that I have a working radio in my car, I enjoy listening to the diverse opinions offered by the National Public Radio programs. Last week, I heard a health specialist explain the reason why so many more people today suffer from allergies. Our immune systems have been weakened due to improved hygiene.

Yes, the recommended hand washing with germ killing soaps, chlorinated water, frequent use of antibiotics, and other measures designed to protect public health is actually giving our immune systems so little to do that they are now adjusting to attack the foods we eat. The government’s idea of good health is killing us.

Now, that we have become a Democratically controlled "Blue State" on both County and State levels. The health departments and Department of Agriculture are preparing to mount a campaign against the old fashioned baked and pickled goods produced by the Amish and Mennonite communities that can be found in our farmers’ markets in Southern Maryland. Also, natural chicken eggs are verboten in this Third Reich blitzkrieg that is being organized against our local farming community.

Though there is not a single documented case of health problem in Southern Maryland, the scenario that someone might be hurt consuming goods made with shallow well water or limited refrigeration is enough to shut down a whole sector of our economy that is noted for a healthy lifestyle. How did mankind survive for millions of years without chlorinated water and electric refrigeration?

Rather than focusing on real problems like the eradication of deer ticks that cause Lyme Disease or lobbying for stronger prosecution of drunk and drugged drivers who are actually killing people, our Democratically appointed bureaucrats are determined to wage war against the peace loving people who keep our land working without receiving millions of dollars in subsidy from agricultural preservation programs.

In the past, there has been a Republican majority on the County boards upon which I have served so there was no overwhelming threat to our Southern Maryland farming community. Now, with the Democrats firmly in control, there is a very real likelihood that the Amish and Mennonite communities will be driven from their working farms by economic sanctions enforced by the State and local health departments.

In their place will be new developments that promote P.G. County style development. This is the real agenda. The list of developer funded campaign contributions to Southern Maryland Democratic politicians provides overwhelming evidence.

As the lone nay vote on the St. Mary’s Board of County Commissioners against higher property taxes and increased bureaucracy, I need your help to build a grassroots effort to return the power to the people of Southern Maryland where it belongs.

Next weekend, I am hosting an alternative energy and health expo on the historic Jarboe’s Mill property beside the farmers’ flea market in Charlotte Hall. This is a free event that you are welcome to come or demo unique fuel saving inventions that will improve your quality of life and generate savings for your economic benefit.

There is an agenda posted in this edition of ST. MARYS TODAY. I hope you will clip it out and share it with your network of friends and family before posting it on the refrigerator as a gentle reminder of this important event.

Southern Maryland can be a place where natural farm products and clean renewable energy sustain a healthy local population. Or, we can be absorbed by the one party politics and governmental domination that P.G County is noted for.

Like the lone Dutch Boy, I cannot hold my finger in the dyke much longer. I need your help. See you June 28-29 if you still care about what’s left in your wallet.

A few weeks ago, the St. Mary’s Board of County Commissioners reviewed changes to the plumbing code. Adoption of the newer 2006 National plumbing and gas codes was a logical request. However, the additional testing of homeowners who wish to do their own plumbing was a real problem for this commissioner.

Following the public hearing process that received support from some local plumbers to make homeowners test to do plumbing work in their own homes, the issue came to be settled at our table this week.

All of the commissioners supported upgrading the code to modern specs. None of us wanted to require homeowners to test to do their own work. There are very few jurisdictions across our Country that are so anti-property rights. Even two-thirds of Maryland Counties have no such onerous requirement.

Commissioners Mattingly and Raley wanted people to register their personal plumbing work in their kitchens, basements, and bathrooms with Land Use and Growth Management

Using the analogy that was presented by Code Inspector Adam Knight during the public hearing, a homeowner who installed a bidet for his wife would have to drive to Leonardtown and register that installation with the County. This action would also help alleviate the use of non-licensed plumbers who are working illegally in St. Mary’s County.

Commissioners Russell and Dement agreed with me that the County does not need to inspect or register your personal plumbing work. If people choose to hire non-certified plumbers to work illegally, they are responsible for their own lack of judgment. Requiring people to register their personal plumbing as a form of protectionism for local plumbers will not work. A non-certified plumber will not certify his work if he is doing it illegally.

In St. Mary’s County today, you are still welcome to do your own home plumbing repairs in your own residence without having to spend many dollars in fuel to drive to Leonardtown to announce to the world that you are installing a bidet in your bathroom.

For the time being, there are no inspectors going to sniff around your toilet or register your personal plumbing.

As important as the people who volunteer to serve on our fire departments and rescue squads are the people who support these organizations. The Ladies Auxiliary of the Southern Maryland Fireman’s Association held their annual dinner last Saturday night in the Seventh District to install their new officers.

Barbara Sue Nelson from the Seventh District will take over the president’s gavel from Bonnie Quade, another resident of the Seventh District, who is the only woman who has served two non-consecutive terms in this organization. However, five other women have served two consecutive terms including Barbara McWilliams who also lives in the Seventh District.

Though Johnnie Rivers may have sung about the virtues of the "Seventh Son", these daughters of the Seventh District deserve special recognition and thanks for their regional efforts.

As a long-term member of Tri-County Council having served a single term as president, I am well aware of the need to work together on regional issues for the combined benefit of Southern Maryland.

The decision of the Charles County Commissioners to move the regional baseball stadium from Hughesville to the Waldorf area may have been a parochially motivated decision, but the move away from a central area in the Southern Maryland region may have well reduced attendance from Calvert and St. Mary’s Counties.

Now, the Charles County Commissioners are looking to rezone heavy industry into this quiet town that is presently reminiscent of a Rod Serling episode.

The bigger picture should include a larger vision of Hughesville. The planned employment residential center across from the Harley motorcycle dealership that is called Hughesville Station should include a regional park n’ ride facility that ties the train tracks with commuter busing to provide a transportation center as well.

With MARC train service serving commuter needs and tourism opportunities, heavy truck traffic at the Calvert side town entrance might not serve most value for the long term economic viability of the town.

The possible vindictive desire of the invincible Charles County Commissioners to tweak the activists who lobbied against the stadium by rezoning heavy industry beyond Comprehensive Plan review could provide a windfall for St. Mary’s County as Southern Marylanders and visitors seek out the Mother County for peace and solace. Why make the town suffer when the Charles County Commissioners made the official decision to move the stadium?

Ultimately, we will see if Governor O’Malley and his fellow elected cohorts will fulfill their promise made upon the working railroad tracks in Charles County to bring passenger train service to Southern Maryland.

Time will tell if a passenger train or gravel trucks are a greater priority for these politicians who govern the town of Hughesville.