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St. Mary’s Largest And Only Locally Owned Newspaper 17,342 Readers Thank You!

Andrea ShiellStaff Writer

Lauren Bussler said she was excited when she first signed up for AP Chemis-try at Leonardtown High School, though

she recognized that the course would be challenging.

“The students who went through the class before me attested to the rigors of the class, which caused me to be even more

Student Raises Issues About Administrative ProcessComplaints About AP Chemistry Teacher Silenced at Recent Meeting


St. Mary’s County Commissioner Lawrence D. Jarboe seemed to be in his element this past weekend, trolling around in casual clothes with tools, covered in sawdust, and sweating in the hot sun as he and many others showcased what they are hoping will be the future of energy in the US. “This is what I do,” he said. “When people want to find me as a county commissioner, they can come here and find me building something.”

It certainly seemed that he had built something in-credible. For the first annual Alternative Energy Confer-ence, Jarboe’s Mill had been spruced up to accommodate a pantheon of people interested in learning about renew-

able energy sources, from wind to solar power, hydrogen fuel cells, and electric motors, to simply gathering tips on how to reduce energy consumption. All culminated in a successful two-day event that drew visitors from all over the country, including Los Angeles, Ohio, Texas, both Carolinas, Florida, and many other states.

“I just saw this water for gas thing on the computer,” said Michael Young, who had come from New Jersey for the conference. He said he had already started experi-menting with methods to boost his own fuel economy, and had come to the conference for more ideas. “This is exciting,” he added, nodding to what a nearby dem-onstrator calling himself “Zero” termed a “brute force electrolyzer.”

Fueling The FutureAlternative Energy Conference Draws Thousands

By Guy LeonardStaff Writer

As the 20 or so young campers trotted up the dirt path from Greenwell State Park in Hollywood

to adjacent Helwig field, the temperature started to rise and they did not look happy to be out in the sun.

But that was about to change. It started when

Young Campers Take Flight With Model Airplanes


Investigators with the St. Mary’s County Bureau of Criminal Investi-gations say that they have found the man they believe responsible for the robbery of Billy Gene Gurley, 75, that occurred June 20.

Gurley died shortly after at St. Mary’s Hospital Center after he re-ported the robbery to police that day

Police arrested Steven Joseph Brown-Santos, 20, of Leonardtown for the crime June 30 just about 10 later.

According to charging docu-ments against Brown-Santos, detec-

tives received anonymous in-formation from a witness about the crime. Us-ing that infor-mation detec-tives were able to find another witness who stated that Brown-Santos had admitted to carjacking Gurley in the

parking lot of Dabbs Dental office, charging documents stated.

When he was confronted by detectives, Brown-Santos

Police Make Arrest In Robbery


Friends and colleagues of Eric Torvald Jansson, president of the Potomac River Association (PRA) and champion of local, national and international environmental causes, were shocked by his sudden and un-expected death June 27.

Jansson was 67.“He was a good person, he’d help

you whenever he could,” said How-ard Young, who worked as a mainte-nance man at Jansson’s family home at Mulberry Fields, an estate on the National Historic Registry.

Young had grown up and played with Jansson as a child, he told The County Times, and Jansson had a love for the deep woods setting of the old planta-tion site.

Jansson was busy with, among other things, trying to re-store several buildings at Mulberry Fields.

“Fixing up stuff, he loved it,” Young said. “I can’t believe he’s gone.

Loss Of Local Activist Mourned

See Santos page A-�

See Chem Teacher page A-�

See Power page A-10

See PAX Aeromodels page A-�

See Jansson Death page A-7


St. Mary’s County Sheriffs deputies have charged a Lexington Park man with two counts of vehicular homicide while under the influence of alcohol after a truck he was driving went out of control and struck a tree, killing two passengers and

injuring two others.Eddi G. Barrientos Ibanez, 21, was

formally charged Monday in the deaths of Christina Garcia Chavez, 22, of Lexing-ton Park and Felipe Moya Martinez, 34, of Waldorf.

He is currently being held in the St.

Sheriffs: Alcohol, Speed Responsible For Fatal Crash In Dameron

See Crash page A-�

Photo by Andrea Shiell

Steven Joseph Brown-Santos

Eric Torvald Jansson

Photo by Guy Leonard

Bob Henty, an instructor for the Patuxent Aeromodelers gets campers on the flight line ready for take off.

Dustin shows off his “smack boosting” technology at the first annual Alternative Energy Conference at Jarboe’s Mill.

SectionA-� The County Times Thursday,July3,�008

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4TH OF JULY SPECIALS

ByGuyLeonardStaffWriter

Residents in the Andover EstatesareaofValleyLeeandonsurroundingroads and streets should have one lessthing toworryaboutwhen itcomes tomaintainingtheirhomesnowthatMet-Comhasprovidedapumpthatwilldoawaywithagingsepticsystems.

“These septic systems were failingandwe’vebeentryingtoalleviatethat,”said MetCom deputy director Dan-iel Ichniowski. “People started gettingbackupsintotheirhouses.

“These septic systems have beenfailingfortwotothreeyears.”

Thenewsystemwillhaveresidentsin the immediateareaswitch togrind-

er pumps, which will grind and crushwastefromtheirhomes.Thewastewillthenbepumped throughapressurizedfeeder tube that will lead to a nearby,newlyinstalledpumpingstation.

FromthatpumpingstationitwillbefunneledtotheMarlay-Taylorwastewa-ter treatment plant that services Lex-ingtonParkandseveralotherareas.

Ichniowski said MetCom expectsabout 60,000 gallons of additionalwastewatertobeaddedtothecapacityattheMarlay-Taylorfacility.

In all, 45 homes have received theupgrade, Ichniowski said, on DentonRoad, Petite Point Lane, Oakland Av-enue, Locust Grove Drive, GiddingsStreetandAndoverEstatesRoad.

Funding for the$1.23millionproj-

ectcamefromstategrantsaswellasastateloan,hesaid.

Rudy Baliko, a longtime LocustGrove Drive resident, said problemswiththesepticsystemshavebeengoingon longer than two or three years, butpraisedthecontractorswhowerehiredto take on the refitting job for theirquickwork.

“Theguyshavebeenworkinghard,”Baliko said. “Sometimesyousee themhere at 7 a.m. and you don’t see themleaveuntil8p.m.”

Balikosaidthreeyearsafterheandhiswifebought theirhomein1967,hehadtoextendthesepticsystemtofore-stallproblems.

“Reallyitwasn’t thebestsystematthat time,”Baliko said. “Ithasn’tbeenveryeffectiveovertheyears.”

Problems around the neighborhoodincluded theoccasionalsewereruptionintobackyardsor evenmessybackupsinresidents’homes.

Both he and his wife Peg Balikoremember neighbors who had to havesepticsystemcontractorscometotheirhomesonaweeklybasisforcleanup.

TheBalikoswouldmakesure theirsepticsystemwascleanedandemptiedthoroughly before they had any largenumberofguestscomeover.

“We don’t take any chances,” PegBalikosaidwithalaugh.

Despitehaving tobear theexpenseofhaving theirhomehookedup to thegrinder pump — MetCom wasn’t do-ingitforfree,theBalikossaid—theywerelookingforwardtotheprospectofaworryfreesanitationsystem.

“It’ssomethingthiscommunityhasneeded for a long time,” Rudy Balikosaid. “The last two or three years it’sbeendrawnout…butit’sgoingtobeawhole loteasieroneverything, theen-vironmentandus.”

And, of course, there were otherconvenientbenefits,too.

“Icangetagarbagedisposalnow,”PegBalikosaid.

ValleyLeeResidentsGetSewageUpgrade

On the 4th of July Americacelebrates the birthday of theUnitedStatesofAmerica.TotheGateauFamilythisdayhasmuchmoremeaning.Itisadaywherefive generations gather togetherto celebrate Independence Day,family,andthebirthofJohnAn-thonyGateau,Sr. Ifyou’re look-ing for proof fairy tales cometrue,justaskJohnandWink.To-gether they raised six fine chil-dren, got through tough timesandnowsharetheloveofgrand-children,greatgrandchildrenandas of this moment 5 great-greatgrandchildren (it’s a baby boomyear,threemoreareexpectedanyminute). The extended families

of about seventy seven get to-getherinJulytocelebrateJohn’sbirthdayandafamilyfilledwithlove and laughter. This year,bothJohnandWinkare85.Evenmore special, in Septemberthey’ll celebrate 70 good yearsmarried. In 1952, when Hol-lywood Maryland was a dot onthe map, Wink and John boughta half acre of land on the bankof thePatuxentRiver. Together,with family, they built a homeandhavelivedthereasSt.Mary’sCounty has grown. Their be-ginning was not unusual. Afterthey married in 1938, both Johnand Wink devoted their lives toraising a family and working

hard. John made $12.00 a weekat a gas station and they paid$3.50rentona roomwhere theystarted a family. Their first carwas a 1932 Chevrolet John tiedto a tree at night so it wouldn’trolldownthehill.In1943,Johnworked as an Air Raid Wardenduring thewar andwhen the si-ren sounded, Wink put blanketsover the windows and John pa-trolled the neighborhood ensur-ingall lightswereout. Shesaysitwasscary;hesays,atthetime,it didn’t bother him at all. Sixchildren came along and Johnbecame a D.C. Fire DepartmentSergeant. They also had a busi-ness restoring furniture. John

upholstered and Wink workedthe office. Fun meant packingthebabiesinacarriageandwalk-ing twenty blocks to FairlawnBoat Dock in Washington D.C.to watch the water. On the wayhome, they spent a nickel for acandy bar and played a pinballmachine. Johnsays,“Wedidn’tmind it. We had everything.”When John retired from the firedepartment,theymovedfulltimeto the house in Hollywood andnow every year enjoy big fam-ily gatherings a couple of timesayear. If you come tovisit, ex-pectyourgoodbye to takeahalfan hour. There are lots of hugsbeforeyougo.

AnIndependenceDayFamilyTradition!By: The grandchildren of John A. Gateau Sr. In honor of our Grandfather on this Independence Day

ByGuyLeonardStaffWriter

John T. Summers III, theman who robbed a 7-ElevenconveniencestoreinMechanic-svilleinearlyFebruary,pleadedguilty to the crime of armedrobberylastweekinSt.Mary’s

CountyCircuitCourt.Summers,whowasoriginallychargedwith

both first and second-degree assault and weap-onsoffenses,receiveda10yearprisonsentencesuspendeddownto18monthsinthecountyde-tentioncenter.

State’sAttorneyRichardFritzsaid,inthisparticular case, the lighter sentence fits the crime.

“He’s a young man, no criminal record,”Fritz said. “He’s not what you would call ayoungmanfromthestreets.

“He’sunquestionablyamanwho,ifsenttothepenitentiary,wouldbecomeavictimoftheworstkind.”

FritzsaidthatSummerscommittedtherob-berytogetmoneyinanattempttoforestallanapparentforeclosureonhisfamily’shome.

“It’saveryseriouscrime,butwe’rechargedwithlookingateachcaseasbeingunique,”Fritzsaid,addingthatthegunusedintheFeb.9rob-berywasnotloaded.

Fritzsaidevenduringtherobbery,thede-fendantwasreportedtohaveapologizedforhisactionstohisvictims.

Summers’ sentence included no optionforworkreleaseduringhisyear-and-a-halfin-carceration,Fritzsaid,andhemustalsocom-plete an alcohol abuseprogramaspart ofhissentence.

According to charging documents filed

againstSummers,witnesses at theMechanic-sville7-Eleven,whowouldbecomeSummers’victims, toldpoliceSummerswalked into thestorewearingabandanaoverhisface,andwhileholding a rifle, demanded money from the store employee.

The employee fled the store but fell down andhurthimselfintheescapeattempt,chargingdocumentsstate.

Summers’ followed the employee outsideandorderedhimbackinsidethestore,chargingdocumentsstate,andagaindemandedmoney.

The employee handed over $167 in cashfromthestore’still,chargingdocumentsstate.

Anotherwitnesswhoarrivedatthestoreastherobberywasoccurring,sawSummerscomeout of the store, carrying a rifle, and leave in a redHondaCivicwithaMarylandregistration.

ThesecondwitnessfollowedthecarSum-merswasdrivingall thewaydown toLaurelGroveRoadgoingsouthboundonRoute235,all the while directing police units to whereSummers’vehiclewasgoing.

PoliceunitsstoppedSummers’vehiclejustafter it turned down Laurel Grove Road andfound the rifle in the passenger side of the car as wellasthesuspectedstolencashinSummers’pockets.

BytakingthepleadealSummersavoidedmuchharsherprison sentences than ifhehadbeen convicted of the assault charges. The first-degreeassault chargealonecarriedapossible25-yearsentence.

Summerswillalsohave tosubmit to twoyears of probation upon his release from thecountydetentioncenter.

“Thiswasakindofcomictragedy,”Fritzsaidofthecrime.“That’sexactlywhatitis.”

ManPleadsGuiltyToArmedRobberyOfConvenienceStore

The Gateau Family

John and Wink Gateau

Thursday, July 3, 2008 The County Times Section A - 3

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SectionA-� The County Times Thursday,July3,2008

LetterstotheEditorIfyouwishtosendalettertotheeditor,pleaseincludeyourname,addressand

phone number for confirmation purposes. We will only publish your name and city of residence. We can withhold your name by request if circumstances merit it. We must receive all letters by Monday morning for publication in the next issue. Any letter re-

ceived later than Monday will be held for the following issue.

P.O.Box250•Hollywood,Maryland20636

News, advertising, circulation, classifieds: 301-373-4125

JamesManningMcKay-Publisher

Tobie Pulliam - Office [email protected]

AndreaShiell-CommunityCorrespondent.......andreashiell@countytimes.net

ChrisStevens-SportsCorrespondent.............. [email protected]

GuyLeonard-GovernmentCorrespondent..............guyleonard@countytimes.net

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The County Times

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Editorial&Opinion

To The Editor:PresidentialRace

IjustwanttoencourageothersinmakingBarack Obama our next President of the USA. Somepeoplemighttrytousefeartofrightenthe public by claiming Obama is un-American or that Obama will change our American cul-turetosomethingworse,andbasingourvotesonthatkindoffearmongeringisnotaworthyway of moving into our future.

Somepeoplesee“terrorism”asthegreatestchallengebutIsaythehugegiganticnationaldebtthatisoutofcontrolunderthisBushad-ministration is a far FAR greater threat to the USA then any terrorist challenge. A terrorist mightknockdownbuildingsandmaybesomeextremeexampletheymightblowupacity,buttheoutofcontrolnationaldebtwillsurelyruinthe entire USA from sea to shining sea.

The national debt has now climbedtoovernine (9)trillion (trillion with a “T”)dollarsandstill rising,andwehadasurplusbudgetin2000whentheBushadministrationtookoverandnowthathugenationaldebt isafarbiggerthreatthenanyterroristcangiveto our USA.

The never ending war in Iraq alone is cost-ing the USA over 12 Billion dollars per month while the Republican candidate for President wants to keep the war going and going andgoing.

We need to hope and pray and actively sup-port Barack Obama to be our next President.

James P. Cusick Sr.LexingtonPark,Md

Manymen takepride ingrabbing theproverbialbarbecue reignsanddoingtheirtime-honoreddutyofgrillingupsavorymeatsandmoreunderpristinesum-mer skies.

Barbecuing, grilling . however you put it, has long been a popular pastime and even a rite of passage of sorts for men. There’s something about f lame-licked chunks of meat and billowing smoke that cause red-blooded males’ hearts to go a-f lutter. But while you may claim the title of grillmaster or barbecue guru, there have been many people grilling long before you.

Here’s a look at the history of barbecue as you’ve come to know and love it, courtesy of “Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Plunges Into History Again” (Ad-vanced Marketing Services, Inc.).

BarbecueBeginnings

One might argue that barbecue could date back as early as primitive times. After all, once primitive man discovered fire, the discovery that meat tasted bet-ter cooked over a f lame wouldn’t have been too far off. But the early concept of barbecuing could be better attributed to the ancient Chinese.

During the Middle Ages most people were cooking food over fires by boiling it in large pots. The Chinese, however, developed a method for cooking foods di-rectly over heat at a low temperature for a long duration of time.

Barbecue history evolved a little further in 1492 when Christopher Columbus saw the Taino Native Americans in Haiti cooking fish and wild game hung on wooden structures over coals. To Columbus and his fellow explorers, the word for the wooden structure used in the cooking sounded like barbacoa.

Overtime,SpanishexplorersbroughttheconceptofthebarbacoabacktoEu-rope, along with another New World find: the swine, or pig. Soon a new concept of cooking and a new food delicacy was discovered.

CowboyEvolution

Barbecue continued in popularity through the centuries. In the 1800s, this open-fire method of cooking proliferated among the cowboy, wagon-train circles. Resourceful cowboys learned that if you cooked a tougher cut of meat (often the cheapestleftoversthrowntothembycattlebarons),overlowheat,itwouldmakethe meat more tender and palatable.

ChuggingAlongWithCharcoal

Charcoal is a 19th century invention. Henry Ford, an enterprising individual, found thatyoucouldcreatecharcoal from thewoodbyproductsofhisautoas-sembly plant. Ford worked together with his relative E.G. Kingsford and Thomas Edison to create a charcoal manufacturing operation. It was named Ford Char-coal, but was later changed to the Kingsford Product Company. Charcoal gave barbecuers easier options for starting the low fire that would grill their foods.

MeagerBeginningstoMajorInfluence

Today, 77 percent of all American households have a barbecue grill, and most barbecueseveralmonthsoutoftheyear,withthesummerseasonandtheFourthof July holiday being top barbecue times. Barbecue has evolved into a subset of cuisine,withmanytop-notchchefsputtingnewspinsonacookingconceptthatstartedthousandsofyearsago

Grillmasters: Learn a PieceofBarbecueHistory

This weekend finds a va-riety of family events to enjoy inyour own backyard. Happy Inde-pendenceDay!Haveasafeandfunfilled weekend.

Wednesday,July2nd

Mid-Atlantic National GuardBandConcert-5:30-7:00 p.m. Free patriotic concert. Bring a blan-ket and enjoy a picnic from one ofLeonardtown’s local restaurants on the Square. Leonardtown. For in-formation 301-475-9791.

Thursday,July3rd

Chesapeake Beach Fireworks-Free event at dusk. Fireworks, food, music and fun. Rod and Reel Res-taurant, Chesapeake Beach. For in-formation 410-257-2230.

Friday,July�th

Solomon’s Island Fireworks-Free event. Dusk. Come see a spec-tacular f ireworks display waterside. Rain date Saturday.

LaPlata Independence DayCelebration- 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Music, museum and caboose tours,children’s activities, free hot-dogs, water and ice cream. LaPla-ta Train Station. For information 301-934-8421.

IndianHeadCelebration-Freeevent. 3:30-10:00 p.m. Family fun, amusement rides and food. Live music and fireworks. Village Green Park. For information 301-743-5511.

RiverConcertSeries-7:00 p.m. Free outdoor concert of Ameri-can Ballads featuring jazz vocal-ist Hilary Kole and the Chesapeake Orchestra, directed by Jeffrey Sil-berschlag. Fireworks at 9:00. St.

Mary’s College. For information 240-895-2024.

SouthernMarylandBlueCrabsBaseball and Fireworks- $- 7:00 p.m. Come out and enjoy Blue Crabs baseball with the family. Fireworks follow the game. Regency Furniture Stadium, Waldorf. For information call 301-638-9788.

Charles County Fireworks-Free event. 5:00-10:00 p.m. Chil-dren’s activities, food available or bringapicnic for the family toen-joy while watching the fireworks. Charles County Fairgrounds. For information 301-643-0033.

Saturday,July5th

Leonardtown Freedom Fest-Free event. 5:00-10:30 p.m. Fire-works, music and entertainment,crafts and concessions. St. Mary’s County Fairgrounds. For informa-tion call 301-475-4200, ext. 1848.

Southern Maryland BlueCrabsBaseballandFireworks-$-noon and 6:35 p.m. The noon game against the Camden Riversharks in-cludes a crab feast. The 6:35 game includes fireworks. Regency Furni-ture Stadium, Waldorf. For infor-mation 301-638-9788.

Point Lookout LighthouseOpen House- $- 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. Tour Point Lookout Light-house. For information www.pllps.org.

Sunday,July6th

SotterleyPatrioticConcert-$-1:00-4:00 p.m. Jeffrey Silberschlag and the brass quintet will perform. Picnics welcome. Food, beer and wine available. Sotterley Plantation. For information call 301-373-2280.

Celebrate�thofJulySouthernMarylandStyle

Thursday, July 3, 2008 The County Times Section A - �

Ramblings of a Country Girl

Act Your Age

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Terri Bartz Bowles

Recently, a former co-worker of mine sent out an email inviting a bunch of folks to go water skiing and tubing. He does this every spring. He makes sure to include myself and another former co-worker

of ours. It’s a little tradition of his, as soon as it gets what he deems “warm enough”, he’s ready to hit the water. My girlfriend and I went once, but since we’re not into water sports, we had him drop us on the beach, then we watched the rest of them while we relaxed.

It was great. The teasing, how-ever, has been merciless ever since. He calls us ‘beached whales’ and harangues us for not being active. I return that by telling him he’s a crazy old guy risking life and limb try-ing to recapture his lost youth. He didn’t take that lying down

and a thought process ensued on physical activity and age and that sort of thing.

It begs the question of what do we really mean when we say ‘act your age’? What is appropriate behavior for various ages? It’s a little blur-ry, I think, a bit of a gray area. It’s something that dogs us all our lives. It begins when we’re children. I don’t believe there’s a parent in the world who has never uttered those words ‘act your age’. What they’re really saying is behave the way I want you to behave or the way I told you to be-have or the way I expect you to behave. This can be con-fusing for a kid and it doesn’t always get easier when you’re an adult. Of course, a 12-year old shouldn’t be having a crying, screaming temper tantrum. You may not want your 5-year old to have one, either, but it’s a lot more un-derstandable. And children mature differently. Your 10-year old may still interrupt adult conversations but it’s not because he’s trying to be rude; he just hasn’t matured enough to realize what he’s doing is not good manners. It doesn’t

make it easier to deal with or less annoying, but it is what it is.

But telling an adult to act their age is a whole different ballgame. What is the differ-ence in the way a 30-year old acts and a 50-year old acts? I suspect what we really mean is either a level of physical ac-tivity that someone somehow deems appropriate for the age of the person in question or a manner of behavior that, like the 10-year old interrupting, is annoying to someone else. Why shouldn’t a 70-year old man run a marathon if he’s able? The answer is that he should run it. A 70-year old who is not a runner couldn’t run that marathon, but some-one who is a runner certainly could. Heck, a 25-year old who is out of shape couldn’t run a marathon. But some-how, society thinks the 25-year old is acting his age by running the marathon and the 70-year old isn’t. That’s just silly. It’s all common sense. If you are able to undertake a physical activity and you enjoy, then do it. But be rea-sonable, if you’ve never been water skiing and you’re out of

shape, then maybe you should think twice. And yes, the hu-man body becomes less flexi-ble and less forgiving as it gets older. Just bear that in mind.

As far as the behavior thing goes, well, it’s just as silly. If you’re 47 and you like to color with crayons, why shouldn’t you? If you’re 20 and you like to jitterbug, why shouldn’t you? What is it with these age-appropriate things? Age-appropriate applies to toys and games for children so they’re not swallowing small parts and that sort of thing. Other than that, what’s the gain? I think it’s stifling more than anything else. Kids can’t wait to be adults and adults want to act like kids. We al-ways think the grass is green-er on the other side, I guess. As adults, we’ve realized that life is stressful and the stuff we did as kids was fun and we want to recapture that. There’s nothing wrong with that. Just don’t hurt yourself, it takes longer to heal the older you get……

You can email the Coun-try Girl at [email protected]


A small sampling of dig-nitaries and senior citizens congregated at the Garvey Se-nior Activity Center in Leon-ardtown on Friday to view re-cent renovations at their open house.

One of five centers oper-ated by the St. Mary’s County Department of Aging, the open house showcased new furnishings, billiard tables, an

exercise room, internet café, new flooring, new offices, new storage closets, and a re-furbished reception area.

Commissioner Thomas Mattingly said the renova-tions had been long overdue, describing the old building as “very simple, very plain, and not as functional.” Later, after touring the entire facil-ity, Mattingly said, “this is outstanding…they’ve done a great job.”

Several groups within St.

Mary’s County Government shared credit for the project, which Community Programs Manager Sherrie Wooldridge described as an effort several years in the making.

Members of the Depart-ment of Public Works and Transportation worked on many of the actual renova-tions, with help from the Department of Information Technology.

“It was a long project,” Wooldridge said. As for the

state of the building before, she called it “… an old, sad building.”

Renovations were also done on the top floor of the building, which serves as the

center for operations for the county’s Department of Ag-ing. The new layout boasts new carpets and matching of-fice furniture to replace what used to be a hodge-podge col-lection of used equipment.

Funding for the renova-tions came from the Board of

the County Commissioners, Deputy Director Jennie Page said, beaming proudly as she welcomed visitors to the cen-ter. “It’s important to have a nice and pleasing atmosphere

for the seniors to come and do activities,” she said.

Such activities include art classes, games, fitness pro-grams, computer classes, and nutrition and health services. The center serves an average of 40 seniors per day, not in-cluding participation in eve-

ning programs. “I think they did a great

job,” said Jean Day, who at-tends classes at the center. “They completely made it over, and I’ve been coming here for about 18 years.”

“I think this is wonder-ful,” said Board of Education member Mary Washington. “Our county provides wonder-

ful opportunities for seniors.”“It was just a real county

effort,” Page said. “We’ve been in the process probably for a couple of years…it was just a joint effort with services to get this done.”

Garvey Senior Center Gets a Makeover


The proposed third reactor project at Calvert Cliff Nuclear Power Plant in Calvert County could bring as many as 4,000 temporary construction and contracting jobs to Southern Maryland during the five to six years of active building, accord-ing to officials working to get the project approved.

While there could be eco-nomic benefits to so many jobs coming to Calvert and St. Mary’s county’s some on the Board of County Commission-ers foresee potential problems.

The sudden influx of so many people could cause com-plications in finding homes for them to stay in; also the school system could be inundated with new students that might be gone in five or six years, leaving emp-ty seats.

And with the influx of so many new jobs traffic could be snarled on the Thomas Johnson Bridge, causing a dangerous backup if lower Calvert County had to be evacuated in case of a reactor accident.

“Calvert County gets a cash cow but St. Mary’s County gets a bunch of evacuation signs,” said Commissioner Lawrence

Jarboe (R-Golden Beach), who still believed the third reactor would be a beneficial new en-ergy source. “If your going to bring that to the county [more students and people who need housing] you have to bring the money with it or better yet keep the housing close to the site.

“The expense of hundreds of new students is enormous.”

Thomas Roberts, vice presi-dent of construction for UniStar, a construction conglomerate that is subsidiary to Constella-tion Energy, said that UniStar is still looking at ways to accom-modate the influx of workers.

On-site accommodations in Calvert were a possibility, he said.

Roberts also said that the conglomerate plans to hire as many construction and contract workers and skilled labor for the project as possible.

“This is a huge project,” Roberts said. “We’re work-ing with College of Southern Maryland and other institutions to provide programs so that the work force is ready for the project.”

The project could be li-censed by the Nuclear Regula-tory Commission by 2011 but pre-construction activity could begin in December if the state

issues a certificate of public con-venience and necessity.

The third reactor, which would generate 16 megawatts of electricity, almost as much as the two reactors currently at Calvert Cliffs, could be com-pleted in late 2015.

Roberts said that the project is a multi-billion dollar effort; he declined to give exact figures, he said, because of competitive concerns in the energy market place.

Once the reactor comes on line it would require about 360 permanent jobs to operate it, Roberts said.

The reactor is designed to have a 60-year life span.

“This is a evolutionary designed reactor with lessons learned incorporated over the last 30 years,” Roberts told commissioners.

A shield structure covering the reactor also covers cooling apparatus and spent fuel and control rods. The structure is also designed to withstand the impact of a large passenger air-line or a military jet aircraft, he said.

Despite adding the reactor to the facility, the view from the main highway would be as low-key as it is now.

“You won’t be able to see

the cooling tower from Route 2 or Route 4,” Roberts said.

A desalinization plant will also be built to provide a cool-ing agent for the reactor so local aquifers will not be too heavily taxed, he said.

Commissioner Daniel H. Raley (D-Great Mills) was keen on getting Constellation Energy’s help in defraying other costs of dealing with the Calvert Cliffs reactor, specifically in some kind of reimbursement, either monetary or in helping provide more space in the emer-gency operations center, for safety and emergency response drills county employees must take part in regularly.

“Fair is fair,” Raley said.

Commissioners Mull Impacts Of Third Reactor At Calvert Cliffs

Visitors enjoyed hanging out in the new activities room at the Garvey Senior Center’s open house on Friday.

Photo by Andrea Shiell

Photo by Andrea ShiellNew furniture, new pool tables, and new flooring grace this new game room at the Garvey Senior center in Leonardtown.

SectionA-� The County Times Thursday,July3,2008

agreed to an interview without a lawyer,chargingdocumentsstated,andconfessedthatheusedahandguntoforceGurleybackintohisvehicle.

According to further information fromtheBureauofCriminalInvestigationsSantosdroveGurleytotheparkinglotoftheLeon-ardtownCentershoppingcenterwhereheal-legedlytook$37fromGurleyaswellasaclassring.

Brown-Santoswassaidbypolicetohavefled on foot to his own car while Gurley re-turnedtotheparkinglotof theDabbsbuild-ingsufferingfromchestpainsandcallingforhelp.

Police executed a search warrant onBrown-Santos’ apartment in Leonardtownand found a loaded handgun they believed

hadbeenusedintherobberyandcarjacking,chargingdocumentsstated.

Chargingdocumentswenton tosay thatBrown-Santos’ girlfriend returned the de-ceasedvictim’sstolenclassring.

Gurley’s daughter, Robin Connelly, saidthatthecaptureofthesuspectwasarelieftoherandtherestofthefamily.

“Itgivesasenseofclosuretoknowwhathappened… so you’re not left wondering,”Connellysaid.“Icommendthepoliceforac-tivelypursuing thecase; I’mglad toseehe’sgoingtopayforwhathe’sdonetomyfather.”

Gurleyhadlivedwithhiswifeof55yearsintheTownCreekareasince1959.HewasaretiredU.S.Navyaircraftmechanicwhohadserved in maintenance at the U.S. Navy’stestpilot school atPatuxentRiverNavalAirStation.

HewasalsoanactivememberoftheMat-taponiRodandGunClubonbaseandwasanavidhunter.

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CollinsBailey,acongressionalcandidateforMaryland’s 5th congressional district hasreceived an endorsement from Texas Con-gressmanandGOPPresidentialcandidateRonPaulforBailey’sCongressionalrun.Paul,whoiscurrentlyservinghistenthterm,announcedhissupportforBailey,saying:“CollinsBaileyisamanofdignitywhostaystruetoourprin-ciples.HehastheutmostrespectfortheruleoflawandourConstitution.Asabelieverinaconstitutionallylimitedfederalgovernment,soundmonetarypolicies,civilliberties,anda

commonsense foreignpolicy,Collinsunder-standswhat thereal issuesareandhowtheyareaffectingourcountry.HehasservedasanelectedmemberoftheCharlesCountyBoardof Education. He is currently serving hisfourthconsecutivefour-yearterm....Ourcoun-tryneedsCollinsinWashington.ThatiswhyIhavegivenmywholeheartedendorsementtoCollinsBaileyforCongressinMaryland’s5thcongressionaldistrict.”

BaileyReceivesEndorsement

If somehow you woke up today and itwastheyear2020inSt.Mary’sCounty,whatwoulditlooklike?I’msureyou’drecognizealot,butchancesaretherewouldbemuchthatwasnewandunfamiliar. IfyouwerearoundadozenyearsagoinLeonardtownforexam-ple and fast-forwarded to 2008 you’d have asimilarexperience,exceptthatyou’dhavethebenefit of hindsight. Foresight is always much harder.

TheCountyhasbegunamajorupdateofthe St. Mary’s County Comprehensive LandUsePlan (CLUP), last amended in2003andtitled, “QualityofLife inSt.Mary’sCounty–AStrategyforthe21stCentury.”Itisacces-sible online at www.stmarysmd.com/lugm/docs/CompPlanamendedMarch03.pdf TheComprehensive Plan specifies the kind of fu-turegrowthpatternsthatwillallowtheCountytobestachieveitsgoals,andtodeterminewhatlocal government policies and actions wouldbestachievethatgrowthpattern.Statelawre-quiresthatcountiesconductthisrevieweverysixyears.ThisupdatewillbecompletedJuly2009.

Thisreviewiscriticallyimportantbecausewhat comes from it is guidance for changesinour zoningordinance.Basicquestions areaddressedlikewhattypeofgrowthdowede-sire as a community and where should it bedirected?Ofcourseunderpinningthisgrowtharethenewjobscreatedbytheregion’slarg-estemployer,NASPatuxentRiver.Howdowecontinuetosupportthebase,attractandretainnewworkerstokeepitgrowing?Atthesametime,howdowepreserveourqualityoflife,thevastacreageoffarmland,thehundredsofmilesofshoreline,thehistoricsiteswetreasureas the Mother County of Maryland? Thesequestionsbringadditionalquestionsaboutba-sic infrastructure such aswater& sewerage,schools, roads, parks, libraries, public safety.Thelistgoeson.Intheendit’saboutkeepingourcommunitysustainableandeverysixyearswehave anopportunity tohave a say in theplanningprocess.

We’renowacommunityof100,000resi-dents.It’staken375yearstoachievethismile-stone. In perspective, 15% (about 15,000) ofourpopulationhasarrivedsincetheyear2000

alone. Current projections put us at a popu-lation of 130,000 by 2020, and conceivably200,000by2050.Whoknowsifthiswilloc-cur?Butthat’swhatourestimatestellus,plusthesedatesarenot that faraway.What’s im-portantisthatweparticipateinthecommunitydiscussion about getting to whatever futurepopulationisinstorefortheCounty.

Partoftheupdateprocessinvolvesgather-ing inputs from the community. A series of five communitymeetingsarescheduledthroughouttheCountyduringJuly2008andwillprovidean opportunity for those who participate tohelpassesswhethertheCountyisonthecor-rectcoursefordevelopmentandpreservation.Thesemeetingsbeginat7:00pm,areopentothepublicandwillbeasfollows:

Wednesday,July9–LettieDentElemen-tarySchoolinCharlotteHall

Thursday, July 10 – Seventh District Fire DepartmentinAvenue

Wednesday,July16–LeonardtownMid-dleSchool

Wednesday, July 23 – Lexington ParkLibrary

Thursday, July 31 – Ridge ElementarySchool

Communityparticipationinthisprocessiscriticallyimportant.Iaskyoutogetinvolvedinanywayyoucan.Startbylookingaroundyourneighborhood,onthedrivetoworkorschool,orasyoushoporvisittheparkontheweekend,orinanyothereverydaysetting.ThinkaboutthepatternsthathavedevelopedalongtheRt.235andGreatMillscorridors,Leonardtown,inNorthCountyconsistingofCharlotteHall,New Market, and Mechanicsville, in SouthCountyfromthesouthgateofthebasedowntoRidgeandbeyond.Andeverywhereinbe-tween.IfurtheraskyoutotrytomakeoneofthecommunitymeetingsinJuly.Ifyoucan’tplease stay posted, watch the discussion onChannel95,andfollowthecoverageintheme-dia.Send inyourcommentsviae-mail,overthephone,orinanyotherfashion.WritetotheBoard of County Commissioners at PO Box653,Leonardtown,[email protected]

LookingAheadtoSt.Mary’sCounty2020By Bob Schaller

SantosContinued from page A-�

excitedforthechallengeahead,”Busslersaid,butwhatstartedoutasachallengefor this straightA student “quickly spi-raled out of control” over the course ofherfirstsemester.

Laurensaiditwasneveramatterofher ability to understand the material.Shehadbeen“studentoftheyear”inherhonors chemistry course the previousyear.Herproblemthispastyearhadbeenwiththeteacher.

“The teacher began harassing us;constantlychangingduedatesandgrad-ing standards, and publicly ridiculingselected students,” wrote Lauren, add-ingalsothatherteacher,PaulineOwen,“made inappropriate comments left andrightandrefusedtohelpstudentsoran-swerquestionsinclass.”

“Somanypeoplewenttotutoringthatthe number of people there approachedthe number of students in the class,”Lauren said, explaining that Owen andRonni Morrissey, who team-taught theclass,would refuse to answer questionsonthematerialandinsteadreferstudentstotutoringsessionsheldafterschool.

Laurensaidthatatonepoint,studentswereactuallybeingturnedawayfromtu-toringsessions.Asforhertimespentinclass,Laurencomplainedthatherteach-erwasquitesimplynotteaching.

“She would literally sit behind herdesk each day as the class struggled toself-teach challenging, college-levelcoursework,”shesaid,addingthatnineof the 24 students in her class had re-ceiveda57%orlowerontheirmidtermexams,despitediligentstudysessions.

Despite her difficulties in the class,LaurenhadaBbeforesheoptedtodropthe course and take it at CSM instead,requestingthathergradeinOwen’sclassberemovedfromhertranscript.Manyofherfellowstudentsdidthesame,butthedramadidnotstopthere.Laurensaidtherealproblemsbeganwhensheattemptedto raise issues concerning her teacher’sconduct,whichsheandothersdescribedas“deplorable.”

So Lauren did what she said manypeopleshouldhavedonebefore.

“We talkedwithmyguidancecoun-selor, had meetings with the principal,andeventookittothelevelofthesuper-intendentofschools,”shewrote,addingthatshewasassureda“thoroughinves-tigation”ofher teacher’sconductwouldtakeplace.

Such an investigation, they thought,shouldhaveincludedotherstudentsandtheir parents who had raised similarissues.

“Idid receiveaphonecall from theDirector of Secondary Instruction,”wrote Katherine Cummings, a parentofoneoftheotherstudentswhohadis-suedcomplaints.“IalsogotaphonecallfromtheprincipalofLeonardtownHighSchool. He asked for my permission totalk tomydaughter about theproblemsintheclassroom.

“Thisisbasicallywherethingsended.Ineverdidhearbackagainfromanyoneeither at Leonardtown High School orfromanyoneattheBoardofEducation.”

TheBusslerssaidtheywerealsodis-appointed with the administration’s in-vestigation, which they said was not atall thorough, claiming that at no pointwereotherstudentsinLauren’sclassin-terviewedabout their teacher’sconduct,andonlyoneparentwasinterviewed.

“They should have talked to every-oneinthatclass,fortheteacher’sprotec-tion as well,” said Pam. When they re-ceived the superintendent’s report, theywere disappointed to see that the board

hadinsteadsidedwiththeteacher,sotheyappealedthedecision.

“All we were asking, all that Idesired, was for my former teach-er…to simply do her job and teachthestudentsinherclasswhowanted

tolearn,”Laurenexplained,addingthatshe andherparentshadapproached theprincipalandothersaboutmonitoringtheteacher,whichtheysaiddidnothappen.

Lauren’sparentsalsotookissuewithwhattheysaidwasalackofdocumenta-tionduringtheboard’sinvestigation.

“Everything was done verbally…therehavebeencomplaints,butnothingwaseverdocumented,”saidPam,addingthatsheneversawanyonewriteanythingdown during their many meetings withthe principal or other administrativeofficials.

The Busslers, along with four otherfamilies, then turned to County Com-missionerThomasMattinglyforhelp.

“I told them from the beginning,I can’t make anybody change a grade,or fire a teacher, or discipline a teach-er,” Mattingly said. “That’s not myfunction.”

Mattingly said he limited his roleto opening up lines of communicationbetween the families issuing their com-plaintsandtheBoardofEducation.

“Theresponseprobablywasn’twhattheywanted,”hesaid.

SeveralstudentsattemptedtoaddresstheschoolboarddirectlyattheirJune11meeting,forwhichLaurenhadsignedupto read a personal statement on the is-sue.Afterreadingafewsentencesofherstatement forpubliccomment,BoardofEducation Chair William Mattingly cuther off, telling her that the matter wasin theprocessof appeal, so itwouldbeinappropriateforhertocontinue.

“They just said that it was an indi-vidual matter and it wasn’t allowed,”said fellow student Alexa Schutz, whowaspresentatthemeeting,andwhohadalsochosentodroptheclass,alongwithnearlyhalfofthestudentswhohadorigi-nallyregistered.

“Ithoughtsheshouldhavebeenabletofinishherspeechthough…shehadal-readytalkedto theprincipalandMarti-rano about this…so there was nowhereelseforhertobringitup.”

Board of Education member MaryWashington defended the board’s ac-tions, saying, “since it was regarding apersonnelissue,wedon’thearsuchcom-mentsatthattime.”

In an email response to an inquiryabout the investigation, teacher PaulineOwen stated that the matter was underappeal and she could not comment. Su-perintendent Michael Martirano couldnotbereachedforcommenteither.

Laurensaidher impressionwas thattheadministrationwasdismissiveaboutherclaimsbecausetheythoughtshewascomplainingabouthergrade,whichsheadmitted would count as a personal is-sue,butshesaidshetookissuewiththatassumption.

“If it was just about the grade, Iwouldn’thavetakenittothispoint,”shesaid, adding that she would have beenhappywitha lowergrade ifshefeltshehadbeentreatedfairlybyherteachers.

“For all the trouble and everything elsethat’sgoneon,foralltheofficesI’vesat in, it’s about what my friends and Ihavehad togo through, not thegrade,”she said. “But if nothing changes andnothinghappens, it’s just going to keepgoingon.”

As Lauren prepares for her senioryear at Leonardtown, she said she haslearned a great deal over the last year,“albeit, it was not in my AdvancedPlacement Chemistry class, but ratherwithin the administrativeofficesof oursystem.”

ChemTeacherContinued from page A-�

Mary’s County DetentionCenteronanobondstatus.

Further investigation in Ibanez’s backgroundshowed he was wanted on

an Immigration and Cus-toms Enforcement (ICE)warrantforbeinganillegalalien.

According to the latestcrash investigation infor-mation from the sheriff’soffice, Ibanez was travel-ing down Bay Forest Road in Dameron at a high rateof speed June 28 at about7p.m. when he lost con-trol of his 1998 Ford F-150 pickuptruck.

Ibanezfailedtomakealefthandturn,accordingtosheriff’s reports, careenedout of the west side of theroadway and slid sidewaysintoalargetree.

The vehicle thenstruck another tree headon and came to rest in theroadway.

Chavez and Martinezdied at the scene, policereports stated, while twoother passengers ZaydiaGarciaChavel,18andHoseEsuin Leon Guerra, 28,bothofWaldorfweref lowntoPrinceGeorge’sHospitalCenter’straumaunitinsta-blecondition.

The two deceased pas-

sengers had no identifi-cation on them, chargingdocuments state, but wereidentified by one MariaDelcarmin Trujillo, whoclaimedshewasafriend.

According to appli-cations for statements ofcharges against Ibanez,deputies claimed to smellastrongodorofalcoholonIbanez’s breath followingtheaccidentandaskedhimifhehadbeendrinking.

“My friend gave mesomething,” said Ibanez,according to court papers.Court papers went on toallege that he admitted tohaving “three beers,” thenadmitting later “I had likesevenbeers.”

Charging documentsstatethatwhenhewaslaterinterviewedatthehospital,Ibanez stated he had leftElm Beach Park just twohoursbeforethecrashafterhavingaboutsixbeers.

Ibanezclaimedthatthebrakes “gave out” on histruck.Abloodalcohol testshowed Ibanez had a .172bloodalcohollevel.

CrashContinued from page A-�


“He always looked like the pic-ture of health.”

The cause of Jansson’s death has yet to be determined.

Robert Elwood, vice president of the PRA, an environmental group dedicated to preserving the water-way and the surrounding land, was equally shocked at Jansson’s death.

Jansson was a tireless advocated for the environment and for people’s health, Elwood said.

“He was present at the birth of the environmental movement in the 1970’s,” Elwood said.

In the latter portion of that de-cade, Jansson lobbied heavily to stop the use of certain herbicides that

had been linked by some to spon-taneous abortions and miscarriages in pregnant women in the Pacific Northwest.

Jansson went on to found the National Network to Prevent Birth Defects, which transformed into the group called the Department of the Planet Earth, which dealt with issues like global warming, geneti-cally modified foods and the sus-pected role of metals in Alzheimer’s Disease.

Locally, Jansson was heavily in-volved in several projects sponsored by the PRA, including a lawsuit against a county government deci-sion to allow development on steep

landscape slopes, which the group considered detrimental by allowing the damming of creeks and streams.

Under Jansson’s leadership the group also sponsored a study that claimed many storm water manage-ment facilities in the county were not functioning properly and endanger-ing waterways like the Chesapeake Bay by not properly filtering out pollutants.

The group was compiling a citizens’ guide to allow residents to inspect and report on sites that were not working properly.

Jansson and the group also pio-neered an air quality study in Piney Point that showed levels of pollutants near the petroleum pipeline that were much higher than would be expected in a rural area.

Jansson counted the group’s lob-bying efforts to have land at Myrtle

Point purchased by the county gov-ernment for public use as one of its major victories for environmental preservation.

Colleagues of Jansson said he had been researching the theoretical problem of global warming and what actions states could take of their own accord to combat it.

“He believed in fighting the good fight,” Elwood said.

Bob Lewis, executive director of the St. Mary’s River Watershed As-sociation, remembered Jansson as a dedicated researcher of facts and fig-ures with a keen mind.

“To me he was a tireless re-searcher,” Lewis said. “He could pull out choice pieces of information to make his arguments.

“He always had a smile and friendly words for those around him.”

Jansson was also a world travel-er who visited exotic locales such as Turkey, the Galapagos Islands, South America and Croatia.

“He loved to travel, he had an active mind along with an active physical life,” Elwood said. “The world fascinated him, other cultures fascinated him.”

Funeral arrangements have not been finalized for Jansson, who is survived by two brothers, Bruce and Douglas.

Despite this, environmentalists from around the region have said they want to hold a special memorial for the man they considered to be a real champion of conservation.

“It’s been rough on all of us,” said Dudley Lindsley, PRA secre-tary. “They all thought so highly of him; he’s going to be missed.”

Jansson DeathContinued from page A-�

When you were a teenager and living under your parents’ medieval rules, you probably couldn’t wait to grow up, get an apartment, and have a life of your own.

Once you grew up, got an apartment, and had a life of your own, you realized that things weren’t really much different. You still had certain responsi-bilities, you had to do the same chores (for yourself, this time) and, aside from the bumps and potholes you learned from, you were still the same you.

But what if life shoved you out of the nest be-fore you were ready? In the new novel “Made in the U.S.A.” by Billie Letts, two kids strike out on their own. If they don’t, they might not be able to stay together.

Lutie McFee had dreams once but they didn’t matter any more. There was a time when she thought she might be an Olympic gymnast. She was good enough. Even her coach said so.

But that was all before the totally untrue rumor that got her kicked off the team and made her class-mates whisper in the hallways. That was before Lu-tie’s father left Lutie and her brother, Fate, in the care of Floy, his overweight, wheezing girlfriend. It was before Floy dropped dead in checkout aisle 3 at Wal-Mart.

And it was before fifteen-year-old Lutie packed up everything she owned in a suitcase, pulled togeth-er all the change she could find, made Fate choose his favorite books, put everything in the trunk of Floy’s beat-up Pontiac, and left Spearfish, South Dakota with Fate in the passenger seat. They were

headed for Las Vegas, and the last-known address of their alcoholic father.

But if getting to Vegas without much money was hard, living there was harder. Jobs were impossible to find for a fifteen-year-old. Apartments were ex-pensive and required hundreds of dollars in deposits. Finding enough to eat was a big concern, and the threat of getting caught – and separated - was always present.

There was one good thing, though: Lutie and Fate had a benefactor. Someone was watching out for them, directing them to safety, leaving small gifts of food. The guardian angel seemed to want to protect the kids from harm.

But who was saving whom?I liked this novel, but I didn’t.On one hand, it seemed that two or three nov-

els were squooshed into one here, and “Made in the U.S.A.” kept getting more and more outrageous. But then, it’s a novel, right? And novels don’t always have to make sense.

On the other hand, I absolutely loved Lutie, and I loved the way that author Billie Letts gave Lutie a faux-brave, brassy, brash, scared-little-girl counte-nance. I loved Fate and his sixth-grade-old-man per-sonality. And while yes, this story was a little far-fetched, I admittedly never knew where it was going next. That surely kept me reading.

If you’re in need of a good vacation book and you don’t mind some slightly outlandish plot twists, grab this book and enjoy. “Made in the U.S.A.” is made for novel lovers.

“Made in the U.S.A.” by Billie Lettsc.2008, Grand Central Publishing $24.99 / $27.99 Canada 355 pagesBy: Terri Schlichenmeyer

SectionA-� The County Times Thursday,July3,200�

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theygotalookatthescalereplicasofthemod-elairplanesthatmembersofthePatuxentAeromodelersRadioControlhadsetupforthem.

Modelers were busy gearing up theirplanes for flight to show just how involved, and how much fun, their hobby could be.

Some modelers charged up their planeswithbatterypowerwhileothersworkedman-ual fuel pumps that pumped in a pink, nitrous-basedcompoundtogettheirmotorsrunning.

Morethanafewoftheplanesusedweedwhackerenginesforthrust.

As the first plane took off, what modelers called a 42-percent, because it was 42 percent thesizeoftherealaerobaticpropellerplaneitimitated, the campers from Greenwell were wowed by the stunning acrobatic moves the

pilot showed off as well as just how high and fast the little plane could fly.

After the first plane’s smooth landing, campers got a look at another prop plane, this timewithaBarbiedollplacedinthecockpit.

As the plane performed a low fly-by of the smiling youngsters, the bomb bay doors openedandthreetoyparatroopersdroppedoutand floated to the ground perfectly.

CampersgottoseereplicasofWorldWarII era fighter planes take to the sky, too. Con-current machine-gun firing noises from the campers followed several low level passes.

Itwasnotlongbeforecampersgottogetonthestickwhileoneoftheclubmembershelpedcontroltheplanefromanauxiliarycontrollercalleda“buddybox.”

Campers said itwaswellworth thewaitandtheheat.

“It was completely different,” said Hannah Crosby, 12, of Charlotte Hall. “It was fun.”

Crosby said the flying was a bit tense at times, too, since just a little movement on oneofthecontrolstickscouldsendtheplanespinning.

“It’s like getting off of a roller coaster… you’re proud you did it.”

R.C. Wildes, 10, of Hollywood found out quickly that piloting the little models wastougher than it looked at first.

“It was fun. Challenging, but fun,” Wildes said. “It’s kind of hard to steer.

“It’s fun to figure out how the piloting works… I think I did a loop by accident.”

Education was the main reason the aeromodelers got their start, other than just for the funofit.

TheclubisalocalchapteroftheAcademy

ofAeronauticsandteachesnewmemberstheins and outs of aero modeling, including math-ematical applications, electronics, mechanics, physicsandaerodynamics.

LocalclubpresidentMattTillmansaidthatmembership in the club, particularly for young people, can have other benefits as well.

“I tell parents it develops and takes a lot of skills,” Tillman said. “It teaches patience and perseverance… and it teaches you how to sol-derandgluestufftogether.”

Crosby was impressed with the persever-anceandskillitwouldtaketogetoneofthesemodelplanesintheair—andkeepitthere.

“It’s something you have to put together yourself,” she said. “You can’t just buy it at a store.”

Formore informationabout theclubandhow to become a member, visit their Web site atwww.paxaero.com.

PAXAeromodelsContinued from page A-�

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AndreaShiellStaffWriter

Across the street, chain restaurants includ-ing Outback Steakhouse andCheeseburger in Paradisewerebusypreppingforlunchand dinner service, but nestled initsownspaceonthenorth-bound side of Three NotchRoad, Dan Rebarchick made his way past constructionequipment to seat himself inwhatissoontobecomesomefresh competition for chainrestaurantsinthearea.

As the owner of Lenny’s Restaurant, which has been a landmark in St. Mary’s County since 1951, Dan knows a thing or two about the evolution of the area’s business climate, and while gutting his ownestablishment to make roomfor new walls, ceilings, equip-ment, flooring, insulation, and banquet rooms, he has had hishandsfullforthelastfewmonths. But this is a project thathehopeswillstrengthenhis competitive edge.

Built in 1952 as both afamilyhomeandtheKnottyPine Restaurant by D.B. Mc-Millan, Rebarchick’s grand-father, and later taken over by his father Lenny, who renamed the popular estab-lishment Lenny’s in 1963, Rebarchick’s family legacy has graced MD Route 235 for three generations, even bear-ingapine-shapedsigninthefrontthatharkensbacktotherestaurant’s roots. Rebarchick said that when he took over his father’s place in 1981, he hadmadeafewbasicchang-es, but nothing as extensive as hiscurrentundertakings.

What used to be ashared area between the barand the main dining room

hasbeenseparatedbyawall.“Even though we were always very family friendly, a lot of people didn’t like coming in here with the bar so close,” said Rebarchik. In additionto new insulation, flooring, walls, ceilings, bathrooms, and banquet rooms, Rebar-chick also added energy effi-cient appliances and low-volt-age, recessed “green” lighting. “Anything that we replacedwetriedtoreplaceitwithen-ergy conscious products,” he said. “We’re just trying to do ourpart.”

Inadditiontothenewfloor plan, Lenny’s will also expand its menu to includemore seafood, salads, and a wider variety of lunch items. Also in the bar, he is install-ing 14 new beer taps, and he hopes to expand his micro-brew selections. “I am nota beer drinker,” he laughed. “I’ve never drank beer that I liked…but I sample to my beercrowdandIletthemtellme if it’s good or not.”

“What we’re really doing is trying tokeepupwith thetimes. Small businesses are

what made St. Mary’s Coun-ty,” said Rebarchick, nodding out his window to the chainrestaurants across the street.He said that the flourishing independentbusinessesinthearea started faltering ten totwelve years ago as the area developed. “Independent businesses have a very hard time competing,” he said.

Renovations such as these, Rebarchick hopes, will help his family’s business com-pete, and draw on his existing pool of loyal regulars, some of which have been coming to Lenny’s since it opened. “People would always sayto me, ‘this is our Cheers,’” he explained, adding that his new layout was designed tomake them just as comfort-ableastheyhadalwaysbeen.He plans to reopen his doors by the 20thofJuly.

“We’re trying to maintain a certain consistency…hope-fully our previous customers will like the changes we’ve made, and new customers willcomeinandbepleasantlysurprised.”

St.Mary’sStapleLookingForwardtoReopeningRevamped Lenny’s Hopes to Compete With Local Chains



Photo by Andriea Shiell

Matt Tillman, president of Patuxent Aeromodelers club talks to some campers about the ins and outs of flying model airplanes.

Campers from Greenwell State Park got a show of aerial acrobatics like this plane flying upside down.

Dan Rebarchick, owner of Lenny’s Restaurant in California, sits at one of the tables in his new bar.


ObituariesWilliam Andrews, 82

William Andrews, 82, of California, Md. died June 17 in Washington Hospital Cen-ter, Washington, D.C. with his family by his side.

Born July 24, 1925 in Providence, R.I., he was the son of the late Lenore Gris-som, and was raised in Provi-dence until the age of 16.

He was 17 years old when he joined the U.S. Navy, where he served as an aviation metal smith and retired with the rate of Chief Petty Officer. He was stationed at the Anacostia Na-val Air Station in Washington, D.C. and was later transferred to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. After retiring from active duty in the late 1960’s, he took a civil service position at Patuxent River Naval Air Station and moved with his family to St. Mary’s County.

Bill was a kid at heart, cu-rious and creative with an ad-venturous spirit. He loved to talk to all types of people and often shared his unconvention-al ideas about the world. He was a member of the Church of the Ascension for almost 40 years and was a bass in the choir for most of that time. He served on the vestry and was a member of the church softball team. In his 40’s, Bill became an avid cyclist, riding to work at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station on a regular basis and taking 100 mile weekend bike excursions. When he was in his mid 70’s he participated in cycling events at the Mary-land Senior Olympics, and qualified for and took part in races at the 1999 National Senior Games. After his re-tirement from the civil ser-vice, Bill enjoyed working as a volunteer at the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office.

Bill is survived by his wife of 55 years, Hilma Mon-dani Andrews, and his chil-dren, March Andrews and his wife Alison of Laytons-ville, Md., Luke Andrews of California, Md., Anthony Andrews and his wife Susan of Bethesda, Md., Beth An-drews and her husband Dave Carson of Gaithersburg, Md., and Julie Correll and her hus-band Steve of Leonardtown, four grandchildren, Lucy An-drews, Sean Carson, and Cara and Brady Correll.

Family received friends Thursday, June 26 from 10 – 11 a.m. in the Church of the Ascension, 21641 Great Mills Road, Lexington Park. A Me-morial Service was conducted at 11 a.m. with the Reverend Rona Harding officiating.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Church of the Ascension, 21641 Great Mills Road, Lexington Park, MD 20653.

Condolences to the fam-ily may be made at www.brinsfieldfuneral.com.

Arrangements by the Brinsfield Funeral Home, P.A., Leonardtown.

Carol Yvonne Asbury, 81

Carol Yvonne Asbury, 81, of Leonardtown died June 29 in Washington Hospital Cen-ter, Washington, D.C.

Born Dec. 17, 1926 in Ohio, she was the daughter of the late Joseph Giacin and Thelma Haley Giacin.

Carol is survived by her children, Donald Lee As-bury of Tennessee, Martin Wayne Asbury of Virginia, Dale Francis Asbury of Flor-ida and Carol Lynn Pratt of Leonardtown.

All services are private.Condolences to the fam-

ily may be made at www.

brinsfieldfuneral.com. Arrangements by the

Brinsfield Funeral Home, P.A., Leonardtown.

Shirley Marie Burch, 40

Shirley Marie Burch, 40, of Hollywood died June 30, 2008 in her residence.

Born July 5, 1967, she was the daughter of Thornton Bridgett and Constance (Wil-liams) Bridgett.

In addition to her parents, Shirley is survived by her husband, John A. Burch, two children, John Wilson Buck-ler, Jr. of Seneca, S.C., and Amber Marie Burch of Hol-lywood, two grandchildren, Jamie R. Buckler and Jeremy W. Buckler, siblings, Thomas Eric Bridgett of Mechanics-ville, Bridget Suzette Bridgett of Lexington Park, Roger Grissom of Hughesville, and Jr. Williams of Newburg, Md.

Family received friends for Shirley’s Life Celebration Wednesday, July 2 from 5 – 8 p.m. in the Brinsfield Funeral Home, 22955 Hollywood Road, Leonardtown. Prayers were recited at 7 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Thursday, July 3 at 10 a.m. in St. John’s Catho-lic Church, 43927 St. John’s Road, Hollywood. Reverend Ray Schmidt will be the cele-brant. Interment will follow in Charles Memorial Gardens, Leonardtown.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Hospice House of St. Mary’s, P.O. Box 625, Leonardtown, MD 20650 or the American Cancer Soci-ety, St. Mary’s County Unit 350,

P.O. Box 1032, Lexington Park, MD 20653.



Thomas “Tommy” Mitchell Dillow, Sr., 81

Thomas “Tommy” Mitch-ell Dillow, Sr., 81, of Hol-lywood, died June 28, in his residence.

Born June 29, 1926 in Leonardtown he was the son of the late Joseph Alfred and Roberta Goldsborough Dil-low, Sr.

He was the loving hus-band of Patricia VanSise Dil-low whom he married Nov. 27, 1948 in Leonardtown. He was the devoted father of Thomas M. “Mickey” Dillow and his wife Peggy of Holly-wood, Karan L. “Tootie” Dil-low of Fremont, N.C., Dani-elle “Danie” Fields and her husband John of Hollywood, W. David “Doc” Dillow and his companion Ellie of Holly-wood, Richard P. “Sam” Dil-low and his wife Barbara of Glenwood City, Wis., Robin McGolrick and her husband Chip, of Hollywood, and James P. “Jimmy” Dillow of Hollywood. He is also sur-vived by 15 grandchildren, six great-grandchildren and his brother Joseph Alfred Dil-

low of California. He was preceded in death

by his siblings Charles Golds-borough “Harpo” or “Doc” Dillow, Robert Enders “Bob-by” Dillow and Alice Ann Dillow.

Tommy was an avid farmer and a lifelong St. Mary’s County resident. He was a graduate of St. Mary’s Academy “Class of 1944.” The family received friends Tuesday, July 1 from 5 – 8 p.m. in the Mattingley-Gar-diner Funeral Home, Leon-ardtown, where prayers were said at 7 p.m. and 7:10 p.m. by the Knights of Columbus. A Mass of Christian burial was celebrated Wednesday, July 2 at 11 a.m. in St. John’s Catho-lic Church, Hollywood, with Fr. Raymond Schmidt offici-ating. Interment followed in the church cemetery. Pall-bearers were Steven Dillow, Jason Dillow, Ryan Fields, Jo-seph McGolrick, Jack Dillow and Michael Dillow. Honor-ary pallbearers were Nickolas Dillow and David Dillow.

Contributions may be made to the Msgr. Harris Scholarship Fund, St. John’s Catholic Church, 43927 St. John’s Church Road, Hol-lywood, MD 20636 and/or Hospice of St. Mary’s, P.O. Box 625, Leonardtown, MD 20650.

Arrangements provided by the Mattingley-Gardiner Funeral Home, P.A.

Teresa Mae Gray, 83

Teresa Mae Gray, 83, of Mechanicsville died June 24 in her residence.

Born Jan. 4, 1925 in Mechanicsville, she was the daughter of the late Charles Edward and Cora Pilkerton Flora.

She was preceded in death by her husband Ben Gray Nov. 15, 1991. She is survived by her children Mar-tha Gray of Leonardtown, Charles Gray and Freddie Gray both of Leonardtown; five grandchildren and six great grandchildren.

Mrs. Gray was a lifelong St. Mary’s County resident where she worked as a home-maker. The family received friends Monday, June 30 from 5 – 8 p.m. in the Matting-ley-Gardiner Funeral Home, where Prayers were said at 7 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Tues-day, July 1 at 10 a.m. in Im-maculate Conception Catholic Church with Fr. Timothy Baer officiating. Interment followed at Mt. Zion United Methodist Cemetery. Arrangements pro-vided by the Mattingley-Gar-diner Funeral Home, P.A.

Billy Gene Gurley, 75

Billy Gene Gurley, 75, of Lexington Park died June 20 in St. Mary’s Hospital.

Born May 2, 1933 in Car-roll County, Tenn., he was the son of the late William Lloyd Gurley and Offie Jane Duna-

van Gurley. Mr. Gurley served his

country in the U.S. Navy from 1954 to 1978 as an Electronics Technician. He retired from the Navy and returned to work for DynCorp as a Main-tenance Control Officer at the Test Pilot School. He enjoyed bow and gun hunting. He was a lifetime member of the Mat-tapany Rod and Gun Club where he spent a lot of time with his second family telling tall tales. He will be greatly missed by all.

He is survived by his wife, Evelyn Gurley, whom he mar-ried Oct. 18, 1953, two daugh-ters, Vicki Vail of Lexington Park, and Robin Connelly of Florida, two grandchildren, Valerie Vail and Ford Con-nelly, one great grandchild, Brianna Connelly, two sisters, Janie Lawler of Michigan, and Irene Williams of Tennessee, and a brother Robert Gurley of Tennessee, as well as sev-eral nieces and nephews.

The family received friends Thursday, June 26 from 5 – 8 p.m. in the Brins-field Funeral Home in Leonar-dtown. Prayers were recited at 7 p.m. A Funeral Service was conducted Friday, June 27, at 10 a.m. in the Brinsfield Fu-neral Home Chapel. Entomb-ment followed in Evergreen Memorial Gardens Mauso-leum in Great Mills.

Serving as pallbearers were Bill Heaton, Jack Size-more, Gerald Crider, Don Beck, Dave Bryner and Jim-my Roberts.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Lexington Park Volunteer Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 339, Lexington Park, MD 20653.

Erik Trovald Jansson, 67

Erik Trovald Jansson, 67, of Leonardtown died June 27 in his residence. Born July 26, 1940 in Pennsylvania, he was the son of the late Holger and Marybelle Jansson.

Erik received a B.A. from Oberlin College and a Mas-ters in City Planning from Yale University. He was a passionate environmentalist and an active volunteer for the Potomac River Association. He successfully advocated for the creation of the County’s park at Myrtle Beach and was a strong supporter of historic preservation efforts in St. Mary’s County.

He is survived by his brothers Bruce and Douglas Jansson.

A Memorial Service will be held at a later date.


Madeleine Moon Kre-itzer, 88

Madeleine Moon Kre-itzer, 88, of Lexington Park died June 27 in the Sunrise Senior Living Center in An-napolis, Md.

Born April 8, 1920, in Antwerp, Belgium, she was the daughter of the late Louis B. Moon and Yvonne Coutin Moon.

She was a longtime lab instructor at St. Mary’s Col-lege of Maryland.

She entered the United States through Ellis Island in December 1925. Her mother was originally a French citi-zen and her father was an offi-cer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. As a child she lived throughout the United States as the family followed her fa-ther’s military career. She at-

tended St. Joseph’s College in Emmitsburg on a scholarship and after graduation worked at military medical laborato-ries in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Key West, Fla.

She met her husband, William Rutherford Kreitzer, in Savannah, Ga., where they both attended high school. They were married Oct. 23, 1943, in Key West, Fla.

They had seven children and as a Navy family were stationed in San Francisco, Calif., Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; Portsmouth, Va.; Newport, R.I. and Washington, D.C. She worked for the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center and co-authored a study of salmonella that was published in three issues of Applied Microbiology.

She and her family moved to St. Mary’s County in 1969, and she completed her mas-ter’s degree in microbiology at the University of Maryland. She was a chemistry lab in-structor at St. Mary’s College of Maryland for more than 15 years, retiring in 1986. A chemistry lab at the college’s new Goodpastor Hall was named in her honor in 2007. A former student, David Bur-dette, donated the funding for the lab with the stipulation that is be named for her, citing her as an “inspirational chem-istry lab instructor, mentor and friend.”

After her retirement from the college she and her hus-band joined the Peace Corps, serving from 1986 to 1988 in Belize, where she worked at the Good Shepherd Clinic, of-fering free health services to the residents of San Jose Suc-cotz, a community near the Guatemala border.

In retirement she and her husband traveled widely in North and South America and Asia. After returning to St. Mary’s from her Peace Corps service, she was a substitute teacher in the public schools, mostly at Great Mills High School. She was the longtime president of the local chapter of the American Association of University Women, volun-teered at Historic St. Mary’s City and was the community co-chair of the Restoration Advisory Board for Patuxent River Naval Air Station.

She was preceded in death by her husband, who died March 25, 2007. In ad-dition to her parents, she was also preceded in death by her brother, Russell Moon.

She is survived by her seven children; Susan Nor-lund of Sky Forest, Calif., Thomas Richard Kreitzer of Lovettsville, Va.; Nancy Kre-itzer of Huntingtown, Md.; Joan Ellis of Kingston, N.Y.; Katy Kreitzer Boyd of Leon-ardtown; Robert E. Kreitzer of Bangor, Maine; and Janet Kreitzer of Santa Cruz, Ca-lif. She is also survived by 10 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

The family will receive friends for Madeleine’s Life Celebration Wednesday, July 9 from 5 – 8 p.m. in the Brins-field Funeral Home, 22955 Hollywood Road, Leonard-town. Prayers will be recited at 7 p.m. A Mass of Chris-tian Burial will be celebrated Thursday, July 10 at 11 a.m. in St. John Vianney Catholic Church, 105 Vianney Lane, Prince Frederick, Md. Rever-end Peter J. Daly will be the celebrant. Interment will be in Arlington National Cem-etery, Arlington, Va. Tuesday, August 19 at 11 a.m.

Memorial contributions may be made to Adrian Do-minican Sisters at 1257 East Siena Heights Drive, Adrian, Michigan 49221-1793 or the AAUW “Dare to Dream” Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 216, St. Leonard, MD 20685.



Doris Kathleen “Me-Maw” Mattingly, 85

Doris Kathleen “Me-Maw” Mattingly, 85, of Leon-ardtown died June 24 in St. Mary’s Hospital.

Born Oct. 8, 1922 in Washington, D.C. she was the daughter of the late Vickers Walter and Mary Grace Hard-esty Lambert. She was the loving wife of the late Bernard “Nace” I. Mattingly Sr. whom she married in Holy Com-forter Church in Washington, D.C., and who preceded her in death Nov. 29, 2000.

She is survived by her children B.I. “Butch” Mat-tingly and his wife Sharon, Carol Russell and her husband Johnny and Nancy Sidorowicz and her husband Mike, all of Leonardtown, six grandchil-dren and nine great-grand-children. She is also survived by her, brother Ralph Lambert and his wife Orene of War-fordsburg, Pa., Sister-In-Law Ginger Lambert of Newbern, N.C., brother Raymond Lam-bert and his wife Jackie of Wayson’s Corner, Md., sister-in-Law Celie Lambert of Bar-stow, Md. and brother Grover Batts of Washington, D.C.

She was preceded in death by her sister Mary Lillian Smith and her hus-band Charles and her broth-ers Vic Lambert and Roland Lambert.

A graduate of Eastern High School’s Class of 1940, Doris moved to St. Mary’s County in 1946 from Wash-ington, D.C. She was a char-ter member of the Cedar Lane Bridge Group.

The family received friends Sunday June 29 from 2 – 5 p.m. in the Matting-ley-Gardiner Funeral Home, Leonardtown where prayers were said at 3 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrat-ed Monday, June 30 at 10 a.m. in St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Leonardtown with Fr. John Mattingly officiating and Deacon Bill Nickerson co-of-ficiating. Interment followed in the church cemetery. Pall-bearers were James H. “Jay” Hills, Daniel M. Sidorowicz, Christopher R. Mattingly, Dennis Mattingly, Tom Oh and Robert Smith. Honorary pallbearers were Ralph Lam-bert and Grover Batts.

Contributions may be made to Hospice of St. Mary’s, P.O. Box 625, Leonardtown, MD and/or Leonardtown Vol-unteer Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 299, Leonardtown, MD 20650.


Elve Lorraine Steele, 7�

Elve Lorraine Steele, 79, of Lexington Park died June 25 in Bayside Care Center, Great Mills.

Born July 15, 1928, she was the daughter of the late Ed Graney and Grace Atchin-son Graney.

Elve is survived by her children, Vicky M. Wagner and Kerry M. Dorman of Palm Bay, Fla.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by a son, John C. Dorman.

All services are private.Condolences to the fam-

ily may be made at www.brinsfieldfuneral.com.

Arrangements by the Brinsfield Funeral Home, P.A. Leonardtown.

SectionA-10 The County Times Thursday,July3,2008

Saturday, July 12, 2008 Francis Bridge Jazz Quartet

Saturday, July 19, 2008River Concert Series Brass Quintet

&

7:00 pm ~ 8:00 pmOn the historic Leonardtown Square

Order from one of the delicious restaurants on the Square.Share a picnic with your friends/family.

Bring a lawn chair or blanket!

Sit back, relax and enjoy the music!

Hosted by The Commissioners of Leonardtown and St. Mary’s College of Maryland.

Call 301-475-9791 for more information.

Funded in part by a grant from the St. Mary’s County Arts Council’s Community Art Development Grant Program and the Maryland Arts Council.

Zero,whohasanumberofvideosonYou-Tube,describedhisworkasstillbeinginthe“tinkering” stage, but when asked about theeliminationoffossilfuelsfromAmerica’sen-ergyrepertoire,hesaid,“thatistheholygrail!Theendgameistoproduceenoughhydrogenandoxygentoreplacefossilfuelentirely…andwe’llgetthereeventually.”

Saturday’scrowdshadteemedthroughthesite listening to representativesofcompaniesgive presentations on alternative energy, itsapplicationtoresidentialandcommercialmar-kets,anditsimpactontheenvironment. OnSundaythecrowdshadthinnedconsiderably,but demonstrators were still out braving theheatwhileexplainingtheirprojects.

TerryMillersmiledashehandedoutfreebottlesofwaterandsodatovisitors,pointingtothetarpofhistent.“Thisisallpetroleum…we’llneverbetotallyindependent,butwecanreduceourusedramatically,”hesaid.

Terry’s colleaguePamGondola said thatshehadcomeupwithherownwaysofreduc-inggas and electric usage. “I don’t go any-where for just one thing anymore,” she said,explainingthatshehadreducedherdrivingagreatdeal.Shealsosaidthatshehadreducedherelectricusagebysimplyinstallingenergysavinglightbulbsandsurgeprotectorswher-evershecouldinherhouse.“Myelectricbillwentfrom$400to$230amonth…they’relittle

things,buttheydomakeadifference,”ShannonSchmidtofSolarTechInc.stood

byoneofherinvertersandexplainedtheben-efits of adding solar power systems to homes andbusinesses. “Electric rates aregoingupsomuchthatyou’rereallyavoidingcostswiththis,”shesaid,addingthat,intime,allsystems

payforthemselves.Both Shannon and her father, Richard,

saidthattheyhaveseenahugeincreaseinin-quiries about solar power systems. “There’salotofinterestrightnowwithfuelcostsandelectricusage,”saidRichard,addingthatthisweekend’sconferencehadbeenagreatforumwithwhichtopromoteawarenessofhiscom-pany’sproduct.

Notfarfromtheset-upofsolarpanels,amannamedDustinperchedbyasexy-lookingred1959Cadillac todemonstratehis“smackbooster” technology. “I’ve been in businessfor fourmonths,” he said, explaining that hehaddevelopedhissystemtoaidwhathecallsthe“hydrogenrevolution,”offeringhisdesignplansforfreeontheinternet.

According to information from Dustin’swebsite(heaskedthathislastnamenotbein-cludedinthisarticle),hissystemiscommonlyreferredtoasahydrogen“booster”thatcon-sistsofasmallcontainerofdistilledwaterwitha conductive additive.When an electric cur-rentispassedthroughthewateritproducesagasmix commonly referred to as “hydroxy”that improves the quality of theburn insidethecombustionchamberwhilereducingCO

2

and other emissions. Specific design and in-stallationguidescanbefoundathiswebsiteatwww.smackboosters.com.

County Commissioner Larry Jarboeducked for shade while dusting himself offon Sunday. “I feel like I’m back in first grade again,”heexclaimed,pointingtostandsshow-casingwhatlookedlikeanimpromptusciencefair.“It’sarollingscienceproject,literally.”

Hesaidhehadbeenbothpleasedandsur-prisedtoseefrom1,000to2,000peoplecomebytoattendpresentationsonenergyconserva-tionandalternativeenergysourcestheprevi-ousday.“Wehadawonderfuleventhere,”hesaid,addingthathehadevenhad“meditationtents”setupnearthefarendoftheproperty

sothatpeoplecouldrestandrelaxafterwhathadamountedinmanycasestoverylongcarrides.

Jarboe credited a lot of the event’s suc-cess to his colleague,MajorToddHathawayof theUSArmy,whohadconvincedhim tohold theeventathismill,nestledsnuglybe-hindtheFarmer’sMarketoffofThreeNotchRoad. “A conference center is too expen-sive,”hesaid,addingthathehadnotwantedtochargeanyonetoattend.“SoToddwastheonethatbroughtuptheideaofhavingithereatthelumberyard.”

Jarboe’sideawiththiseventhadbeennottosell,buttoshare.“We’renottryingtopushaproductdownpeople’sthroats,”hesaid,addingthatmanyofthedemonstratorswereofferingtheirdesignsforfreeontheinternet.“Butre-allyhereweneedtoleadbyexample,”hesaid,explaining that he had alreadybuiltmultipleelectricvehiclesovertheyears,andalsohasadieselcarthatherunsonpartcanolaoil.

“Russelldrivesagrease-mobiletoo,”Jar-boesaidofthepresidentoftheBoardofCoun-tyCommissioners.“Itstartsonregulardieselandthenitswitchesovertousedcookingoil.”

Andwhatmayhaveseemedlikeanovelidea pulled from Mad Max movies severalyearsagohasnowbecomearealityforpeople

lookingtoboosttheirfueleconomy.“We’vegot dozens of people in this county runningongrease-mobiles,puttinghydrogencellsontheircars,andtheyaren’ttakingalotofcred-it,”saidJarboe,whoplanstotakehisshowontheroad.

“I’m going to rest for a week,” Jarboesighed, smiling warmly at those still in theyardwhowerelookingattheremainingproj-ects. “It’s been humbling…maybe we’ll float todifferentplaces.We’relookingatFloridabytheendofOctober…butthankgodforallthepeoplethathelpedmeout.”

InthemeantimeJarboerecommendsthatpeopledotheirownresearchonwaystocon-serve energy and “stick it to the oil compa-nies…justdoyourresearch,setupsomethingsyouthinkyoucando,andjustdoit,”hesaid.

Jarboe’ssentimentwasuniversallyshared.“Energyistheonethingthatisholdingushos-tage in our society,” said Dustin, as visitorscamebytocheckouthissmack-boostingsys-tem.“At$4.20agallon,mostofthatmoneyisnotgoing to theproductionof fuel,but tolinepeople’spockets.”Helookeddownathisboosterpack,whichwassituatedinthetrunk,andsmiled.“Thisisgoingtohappenwithorwithoutme.I’mjustluckyenoughtobeapartofit.”

PowerContinued from page A-�



A “bucket demonstration” illustrates the amount of power that can be generated by one of the alter-native fuels showcased at this weekend’s conference.

Demonstrators explain the science behind a brute force electrolyzer at this weekend’s first annual Alternative Energy Conference.

AndreaShiellStaffWriter

Bay District firefighters battled an early morning house fire that ripped through an address onColumbiaStreet inLexingtonParkearlyonTuesdaymorning,causinganes-timated$250,000to$300,000indamages.

Deputy Don Brenneman from theMaryland Fire Marshal’s Office was put in chargeofthecase,andsaidthatformerhome-ownerLisaMarieTIppett,43,fromLexingtonPark, came to the house at 2:30 am, and the fire startedshortlyafterwards.

The house had been in the process offoreclosuresinceApril,andTippetthadbeen

orderednottocomeonthepropertyaftershewasevicted.Neighborssaidthatthehousehadalonghistoryofdrugactivity,andtheowner’sevictionhaddonenothingtostopit.

PolicereceivedinformationenroutetothescenethatTippettwasontheproperty,andshewasquestionedatthescenealongwithanotherman, 39 year-old Ian Simpson from Lusby.Bothgavestatementsatthescenebeforebeingtaken away by law enforcement officials.

Simpson and Tippett have been chargedwith first-degree arson, and are currently being held pending a court appearance on $10,000bond at the St. Mary’s County CorrectionalFacilityinLeonardtown.

ArsonSuspectsChargedforHermanvilleHouseFire

Before parents across the country know it,theschoolyearwillhaveendedagainandthey’llbe thinking about summer programs for theirchildren.Recentresearchindicatesthatnearly10millionchildrengo tosummercampeachyear.But summer campenrollment is not somethingthat can be done on a whim; most programs fill upearlyintheyear.Thismakesresearchingandsign-upsomethingthatshouldbedoneasearlyaspossible-withmostfamiliesdoingsoinDecem-berofthepreviousyearorJanuary.

Summercampcanbeanenrichingexperi-ence for children, provided they are emotion-ally ready toembarkon thisadventure.Parentsshouldassesstheirchildrenforreadiness,takingchildren’sneedsintoconsiderationovertheirown“need”tohavethechildrenincamp.Additionally,childrenshouldbeabletoindependentlymanagepersonalhygiene issues, suchasbathing,dress-ing,andgrooming.Somekidsarereadyforcampatage8,othersnotuntil14.

Manychildrengotocampwithmixedfeel-ings.Tomake theexperienceascomfortableaspossible,herearesometipstoconsider.

1. Involve the child in the camp-selectionprocess.Don’tmakeitsomethingthat issimplyforcedon thekid.Havehimorher reviewbro-chures,Websitesandotherinformationalmate-rialwithyou.Selectcampsthatwillcatertothe

child’s interests. If possible, try to find a camp whereafriendisattending.

2.Countdowntosummercampsothatwhenthe day arrives it won’t be a complete surpriseand catch your child off guard. Involve him orherinthepreparationprocess,includingshoppingfor supplies andpacking.Encourage your childtobringfamiliaritemsfromhometoeaseawaysomefeelingsofhomesickness.

3. Tour the camp in advance so that yourchildknowswhattoexpect-andsowillyou.Seethesleepingarrangements(bunks)andwhattypeofscheduleisinvolved.Talkaboutanyfearsyourchildmayhave,andwork throughsolutions to-gether toassuage thesefears.Agood idea is totalkaboutyourpersonalexperienceswithcamp,ifany.

4.Encourageletterwriting,andsendsomeofyour own. Mail a few letters before the first day ofcamp,soyourchildwillhavesomemailwait-ingforhimorheralready.Packfunstationeryandpre-addressedandstampedenvelopessowritingaquicknotehomewillbeasnap.

5.Createascrapbookofyourchild’smomentsincamp to showyouare truly interested inhisorhertimespentaway.Encourageyourchildtoshareanynewskillslearneduponvisitsorwhenheorshereturnshome.

Ready,Set,SummerCamp

Documents

PRSTD STD US Postage Paid Permit No. 145 Waldorf