St. Mary's School Board
Decision for Approval of Retirees Was Made in Secret
Commentary
by Clare Whitbeck
Speeding Teen Wrecks Two School
Buses
This bus was one of two struck by a speeding
teenager on Ponds Woods Road near Huntingtown.
Photo courtesy of Huntingtown Vol. Fire Dept.
See details in print edition this weekend
Bay District Seeks Hike in Fire Tax
After gambling with money left in an
endowment to the Bay District VFD by a late member of the Lexington Park based fire
company, and losing about $400,000 of those funds which were designated for purchasing new
fire trucks, Bay District is now seeking a boost in the fire tax paid by property owners
in the Lexington Park and California area. Bay District President Keith Fairfax
appeared before the St. Mary's Board of Commissioners on Tuesday to announce that the fire
company would be holding a public hearing on Wednesday Feb. 23rd at the Lexington Park
Library at 7 pm. Bay District, after spending hundreds of thousands of dollars
remodeling their present Lexington Park station, wants to now build a brand spanking new
station near the library. This is part of a plan to clean out the entire block at
the main gate of the Patuxent River Naval Air Station. The St. Mary's Commissioners have
said that they would not buy the block but secretly sent a letter to one property owner
attempting to secure an option to buy.
Man Hung Self Next to Historic
Black School Site
ST. INIGOES ---- A New York man who had been
living in St. Inigoes for the last few months, used nylon rope to hang himself to death on
Wednesday. The sudden hanging is believed to be a suicide and took place next to St.
Peter Claver on Ash Wednesday. Police report that the man left a suicide note. The
man's hanging took place from a tree on the site of the Cardinal Gibbons Institute, a
Catholic High School for blacks at a time when all schools were segregated. The
school burned down and was never rebuilt after years of struggling to keep it open.
The land is still owned by the parish of St. Peter Claver and is leased to St. Mary's
County for use as a neighborhood park. The man has not yet been identified and as next of
kin has not yet been notified and was described as being a white male about 40 years of
age.
The Purple Grocery Eater at Large
After Striking Safeway Clerk with Her Truck
PRINCE FREDERICK -- Maryland State Police at Prince Frederick report that a woman
dressed in a purple sweat suit boosted a cart load of groceries from the Safeway store and
when confronted by a store clerk, drove her white Chevy Blazer into the clerk and sped
away. The suspect is described as being a short, fat white woman and she sure did an
ugly deed. She is 45-50 years old with reddish brown hair.
No Dice on Illicit Affair
Gov. Ehrlich Fires Aide
Who Spread Rumor
on Mayor O'Malley
Gunfire in Waldorf
Heathens Fire Shot,
Hit Man on Bike
More area
police briefs...
Woman Murdered
UPPER MARLBORO -(Feb. 8, 2005)-- A woman
driving in her car on the ramp from Rt. 4 to Rt. 301 in Upper Marlboro was shot and killed
today.
PG Police report that a woman was shot and killed at just before 4 pm as she drove on a
ramp from Rt. 4 to Rt. 301., her boyfriend has been arrested.
Mayor Chip Norris Thanks Governor for Making Leonardtown 'Priority Place'
Story
Col. Norwood Sothoron Dead at Age 93
A fixture in St. Mary's County for
nearly a century, Norwood Sothoron has passed away after braving a long fight with
Alzheimer's. The W.W.II US Army Veteran, All-American Lacrosse player,
Commandant of the Charlotte Hall Military Academy and Director of SMECO was a solid
presence in America, Maryland and St. Mary's County. A spirited and feisty man, Col. and
Mrs. Sothoron raised 4 children. John and Kenny are well known in St. Mary's with
the entire family excelling in lacrosse.
Obituary
| Respected
Local Surgeon Dead Dr. Abdussamed Samadi |
| Born in Istanbul, Turkey on
Aug. 12, 1921 Departed on Feb. 5, 2005 and resided in Hollywood, MD. Hollywood Volunteer Fire Department Memorial Service to be held on Sunday Feb. 27, 2005 2:00 pm |
The Thirst for Booze at Dew Drop Inn
Man charged with threatening to burn down
the bar when he was cut off... Story
Game-Breakers
State Police Mount Sobriety
Checkpoint After the Super Bowl
Story
Ohio Top Judge Busted for DWI Story
Police Beat:
Not Here, Knott
What is there about the word "not" that Knott doesn't understand? Story
Wild Thing
Even Girls Can Steal Cars
Story
Letter to the Editor:
Straight Story on Crashes
Leads to Saving Lives
Cook's Liquors Robbed at Gunpoint
Just after 10 pm on Saturday night, two black males held up the Cook's
store located on Rt. 5 at Park Hall. The men, armed with a gun, escaped with money.
They were described at being black men, wearing dark clothes, with one of them wearing a
yellow jacket. Both were said to be 6 feet tall.
Fair Play for Independents in Judgeship Elections
Del. John Bohanan has introduced a bill
calling for Maryland to change the way it conducts elections for Judges where those who
are not affiliated with one of the major parties are not allowed to participate in the
primary elections, where the races are usually decided. Under the proposed law,
those running for Judge would skip the primary and all run together in the General
Election. A hearing is set for this bill on Feb. 14th.
3 Shots Fired at Repo Man
Friday, Feb. 4, 2005 --- Just after 3:30
am today, a Repo Man was attempting to snatch a car on Willie Love Lane just off
Thompson's Corner Road when a white male came out the residence where the car was parked
and fired three shots from a handgun at the Repo Man. Police responded to the
call from the Repo Man who was holed up in his tow truck.
Maryland Marine Mourned
Story
Coast Guard Search
Yields 4 in Life raft
Story
Election Day is Over; Now It Will Be Election Week Story
Maryland Senate President Mike Miller (D. Calvert, Prince
Georges), left, with Maryland Sec. of Veterans Affairs George Owings, center, and Speaker
Mike Busch (D. Anne Arundel) right.
A Reader from North Beach sends
this item on drunk driving story
In Memory of Neal
Knox,
An American Patriot
By Vernon Gray
Weather Believed Cause of Deadly
Chopper Crash Which Took 31 Lives
Story
President Says Progress Being Made in Spreading Freedom
Story
Police beat
Rt. 4 Mania
3 Car Crash Caused by Speeding Driver Under Influence; Suspected PCP Found in Vehicle Story
Embrace of Iraqi Woman and Marine's Mom Marked Powerful Speech
Congress applauds President Bush at
the State of the Union speech.
Reaction to State of the Union Speech by Maryland's
Congressional Delegation Breaks on Party Lines Story
President Calls on Congress to Make Nation Better for our Grandchildren
Story
Hoyer Calls Speech Woefully
Short on Real Solutions
Story
Speed Propelled Man
into Utility Pole
Calvert Man
Dead in Crash
Story
Motive in Prison Bus Murder Was Revenge for Ratting Out Killer...
Prisoner Being Transported to Trial in
Leonardtown Circuit Court Delayed by Murder on Prison Bus
UPDATE: ST. MARY'S TODAY
has learned the man killed on a Maryland prison bus which was being guarded by FIVE guards, was killed in retaliation for offering testimony in
the case against the killer. Evidently, this is Maryland's version of a witness
protection program, to handcuff an inmate witness next to the inmate killer. The
killer, Kevin G. Johns, 22, strangled the inmate who turned him in to prison officials.
The guards on the bus noticed nothing amiss until the bus got to the Supermax in
Baltimore.
Johns was sentenced to life in prison without parole for murdering his
cellmate on Jan. 23, 2004 at the Maryland Correctional Training Center in Hagerstown and
on Tuesday made a threat to kill again prior to being transported to the Patuxent
Institution for a mental evaluation.
Kevin G. Johns, 22, stomped to death Armand Cloude, 16, who was in prison for second
degree murder. Johns latest murder victim's identity has not yet been released. Johns was
in prison for one murder, the guy he killed was in prison for murder and now he had
murdered again. Sometimes the taxpayers really do make out.
The bus was traveling between Hagerstown
and SuperMax in Baltimore. This held up all prisoner transfers for the rest of the day.
Wanted for
Attempted Murder
Thomas Lee Adams, wanted for attempting to kill a family
member, stabbed a person on Aug. 28, 2004, and then fled report Charles County Detectives.
Police are seeking assistance from the public in locating Adams, who is wanted for
Attempted First Degree Murder. The charges are the result of an incident Aug. 28, 2004 in
Indian Head, during which Adams stabbed a family member. Adams is a 20-year-old black
male, has brown eyes and black hair, is 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 185 pounds. He is
wanted on charges of Attempted First Degree Murder, two counts of First Degree Assault,
Second Degree Assault, two counts of Reckless Endangerment and Failure to Appear on a
Possession with Intent to Distribute drug charge. Anyone with information regarding
Adams’ whereabouts is asked to contact the Sheriff’s Office at 301-932-2222 or
the Domestic Violence Unit at 301-932-3066.
Hambone Madness Sends More Local Officials to
Annapolis
St. Mary's Assistant County Attorney
Heidi Dudderar and State Assessment Director Sean Powell Back to Annapolis Today
More of the local county government found a new way to do the county's
business on Wednesday, Feb. 2, which is officially Ground Hog Day, by waltzing around the
State Capitol. This visit is the second in a row for Powell, who points out
that yesterday's trip was on his own personal leave time. Powell is in charge of
creating new assessments for the Republican Administration so revenues will dramatically
increase and provide more money to pay for big public works projects and special deals for
developers. Wonder why we bother electing Johnny Wood, John Bohanan, Roy Dyson and
Tony O'Donnell to represent us in Annapolis? Who paid for these folks to leave their
offices in Leonardtown and go lollygagging around Annapolis?
More of the weekly road trip 'Tommy Lusts
for Annapolis'
Hambone's Road Trip Includes County PIO, TV Cameraman and State Assessment
Officer
Story
3 Peas In A PUD
Just week's after the details of Tommy "Hambone" McKay's secret land deals at Indian Bridge
Road came oozing out of Annapolis, McKay now has wrapped up Gov. Bobby Ehrlich in the Wharf Rat deal and all for the
purpose of boosting Tudor Hall, Phil Dorsey's taxpayer subsidized resort and hotel complex on Breton Bay.
Ehrlich Re-labels Tudor Hall Project of McKay's Political Guru Phil Dorsey as a 'Priority
Place'
Just in case you didn't know it, there is a development proposed
on Breton Bay known as Tudor Hall, a project which has been moving forward and at times,
being shelved, since it was first envisioned 7 years ago by Leonardtown developer Phil
Dorsey. Dorsey, who has been a major financial contributor to St. Mary's
Commissioner President Tommy McKay. Ehrlich, who's administration has disdained
public transportation such as commuter rail for Southern Maryland, instead supports
massive road building deals as the Inter-county Connector in Montgomery County, which is
strangely anti-Smart Growth.
Ehrlich Pitches for
Leonardtown Developers
Permits process will vaporize under the
Governor's 'Lets Make A Deal' Program
While
Democrats Look to Deanmonize National Committee; GOP College Kids
Ready to Rumble
Commentary by John T. Plecnik
Help Locate Missing People
MarylandMissing
Citizens United Thanks Hollywood
for All Their Hard Work at Electing John Kerry with Billboard Next to Academy Awards Oscar
Hall
Billboard
This Prayer Given at the Opening of the
Kansas House of Representatives in 1996, Would, If Given in Annapolis, Cause At Least a
Dozen Cases of Caustic Utterance Disease in Democrats from Montgomery County
Story
Heroes at Work
CAMOUFLAGE – U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Nathan
Fitzwater, a Fire and Emergency Services member from the 36th Civil Engineering Squadron,
36th Air Expeditionary Wing, Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, conceals himself by
camouflaging in palm leaves and face paint during a Combat Dining In on Jan. 29, 2005.
U.S.
Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Bennie J. Davis III
President Talks With Folks in Fargo
Main Stream Media Correspondents Don't Like Conservative White House Reporter Tossing
Softballs to Prez
Story
Last Man to Walk on Moon Visits Pax River
Story
A Lesson to Be Learned
On Iraq Elections
Commentary by Carleen Cairns
The train of freedom is rolling and it's time to get on board
Liberal Democrats:
Tools of
the Terrorists
Commentary by J. Matt Barber
A Prince George's County police officer investigating a domestic shot a man who the officer said was armed.
It happened at 12:50 a.m. at an apartment parking lot in the
5800-block of Fisher Road in Glassmanor. A Med-Evac helicopter was requested for the man in his 20's but he lapsed into cardiac arrest and was taken by ground to Greater Southeast Community Hospital where
he was pronounced. He was shot twice. An officer was taken to Fort Washington Hospital with a minor injury.
The department's use of force team (SIRT) is investigating.
Fugitive Squad Nabs Man in Rockville Wanted in D.C. Murder Story
D.C. Slasher Found in New York City Shelter Story
Calvert
County Sheriff Now Has a Navy; Will St. Mary's be Next?
Calvert Sheriff Mike Evans now has a fast response vessel to deal
with possible interdiction with terrorists at the LNG Plant or the Nuclear Power
Plant. Charles Sheriff Fred Davis picked up a boat and promptly assigned six
deputies to his Navy and the State of Maryland gave six vessels to the Maryland
Transportation Authority Police to protect various bridges. The one assigned to the
Potomac River Bridge spends all its time sitting in a marina while the officers sit around
drinking coffee. When will Sheriff Dave Zylak announce his own Navy to protect the
county's 400 miles of shoreline?
Photo by Chauncey Bowers
Yaketty-yak; Don't Come
Back!
30 Students Taken to Hospital After School Bus Wrecks in PG County When Big Mouth Bus
Driver Began Talking on Cell Phone
She is being charged with several charges
including running her big yap on phone while driving kids...
Story
Waldorf Man 13th Murder Victim of the Month in
Gorgeous Prince Georges
Story
Mother of the Year
Police were called to the Holiday Inn at Solomon's Island Monday
night for a report of an unconscious woman discovered in the laundry room. Calvert
Sheriff's Department reports that the woman was found to be drunk and the child was okay
but sitting on the floor next to the woman.
Photo courtesy of Dunkirk Vol. Fire Dept.
New drive-in access to
Dunkirk business.
This car went into the front of Julian's Hair Design on Rt. 260 in
Owings on Saturday, Feb. 20.
Where's
the Bill?
Officials Spend Big
Bucks on Junket
Falling Down Drunk
(Feb. 21, 2005) HOLLYWOOD, MD. --- Some folks who have had enough
contact with being pulled over by the police ought to know the drill. Pull to the
right, stop, put your hands on the wheel and have your drivers license and registration
available....except when you don't have a drivers license and registration and you are in
Southern Maryland, one simply shifts into high gear and puts the pedal to the medal and
flips the bird to the cop. On Sunday night about 11 pm, Maryland State Trooper First
Class Mark Mclean noticed a suspected drunk driver at the intersection of Rt. 235 and Rt.
245 and attempted to pull him over, instead the motorist simply took off down Rt. 245,
suddenly pulled into a driveway and tried to flee on foot. With the trooper in hot
pursuit, the motorist ran down the driveway but soon demonstrated he couldn't run any
better than he drove and plunged face first down an 8 foot embankment. George
Hawkins, 37, of Brandywine, had good reason to run as his license was suspended and
revoked for past transgressions and he was charged with DWI, fleeing a uniformed officer
and general dumbness. As a result of his fall he was spitting teeth and was taken to
St. Mary's Hospital where he was treated for minor injuries.
Super Fire at Super 8
Fire ripped through the front end of the Super 8
Motel on Rt. 235 today, Saturday, Feb. 19th, and was spotted by numerous motorists who
called 911, as well as St. Mary's Deputy First Class Julian Schwab.
Firefighters quickly got a hold on this
fire and kept the damage to the front of the building. ST. MARY'S TODAY photos
These Bay District firefighters were probing the roof
line for hot spots after the fire was put out at the Super 8 located on Rt. 235 in
California. The building is built from all wood and has gas heat.
ST. MARY'S TODAY photo
Ehrlich Administration Blasts
Democrats Over Appointments
Story
Another Untalented Teen Driver
Causes Mayhem
3 flown to trauma center after Girl,
17, fails to yield when turning on Rt. 235
Story
Deputies Round Up Bull Instead of Shooting
It
LAUREL GROVE --- On Thursday, Feb. 17, St. Mary's deputies were tasked with getting a
young bull off of Rt. 235 before he became an oversized roast beef sandwich on the front
of someone's front end of their vehicle. While deputies debated how to deal with the
situation, shooting the bull both literally and figuratively, as well as calling animal
control, a good old citizen strolled up and lassoed the bull and then the deputies
secured. Nothing like a country boy around when all the kings men can't do the job.
DWI Charges Against Trooper
Dropped
After the commander of the patrol division
ordered deputies to charge Maryland State Trooper Tim Quade with DWI, the St. Mary's
States Attorney has now dropped the charge and the trooper is now back to work. The
charges were instigated by Lt. Michael Merican, and came five hours after the trooper left
a California bar when a woman continued to harrass him. See more in the print edition on this story.
Dyson Bill to Slow Growth Catches Hell From Developers
Sen. Roy Dyson has had the guts to stand
up to the plate and say, enough is enough, and put in a bill calling for St. Mary's County
to be able to show it has adequate public facilities before approving any new
developments...this is in effect is a moratorium. The developers and the politicians
they control have steam coming out of their ears and are screaming bloody murder, which
shows that Dyson's bill is a really good idea.
Coast Guard to Honor Heroism in Tanker Explosion Rescue Story
Slot$ Back for Replay as Ehrlich
Administration Wobbles Into It's Third Year of Nansy-Pansy Legislative Agenda
Will the ineffective and silly Republicans ever really learn how to
run the state government?
Senate to Move Slots Proposal;
House to Begin Debate
3 Back to Back Wrecks Stopped Traffic at
Brandywine on Rt. 301
...and the Ehrlich Administration still
opposes commuter rail service to Southern Maryland...the Governor won't even support the
Transportation Study Bill being sponsored by Senators Dyson, Miller and Middleton which
passed the Senate Finance Committee by a 11-0 vote last week.
In the "I Don't Read that
Rag" department; the Maryland
General Assembly Dept. of Legislative Research reported to the General Assembly in it's
fiscal note on the proposed bill of Senator Roy Dyson (D. St. Mary's, Calvert, Charles)
that according to ST. MARY'S TODAY, the traffic leading to the Governor Thomas Johnson
Bridge over the Patuxent River is backed up for miles each day during peak traffic times.
They didn't source the Washington Postie owned dribble sheets which have plenty of
pictures of barns on their front pages, they sourced your favorite hometown newspaper, the
humble s--- sheet; ST. MARY'S TODAY! Our policy on running photos of barns remains
the same...we will run a photo of a barn only if its on fire or has a plane sticking out
of the side...
Sen. Dyson has proposed a bill
calling for a second span to be added to the Gov. Thomas Johnson Bridge in order to
alleviate backups which sometimes go all the way back to the Patuxent River Naval Air
Station....The Ehrlich Administration apparently is opposed to this move only because
Senator Dyson proposed it....Dyson has been promoting the establishment of commuter rail
service to Lexington Park from the metro area with a link through the existing CSX
railroad which leads from Morgantown at the Potomac River through Charles County to
Bowie.
read the Fiscal
Summary of the Dyson Bridge Bill
Fire Scorches Garage of High Society Killer
CHAPTICO --- (Feb. 15, 2005) Maryland State Fire Marshals report
$150,000 damage, estimated by fire investigators, occurred to a 3 car garage owned by
William Zantzinger at his estate on Manor Road in Chaptico. Seventh District,
Mechanicsville, Leonardtown and Hughesville firefighters arrived to fight this fire on
Friday, Feb. 11th at about 3:11 pm. Fire Marshals John Tennyson, John Nelson and Don
Brenneman report that the fire was accidental and started in a work shop area. The
loss was set at $100,000 for the structure and $50,000 for contents. The estate,
known as Bachelor's Hope is the newest manor home of Zantzinger who is noted for his
smacking a Negro hotel worker over the head with his cane and killing her at a society
ball in Baltimore when he was in his early twenties. In 1963, Hattie Carroll died from the
blow to her head delivered by Zantzinger at the Lord Baltimore Hotel at the annual charity
ball hosted by the venerable Southern Maryland Society. Carroll didn't move fast
enough for Zantzinger when he ordered her to move to get him a drink. She was the
mother of 10 children. He got six months in prison due to his position in Maryland
society.
Singer Bob Dylan's famous song was based on the murder of Carroll. Zantzinger again
gained notoriety when he was convicted of collecting $64,000 in rents for slum properties
in Charles County from poor tenants even though he had lost the properties to the county
four years earlier in tax sales. The poor black tenants who got behind in
their rents to Zantzinger were even evicted by the courts in Charles County even though he
didn't own the properties.
Song Time Magazine story
William Zantzinger in a Baltimore police paddy wagon.
This fire roared through the garage of William Zantzinger. Photo courtesy of
Mechanicsville Vol. Fire Dept.
Older Driver Went Wrong Way on
Rt. 301, Killed Him and His Wife
Story
Man Murdered at Valentines Disco
BARSTOW ---(Feb. 13, 2005)
Detectives from the Calvert Investigative Team, a joint criminal investigation unit of the
Calvert Sheriff's Dept. and the Maryland State Police, determined that a shooting which
took place early on Sunday morning at the Calvert County Fair Grounds was a
homicide. State Troopers and Calvert Deputies
responded to the auditorium at the fairgrounds for a report of shots fired. When officers
arrived that found that the last bell had run for Bertram Bell, 41, of Prince
Frederick. Bell was taken to Calvert Hospital where he died from gunshot
wounds. A short time later police say that Chester Leroy Hawkins, also 41, from Port
Republic, turned himself in to the Maryland State Police. He then confessed to
police that he had shot Bell and was charged with 2nd degree murder. Hawkins is currently
being held at the Calvert County Detention Center.
Today in
Annapolis:
Who's afraid
of Ted Kennedy?
By Dr. Terry McGuire
Heroes at work:
3 New York City
firefighters killed
History Test
Musical
tributes to our Armed Forces
Send items of need to our soldiers in Iraq
by visiting this website started by a soldier from La Plata
President and Mrs. Bush walking down
Pennsylvania Ave.