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As early voting wraps up, the big day looms
With the primary election looming early next week, mail-in ballots that have been received and counted in the Southern Maryland counties are surpassing the number of voters who have shown up in person during the first several days of early voting. Data from the Maryland State Board of Elections shows that as of Wednesday with one more day of early voting remaining, 2,465 people, or about 3.5% of eligible voters in Calvert, voted early in person compared to over 5,000 mail-in ballots received. In Charles,...
Charles commissioners make their 2025 budget requests
The Charles County fiscal 2025 budget is nearly done, with a final approval date set for May 14. Ahead of the slated approval, the county commissioners submitted their add/delete requests for new initiatives and projects. Currently, the budget’s total comes in at $559,743,200. Commissioner President Reuben B. Collins II (D) moved $105,000 from the $4 million of unassigned fund balance to support the Charles County Summer Youth Employment Program to...
Charles County 911 to introduce 'hot and cold' dispatches
Changes are coming soon to how 911 will respond to emergencies in Charles County. The county’s emergency services department recently unveiled its intention to use a “hot and cold” dispatch system, which would mean that most calls that do not pose a risk to life would likely have an ambulance respond with its lights and sirens off. “I think what we’ve seen, and what’s been studied in the past, is...
Marine museum welcomes rays and 'benders to exhibit
There are new creatures to feature at Calvert Marine Museum in Solomons. Earlier this week Matt Neff, the museum’s curator of estuarine biology, introduced the new tank inhabitants, including four cownose rays. It was about eight years ago that an environmental group called Showing Animals Respect and Kindness — or SHARK — raised awareness about a local event at which cownose rays were clubbed to death for sport. Neff, who...
St. Charles amendments partially recommended after community outcry
After a planning commission public hearing on April 1 that drew the anger of numerous residents of St. Charles communities, a recommendation has been made to the county commissioners to amend Docket 90 on May 6. Docket 90 governs the process for submitting and approving designs for villages and neighborhoods to be constructed in St. Charles, a network of sprawling residential communities. The amendments, proposed in late 2022, asked to...
Patuxent uses pitching, defense to claim baseball title
Heading into its SMAC championship game, Patuxent’s mantra was “One Inning at a Time,” and they followed that to a tee with a 2-1 win over La Plata Tuesday night at Chancellor’s Run Regional Park in Great Mills. The Panthers (16-2 overall) relied on offense for two runs in the first inning and then defense to shut down a La Plata threat to win the team’s second SMAC title in three years. ...
Chopticon captures SMAC softball championship
In a quest for a perfect season this spring, the Chopticon High School softball team has executed in all facets of the game at a high level. On Tuesday evening, the Braves kept their perfect record in tact by upending Northern High 10-4 to capture the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference Championship game at Chancellor’s Run Regional Park in Great Mills. Chopticon (17-0) had upended Northern 8-4 when the two teams met in Morganza in late April and the Braves and Patriots will likely be headed...
St. Mary's commissioners designate nonprofit funding
County nonprofits received a glimpse of what their checks from the government might be next fiscal year during Tuesday’s county commissioners’ budget work session. County Administrator David Weiskopf and an internal group drafted recommendations for fiscal 2025 nonprofit funding. These include the following: agencies that received a grant in fiscal 2024 will receive the same amount for fiscal 2025; new grant applicants approved will receive $2,500 for fiscal 2025 (not 10% of their request); agencies that are entering their second year will receive their 2024...
Lexington Park resident honored for 50 years with the DAV
Ralph Gough began working with the Disabled American Veterans when he was medically discharged from the military in 1974, and last month — a half century later — he was recognized for his work. The Lexington Park resident, who serves as a judge advocate, received an award on April 27 for his 50 years of service with the St. Mary’s DAV Chapter 26 in Lexington Park. “It’s a wild moment,”...
Southern Maryland police briefs
Man allegedly swings at girlfriend with knife On May 1, officers responded to an apartment on Hamilton Place in Waldorf for the report of a domestic assault involving a weapon. Upon arrival, officers made contact with the caller who reported that her boyfriend, Malik Dayron Hunter, 31, had allegedly attempted to assault her with a “butcher knife” after they had been in multiple arguments in the past day, charging documents...
Seahawks men lacrosse goes to NCAA tournament
On an overcast afternoon in which moderate to heavy rains departed well before the opening face-off draw, the St. Mary’s College of Maryland men’s lacrosse team overcame a slow start to trounce visiting Penn College 23-4 in the United East Conference Championship game on Saturday afternoon in St. Mary’s City. St. Mary’s College men’s team (13-6) earned its third consecutive UEC tournament title by erupting for 17 unanswered goals at one stretch en route to the lopsided victory. The Seahawks never trailed, but they only...
Curiosity sparks knowledge: Military children engage in mock deployment activities
Children of military personnel gathered at the base theater grounds to gain insight into their parents’ deployment preparations during the Kids Understanding Deployment Operations event, April 27. KUDOS brought together many units from the base, including explosive ordnance disposal, fire emergency services, public health and optometry. Children and their guardians participated in various activities, such as a mock physical test, simulated shooting range and deployment checklist. “It’s tough but rewarding...
A SPECIAL VISIT
Chief Master Sergeant of the U.S. Space Force John F. Bentivegna (center), his wife, Cathy (right), and Stacie Black (left), wife of Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff U. S. Marine Corps Command Sergeant Major Troy E. Black, pose with the U.S. Air Force Honor Guard in Dickens Hall during a tour of Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Washington, D.C. on April 23, 2024. Bentivegna and guests participated in an immersion tour by the 11th Wing Operations Group to experience first hand the capabilities, power, and precision of The U.S. Air Force Band, U.S. Air Force Honor Guard and Air Force Arlington National Cemetery Chaplaincy at JBAB.
St. Mary's College women's team wins conference title
While their counterparts on the St. Mary’s College of Maryland men’s lacrosse team had a hint of drama in the first period of its United East Conference tournament championship game on Saturday afternoon, the St. Mary’s College women’s lacrosse absolutely coasted to a 20-4 victory for its third straight conference title in later that same day. St. Mary’s College women’s team (11-6) led 10-0 at the end of the first quarter, 14-0 at halftime and eventually scored the first 17 goals of the contest before...
Hollywood couple charged with sign thefts
A real estate agent best known for his colorful antics at the local minor league baseball stadium has been charged along with his wife for stealing a competitor’s signs, according to police. According to documents on file in district court, a Hollywood couple is charged with the thefts of several real estate signs in St. Mary’s County. Deputy J. Senatore of the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office reported the incident...
New Waldorf shopping center moves forward
The Shops at Fairway Village, a new mixed-use space in Waldorf that is expected to bring 300 new jobs and provide housing for 450 residents, held a groundbreaking ceremony last week. The new development is a joint venture partnership between Baltimore-based MCB Real Estate and Calvert County-based Generation Properties. Leases have been signed with Weis Markets, sit-down restaurant Eggspectation, as well as Hair Cuttery, KinderCare Learning Centers, McDonald’s, Heartland Dental...
Patuxent softball blanks Lackey
After battling through three scoreless innings with her Lackey High School pitching counterpart Dakota Miles last Friday afternoon, Patuxent High junior hurler Autumn Kern appeared to gain a genuine boost in confidence after the Panthers plated two runs in the top of the fourth and the visitors departed with a 4-0 win. Kern, who also plays field hockey and girls’ basketball for the school and has already verbally committed to Limestone University in South Carolina for field hockey, fanned seven of the last 14 batters...
Stumping for the Senate seat
Sen. Arthur Ellis (D-Charles), right, Rosalind Ellis and Doretha Harrison campaign for Angela Alsobrooks, who is running to be a U.S. senator, in the parking lot of the Jaycees Community Center in Waldorf on the morning of May 2.
St. Mary's Ryken softball falls to O'Connell
Last Thursday afternoon when the St. Mary’s Ryken High School softball team welcomed reigning Washington Catholic Athletic Conference champion Bishop O’Connell for its lone league meeting this spring, the clash of previously unbeaten squads hinged on the efforts of two stellar pitchers and basically the results of two of their pitches. St. Mary’s Ryken (13-1) junior hurler Emmaleigh Zagrodnichek and O’Connell junior ace Bri Lencz had battled through two scoreless innings before the outcome would hinge on one swing of the bat in the top...
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