Atlantic Security Provides Update on Osprey Cam Disaster

John Wayne, President of Atlantic Security, offered the following statement in response to inquires on the state of the cam repair:

“A full moon flood tide has made the initial stages of camera repair favorable. We at Atlantic Security will continue to work tirelessly to find a solution. In spite of the government’s request, we have turned off any possible camera feed while our efforts are in progress. We put our estimate of a successful repair at 60 -70%.

This type of repair has been successfully attempted before but never at 5m ( that’s meters) above the level of the ocean. The process we are employing is known in another industry as a “Jump Shot”, where the technician places the new cam in the old location without that person losing most of their facial features.  Usually, they only get one shot to make the switch and jump off the nest area.

To put rumor to rest, under no circumstances will we consider the use of nuclear explosions to resolve the  problem. We will provide additional information as soon as it is available.”

Osprey Cam Damaged by Storm, Fate of Eggs Not Known

The popular Spy Osprey Cam was damaged last night by a passing storm.  The condition of the Osprey nest and family, including three eggs, is not known at this time. The Spy’s partner, Atlantic Security Inc., is aware of the problem, and there is some hope the cam still might be operational through software solutions.  Another option being considered is a “top cam” procedure which allows the affected camera to be removed without the mother noticing.  Atlantic Security President John Wayne may hold a press conference via Skype later today to answer questions on the suspected damaged camera, and ASI’s plans for the delicate operation of replacing the camera without harm to the osprey or the volunteer technician.

In the meantime, the Spy offers our sincere apologies for this disruption.

County Center & Pool Opening Tomorrow

There will be a ribbon cutting and grand opening for the $10 million community center in Worton on May 27 from 10 am to 1 pm.  There will be children’s activities as well as a public ceremony to celebrate the long-awaited facility. The Kent County Community Center will be one of the largest of its kind on the Eastern Shore.

Real Men Wear Red High Heels

Who would you like to see walking a mile with Marty Stetson . . . wearing ladies red high-heeled shoes? How about Ed Birkmire?

In fact, the tall town councilman and the less vertical Humane Society director are just a couple of the hairier-legged community leaders who are joining Washington College male athletes and fraternity members in attempting to teeter in heels from the heart of campus to fountain park.

The spectacle begins at 5 p.m. Wednesday.  A large crowd is expected to cheer, and hoot, them on.

Some other good sports in red high heels include Ken Collins of WCTR; Brad Hirsh, board member For All Seasons, Inc.; Darnell Parker, director of multicultural affairs at the college, and Jared Halter, WC’s director of student activities.

“Walk A Mile In Her Shoes” is the event conceived by WC senior Alisha DiGiandomenico to raise community awareness about rape, sexual assault and gender violence.

The event ends with talks at the park by representatives from the Rape Crisis Center, the Mid-Shore Council and local law enforcement agencies.

There will be music. And there will be masseuses for the foot-sore.

Local oddsmakers were split on how many would complete the mile in high heels and who would finish first (not that anybody’s racing).

Some gave the edge to Stetson because his size-13 feet should make for remarkable stability. And remarks will be made on it.  [Look for them here.] His chances shrink, however, when it is considered that the four-inch heels are going to jack up Stetson to about 6-foot-9. So, if gusts are blowing off the river as he lurches southward, he could be fighting headwinds up there and have to do some tacking.

This scenario suggests an opportunity for the close-hauled Birkmire, who could plot a more direct course.

It can be revealed now that Stetson had a lot on his mind as the starting time approached.

At the last Town Council meeting, he was seen to lean over to Joan Merryman, who was taking the minutes, and then was overheard to ask her, “Is it going to hurt?”

Merryman managed not to smile as she reassured him, “It’s going to hurt.”

Come to the Prince for Sarah Cataldo

Once more Chestertown is being called to rally for young Sarah Cataldo, as it did several years ago when she was in desperate need of a heart transplant.

Mayor Margo Bailey informed the Town Council that the child is back at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She said Sarah is having trouble keeping anything in her stomach, foods or medicine.

“Obviously for a transplant patient, meds are critical,” said Bailey. She said the girl has been hospitalized since March 13 and she will be there many more weeks.

The mayor said there is something people can do for Sarah. She urged them to attend the  concert of Jah Works, a reggae band, at the Prince Theatre on Friday night at 8:30. Tickets are $35 each.

This is a fund raising event for Dragonfly Heart Camp, the Pennsylvania facility that gives children with transplants the opportunity to have a summer life like most children. The camp is dear to the hearts of Sarah’s parents, Rhonda and Jerry Cataldo.

Bailey noted that Chestertown rallied strongly for Sarah when she first fell sick and her heart bagan failing while on vacation in North Carolina. Townfolk raised something like $17,000 to pay for her transportation to Childrens Hospital.

Residents volunteered to wait tables at Rhonda’s restaurant, now called the River Heart Café. Some cleaned the Cataldo’s house while they attended their daughter. Some mowed their yard. Dragonfly pins were sold around town to raise more funds for Sarah.

Coming to the Prince for Sarah on Friday is another way to show the community is still there for her. And the reggae is, as the Rastas say, “Ah sey one,” when something is really cool and great.

Farm Bureaus & Chester River Association Meeting Tonight

There will be a joint meeting of the Kent and Queen Anne’s Farm Bureau and the Chester River Association tonight (Thursday) night at 7pm at the Presbyterian Church in Chestertown. There will be a presentation of nutrient management plans and an announcement of a new federal program for the Upper Chester watershed which will benefit farmers and the Chester River. Those interested in supporting the farming community and learning about programs to help our river should try and attend. For more information, please contact the Chester River Association at http://www.chesterriverassociation.org

Senator Cardin in Town March 1 to Talk Terrorism

On Monday, March 1, U.S. Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD) will speak with Washington College students about the terrorist threat facing the United States and the difficult balance of protecting Americans against terrorism while safeguarding civil liberties.  The Senator’s address is part of the Goldstein Program in Public Affairs, named after the late Louis L. Goldstein who served as Comptroller of Maryland from 1959-1998.

Senator Cardin heads the Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security of the Senate Judiciary Committee.  “Our top priority must be to protect the American people …at the same time we must ensure that our government uses its resources wisely and that it strikes an appropriate balance between national security and protecting civil liberties,” stated Senator Cardin at a Terrorism and Homeland Security Subcommittee hearing he chaired last year.

Senator Cardin to address Washington College students about the terrorist threat facing our nation.  Following his address, he will take Q&A from the students

WHEN: Monday, March 1 at 1:30 p.m.

WHERE: Washington College, Hodson Hall 300 Washington Ave., Chestertown, MD

Pets of the Week

After a brief hiatus, Pets of the Week is back with two especially playful animals. Jambalaya is an eager, excited and lively German Shorthair Pointer Mix looking for a good home. He is one and a half years old, and knows basic commands. At six months old, Arnold still embodies the personality of a curious kitten. He is an adorable Domestic Short Hair, and is quite affectionate towards people. After being adopted, however, he would prefer to be an only cat.

Best Bets

Monday, February 1

Celebrate President’s Month with the Garden Puppet Theatre Mini-Museum in the Kent County Visitor’s Center. Puppets George and Martha Washington will be on display, the same puppets that appeared in the 1994 and 1995 puppet show “The President and Patsy,” presented by the Historic Society of Kent County. Runs through the end of the month.

Location: Kent County Visitor’s Center, 122 N. Cross St., Chestertown

Contact: Patsy Hornaday, 410-778-5841, tph203@verizon.net.

Washington College Film Series will continue with “The Hurt Locker.” Directed by Kathryn Bigelow, this critically acclaimed film depicts an elite Army bomb squad in Iraq and the dangers they face in a city where everyone is a potential enemy and every object could be a deadly bomb.

Location: William Smith Hall, Norman James Theatre

Time: 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.

Thursday, February 4

The precision, vocal gymnastics and excitement of men’s collegiate a cappella singing comes to the Mainstay! Dissipated Eight is the more-than-50-year-old, award-winning men’s a cappella group from Middlebury College in Vermont. They perform both nationally and internationally, at private venues, colleges, and high schools. They sing popular songs from different eras with witty imaginative arrangements, often using their voices to imitate instruments in the originals. Tickets are $10, call for reservations.

Location: The Mainstay, Rock Hall

Time: 7:30 p.m.

Contact: The Mainstay, 410-639-9133, www.mainstayrockhall.org.

 

Friday, February 5

Meander the red-brick, tree-lined sidewalks of Historic Chestertown while enjoying extended shop hours and arts and entertainment throughout downtown during First Friday.

Location: Downtown Chestertown

Time: 5 to 8 p.m.

Contact: www.kentcounty.com/artsentertainment

The Washington College Film Series will present “Good Hair.” When comedian Chris Rock’s daughter asked, “Daddy, how come I don’t have good hair?” he decided to find out who had put this question into his little girl’s head. The result is an insightful, entertaining documentary and Sundance award winner.

Location: William Smith Hall, Norman James Theater

Time: 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.

The Washington College Department of Drama will present “We, Tiresias,” a staged reading of a new play by award winning playwright Stephen Spotswood. Directed by Professor Dale Daigle and Stephan Jordan.

Location: Decker Theatre, Daniel Z. Gibson Center for the Performing Arts

Time: 8 to 10 p.m.

Saturday, February 6

Chestertown Middle School will hold its Yard Sale and Community Day. There will be tables of crafts, homemade items, children’s clothes and more as well as family games. Rent a table or donate items.

Location: Chestertown Middle School

Time: 8 a.m. to noon

Contact: 410-810-0602

Visitors to Chestertown are invited to step back into the 18^th century and explore the Custom House and the surrounding waterfront district during a self-guided tour. The Starr Center’s free multimedia audio tour, “History on the Waterfront: A Journey Into Chestertown’s Past,” introduced participants to the true stories of the people who once lived and worked along the waterfront, including Revolutionary leaders, British soldiers, convict servants, and fugitive slaves. Held every Saturday of the month.

Location: The Custom House, 101 S. Water St., Chestertown

Time: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Things That Give Me Goosebumps

Strange things are all around. The other day I happen to look up and see a bald eagle fly over the house. About 15 seconds later a second bald eagle flies over, taking the same track as the first. Aren’t bald eagles migratory? This is mid-January. How are they going to catch any fish here? The Chester River and all its tributaries are frozen right out to their channels.

Next day, from a vantage on a low hill overlooking Rosin Creek, I see two canids slinking over the ice. They’re not dogs, I know every breed in two counties. They are moving along, one behind the other, noses low to the ice, long ears tucked back, long bushy tails held low. Just one word for the way they move – skulk.  I don’t think foxes typically move like that. Foxes I’ve seen kind of prance along, heads up, looking around. And foxes are solitary. Oh I know, for little foxes and so ad infinitum, they pair up sometimes. But I don’t think that’s the way they normally hunt. And these animals I’m watching are hunting. Plus, from a distance of a hundred yards, they appear way too big to be foxes. So what’s roaming along the Chester watershed? Coyotes?

Where to go for enlightenment but to Captain Andy McCown of Echo Hill Outdoor School, waterman, woodsman, teacher and spinner of excellent tales. He’s got some answers that surprise me. Bald eagles can be migratory – but the vast majority of ‘em in these parts do stay here. McCown says to think of Alaska, where you see wintertime pictures of the eagles sitting in a tree. He says they are concentrated in places where there’s a food source, and it’s the same for them in the Chesapeake region where there’s open water. “Many times in winter I’ve seen five bald eagles in a field and one dead goose. They are scavengers,” says McCown. “Sometimes I’ve seen them sitting around a deer carcass and there are vultures on the edge, waiting for them to leave.”

Okay, what about the hairy creatures I saw on the ice? Coyotes? “I doubt it. I think what you saw were foxes. Sometimes animals on a pure white background look bigger than they are. The silhouette looks bigger. A reason I doubt it, I’ve heard stories for the last 30 years about coyotes on the shore – but I’ve never seen a picture of a dead one. As soon as you hear of a bear, you see photos. But never one of a coyote. Also, you never go to a place where you know coyotes are and not hear them, yip-yip-yip. And I’ve never read a single account of anyone hearing them on the Delmarva Peninsula. So I say no.”

And there it is, eagles yes, foxes yes, coyotes no.  Captain Andy’s got a good explanation, too, for one phenomenon that some have been seeing lately: snow geese and Canadas mixed up together in the same field. Any hunter will tell you that the two species rarely come to feed in the same place. And when they do, you generally see a few of one keeping to the edge of a big flock of the other. They really do appear to be prejudiced. But now, integration has come. The reason for it, says McCown, is this hard winter. “Particularly when it gets cold and they find ground cover, they’re more willing to share the resource. It’s because there’s less opportunity, so they’ve got to do it.”

See, you can make sense of the natural world, if you’ve got a good teacher, and if you are sure of what you’re seeing. I tell myself this, then I think of the remarkable words of another wise man, Joseph Wood Krutch, who opined, “Cats are intended to teach us that not everything in nature has a purpose.” I’d be the last to argue with that.

Pets of the Week

This week, Pets of the Week include the mild mannered Charleen, a german shepherd, who is estimated to be about five years old. Charlee is was dropped off at the Humane Society in late December and has become one of the staff’s favorites due to her warm personality and gentle ways.  Our cat pick this week is the beautiful Savannah, who is two years old, is quite affectionate and eager for a new home.

For more information, please contact the Kent County Humane Society

Please send information about Lost or Found Pets to Petwatch@chestertownspy.com

No Tears for Proc’s

I don’t know about you, but for me, 2009 went on and on for about seven years. In fact, that whole decade of the aughts, which oughta be called the aught-nots, lasted so long the hairs on my nose turned white and I took to napping 20 hours a day. I had higher hopes for Twenty-Ten. But then, everybody started talking about something that would practically be the ruination of this town: they said Procolino’s Pizza is closing. Emails are flying around like Frisbees. Not a good omen. I couldn’t help wondering, if Procolino’s goes, will anybody ever see Richard Ben Cramer in public again?

Joanne Fairchild got an email from a friend who noted that the Hallmark store is gone, Fashion Bug is closed, there’s talk Peebles may pffft, and now the word’s out that Procolino’s owner Sal Scotto is sick and going back to Italy. No, no, Joanne cried out. She recalls that her first semester at Washington College was same fall the pizza place first opened it’s doors, 1980, so Proc’s has been an icon of her adult life much like the bust of Ole George on Cater Walk. She was beyond bummed.

So, I did what any gossip would do in my place, I hung around sniffing up all his customers and the good smells coming out the door until Sal came out. “Who are you?” he wanted to know. “You say, Pie?” Informed not, but what, with an S and a Y, Sal settled a bit and agreed to discuss the situation, which he consigned to the oven. “Everybody is telling that, but it is not the truth.” Sal can’t imagine how the rumor got started, though he has done away with waitress service to the back room – but that area has been refurbished some and you can still eat there. “Procolino’s is not closing, and I hope God lets me live,” says Sal. “We are better than ever, better than ever. Tell them that.”

And there you are. Proc’s is good. Sal’s okay so far. Twenty-ten could turn out that way, too, after all.

Homeports Lecture: Longitudinal Study on Aging

HomePorts, the local non-profit organization to help older adults age in their own homes, is sponsoring a forum on Thursday, January 7, 2010, at 4:00 pm at Litrenta Hall, Washington College, featuring Luigi Ferrucci, Director of the Baltimore Longitudinal Study on Aging.

Begun in 1958, the study follows the lives of over 1400 people ranging in age from their 20’s to their 90’s, with regular measurements taken of physiological changes. It is the longest-running longitudinal study in the U.S.  Scientists are learning what happens as people age and how to sort out changes due to aging from those due to disease or other causes.

Dr. Luigi Ferrucci, Director of this study, is a geriatrician and epidemiologist who has been recognized as a visionary leader and is widely quoted.  His research interests focus on obtaining a better understanding of the effects of aging such as functional decline and susceptibility to disease in order to determine predictors of mortality.

“The way you view the aging process, positively or negatively, is going to affect your quality of aging,” he told USA Today in November.  “If you talk to many old people, what they are really desperate about is not that fact that they’re going to die, but that they are going to be sick, dependent and have to rely on others,” Ferrucci added.

HomePorts is a one-year old membership organization modeled after similar organizations for seniors operating successfully in other regions of the country. It serves those over 55  living in the greater Kent County area, in addition to the Kingstown/Chester Harbor area and Crumpton. Its office is located in the Chestertown Town Hall.

The forum will include a summary report on the accomplishments of HomePorts. The program is free and open to the public, but reservations are required. For information or to attend the presentation, call 443-480-0940 or go to the HomePorts website – www.homeports.org.

Spy Eye: Chestertown Middle School at the Kohl

Chestertown Middle School students art work is now on display at the Washington College Kohl Gallery for a limited time. Washington College graduate Gillian Bourassa, a Social Studies teacher at CMS, gallery intern Riley Carbonneau, and Donald McColl, chair of the Department of Art and Art History, worked with students in school and at the gallery over a period of time. Spy photographer Karly Kolaja was there for the opening.

Pets of the Week

We have two very charismatic pets before the holidays. First, we have “Cleopatra”, an incredibly sweet year old Doberman Pinschers/Labrador Retriever mix that was brought in off the street. She did not show any signs of the mean streak that her breed is reputable for, and when it was time for her to go back into her cage, she jumped up as if to give the photographer a hug. So sweet!

“Jodi” showed up in the humane society’s emergency drop room back in August. She is one year old, and is not a huge fan of other cats, but she is fine with dogs. Very affectionate, and how can you say no to those glowing eyes!

For more information, please contact the Kent County Humane Society

Please send information about Lost or Found Pets to Petwatch@chestertownspy.com

Profiles in Conservation: Dr. Joyce Evans

It’s hard to believe that behind the facade of a simple office building on Lynchburg Street, some of the most interesting and complex aquatic studies for the federal government are taking place.  Joyce Evans leads a small team of researchers in identifying diseases and developing vaccines for the United States Department of Agriculture in a well-equipped laboratory only a block away from High Street.   From oysters in the Chesapeake Bay, to farm-raised fish in North America, or even a major fish kill epidemic in Kuwait, Joyce has been part of a team of experts charged with quickly diagnosing and treating rare forms of aquatic diseases, while being a wife and mother of two boys in Quaker Neck in her spare time.

Deer Oh Dear

You hear the one about a man goes into a body shop? Asks when he can get service. He’s told, “Oh, about January 19.” Ahahahahahaha.

No. Wait. That’s not even a joke. That really happened to Old John. He doesn’t think it’s one bit funny, either, even if I kind of do. He did smile when he was first told the date, a month and a half away, thinking he was being pranked. Then he looked like he was going to cry. Now, we come to find, lots of people are getting that word.

Here’s what happened to us. We got the car out of a body repair shop only a month ago. Then, last Sunday, we’re on Anthony Road waiting at the stop sign before pulling onto Rt. 213. And this woman driving up 213 in a blue Nissan decides to make a right onto Anthony — and we’re just like deer in headlights, frozen, watching this apparition coming at us — and Bam! She smashes in the same side of the car that got mangled in September. Nobody hurt, so it might’a been worse, but if looks could kill Old John would be outfitted today in the orange jumpsuit.

So we take our woes to Todd’s Body Shop. That’s where the nice lady says they’re so backed up they won’t be able to tackle our repairs before January 19. And the big problem is . . . deer. The critters are just all over the roads, she says, and people are running into them left and right, even hitting multiples: “One guy just came in, he hit two out of seven.” Todd Smith says he’s been in business for 24 years and he’s never had such a backlog of repairs to do, sometimes a wait of eight weeks. He can’t keep count of how many deer collisions he’s worked on this fall but guesses it could amount to 75 percent of business from mid-October through the rut. One customer tells him of counting nine deer carcasses on the road between home and work. “And Rt. 20,” Todd observes, “looks like a deer battlefield.”

Now, some will be appalled at all that carnage, especially the drivers, but I say it’s not without some benefit. Anyone with my background knows it can let you be so fashion-forward. You find yourself one of those whacked deer somewhere and you get nice a dab or two of it on your shoulders, a little the nape of your neck, or a naughty application along the spine like I often do, then you go into a roomful of people and you can ask anybody there, wow, that Eau de Bambi, it really makes a statement.

Services for Dorsey Owings

Richard Dorsey Owings of Millington, a lifelong farmer and sailor, died November 25 at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. His family was at his side. He was 59.

Born in Baltimore, the son of Mary Francis and Meredith Dorsey Owings, Dorsey moved to Maryland’s Eastern Shore with his family in 1962 following a year’s adventure aboard a 40-foot sailboat between Annapolis and the Bahamas.

That trip, which included competition in the Southern Ocean Racing Circuit with his father, instilled a love of sailing that Dorsey enjoyed throughout his life.

He reached the peak of his sailing prowess in 1997 when he and his Seabiscuit team won the J30 national championship staged at Newport Rhode Island. Dorsey and Seabiscuit team won a second J30 National Championship in 2000.

After the family’s move to the Eastern Shore, Dorsey worked side-by-side with his father and his own sons, growing corn, soybeans, wheat, alfalfa, tomatoes, spinach and hogs on several Kent and Queen Anne county farms.

When he wasn’t planting, harvesting or sailing, Mr. Owings enjoyed hunting, fishing and crabbing on the Chester River and being with his friends and family.

Dorsey was widely recognized for his invention of the Seabiscuit cocktail, named for his boat — a vodka and tonic drink flavored with a slice of cucumber.

He is survived by his wife of 22 years, Gail Webb Owings; two sons, Marshall Dorsey Owings of Chestertown, and Casey Clinton Owings and his wife Megan of Centreville; his father, Meredith Dorsey Owings of Millington; two sisters, Rebecca Owings Forney and her husband Dennis of Lewes, DE and Elizabeth Howard Owings of Chestertown; a brother, Samuel Sheridan Owings of Church Hill; and his beloved hounddog Rosie.

Donations may be made to Johns Hopkins University, Dorsey Owings Memorial, Dept. of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Medical Center, 100 N. Charles St., Suite 440-C, Baltimore, MD 21201; the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy, or the Chester River Association.

Rally to the River

The time to start saving the world is today. The place to begin is Wilmer Park. Okay, maybe not the whole world. Just 500 feet of riverbank along the Chester. But every movement has a first step, then another.

Volunteers are being asked to come to the park on the Monday after Thanksgiving to start planting Chestertown’s “Living Shoreline.”

This effort to create something that closely resembles a natural shoreline replaces an extensive bulkhead that formed Wilmer Park’s river edge. Riverkeeper Tom Leigh says, “A living shoreline, because it is vegetated, provides habitat for fish and crabs and it takes up nutrients that run off from upland sources.”

Leigh notes that the old bulkhead, an artificial barrier, was made of ties that typically were treated with arsenic or creosote, which are full of toxins that leach into the environment. Bulkheads have a lifetime, Leigh observes, while living shoreline is theoretically there forever — “and it’s aesthetically more pleasing than a vertical bulkhead.”

To make a more natural shoreline will take many hands.

“About 10,000 plants will be on site, so there’s plenty of work,” says Kees de Mooy, Chestertown’s assistant zoning and housing administrator. He’s hoping there will be 20 to 25 volunteers at any given time, working in one-hour segments, from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.

Among the groups coordinating volunteers are the Chester River Association, Washington College’s Center for the Environment and Society, the Chestertown Garden Club, Chestertown Middle School and Gunston Day School.

But, anybody who shows up with rubber boots can expect to find plenty to do. And if all you’ve got is a rubberneck, it’ll be fun to watch.

Workers from Environmental Concerns, the site contractor, which has been removing the bulkhead, grading and spreading sand, will be there with power augurs to drill holes in river bottom exposed by low tide.

Volunteers will come behind the drillers and drop a fertilizer pellet and then a seedling into each hole, then backfill.

Grasses being planted are two kinds of spartina and, closest to the park’s edge, switchgrass – 10,000 plants, countless sore backs, mud everywhere.

Nobody says it’s going to be easy, saving the world.

Pet Departures: Hannah Wheelan (1992-2009)

Hannah Wheelan died of natural causes at the age of 16 at her home this morning. She was born in Middleburg, Va., in 1992, and subsequently lived in Boulder, Co., Seattle, San Francisco, Berkeley, and Point Reyes Station, Ca., before retiring to Chestertown in March 2009. In the last year of her life, she worked part-time at the Chestertown Spy as night editor, while continuing her research on the benefits of the twenty-hour nap. She was a very good cat.

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