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Liquor license for legendary night spot transferred
The familiar location Vera’s White Sands was a destination for visitors to Calvert County for several decades under the ownership of the colorful Vera Freeman, who was famed for her flamboyant island attire and home filled with international artifacts. More than 17 years after its iconic owner passed away, the Lusby restaurant and bar lives on and is about to experience another change in management. During the June 27 meeting of the Board of License Commissioners of Calvert County — the liquor board — a...
St. Mary's planning commission reviews 2023 report
The St. Mary’s County Planning Commission released its 2023 annual report and member John Brown took offense to several items in the 21-page document during the commissions’ June 24 meeting in Leonardtown. The planning commission must approve an annual report for each calendar year and is filed with the local legislative body and the Maryland Department of Planning. An optional survey was included. The report showed that 209 residential permits...
The Courses at Andrews unveils new Toptracer driving range
The Courses at Andrews unveiled its new Toptracer driving range, featuring newly constructed driving range bays and golf ball location-tracking technology, June 26. The opening of the new driving range bays aims to not only serve a hub for entertainment, but also enhance the quality of life for base personnel and visitors. “The fact that Airmen and their families, and everybody can use this for an entertainment venue, I think...
Little Eagles can develop skills at basketball camp
Inside the spacious North Point High School gymnasium each week through most of July, the sounds of numerous boys and girls participating in the 19th annual Little Eagles Basketball Camp provides an audible reminder to past and present campers about the intrinsic value of the entire experience. North Point High School boys basketball coach Jimmy Ball has been overseeing the Charles County Parks and Recreation Little Eagles camp since the school opened nearly 20 years ago. Now, several of his former campers and North Point...
St, Mary's Door tops Indian Head
In the last game for each team prior to a brief Independence Day holiday break that marks the genuine midway portion of the Charles–St. Mary’s Baseball League schedule, the defending CHASM league champion St. Mary’s Door benefited from four home runs en route to a 7-3 victory on Sunday morning at Rainbow Construction Field. St. Mary’s Door got six solid innings from starting pitcher Greg Keobke and the Door’s slumbering offense came to life early and provided the hurler with ample support. Koebke doubled and...
Like fur-ther, like son: A patrol pup story
“SIT!” Beyond the confines of the high fences surrounding the 316th Security Support Squadron K-9 unit lies a challenging obstacle course that tests skill and endurance. It is here that two devoted military working dogs, Ddrax and Rreno, found their calling. Intense training and tasks are all in a day’s work for these two pups. Ddrax and Rreno are a father and son team. They were both bred by the puppy program at Joint Base San Antonio Lackland, Texas, where military working dogs for the...
Southern Maryland police briefs
Juveniles arrested while allegedly breaking into vehicles On June 24, at approximately 3:23 p.m., officers responded to the St. Charles Towne Center parking lot after a citizen reported seeing a group of four juveniles breaking into several cars. Officers arrived to the parking lot and the four suspects immediately fled on foot but were quickly apprehended, according to a release from the Charles County Sheriff’s Office. An investigation found three...
New Carrollton tops Bannister in Prince-Mont swim meet
Last Saturday morning when the Bannister Swim Team was upended by host New Carrollton Recreation 284-139 in Prince-Mont Swim League action, wins may have been difficult to attain for the Barracudas but moral victories were numerous. Bannister (1-2) first-year coaches Christianna Johnson and Kenneth Brown, both of whom were former Barrracudas, commended their youthful squad for competing against a larger one. Bannister is in the Prince-Mont divided E/F division and the Barracudas were technically swimming one level up against New Carrollton, a former Division B...
Thompson denied 100th win for Blue Crabs
La Plata High School graduate and former major league pitcher Daryl Thompson has enjoyed a long, storied career in the Atlantic League as a member of the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs. But last Sunday afternoon in his latest attempt to attain his 100th career victory, Thompson could not get through the fourth inning and was chased after allowing 10 runs on 11 hits. Thompson, who was 0-3 during a brief major league career with the Cincinnati Reds, sought the 100th victory of his prolonged career...
Planners split on Prince Frederick residential project advancement
The remaining phase of a residential project in the Prince Frederick Town Center received conditional preliminary subdivision plan approval from the Calvert County Planning Commission June 26, but only by the narrowest of margins. When completed, Magnolia Ridge West will have 79 townhouse lots and open space on a 26 acre tract. For the second month in a row, three planning commission members indicated skepticism about the contention that traffic...
Child care is scarce in Maryland and the nation, and the pandemic made matters worse
Halfway through her 12-week maternity leave last summer, Sarah Haddaway didn’t expect the trouble that would accompany her search for child care. After unexpected rejections from one fully booked child care facility after another, the lifelong resident of Maryland’s western panhandle began calling every provider she could find. Almost 11 months later, Haddaway’s son Brooks — who just turned 1 — is on at least seven providers’ waitlists. He’s been...
St. Mary's school board begins talks on cellphone usage
With school out, the St. Mary’s board of education is sitting back and relaxing and looking for something, anything to do. Uh, not so much. Despite the summer break, there are summer sports camps, division of instruction, Lunch & Learn, summer school, studies review and performance, construction and refurbishing, and soon new teacher orientations. “We are probably busier in the summer at central office,” Superintendent Scott Smith said, “than any...
Waterway users: Be alert for marine wildlife
Summer is here and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources would like to remind people that marine wildlife — dolphins, manatees, sea turtles, whales and others — are making their seasonal return to the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries, as well as the Atlantic Ocean and coastal bays. Anyone who sees a marine mammal or sea turtle in Maryland waters is urged to report it to the state Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Stranding Response Program at 800-628-9944. Anglers, boaters and beachgoers should especially...
Neighborhood curfew request shot down by Charles officials
Mortars being aimed at children and adults, trash cans being blown up, destruction of property at a community center, reckless driving, marijuana usage and underage drinking were all things that reportedly happened last Independence Day in Waldorf’s Stonehaven Community. Those acts were reported to the Charles County Sheriff’s Office in an email by Nichole Hall, the HOA president of the neighborhood. This year, Stonehaven residents have found materials on social...
Charles commissioners allow reimbursement to themselves for Ubers
The Charles County commissioners have voted to give themselves the ability to reimburse costs from their usage of external transportation services, like Uber or Lyft. In a 3-2 vote, the commissioners decided to amend their expense policy to add new language under the mileage section, to say, “Mileage funding may also be used to reimburse a county commissioner for expenses incurred in the employment of an external transportation service for business travel related to the execution of their duties as a county commissioner.” ...
A warm welcome
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin presents a medal to Slovak Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Róbert Tóth during an official welcome ceremony at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling last week. The ceremony was part of a week-long counterpart visit during which Tóth was taken to different Air Force installations around the country in an effort to advance mutual interests and strengthen U.S.-Slovakia alliance.
Calvert board to host meeting on large apartment project in Lusby
Lusby residents will have an opportunity to address Calvert County officials and present their views on a controversial residential project in early July. County government announced on its social media site last weekend that the county commissioners have scheduled an informational meeting regarding Lusby Villas. According to county officials, the two-hour meeting will be held July 9 at Southern Community Center in Lusby starting at 7 p.m. Attendees may sign...
St. Mary's commissioners shuffles positions to attract applicants
Olivia Newton John sang about getting physical, but the St. Mary’s County commissioners were singing the praises of being innovative at their June 25 meeting in Leonardtown. In their last meeting until July 16, the commissioners — Mike Hewitt (R) was not in attendance — heard two radical plans to reorganize in-house positions. They started off by approving a request from the sheriff’s office to reorganize the booking specialist and...
St. Mary's dedicates baseball field in honor of Harris
Marcus Tyrone Harris Sr. was a fixture at Chancellor’s Run Regional Park in Great Mills and his memory will live on there for years to come. On Tuesday, the St. Mary’s County commissioners unveiled a plaque and renamed Field No. 1 in honor of the longtime recreation and parks employee. “It’s a very humbling experience,” Harris’ daughter Andrea Huntley said. “We’re very appreciative of the county doing this for our...
Beach town hires former its first ever administrator
One year after leaving Calvert County government following a tenure of nearly 30 years and serving in three administrative posts, Linda Vassallo is making North Beach history. Officials in the bayside municipality announced June 18 that Vassallo has been appointed North Beach’s first town administrator. “This pivotal step signifies our commitment to enhanced governance and community development,” North Beach Mayor Mike Benton said in a press release. “Linda’s extensive background...
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