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Poet Sophie Foster awarded $77k Sophie Kerr Prize at Washington College
CHESTERTOWN — Amongst a hushed and eager crowd, Washington College senior Sophie Foster was named the winner of this year’s prestigious Sophie Kerr Prize. Now in its 57th year, the prize continues to be the nation’s largest literary award for a college student and totals more than the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award combined. The 2024 award is valued at just over $77,000. Primarily a poet, Foster’s work largely tends to personal internality and inclinations toward the natural world. She read two poems at the evening ceremony in Washington College’s Gibson Center for the Arts, alongside four other finalists,...
Radcliffe Creek School students experience Monet in 3D
CHESTERTOWN — Fourth and fifth grade students from Radcliffe Creek School recently explored Washington, D.C. to, quite literally, step into the paintings of an artist they have been studying this year—Claude Monet. On Thursday, May 16, 24 students took a bus to the Rhode Island Center in D.C. to experience the immersive Monet exhibit, which included two-story projections of Monet’s most compelling paintings shown in three dimensions, including lights, sounds and VR technology. Following the visit to the digital art display, the students traveled to...
250th anniversary Chestertown Tea Party Commemoration
To celebrate the 250th Anniversary of the Chestertown Tea Party (1774), and the inaugural program of the statewide Maryland 250 Commission, Washington College’s Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience will host a commemoration of Chestertown’s most famous Revolutionary moment, co-sponsored by the Chestertown Tea Party Festival and the Maryland 250 Commission. The May 23 event — which begins at 5:30 p.m. and is free and open to the public — will be held on the historic riverfront, outside the colonial Custom House...
Rock n' Roll with Josh Christina returns to Mainstay stage
ROCK HALL — On Friday night, May 31 the Mainstay is thrilled to welcome the rockabilly sounds of pianist Josh Christina and his band The Revivals. Pianist Josh Christina is a rock n’ roll trustee who puts his own original spin on Rockabilly while still staying true to its roots. He writes his own music, refurbishes the classics, and plays a mean piano with no holds barred. As one local reporter so aptly phrased it, “Think of a mix between Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley...
Plant sale proceeds lend beauty to Rock Hall
ROCK HALL — Saturday was a nice day to get out and buy plants and be greeted by people who love what they do. On Main Street, the Rock Hall Garden Club had a good turnout, selling perennial flowers and plants. “The wonderful thing is that 95% of the plants come directly from our gardens. Local plants, which are great for our land,” Daphne Howarth, flower sale co-chair said. All proceeds from the sale goes toward beautifying Main Street, decorating the 10 planter boxes as well as the welcome sign in Rock Hall. The Club also awards a $1,000 scholarship to a high school senior each year. The Garden Club of Rock Hall has served the community since 1962 and is dedicated to the beautification of Rock Hall and the promotion of local gardening.
School superintendent proposes FY25 budget
CHESTERTOWN — During this year’s budget planning session for FY25, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Karen Couch has been tasked again with balancing a budget that meets the needs of not only students but also the Maryland Blueprint for Education, commonly known as Kirwan. According to Couch a snapshot of this proposed budget looks like this: A total budget request of $32,175,451 for FY 25 from all revenue sources ...
Fighting for a future striped bass fishery
This season anglers and commercial fishermen are following new striped bass limits in the Chesapeake Bay and along the Atlantic Coast. There’s good reason. Persistent concerns about low striped bass numbers led Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) this May to take additional steps to address the number of striped bass that are dying after being caught and released, as well as unsustainable commercial fishing rates. ASMFC’s latest steps aim...
Dogwood Festival draws good turnout
GALENA — Family fun and community outreach under beautiful blue skies was the order of the day for Galena’s annual Dogwood Festival. On Saturday, plenty of vendors ventured out to Galena Town Park where it was held. As normal, the parade kicked off the event. Horse riders, graduates of Rock Hall High School, shriners and clowns marched down the street. After that, Mayor John Carroll could be spotted running the...
Researcher's numbers paint a dismal picture for Maryland Blueprint
CHESTERTOWN — For two years Mike Waal — a concerned resident and businessman with a long career in market projections and crafting business plans — has been vocal in sharing his concerns over the effect of The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, aka Kirwan, on Kent County. At the May 7 meeting of the Kent County Commissioners, Waal presented his latest findings during a special presentation. That research revealed an astounding...
County strives to keep up with 'revolving door' of business ventures
CHESTERTOWN — It’s a revolving door and there is no one answer,” was Jamie Williams, Kent County Director of Tourism and Economic Development’s response, when asked why certain businesses in Kent County are closing their doors. In the past few months, businesses like JJ’s Deli and Liquors have struggled. On April 19, they closed for good. Even before that date, ownership closed down the liquor side of the store to focus on soups, sandwiches and other deli items. ...
Help guide the future of Kent County Public Library
Are you enthusiastic about Kent County Public Library’s continued ability to create and sustain innovative and responsive services for the community? Are you able to commit to volunteering your time and energy to support the future of the library? If so, please consider becoming a trustee! The Board of Trustees of the Kent County Public Library is currently seeking applications to fill one seat for a 3.5 year term, which begins July 1, 2024. The appointed trustee will also be eligible for a second five-year...
Get your fill of philosophy over coffee at the Socrates Café
Finding opportunities for unhurried, face-to-face discussion of life’s big questions can be challenging in today’s hyper-noisy, technology-driven world. Drawing on the Socratic tradition of lively, open-ended inquiry, Washington College’s Academy of Lifelong Learning’s Socrates Café is a forum for exploring questions that don’t have easy right-or-wrong answers. There are no assigned readings, and each session’s topic is selected by those in attendance. The only prerequisite for participation is a willingness to listen respectfully as others share their thoughts and experiences. There are two chances to join — May 21 and June 11. Both events start at 10 a.m. Register to attend here https://www.washcoll.edu/people_departments/offices/wc-all/2024/socrates-cafe/index.php
Finalists announced in superintendent search
ROCK HALL — Three frontrunners have emerged in the Kent County Board of Education’s search for the next superintendent of schools. The search process launched in January when Dr. Karen Couch, the current superintendent, announced her plans to retire at the end of the current school year. The board hired the Maryland Association of Boards of Education (MABE) to lead the search for Couch’s replacement. With initial interview rounds complete, the board announced three finalists: Dr. Mary Boswell-McComas, Dr. LeTrecia Gloster and Dr. Dawn Lucarelli. ...
Kent County African American Health Committee expands mission, seeks new members
CHESTERTOWN — The African American Women’s Health Advisory Committee (AAWHAC) has changed its name to the African American Health Advisory Committee (AAHAC). This group was formed in September 2022 as a collaborative effort between University of Maryland Shore Medical Center at Chestertown’s Shore Community Outreach Team (SCOT), the hospital’s health educator, and women from the local African American community. Its purpose was to address healthcare inequalities faced by women in Kent County’s African American community. University of Maryland Shore Medical Center at Chestertown is part...
Will Maryland’s Blueprint for education work?
Maryland plans to spend $16.6 billion through 2029, along with billions more after that, to improve its public schools. But will it work? State legislators created a seven-member oversight board to ensure it would. The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, a transformative education law passed in 2021, aims to boost student performance and education quality throughout...
Police Blotter
KENT COUNTY SHERIFF Apr. 30 DFC D. Parent served a Kent County District Court Arrest Warrant for violation of probation on Monica Lynn Wilson, age 37, of Sudlersville. Wilson was held at the Kent County Detention Center without bond. Apr. 30 DFC D. Parent served a Kent County Circuit Court Bench Warrant for violation of probation on John Alan Campbell, age 62, of Chestertown. Campbell was held at the Kent...
Farmers’ Market ‘ramps’ up for spring season
CHESTERTOWN — High Street between Queen Street and Spring Avenue along Chestertown’s main thoroughfare, hummed on Saturday, May 11, with pre-Mother’s Day shoppers, strollers, and the sights and sounds of a crowd in the midst of an essential weekly ritual centered around sustenance. Open weekly from 8 a.m. to noon, that sustenance is just as much about the mind and spirit, as it is about the body. However, market goers—local residents and out-of-towners alike—seem to revel in an esprit de corp that happens when an...
Voters in Kent make their voices heard in primary election
CHESTERTOWN — Voters across Kent County made their way to the polls Tuesday to vote in the primary election. While no local offices appeared on the May ballot, many still voted to make sure their chosen candidate appeared in the general election. Across the district, voters were anticipating who would secure the spots for U.S. Senator and Representative in Congress. In Kent, nearly even numbers of registered Republicans and Democrats...
Police Unity Tour rides for the fallen
GALENA — About 2100 participants, bicyclists, motorcycle police, emergency services and volunteers rolled down the street on a sunny Saturday, heading for Galena Volunteer Fire House. They began their trip at 8 a.m. mingling with the traffic down the road from the Dogwood Festival. These men and women are a part of the Police Unity Tour, a four-day bicycle ride from New Jersey to Washington, DC “to raise public awareness...
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Kent County News is a weekly newspaper published in Chestertown, Maryland. The paper is published once a week on Thursday.
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