4/22/07

From Negative to Positive

On Tuesday afternoon, I was honored to join my fellow commissioners, State Senator Roy Dyson, Delegate John Bohanan and Delegate Johnny Wood to break ground with the many supporters of hospice care for the future St. Mary’s Hospice House in Callaway.

The peaceful property that overlooks two ponds was once home to drug dealers and illegal drug related activities. The residence and land known as the Page Property was confiscated due to the drug dealing conviction of Bobby Page.

The St. Mary’s Hospice organization has provided priceless volunteer services to terminally ill residents of our County with minimal assistance from local government. When the opportunity arose to use this property for such a great public benefit, all of the County Commissioners voiced their support to grant this land to Hospice of St. Mary’s in recognition of their efforts and to support a future terminal care facility.

In Annapolis, our legislators gave the bond bill to fund construction of the Hospice House number one priority.

Citizens in St. Mary’s County should be gladdened to see people working together to witness such a positive spiritual facility arise from the former negative residence and outlaw residents.

If we can turn negative situations into positive events in our home County, let us pray that the students, families, and faculty of Virginia Tech may receive many blessings in the years to come. Through adversity as this, we might become a stronger Nation as well.