Gov. Moore: 'The Shore must be able to live up to all of its promise'

RIDGELY — Gov. Wes Moore spent Friday afternoon on the Eastern Shore, meeting with local officials as well as nonprofit and agricultural leaders.

“It’s great being back here, it’s the 18th time that we’ve been on the Shore since I’ve been the governor,” Moore said. “... I believe deeply that if this is going to be Maryland’s decade, it means that the Shore must also be able to live up to all of its promise.”

He made his first stop at the Caroline County Sheriff’s Office for a tour of the facility that opened in 2021. Sheriff Donald Baker showed the governor everything from the department’s inventory of supplies to its men and women working daily to protect residents.

“We absolutely treat our citizens the way they should be treated,” Baker said to the governor.

The two talked about low homicide rates in Caroline County, collaboration between neighboring police and the task of policing in such a large state where policies are different county-by-county. Moore asked about the county’s approach to other forms of policing and community safety.

“We definitely believe in community policing,” the sheriff said.

Moore took the short ride from Denton to Ridgely to visit Martin’s House & Barn, a homeless shelter that provides a food pantry and thrift shop for those in need.

He met with staff and board members of the organization, lauding the work they do for the homeless population.

“We’ve prioritized everything from funding going toward the Shore, health care … but also organizations like this one that are doing remarkable work,” Moore said.

Moore donned a baseball cap for his final stop of the day at Twin Maple Farm in Ridgely. Dave Tribbett Jr. introduced the governor to his team and the farm’s planting of miscanthus grass, an environmentally friendly product that can be used for bedding in chicken houses and the creation of biodegradable to-go containers.

Visibly impressed by the environmental benefits of miscanthus grass, Moore asked about building infrastructure to process the grass, as well as the challenges of growing it.

The governor didn’t mind getting up close, walking through the farm’s fields and getting a close look at the water filtration system and the ground beneath the crops.

Representatives and members from the Maryland Department of Agriculture, Mountaire Farms and USDA were present for Moore’s last stop. Travis Hedrick, CEO of North Carolina-based AGgrow Tech, provided Moore insight into the benefits of miscanthus.

Hedrick said miscanthus is especially great for small farmers since it doesn’t require equipment to replant it every year. There are around 3,000 acres of the crop on the Shore, he said.

If sent to other farms in the area, Hedrick and others emphasized it could create a mini-industry of growing and processing jobs.

“You had me at jobs,” Moore said.

Before his three-stop tour, Moore’s team held a cabinet meeting with the Caroline County commissioners.

“I just told the commissioners — and as they’ve seen — our belief in them and our commitment to their success is real and this is an administration that believes deeply in making sure the Shore succeeds,” Moore said.