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Charles emergency services could get nearly $4 million in new funding
County administered departments are all seeing funding increases in the proposed $559.7 million fiscal year 2025 budget. At the April 23 Charles County commissioners meeting, Acting Director of Fiscal and Administrative Services Jacob Dyer detailed the changes in funding. Funding increases for agencies are anywhere from 0.8% to 15.7% in the fiscal 2025 budget, with the Department of Planning and Growth Management having the highest percentage increase. ...
Calvert boards discuss forest conservation, resource preservation
Not all state mandates yield excessive heartburn for local officials. In Calvert, where the elected county commissioners and appointed planning commission have made an effort to assure the area maintains its rural character, the Maryland General Assembly’s updated forest conservation laws should be assimilated into the rewritten zoning ordinance, which remains a work in progress. Will Hager of the planning and zoning department during an April 17 work session with the two local panels said, “The rewrite will be significant. It will need to be...
Charles school system faces substantial budget cuts
The Charles board of education has had to make some tough calls to address a $17 million shortfall in funding from the county. On April 22, the school board held a work session where the school system’s chief financial officer, Karen Acton, laid out various cuts and reductions to the budget. The school board had proposed a $523.4 million budget for next fiscal year, an increase more than $42 million...
Environmental ed program holds annual competition
Planet Earth gets special attention in April and each year eager students get to explore four major environmental categories with guidance from instructors. CHESPAX, Calvert public school system’s environmental program, hosted teams from three high schools — Huntingtown, Northern and Patuxent — on Tuesday at King’s Landing Park. The Huntingtown tract, which extends to the Patuxent River, gave the science students a great location for studying the four perennial Envirothon categories of aquatics, wildlife, soil and forestry. ...
Southern Maryland athletes compete at Calvert
A quartet of Southern Maryland Athletic Conference outdoor track and field teams, at least one from each of the three counties that comprise the region, were on hand at Calvert High School on Tuesday afternoon as the numerous athletes tuned up for the upcoming SMAC championships at St. Charles on May 7 and 9. Tuesday afternoon offered male and female athletes alike from host Calvert, La Plata, Leonardtown and St. Charles high schools a chance to prep for the championships that the Spartans will host...
Keeping THE beat
Taylor Hill, a senior, keeps the band on beat as they practice their pieces before taking the stage. The St. Charles High School Performing Arts Program competed in the 2024 Music in the Parks event where they took home four 1st place trophies and two 2nd place trophies. After their performances the students spent the day at Kings Dominion.
St. Mary's child care facility hits inflation speed bump
Despite escalating costs, St. Mary’s County government workers who need day care for their children will soon see an option close to work. The county commissioners heard an update Tuesday about developments for a child care facility that will be next to the Leonard Hall Junior Naval Academy on the county’s governmental campus. A 6,347-square-foot modular trailer is expected to be constructed at the site and be able to hold...
Blue Crabs set to kick off 2024 season
In a sense, the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs’ coaches and players will be afforded the luxury of competing in two opening day games, one on the road April 26 at Gastonia and the second on Tuesday, April 30, when they return to Regency Furniture Stadium in Waldorf for their Atlantic League home opener. Two years removed from enjoying a banner first half, winning a league record 48 of 66 games and finishing the season with 84 wins to establish a club record with a veteran...
Track schedule 4/26-5/3
Friday, April 26 McDonough, Northern, St. Charles and Thomas Stone in Gator Invitational at Reservoir, 2 p.m. Saturday, April 27 McDonough, Northern, St. Charles and Thomas Stone at Gator Invitational at Reservoir, 9 a.m. Tuesday, April 30 ...
Maryland gardeners help rebuild oyster population ahead of 2025 shellfish recovery deadline
Chesapeake Bay Foundation volunteers grow millions of oysters through a gardening process in an effort to restore the oyster population in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Officials say this effort is on track to be completed ahead of the 2025 recovery deadline. Oysters act as filters for the Bay and provide a food source and even a home for thousands of species. The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the country, home to over 18 million people and 3,600 species of plants and animals.
Blue Crabs set fro season opener
Southern Maryland Blue Crabs manager Stan Cliburn, left, and pitcher and pitching coach Daryl Thompson will both seek to attain milestone victories in their respective careers this spring. Cliburn is 38 wins shy of reaching 2,000 wins in his managerial career while Thompson is three wins shy of 100 wins in his Atlantic League pitching career.
Chopticon softball christens new field
After playing their designated home games at nearby Baggett Park each of the previous two seasons, the Chopticon High School softball team is looking to christen its refurbished home field with a 3A state title this spring and the Braves have won their first 12 games to start the campaign. Last Friday afternoon, April 19, in a clash of two perennial SMAC powers who could face one another two more times this spring, Chopticon (12-0) pulled away from visiting Northern for an 8-4 victory. The...
Community gathers to shape inclusive National Heritage Area management plan
Early Saturday morning, residents, community members and local leaders alike gathered to exchange ideas and give input on what should be the focus of the management plan for the recently approved Southern Maryland National Heritage Area. The Southern Maryland National Heritage Area came to fruition last year after Congress passed the Southern Maryland National Heritage Act in December 2022 and President Joe Biden signed it into law on Jan. 5, 2023. The area includes Calvert, Charles, St. Mary’s and southern Prince George’s counties. ...
A rough road: Students see bad choice consequences in mock crash
A statewide initiative to curb road fatalities continues to send a sobering message to Maryland’s newest drivers. What began nationwide decades ago as a lesson in the dangers of blending alcohol with driving now includes in its scenario the sad consequences of not wearing seatbelts or allowing diversions such as cellphones and conversations to take a driver’s attention away from the road. Public high schools in Calvert County have annually...
Habitat for Humanity gears up for busy schedule
Patuxent Habitat for Humanity is preparing for a busy couple of months as it finalizes a live auction, its annual charity run and yet another home build. A busy part of the year for the local nonprofit organization will commence with a live auction beginning at 9 a.m. this Saturday, April 27, at the ReStore, located at Unit 18A, 21600 Great Mills Road in Great Mills. As of April 19,...
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