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June 30, 2022

The Talbot Spy

The nonprofit e-newspaper for the Talbot County Community

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The Realities of Education in Kent County: A Chat with School Board Member Wendy Costa

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Wendy Costa is the first to say she has been disappointed that, after almost eight years of serving on the Kent County’s Board of Education, she and her colleagues had not met the high standards she set for herself when she first ran for office in 2014. While there have been some wonderful highlights during that time, the fact remains that Kent County Public Schools, like almost every school district in the country, still struggle with test scores and finding qualified teachers.

Those are just a few of the candid observations Wendy discussed with the Spy in advance of voters going to the polls on July 19th for the Maryland primary. She will not be running for reelection. In our chat, she also talks directly about the realities of a small rural region’s governing board, parents’ lack of participation, and the dangers for Kent County as a growing number of children flounder with basic reading skills.

Costa’s observations are particularly valuable given her impressive background. The product of Vassar College; a Masters from Columbia; one of only a handful of women in the early 1980s who won a seat in Texas for her local school district; and a co-founder of one of the most successful charter schools in the country in California, Wendy shares her thoughts about American education as well as some of the challenges that will face the Kent County School District for many years to come.

This video is approximately ten minutes in length. 

 

Harriet Tubman on the Courthouse Lawn: A Chat with Adrian Holmes on Plans for a Tubman Sculpture in Cambridge

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For Adrian Holmes, the founder and program director of the Alpha Genesis Community Development Corporation, she had reason to feel some significant satisfaction on the day that the organization’s public art project of Harriet Tubman had its official opening a few years ago.

The result of more than a year of community input as well as the stunning design work by muralist Michael Rosato, the project not only won the hearts of the community but unexpectedly also gained national fame with both print and television media profiling this powerful image of the legendary Tubman saving her niece from slavery.

And that publicity set into motion a remarkable journey for Adrian and her board members.

Just a day after the mural opening, Alpha Genesis received a call from someone asking if her group might host a new Harriet Tubman sculpture by Wesley Wofford at the Dorchester County Courthouse for a month while it was touring the country.

That fateful call led to a remarkable chain of events that led to a permanent new Tubman statue by the same artist being installed next September on the courthouse lawn.

The Spy sat down with Adrian on Sunday afternoon from ArtBar 2.0, the organization’s very popular event space in downtown Cambridge to talk about this extraordinary moment on the Mid-Shore for both art and history.

This video is approximately five minutes in length. To make a donation to help raise the remaining $10,000 left in the campaign and donate a brick please go here. For more information about Alpha Genesis Community Development Corporation please go here.

 

Art Notes: All the President’s Men are at the Trippe Gallery

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Editor’s Note. With the current January 6 Congressional hearings reminding our readers of the Watergate scandal of the 1970s, the Spy is reposting of an article from 2018 on artist Jessica Destefano’s remarkable chess set with handmade chess pieces of all the major characters which is still on display at the Trippe Gallery in Easton. 

It is typically the experience for those who visit The Trippe Gallery in Easton to find a remarkable showcase of some of the best artists and photographers in the Mid-Atlantic region. But occasionally, Nanny Trippe, the owner, takes a slight diversion from that pattern and shows off a little bit of the more eclectic and fun side of the art world.

That is indeed the case with Trippe’s decision to display Jessica Destefano’s remarkable bronze chess set of the primary Watergate figures from the Nixon era. Included are thirty bronze sculpted pieces standing four inches high and weighing over a pound each.

This timing of this artwork might be seen by many as somewhat clairvoyant given that Washington and the rest of America are now watching as a new legal chess game takes form between President Donald Trump and Special counsel Robert S. Mueller thirty-five years after a break in at the Watergate complex took place.

The Spy captured a few images to share, but we encourage all to drop by the Trippe to get a firsthand look.

This video is approximately one minute in length. For more information about the Trippe Gallery please go here

Celebrating Women & Girls Fund’s Two Decades of Action: Mid-Shore Meals Til Monday

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The year 2022 marks a special anniversary for the Mid-Shore’s Women & Girls Fund. For two decades, the WGF, under the watchful eye of its funder, Alice Ryan, and its diligent board members, have invested in some of the region’s most deserving charities to support and empower women and girls.

Over the next twelve months, the Spy will highlight some of the many organizations that the Women & Girls Fund has helped. Strategically using their limited resources to target programs typically overlooked by traditional philanthropists or government grants, the WGF board has found innovative ways to leverage their modest contributions for the most impact.

We continue our series with a conversation with Leslie Bishop, the founder, and director of Mid-Shore Meals Til Monday, based in Cambridge. Bishop starred Mid-Shore Meals Til Monday as a way for some of the most disadvantaged children of Dorchester County to have adequate food during weekends. While those young people are provided with meals during the school week, Leslie grew increasingly concerned that those kids would not have enough to eat over the weekends.

Motivated to start the program after reading about CarePacks project in Talbot County, Leslie began Mid-Shore Meals Til Monday in 2017 with the goal of operating in every public school in Dorchester. And as the organization celebrates its 5th year of existence, she and her army of volunteers have not only met that goal but have extended the program to the region’s summer schools, camps, faith-based organizations, and Community Behavioral Health.

Now with over 100 volunteers and serving from 800 to 1,000 children a week, Leslie is gratified for this remarkable level of community support and singles out the Women & Girls Fund as one of the first philanthropic investors of the fledgling nonprofit enterprise. In fact, she was so impressed with the WGF she agreed to join its board to help steward their Mid-Shore grants.

The Spy sat down with Leslie last week to talk about this important project and how the WGF has once again made significant impact on the Eastern Shore.

This video is approximately five minutes in length. For more information about Mid-Shore Meals Til Monday please go here. For information about the Women & Girls Fund please go here.

A Mid-Shore Place in Transition: A Chat with Architect Philip Logan on Bellevue and Good Subdivisons

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Before anyone suggests that Philip Logan is against housing developments, it is interesting to note that the Oxford-based architect is the first to suggest that the developer of the subdivision planned for Bellevue should build many more homes than the 14 he is seeking permits for this historic community. In fact, Philip argues that the best number is 30.

There are, of course, a few stipulations to that recommendation. Still, it gives ample evidence that Logan sees the Bellevue project as more of an opportunity than a problem at this planning stage.

While it is true that the New York City and Oxford-based architect has some significant concerns about what the current blueprint looks like for the waterfront site, Philip makes the case that with simple, relatively modest changes to the existing concept, the town, the new homeowners, and most importantly, the developer and their return on investment, would all benefit by embracing the unique history of Bellevue with its design.

In the second and last series – the first with Dr. Dennis De Shields – Philip talks about what makes good subdivisions and how such important design features as porches and public access to the waterfront can have a dramatically positive impact on keeping this small hamlet a true community rather than the dangers of separating the haves from the have nots by thoughtless architecture.

Last week, we talked to Philip at the Water’s Edge Museum in Oxford about the Bellevue project.

This video is approximately seven minutes in length. 

A Mid-Shore Place in Transition: A Chat with Dennis De Shields on Bellevue and its Future

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Perhaps the only way that most visitors to Talbot County might remember the town of Bellevue is because it is one of two destinations using the famed Oxford-Bellevue ferry. For eight months out of the year, locals and tourists gather across from the Robert Morris Inn to take the brief crossing over the Tred Avon River to the tiny hamlet several times a day to take in some of the most iconic images of the Mid-Shore’s waterscapes and boat traffic. And while most passengers quickly jump back into their cars and drive off to St. Michaels, they do notice, at least for a few moments, that Bellevue has a real sense of place.

For Dr. Dennis De Shields, Bellevue is more than a brief encounter. It is the ancestral home of his father’s family. While Dr. De Shields, a self-described “army brat,” followed his father’s career as a high-ranking colonel, it always seemed to him that Bellevue was his family’s real home. With the free run of the town during long summer breaks and enjoying the almost endless extent of family relations and friendships, Dennis bonded with the town, its people, and culture as his own.

The proof is that devotion can be seen when De Shields, and his wife Mary, also a physician, decided to move their young family to Bellevue over a decade ago to provide their children with a real sense of place rather than the cold indifference of American suburbia. And since that time, Dennis has not only taken a leadership role in the community, he and his father have devoted countless volunteer hours preparing for a special African-American museum to be built in the heart of the town using his grandmother’s collection of artifacts, art, and images to tell the story of this remarkable place.

When the Spy published Dr. De Shields’ opinion piece expressing his concerns about a future housing development, we thought it would be a good time to chat with him about the special meaning and history of Bellevue, and its importance for the Black community of the Mid-Shore. In our interview from last week at the Water’s Edge Museum, where the artist Ruth Starr Rose’s painting of one of his ancestors playing the guitar in the background, Dennis talks about his unique history with the town and also his concerns and suggestions regarding plans for 14 new luxury homes to be built soon.  

This video is approximately six minutes in length. In Part Two, which will be published on June 2, the Spy chats with architect Philip Logan about how sub-divisions can be designed to build on a town’s culture and community.

 

 

Spy Report: Digging to Find Caroline County

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It must be confessed upfront that the Spy only knew about an archaeological dig taking place in Caroline County this Memorial Day weekend because a cousin had emailed this writer from North Carolina that she was on her way to Denton to participate.

It seems like most archaeological fieldwork is well below the radar regarding public awareness. Highly dependent on volunteer labor from people who, like my cousin, are willing to drop everything and travel almost anywhere to look through piles of dirt for three days straight, these crucial historical research projects only succeed through grass-roots networks like the Archeological Society of Maryland, who sponsored the weekend program, who get the word out.

And in the case of the current project in Caroline County, a joint project of Washington College and the Maryland Historical Trust, that unique call to action was a remarkable success. Some fifty volunteers and their families gathered off of Smith Landing Road to help find the original structure of a place called Barwick’s Ordinary.

Beyond the rich archaeological findings that go along with this field session, such as pottery and coins, the aspirational goal is to conclusively document that Barwick’s was not only a popular tavern in the 18th Century but the first government seat for Caroline County. And that’s the reason that the Caroline County Historical Society asked for help to determine the authenticity of the site.

Nothing happens overnight in archaeology, but dig director, Julie Markin, an associate professor of Anthropology at Washington College, is very encouraged so far. With foundational evidence suggesting a building as large as 30 feet by 17 feet, along with samples of dishware and nails from that era, Markin is cautiously optimistic that she and her devoted volunteers may have found the true beginnings of Caroline.

The Spy ran over on Saturday morning to catch up with Julie, her hardworking students, and a large crew of men, women, and children, all of whom were having such great fun playing in the dirt.

This video is approximately four minutes in length. For more information about Washington College please go here. For the Caroline Historical Society please go here. For the Archeological Society of Maryland please go here. For the Maryland Historical Trust please go here.

 

 

 

Celebrating Women & Girls Fund’s Two Decades of Action: CASA of Caroline

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The year 2022 marks a special anniversary for the Mid-Shore’s Women & Girls Fund. For two decades, the WGF, under the watchful eye of its funder, Alice Ryan, and its diligent board members, have invested in some of the region’s most deserving charities to support and empower women and girls.

Over the next twelve months, the Spy will highlight some of the many organizations that the Women & Girls Fund has helped. Strategically using their limited resources to target programs typically overlooked by traditional philanthropists or government grants, the WGF board has found innovative ways to leverage their modest contributions for the most impact.

We start our series with Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Caroline County. Dedicated to supporting and promoting court-appointed volunteer advocacy for abused and neglected children to find a safe home for them to thrive, CASA of Caroline has played a key role in doing just that.

The Spy recently sat down with Amy Horne, the director of outreach at CASA of Caroline, who also happens to be the daughter of the late Talbot County Circuit Court Judge William Horne, who founded CASA in Talbot County, to talk about the program and the special challenges women and their children have in America’s court system.

We also chatted briefly with Women & Girls Fund board member Martha Kendall, who has been a strong supporter of the organization, on how careful the WGF is in selecting its grantees and why CASA of Caroline was such a worthy recipient.

This video is approximately five minutes in length. For more information about the Women & Girls Fund please go here. For information about CASA of Caroline County please go here.

 

 

Introducing WHCP’s Judy Diaz and a Chat on the Future of Radio on the Mid-Shore

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From the day WHCP started to broadcast more than five years ago from downtown Cambridge, it was destined to be a one-of-a-kind community radio station. Founded by former NPR executive Mike Starling after a lifetime career in radio, it was his vision to use the power of radio to engage, entertain, and educate a community differently from commercial stations.

WHCP’s success was almost instantaneous. Volunteer DJs and technicians came by the dozens to lend their talent and passion to the new undertaking to create an audience of over 2,000 residents from its modest broadcast signal of 150 watts.

But when Mike decided to retire from the day-to-day management of the station last year, there were immediate concerns that it would be impossible to find a suitable replacement for the founder. But that’s when Judy Diaz emerged out of nowhere to be Mike’s successor.

With almost thirty years of marketing and audience development experience with such highly regarded institutions as PBS-Kids, Politico, and Northwest Airlines, Judy found her way to Cambridge through her love of sailing. Eager to find a second home for herself and her husband, Kevin Diaz, whose high profile day job was being political editor of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, they settled on Cambridge as the perfect weekend getaway from high-pressure Washington, D.C.

What Judy didn’t expect was having both of them fall in love with Cambridge. They gave up those big-time jobs and moved to Dorchester County permanently almost two years ago. It was the perfect place for her husband Kevin to start writing a long-deferred nonfiction book. And for Judy, it was a remarkable opportunity to enter the world of community radio.

In her Spy interview, Judy talks about this transition, her love of the grassroots radio format, and WHCPs plans to expand its signal and its audience with recent FCC approval to broadcast at the 10,000 watts level soon, which will not only cover all of Dorchester County, but Talbot County, and down the road other parts of the Mid-Shore.

This video is approximately six minutes in length. For more information about WHCP please go here. 

 

 

 

Spy Long-Form Sundays: A Chat with Legal Scholar Tom Metzloff Regarding Roe v. Wade

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It seems like everyone and their brother (or sister) has an opinion about the recent leak of an United States Supreme Court draft opinion suggesting that Roe v. Wade would be overturned soon. And in the case of the Spy’s publisher, it is my brother-in-law who certainly has had his own thoughts on the matter. But unlike many, if not most, in-laws, Tom Metzloff actually does know what he’s talking about.

A former Supreme Court law clerk under Byron “Whizzer” White, a classmate at Harvard Law with now Chief Justice John Roberts, and a professor at Duke University School of Law since 1985, Tom has been a student of the Court his entire professional career. And over the years, I have always enjoyed the moments during family gatherings when he was willing to forgo his more typical commentaries on his historically long-suffering Buffalo Bills and talk about his day job.

One of those times was many years ago when Tom was the first to alert me that Roe v. Wade was considered to be severely, and potentially fatally, flawed by many legal scholars, entirely independent of whether they were pro-life or pro-abortion. While the majority of the Court had been successful so far in protecting the decision, Tom contended that a day might come when the constitutional protections of Roe v. Wade would face a serious challenge.

As everyone now knows, that day arrived a few weeks ago in the form of the leaked opinion by Justice Samuel Alito indicating that a majority of the Court would indeed vote to overrule the 1973 decision.

Rather than wait for another holiday gathering to talk about this stunning development, Tom agreed to sit down with me for the Spy newspapers using our long-form interview format to talk about the case, his related experience working at the Supreme Court, the now-famous leak, and the future of Roe v. Wade and the Court itself.

This video is approximately 15 minutes in length.