St. Mary's briefs

Sheriff’s office warns of spoofing phone scam

The St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office is warning residents about recent phone scams in which callers impersonate deputies and demand money for supposed warrants. These scammers use caller ID spoofing to make it appear that the calls are coming from the sheriff’s office.

Don’t trust caller ID. Scammers can manipulate their phone number to make it appear that they’re calling from the sheriff’s office. Always verify the call's legitimacy by contacting the sheriff’s office directly at 301-475-8008.

Never send money. The sheriff’s office emphasizes that it will never call residents to demand cash or payment for any legal issue, including warrants.

Beware of urgency – scammers often create a sense of urgency to pressure victims into acting quickly. Take your time, think carefully and verify any claims before taking action.

If you receive one of these calls, hang up immediately and report it to the sheriff’s office by calling 301-475-8008.

Registration open for Citizens Academy

Registration is now open for the 2024 session of St. Mary’s County government’s Citizens Academy. Citizens Academy provides participants with the opportunity to learn more about county government programs and services. The 2024 academy will run from Sept. 3 to Nov. 5. Classes will be held on Tuesday evenings from 6 to 9 p.m. Participants are required to attend at minimum seven of the eight class sessions.

Citizens Academy is open to St. Mary’s County residents, 18 years of age and older and limited to 25 participants. This program is free, but advance registration is required to participate; the deadline to register is 5 p.m. on Aug. 23. To register, or for more information, including the full list of 2024 session topics, dates, and locations, visit www.stmaryscountymd.gov/ca.

Get dinner on a cruise

Limited tickets remain for the St. Clement’s Island Museum’s 2024 Dinner and a Cruise Series. These themed cruises offer an evening on the museum's water taxi with a seafood dinner and dessert reception. The remaining cruises include: Sunday, Aug. 18, “Inside the Blackistone Lighthouse” from 4 to 8 p.m.; Sunday, Sept. 15, will feature an environmental topic from 4 to 8 p.m.; and Sunday, Oct. 13, “WWII on the Potomac” from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $85 per person or $160 per couple. For more information or to reserve your ticket, go to http://bit.ly/DinnerCruise2024 or call 301-769-2222.

Health department launches mentoring resource

The St. Mary’s County Health Department has partnered with Maryland-based technology firm WellCheck to launch the St. Mary’s County Mentoring Exchange. The digital platform provides an opportunity for parents and caregivers to explore youth mentoring programs and events in the community and connects local youth mentoring programs with resources to support their work. Community service providers can also use the platform to refer their clients to youth development opportunities in the county.

Visit smcmentors.org for more information about local youth mentoring opportunities.

Crime Solvers accepts tips

St. Mary’s County Crime Solvers allows people to submit anonymous tips related to alleged crimes in the county. In some cases, rewards up to $1,000 will be given for information leading to the arrest of criminals.

To submit a tip, call 301-475-3333 or text TIP239 along with the message to CRIMES (274637).

Free back-to-school vaccine clinics offered

The St. Mary’s County Health Department is hosting free back-to-school vaccination clinics for children ages birth to 18. Appointments are recommended. A parent or guardian must be present and bring the child’s immunization record and any related school forms. To make an appointment, call 301-475-6807 or 301-278-1412. Clinics will be held on various dates through Sept. 21 at the school-based health canters at Spring Ridge and Margaret Brent middle schools. For more information, visit smchd.org/immunizations.

From local farmers to your plate

The third annual Farmers Feeding St. Mary’s program will offer farm fresh produce free to the community. The final food distribution this season will be on Saturday, Sept. 7, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at U-Haul Moving & Storage parking lot, located at 46041 Signature Lane in Lexington Park.

A variety of fresh produce, such as corn, tomatoes, squash, and more as well as frozen meat will be available at each event. Family units will be limited to one box of produce per event. Food distribution will continue until the event’s end time or until produce runs out. For more information, call 301-475-4200, ext. 1073, or visit www.stmaryscountymd.gov/FFSM.

Libraries in need of ‘memory lab’ donations

The St. Mary’s County Library is seeking donations for its memory labs at each of the library branches. The memory labs will allow patrons to take their physical memories and make them digital. VHS tapes, cassettes, film negatives, slides, photos and documents can all be converted to digital files in just a few simple steps.

If you have any of the following items in good working condition that you’d like to donate, you can bring them to the nearest St. Mary’s County Library branch. Items needed include VCRs and DVD players; camcorders that play Video8, Hi8, Digital8 and MiniDV; and audiocassette, CD players reel-to-reel players. Donations will not be returned.

For more, go to www.stmalib.org/library-services/makerspace-at-leonardtown-library/memory-lab/.

St. Mary’s County Department of Public Works and Transportation continues to offer free mulch for residents to pick up from the St. Andrew’s Landfill. Mulch is available for residents to pick up between the hours of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays, as supply allows. Residents are responsible for the loading and delivery of the mulch. Bring a shovel, pitchfork or similar hand tool to load the mulch and a tarp to cover the load if necessary. More information, call 301-863-8400 or go to www.stmaryscountymd.gov/dpw.

Roller skating offered at Leonard Hall

Family Skate is offered at the newly renovated Leonard Hall Recreation Center in Leonardtown every Sunday afternoon from 2 to 5 p.m. Entrance is $5 per person and skates are available to rent for $2.50 or bring your own skates.

Online registration is available at stmaryscountymd.gov/recreate, click the Online Registration button and then choose Special Events. For more information, call 301-475-4200, ext. 1800, or email webtrac@stmaryscountymd.gov.

Oral histories of Lexington Park ‘Flat Tops’ available online

The St. Mary’s County Historical Society, in partnership with St. Mary’s County government, recently announce the digitization of the Lexington Manor Oral History Collection, which is now available to the public on the St. Mary’s County Historical Society website at www.stmaryshistory.org.

The collection features eight interviews with former residents of the Lexington Park and Lexington Manor “Flat Tops” neighborhoods, both from their early days as WWII and post-WWII Navy housing for civilian contractors.

For more information, contact the historical society at 301-475-2467.

Environmental review information for bases available

The Department of the Navy and the US Environmental Protection Agency, with concurrence from the Maryland Department of the Environment, are beginning a five-year review of existing Record of Decision documents and ongoing remedial (environmental cleanup) actions at the Webster Outlying Field, and completed the sixth five-year review of existing Record of Decision documents and ongoing remedial actions at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River. A review is required for remedial actions which result in any hazardous substances, pollutants or contaminants remaining at a site at levels that do not allow for unlimited use and unrestricted exposure.

The review for the Webster Outlying Field contains information on one Munition Response Site: UXO-0001 Former Aerial Bombing Range. The Navy will submit draft findings to MDE in June. The final report will be made available to the public in September.

The completed review for the NAS Patuxent River contains information on the multiple environmental restoration sites. The final report has been reviewed by EPA and MDE and is available to the public.

For more information, contact the Public Affairs Officer Patrick Gordon at patrick.a.gordon10.civ@us.navy.mil. Environmental documents are available for review at the NAS Patuxent River public website at https://go.usa.gov/xSjbt and the Webster Outlying Field Public Webster Administrative Record site at https://go.usa.gov/xSjbJ/.