Editorial: Library Rebuilding

There is plenty to be angry about the recent troubles at the Kent County Public Library. After months of the county looking under almost every sofa cushion for quarters to balance a recession damaged budget, the KCPL unexpectedly disclosed only last month that the library had a serious budget imbalance of almost $200,000. At a time when municipal finance was at its most strained, this was the last thing anyone wanted or expected to hear.

The causes were several, but they were compounded by lax accounting standards and the failure of fiduciary oversight on the part of the Kent County Public Library Board.

And there has been hell to pay. A respected librarian has left with his reputation in jeopardy. Library board members have felt harsh criticism from the community, and the library staff has been demoralized and, in some cases, even harassed.  As one county commissioner said, ‘It’s just ugly, and we don’t like ugly here.”

But since we don’t like ugly here, let’s not be ugly. Yes mistakes have been made, but now corrective procedures have been established and are being adhered to. The Library Board, clearly sobered and shaken by recent events, has apologized to the community, and has developed a reasonable plan for the governing body to have a fresh start in stewarding the organization. With all that in mind, it’s time to move on to the rebuilding process.

The first place to start is to remember how valuable a part this library plays in the life of our community. Every day very committed librarians come to work for modest compensation to help our children read, to help teens complete homework assignments, to provide young families with free quality programming, and to assist retirees in maintaining both their intellectual interests and their connection to the community at large. In fact, almost half of the county’s population has some interaction with the library each year.  It has been, and will continue to be, one of our greatest success stories in Kent County.

Someone once said that a library is the medicine chest of the soul.  Let’s not lose sight of this as we start to heal and move beyond this difficult moment for our community.

Publisher Note: A Comment on Comments

Op-Ed: Vote Republican in Queen Anne’s September 14 by John Lang

If you don’t like how things are going in Queen Anne’s County and want real change, I have a proposal. No matter what your political leanings are — left, right, bent both ways — vote in the Republican primary on September 14.

That’s where every vote for county commissioner will count the most. That’s where there are clear choices between pro-development and slow-development candidates.

On the Democratic side, every seat for county commissioner is either uncontested or there’s not a lot of doubt about the outcome. Neal Jackson, Paul Gunther and Jack Broderick have no primary opposition. Longtime political watchers in Queen Anne’s believe Howard Dean and Winn Krozack will win nomination, too, because they are much better organized than their opponents to this point. Barring unforeseen events, that’s the Democratic ticket in the fall.

The real game is in the Republican primary — where there are real choices.

If you’re pro-growth, vote for Steven Arentz, Robert Mansfield, Richard Smith, Phil Dumenil and Dave Olds. Those are the Republicans endorsed by Business Queen Anne’s, the voice of developers, which is running ads for them in The Update.

If you oppose unfettered growth, the Republicans to support are Frank Frohn, David Dunmyer and Robert Simmons (there are no Republicans unfriendly to developers running for the two remaining seats, in Districts 3 and 4).

The Republican primary is where you can back a good guy and maybe knock off a bad guy – whichever your inclinations.

To decide on the Democrats – hint: Gunther and Dean are endorsed by Business Queen Anne’s – hint: Jackson and Krozack are favored by conservationists – you can wait for the general election on November 2. They’ll still be around to kick around.

Of course you can’t vote in the Republican primary if you’re registered as a Democrat (and vice versa). And if you are registered as independent you can’t vote in either primary.

Pssst: You can change your registration. You can go to the county Election Board on Commerce Street directly across from the courthouse in Centreville and switch parties. Or you can do it online: go to www.qacelections.com, click on voter registration application, fill out the short form and mail it in. You’ve got until August 24.

I did this just the other day. It took only a few minutes and, for the first time in my life, I walked the streets as a Republican. It felt kind of strange. It felt like . . . power to the people!

John Lang

Editorial: WC’s New President and Charting the Course

It’s not that hard to imagine what the Rev’d William Smith, the founder and first president of Washington College, was thinking when he arrived in Chestertown in 1780 to begin his new job. Beyond the stress that comes with any move, regardless of the century, and the discomfort of a long horse ride between Philadelphia and Kent County, it’s a safe bet that the good doctor was a bit bummed as he reflected on how his circumstances had changed in such a short period of time.

Along with his mentor (and later arch-enemy) Benjamin Franklin, Smith was considered only a few years before as one of the “it” guys in the very small, elite world of colonial higher education and Anglican church circles. Acting as Provost, Smith, along with Franklin, had successfully launched the College of Philadelphia (now U. of Penn). He had surrounded himself for decades with the best and brightest of America’s intellectuals, scientists, and artists, including his former students and faculty such as Rittenhouse, Rush, Peale, and Penn. He never seemed to go lacking for intelligent dinner conversation and better than average libations. With his prestigious membership with the American Philosophical Society and the Masonic Order, Smith had no doubt envisioned a long life at the very top of Philadelphia’s social hierarchy, when the city itself was only second in size to London in the entire United Kingdom.

And yet, as the result of colonial politics, his almost comical rivalry with Franklin, and a serious addiction to alcohol, events had changed dramatically for Dr. Smith. Forced into exile, Kent County offered one of the few safe harbors at his disposal. It’s not hard to sense he had a feeling of resignation as he approached Chestertown.

It’s remarkable then, given these twisted circumstances, that Smith found it within himself to create an entirely new form of liberal arts education with the founding of Washington College. Perhaps feeling liberated himself from the church-governed higher education model, Smith launched the first secular college in America with a breathtakingly new approach to undergraduate education.

Rather than the traditional preparation of church ministers, which all universities at the time were focused on, Smith envisioned an institution dedicated exclusively to educating an entirely new class of citizens for the fledgling country. Stating that the task at hand was to train the college’s students to “think well,” Smith had an instinctive feel for a new nation needing “thinkers” capable of not only knowing the correct answers, but asking the right questions.

So sure was Smith’s conviction that he raised a significant sum of money, recruited George Washington (and his name for the school) to the Board of Governors, and moved forward to build what was considered at the time to be the third largest building in the new country. He modestly had created a building design with classroom and dormitory space for two hundred students. By comparison, Harvard College had approximately one hundred students at the time.

From this remarkable beginning, Washington College has always been dependent on all subsequent presidents to refresh Smith’s original mission in the context of contemporary life. It is perhaps the College’s most consistent and most awaited ritual for a new leader to outline the road ahead for the college community. That tradition now belongs to Dr. Mitchell Reiss as the College’s 27th president.

Washington College could not have found someone more qualified to assume this responsibility. Dr. Reiss comes to Chestertown with a stellar resume and exceptional academic and foreign affairs experience. He was certainly capable of commanding professional opportunities equal to, or far greater than, running a small liberal arts college in rural Maryland. It is comforting to know that he chose Washington College.

One key aspect of his experience that should be immediately felt in the community is his background as a diplomat. His ability to successfully negotiate and steward the peace process in Northern Ireland with Protestants, Catholics and the British government should make the College’s faculty, eager to resolve difficult issues such as co-governance of the College, quite encouraged by his appointment.

We were also pleased to note Dr. Reiss’s undergraduate degree from Williams College in the small town of Williamstown, Massachusetts. Williamstown and Chestertown represent a rare breed of small towns with liberal arts schools that have grown together over centuries. We can think of no better orientation for the new president as he embarks on building new bridges to the greater Chestertown community as well as the creation of a new waterfront campus in downtown.

But it is Dr. Reiss’s primary challenge, which in many ways surpasses those facing Smith in 1780, that makes his installation as president so interesting and so important for Washington College and the entire community. And that is to make the convincing argument for the continued importance and value of a private liberal arts education. For unlike William Smith, Dr. Riess and the College must compete for the best students with the quite crowded private college sector in the Northeast, but also with the ever-improving public university system, the for-profit education industry, as well as the emergence of online programs offering professional degrees at a fraction of the cost of Washington College’s tuition and fees.

Conversely, Dr. Reiss has an equally unique and historic opportunity to present the case for Washington College’s relevance in the 21st century. Unlike any other time since Dr. Smith’s building was erected, the College has never been in a better position, nor at a better moment in its history, to carry forward the founder’s intent to train citizens for the challenging stewardship of democracy. Just as founder Smith knew that a fragile new country would not survive without the emergence of an educated citizenry, undoubtedly Dr. Reiss must be musing on how a citizen must “think well” in the context of a world of profound environmental, political, and social turmoil and change that will surely test this country’s leaders in the decades ahead.

At the beginning of the Joseph Conrad story, “Initiation” an elderly sea captain, gazing over a harbor filled with boats of all types, is overheard saying to no one in particular, “ships are all right; it’s the men in `em.” Conrad was suggesting of course that while most ships float, it’s more important to know where the captain is taking her.

Washington College’s boat is now waiting at the dock, with a fresh coat of paint, impatiently awaiting word on which way to sail. As President Reiss charts his course, we offer words of warm welcome and steadfast support for the task ahead.

Editorial: Chestertown’s Future(s)

In late October of last year, the Spy ran a poll asking readers to identify the most pressing issue facing the greater Chestertown community in 2010.  Of the six issues listed, ranging from crime to waterfront development, the need to “revitalize” Chestertown rose to the top by a 2-to-1 margin. While hardly scientific, these results confirm what many in Chestertown have known for some time: that something serious needs to be done to get the town’s mojo back.

Since the 2008 market crash, favorite stores and restaurants have disappeared, while other merchants have dipped into life savings to keep their doors open.  In other cases, poorly conceived or financed new stores have opened only to close again, leaving storefronts looking abandoned. It has been painful to watch, and equally painful to know that there will be no quick fixes.

The good news, while not comforting for those feeling the sharpest sting of this recession, is that Chestertown has never been better positioned to make good decisions about its future.  The poor economy has slowed down building projects along with the unsustainable demand for housing and business development. With these pressures removed, at least for the near term, the community has some unexpected breathing room and with it, the opportunity to make more considered and unique choices for its future.

Other promising signs come from the changing dynamics in our local government, our non-profit organizations and private sectors. In the public sector, the Town of Chestertown has a new town council, which includes the freshly elected Jim Gatto, a professional urban planner from the 1st ward, while the town’s planning commission under Chris Cerino’s thoughtful leadership is well positioned to methodically work through a number of complex growth issues.  The same can be found with the Historic District Commission under Robert Tyson.

Equally impressive is Chestertown’s non-profit sector.  The reinvigorated Downtown Chestertown Association, coupled with the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s local Main Street chapter, Kent County’s Chamber of Commerce, our Historical Society, and Chestertown’s new World Cafe initiative, together provide ample volunteer horsepower and professional support to help guide Chestertown as it moves into the next few decades.

The same is true of the private sector.  Washington College, whose new president takes the reins this summer, will bring increased momentum for efforts to integrate with Chestertown’s downtown and waterfront, while the school’s Center for the Enviroment and Society, the Starr Center, Kohl Gallery, O’Neill Literary House and Sophie Kerr programs continue to forge strategic alliances both within the town and in a wider world.

And finally, Chestertown has real estate developers listening and seeking local input before breaking ground on housing and retail projects. While financial compensation is a key motivator,and reasonably so, there is clear evidence of their genuine desire to work with the community on how best to grow.

How the town takes best advantage of these unique circumstances remains an open question, but there is unmistakable evidence that the town can use this opportunity for positive change and long term prosperity while still holding onto its traditional values and quality of life.

The Chestertown Spy intends to play its part by offering a monthly interview series with stakeholders, experts, and other voices in the community called the Chestertown Futures project.  The title reflects the fact that the health of Chestertown will depend on many different points of view and visions. Using the multimedia tools of the internet, this project will help enable the community to make the best decisions possible about the town’s next ten years.   It is our hope that this series will also encourage a sustained community conversation about that future.

The road ahead for Chestertown is a complex one. It will take civic engagement, professional guidance, and ongoing collaboration with allies such as the town of Rock Hall and the residential communities that surround Kingstown. It will also take constructive engagement with Kent and Queen Anne’s counties and beyond.

Additionally, to be truly productive, it will require that old assumptions and beliefs be challenged in a civil, respectful, dignified, and neighborly way. Chestertown has been able to do so throughout its 300-year history, and the Spy has little doubt it is capable of carrying on this special tradition.

DW

Editorial: Representative Kratovil’s Freshman Year

For those watching politics on the Eastern Shore in 2008, the election of Democrat Frank Kratovil was an entirely unanticipated event at the beginning of the year.  The 1st District had been solidly Republican in voting pattern and mindset for well over two decades, and its incumbent, Wayne Gilchrest, was a respected and independent-minded five term congressman.  And yet despite all that, Mr. Kratovil, a relatively unknown district attorney from Queen Anne’s County, emerged to be the first Democrat to capture the seat in eighteen years.

One explanation for this surprising twist was that local Republicans started to play the new and popular GOP party game called political cannibalism.  The object of the game is for the party faithful to “eat their own” by having extreme right candidates challenge moderate Republicans during the primary season and stage ideological hissy fits to encourage church-based conservatives to throw out (banish might be the better word) all but the certifiably right wing.

In the case of the 1st District, Congressman Wayne Gilchrest was an irresistible target. Over his years in office, Mr. Gilchrest had infuriated party leadership time and time again with his unpredictable votes and intellectual stubbornness.  And it didn’t help that the National Journal had ranked him the country’s most liberal Republican in 2008.  The Eastern Shore right wing was so livid with the former schoolteacher from Kennedyville that when the party primary took place, Mr. Gilchrest actually had four “conservative conservatives” running against him.  After the fog lifted, the last man standing was State Senator Andy Harris, perhaps at the most extreme in his political ideology.

So Frank Kratovil’s victory, while remarkable in many ways, was more the result of good timing than anything the candidate said prior to the election.  The strategy of “I’m not Andy Harris” was far more successful than promoting Mr. Kratovil’s talent or philosophy on any particular issue.  While the campaign plan clearly worked, there remained in the minds of many more questions than answers on who their new representative was, and what he stood for.

Now after Mr. Kratovil’s first year in Congress, the voters have much more information to answer some of those questions. While twelve months doesn’t yield empirical evidence on how Representative Kratovil will eventually end his first term, his record so far suggests that the First District has elected someone who has shown a level of independence and thoughtfulness that should make his predecessor proud.

Following in the tradition of Wayne Gilchrest, who had succeeded for years in driving his party leadership insane with his strong environmental record and concerns about Iraq, Mr. Kratovil seems capable of similar behavior, with the latest example being his vote against the Democrat-sponsored health care bill in the House late last year.

While Congressman Kratovil’s unwillingness to vote with his party to pass the House’s version of national health care was a blow to health reform advocates, his reasons for voting against the bill where reasonable and measured.  He did not offer any tirades on the dangers of medical socialism, death panels, or federal government bashing. His vote was unpopular with many, including this newspaper, and seriously jeopardized his standing with many liberals, but it was clear he had done his homework and voted accordingly.

The rest of Mr. Kratovil’s record in 2009 shows he has been steadfast in his election commitment to support small businesses, protect consumers, and improve Chesapeake Bay protection efforts.  Equally reassuring was his vote in support for the Obama’s administration’s Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the stimulus bill), hate crime legislation, support of carbon cap and trade, and financial regulatory reform.  It is quite unlikely that Mr. Harris would have had a similar voting history.

This year will offer Mr. Kratovil more opportunities to further define himself. And there will be certain political dangers, some potentially terminal, ahead of him. Nonetheless, the District should feel relief that its freshman congressman seems to have successfully navigated his first year in Congress while holding on to his principles. That sounds like the kind of representative the First District has had in the past and deserves for the future.

DW

Reflections of a Bird Dog

A question for the day: where do pigeons go? Oh, I know, in general they go to the heads and shoulders of statues of famous men in the parks in big cities, to leave rude suggestions of their disregard. What I mean is, where do our pigeons go? Right, the Chestertown Pigeons.

I’ll bet most people hereabouts don’t even know about them, another fine secret kept from the voter-card-carrying, tax-paying residents of Chestertown. As opposed to those of us who are only Post Office Chestertownians and live over the water. The things we see . . . that the others don’t. Like sunsets over Chestertown. Or, that Chestertown is even prettier from the outside in than the inside out. Example: how the sun rising above the Rive Gauche shines on the Right Bank and bathes Chestertown golden every clear morning, City of Light.

And, the pigeons. There’s a flock, not a big one, maybe 30-50 birds, that takes to wing each sunrise and flies in long loops up and down the Chester, just over the Kent shoreline, approximately between Custom House and the for-sale former Parsonage by the bridge. I first noticed them a month ago when I changed a routine. Now, they’re a part of my coffee hour, along with the heron that patrols my low-rent side of the river, the three mallards who present bottoms, the gulls, the geese, a muskrat. On Monday the pigeons don’t show at their regular time, 7 a.m., for what we’ve come to call Pigeon Zumba, their frisky loops along the far shore. I think, weekenders? No, it turns out, they’re still here, but it’s raining, and they apparently sleep in for another half hour before their exercise class starts. I feel relief.

Yes, you know you’re getting older when you find yourself watching reruns of Murder She Wrote, you begin to yen for yard ornamentation, you think you’re making sense out of Glenn Beck — and you realize you’re appreciating pigeons. Ah, but not just any pigeons. These are Chestertown Pigeons, remarkable specimens, fleet and graceful, and as befits us, color tolerant with one whitey among the gray brethren. They are, too, unlike ordinary pigeons in city parks that get underfoot and tempt a kick. They are mysterious.  Because, after Pigeon Zumba, they vanish. Anyway I can’t find them. I’ve looked: Wilmer Park anytime of day? Nope. Fountain Park? Never. The head and the shoulders of the statue of Swish Nicholson next to City Hall? No sign any ever rested there. Where do they go after Zumba? Can anybody help out with this? It’s not like I want to change anything, or wish they’d come to Farmer’s Market. It’s just a little itch, a niggling curiosity idling through my mind, something on the order of, I wonder what Angela Lansbury is up to now?

Walgreens’ Ho Ho Ho

I nap a lot, so I miss much. Is it Christmas? The reason I ask  — that decoration I just saw. It’s in the squat tower that looms above the new Walgreen’s, and if you drive by it at night you can’t miss it, all lit up like that, red and white and shining. Looks like Santa Claus’ chamber pot. With a bowl brush. Or maybe it’s supposed to be a mortar and pestle, something to do with the drug trade . . . I mean, pharmaceutical.  Whatever, it’s a peculiar escutcheon to raise above an historic town. And why is it the most brightly lit object in Chestertown? For that matter, why is anything lighted like that at night in a country town?  I couldn’t help wondering what some of our local architects  might be thinking about Walgreen’s edifice rex.

Peter Newlin could hardly restrain himself : “What we see is an outsider corporation that has raised, at the top of College Hill, a tower to shopping. . . Walgreen’s tower is flat and empty compared to its bookend downtown, the clock tower of Stam Hall. . . Stam Hall is solid, heavy and elaborate. It honors the endurance of our institutions. It expresses hope for our cultural sophistication. Walgreen’s shopping tower is only a shallow sign. With pretense to signifying more, it’s really only attempting to promote impulse shopping.  . . It’s true shame may be that the Walgreen building is a much better piece of planning than anything the shopping center holds behind it.”

Alex Castro declined to comment, after his own fashion: “As to the pharmaceutical icon you mentioned, it would be improper of me to say anything at all about this most studied and inspiring cultural statement. With its graceful configuration, subtle hues and sensitive scale, it is destined, I am sure, to become ever closer to the hearts of all Chestertown. Where are the design police when you need them?”

Editorial: WC Arts Finds a Home

Truth be told, new buildings on a college campus are not always welcome sights.  The addition of a new dormitory or dining hall might excite a prospective student or committed board member, but generally these projects serve such a limited function in the community that most opening ceremonies are met with a certain resignation that these are the costs related to being a competitive college.

This particular phenomenon has one or two exceptions, and Washington College’s new Gibson Center for the Arts, which formally opened this past weekend, is a unique case in point.  Despite what we understand to have been significant initial resistance to the idea of a large arts center, the College’s leadership prevailed in building a venue for the college and community that will be a jewel for decades to come.  And for the first time in the College’s long history, the performing and visual arts finally have an exceptional home to call their own.

While the mind reels with the new Center’s potential, as well as the impact it will have on Chestertown, it is important to take a moment to note first the good and courageous decision by President Baird Tipson to press on with the project; the long term perseverance of such people as Professors Garry Clarke, Dale Daigle,Tim Maloney, Donald McColl, and Amzie Parcell;  the support of such visionary benefactors as Ben and Judy Kohl; and, least we forget, the State of Maryland.

The new Gibson will be expensive. It will take years to recover the center’s direct and indirect costs as well as absorb the new maintenance and security costs.  Nonetheless, when the college and community add up the real return on investment, it will be pennies on the dollar.

DW

Editorial: The Mental Health Center Blunder

The news that Governor O’Malley has approved the closing of the Upper Shore Community Mental Health Center is a troubling example of how few friends Kent County has in Annapolis. The Governor’s action to shut down our tenth largest employer makes it abundantly clear how insignificant we must be to his administration, and how little influence our local leaders have in preventing such ill-considered decisions.

We sincerely doubt the Governor would be so emboldened to make a similar decision in forcing the closing of Towson University, the tenth largest employer in Baltimore County, or Montgomery County Community College, the tenth largest employer there.   The consequences would be devastating in those jurisdictions; it will be just as devastating for Kent County, now and for years to come.

Not only does this region lose an excellent mental health center, it loses almost 200 of some of the best jobs a community can have. These are social workers, therapists, doctors, psychiatric nurses, and a large number of specially trained positions very unlikely to come back to Kent County.

Equally disappointing was Governor O’Malley’s failure to understand the needs of a small rural county.  A wiser, more creative leader would see the broader issues at play and find a workable solution. While we can hope that the Governor will reconsider this matter, the speed to which USCMHC  is closing down operations hints this might be only wishful thinking.

While Kent County voters will have good reason to remember the Governor’s poor call come election time, this very sad tale should also remind us that we need representatives in Annapolis capable of safeguarding the county’s interests.  While the County has always pitched in when the going has been tough with state budgets, no one seemed to have had Kent County’s back when it came to closing USCMHC, and that’s a sign that things need to change.

DW

Editorial: Kent & Anne

There is at least one good reason why the Chester River community has serious concerns about Queen Anne’s County’s comprehensive land use plan. Every day, Kent County residents see extreme examples of the damage done by poor QAC planning and design as they drive from Kent Island, through Queenstown, and move north of Centreville on Route 213 heading home.  It is a guided tour of poor choices made over many years. In almost every case, the immediate demand for a high return on investment pushed aside equally important concerns about community values and sustainability.

Kent County, on the other hand, was making some very good choices during the same period of time.   Through foresight, stubbornness, timing, and some luck, Kent was able to hold off major land development while the county (under the inspired leadership of some unique people) thoughtfully prepared for future growth.  Developers and land speculators, who had benefited from the open door, “let’s make a deal” world of QAC, found out that Kent County’s historic reputation of being difficult was well deserved.

Given this background, the news that there is now significant opposition to the current working draft of Queen Anne’s comprehensive plan update isn’t surprising.  Nor is it shocking that there have been misunderstandings, confusion, and a general call to arms by all interested parties. We’re not sure that’s a bad thing to have happened since it has brought significant new awareness to a critical issue.

Notwithstanding the current climate, there remains a clear and honest opportunity for real consensus on growth for the Chester River area.  While Queen Anne’s history is tragic, a new generation of leaders and stakeholders are now involved in the process.  In some cases, they have won elections on the promise to control growth and land conservation. If they maintain these commitments, particularly in the face of some significant pro-growth pressures, we believe a creative road map for development is possible.

The first step in this process in strong regional planning.  As a departure from Queen Anne’s past, county staff and officials will need to fully embrace this tool as it moves forward in defining its growth plan. It will also need to actively listen to stakeholders and be as transparent as humanly possible. Those steps will go a long way to create (or rebuild) trust.

Equally important is for the Chester River residents to be fully engaged in the debate. Rather than allow special interests (good or bad) to lead, individual citizens must be pro-active in being heard and also be knowledgeable about the process. They must also maintain the standards they expect from QAC, which includes transparency, active listening, and the withholding of judgement, to truly make this a conversation about the future, not the past.

Kent and Anne, two siblings who had shared the same landscape, people, and culture for centuries, are now sadly quite dissimilar.  The creation of a Bay Bridge holds some responsibility for this, but in the end, these counties began to see different futures for themselves over the last fifty years.  While that might have been tolerable when the effected areas were many miles apart, it is not realistic when discussing the future of Chester River communities.   We hope that both Kent and Anne can use this opportunity for a truly joint vision of the future more like close siblings again.

DW

Editorial: Andy & Carla

After hearing the news that Andy’s and the Carla Massoni Gallery would be closing on the same day this month, it was easy to recall the line from Wilde when Lady Fairfax tells Earnest that to lose one parent is tragic, but to lose both parents was simply careless.  In our case, to lose the town’s signature venue for music and its flagship fine arts gallery on the same day strikes us as equally careless as well as tragic.

While we’ll wait to hear David Wright’s side of the story with regard to Andy’s, and what his plans will be for the building, neither of these store closings speaks well at the moment for the future for Chestertown’s downtown.  Both have created an undeniable magnet for locals and visitors alike, by offering the best of local art, music and simple food.  To suddenly lose both of these important anchors, operating as bookends to the High Street retail experience, leaves two large holes in our economy and our quality of life. It is truly a sad day for our community.

Both Andy and Carla have brought their own unique personality to their endeavors. Andy, with her perfect pitch ear for exceptional music, and Carla, with her never-failing eye for the gifted artist, brought these worlds of art and music to Chestertown unfailingly for twenty years.  We are so much the richer for them having done so.

We can only hope that these two significant gaps can be filled as soon as possible.  In the meantime, let us use July 18, when both Andy’s and Carla’s gallery will close, as a day of joy and graditude for these two special women, and what they have done for Chestertown.

– DW

Interview with Ron Fithian — By Bob Kramer

 

Q: Why did the county commission effectively raise taxes for ’09-’10  while the school system was given the same budget as the year before?

A: We have a fairly high percentage of fixed costs in the county, plus health care costs were rising by up to $400,000, and we didn’t want to lay anyone off. We had committed to building and maintaining the community center as a quality of life issue for all of our citizens. The state had reduced our roads budget significantly.  As for the school funding, we are one of the few counties this year who are funding well over ($1.5 million) the maintenance of effort threshold as required by the state.    

Q: You’ve said the ’10-’11 budget will be even tougher. Why?

A: Unemployment will have a major impact on our income tax collections in the next fiscal year. It is unlikely that our real estate market will rebound sufficiently to increase our property transfer and registration fees significantly. Add to that the state’s method for using the stimulus moneys for fixing the cracks in their budgetary problems at the state level. I believe we’ll be faced with lower state funding and the possibility of having to absorb the costs for the assessment office and the teachers’ retirement funding.

Q: What advice would you give the Board of Education, if they asked, about improving the Kent County Public School System?

A: Discipline. I’m a big fan of the alternative school, because it keeps problem kids in school and not kicking them out. Uniforms would be a way to instill responsibility as to how to look and act.

Q: Sheriff Price has told the County Commission drugs are responsible for 95 percent of the crime in Kent County. How bad is it, what’s being done?

A: We’re not any different than any big city or any other rural county. Drugs are here to stay… unless we can shut the product down at its source. The best we can do is to minimize their effect and keep them out of sight and that’s what Sheriff Price is doing.  

Q: What benefits have Kent County gotten from work of our state delegates and senator?

 A: Kent County and the 36^th district used to have a strong delegation in Annapolis. Our current senator said in his campaign against Walter Baker that it’s “results not excuses” that count. Well, I’m still waiting for the results. Yes, I’m disappointed in our representation.

Editorial: Chestertown and Food

It is not by chance that our first editorial about a local issue is on the subject of food. We are dead serious about it since it affects every citizen, almost every business in town, and certainly every farmer in the region. It impacts our environment and the way our children grow, and is a leading indicator of our quality of life. And while our area, with its rich agrarian history and its current abundance of farmland, is doing much better than many communities, the risks of losing what we have and enjoy have never been greater.

The good news is that after more than 300 years, some things have not changed. Our area has some of the most fertile soil in the United States, and we remain the most rural county in Maryland. Just this year, Progressive Farmer magazine named Kent County its number one selection in 2009 for farmland in the country based on affordability, population density, community involvement and commitment to its rural heritage. In addition, thanks to the good work of  Kent countians and the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy, almost 30,000 acres (almost 16 percent of our land mass), are in permanent agriculture or conservation easement

It is heartening to see our community-supported farms doing so well, and to note that Chestertown has had an active farmers market for over thirty years. Local stores and other businesses are committed to selling produce and local food products, and we encourage them to continue.

The bad news is that we are already experiencing the effects of global warming right in our backyard. Storms are stronger and less predictable. Temperature swings are wider and of shorter duration, which have huge impact on historic planting times and growing cycles, and drought is becoming an increasing problem.

We are also not eating particularly well, and this is reflected in the rising incidence of obesity-related diseases and rising health costs. With a few notable exceptions, we are not buying our own produce. Instead of buying local produce and seafood in season, at the peak of freshness, we are buying canned tomatoes and corn sent here from far away. It would be no different than our buying crabs from North Carolina or Florida at the height of the Eastern Shore season.

We note the absence of a local alternative to the national food chain stores in town, which causes many people to take to the roads and travel to Annapolis for provisions from places like Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods, as well as larger, “big box” stores like Middletown’s Wal-mart or Dover’s Sam’s Club.

Is the rapid rise over the past 20 years in children and adult attention disorders  (to say nothing of obesity) connected to the rapid rise in snack foods and sugary soft drinks? We’ve been sold a bill of goods by the snack food industry and, in the midst of healthy plenty, have bought it to the visible cost of ourselves and our children.

We know that curing some of these problems will take time, patience and education. The Chestertown Spy plans to play an active role in the third factor. We will be making food and related issues in Chestertown a major focus over the next year. While we will be digging deep into problems and concerns in this area, we also will be highlighting the extraordinary work of community organizations and some very special individuals who are doing all they can to solve these challenges.

The area has only recently (perhaps in the last 35 years) moved away from buying locally-produced goods at locally-owned stores, after 275 years of its existence doing just that. We also believe our schools, by virtue of their location, can quickly respond to opportunities to expand their educational role so kids learn early about the importance of supporting a local economy, and they can take delight in the taste of a ripe Kent County strawberry.

And we can vote with our forks three times a day to support our local farmers.

–– DW