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Spy Chat: Kay MacIntosh on Chestertown’s Arts District, Main Street, and Economic Vitality

November 11, 2019 by Dave Wheelan Leave a Comment

For better or worse, the term “economic development” is an exceptionally expansive expression. From promoting farmers’ markets to nanotechnology firms, almost every conceivable constituency in a town will have its own interpretation of its meaning.

There is nothing inherently wrong with that except for those brave souls who have those words in their job descriptions. Inevitably, residents and officeholders like to hold these folks accountable for every aspect related to a town’s future prosperity regardless of someone’s actual scope of work.

One of these courageous ones who are navigating community expectations is Chestertown’s Kay MacIntosh. Hired three years ago to help manage the rollout of the town’s new arts and entertainment district, Kay also has been tasked with re-establishing its Main Street program and coordinating the over $300,000 in grants raised by her office through various state programs to improve downtown.

The Spy sat down with Kay recently to understand more about her work, the projects that are the front-burner now, and her thoughts on the state of Chestertown’s economic development as we come to the end of 2019.

This video is approximately six minutes in length. For more information about Main Street and Chestertown’s Arts and Entertainment district, please go here.

St. Michaels Action Committee’s Beef with Town Hall Plans

November 4, 2019 by Dave Wheelan 4 Comments

For almost three years now, the Town of St. Michaels Commissioners has spent a good amount of time and energy to create a plan to build a new town office and a new police station. The commissioners looked at several options during this period to find the right location for each, including having them be located in a mixed-use facility, but eventually came to the conclusion that both the town hall and police department should have their own location, and voted unanimously two years ago to move forward with plans to construct its new town hall on Fremont Street.

That decision, and the process to reach that conclusion, worried some citizens in town. Citing a lack of transparency, potential conflicts of interest, and the extra costs associated with building two rather than one facility, that group recently formed the St. Michaels Action Committee to address those concerns.

The Spy sat down with SMAC’s John Novak last week to understand those issues and the group’s desire for a reevaluation of the Commission’s original decision. Given the complexity of this project, we decided to extend this interview format beyond our normal ten minutes to allow John to make the group’s case for a new feasibility study.

This video is approximately sixteen minutes in length. For more information about the St. Michaels Action Committee please contact John at Novak.John99@gmail.com.

Spy History: Talbot Preservation Alliance at 20

October 29, 2019 by Dave Wheelan

While not specifically outlined in its charter, the Talbot Preservation Alliance has always wanted to keep a very low profile. Eager not to lose its identity as a grassroots advocacy group, TPA has rarely wanted to be in the spotlight nor sought out the help of big donors and in the name of their mission to preserve Talbot County.

But there comes a time when organizations of a certain age take a moment to record and share their accomplishments. And that moment happened recently as the TPA realized this year that they had been operating for two decades, with some remarkable successes in their mission.

That was the reason the Spy, as part of our commitment to Talbot County history, asked Tom Alspach, local attorney and former president of the Talbot Preservation Alliance, to come by our recording studio on Goldsbrough Street in Easton the other day to recall and document the work of this remarkably relianant 20 year example of citizenship in action.

This video is approximately nine minutes in length. For more information about Talbot Preservation Alliance, please go here

Spy Chat: Salisbury University’s New President Charles Wight

October 21, 2019 by Dave Wheelan

For many living on the Mid-Shore, Salisbury University’s history is a case study of how a relatively sleepy teacher’s college almost overnight transitioned into a major player in higher education. Now hosting close to 10,000 students, and offering advanced degrees from their Perdue School of Business, Henson School of Science and Technology, Seidel School of Education and Professional Studies, College of Health and Human Services, and SU Honors College, SU has embraced its new identity as a significant center of scholarship and professional training on the Eastern Shore.

The other thing local people are starting to notice is how many Mid-Shore students are selecting Salisbury as their school of choice. In fact, this year, 724 young people from our region including Caroline (146), Dorchester (143), Kent (37), Queen Anne’s (225), and Talbot (173) will be attending SU this fall.

All of this gave the Spy the motivation to seek out Salisbury University’s new president, Charles Wight, to talk in more detail about the ever-changing role of SU, its stronger bonds to the City of Salisbury, and his unique background to serve as its leader.

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

A Different Kind of Downrigging: Adding Tall Ships with Bluegrass

October 16, 2019 by Dave Wheelan

After eighteen years, one of the Eastern Shore’s favorite events is changing its tune in 2019. Literally.

The Sultana Education Foundation’s wildly popular Downrigging weekend scheduled for the weekend of November 1st made a major decision to offer the thousands of families who make their way to Chestertown every Fall to participate in some music to go with all the other fun activities that celebrate the end of the season. And, by unanimous approval by board members and volunteers alike, the Sultana decided that the bluegrass genre was the perfect fit with the education foundation’s goals for these special days of the Fall.

Like everything else the Sultana has taken since they started in 1992, this significant change was the result of over a year of planning and research. The foundation’s president Drew McCullen and his board relied on some remarkable local resources to develop a business plan. Those included the festival’s co-chairs, Rousby Quesenberry & Andrew Ferguson.

With Rousby’s career in the music industry, including concert management and long-standing friendships with some of the country’s best-known performances, it has been a natural return from his peaceful retirement in Kent County to design the event and help recruit musicians. To help in this effort is lifelong bluegrass aficionado Andy Ferguson who supplements his annual passion for its music by working during the day as a highly respected medical doctor in town. As noted in our Spy interview, these strategically placed peas in the bluegrass pod are having the time of their lives.

We talked to Rousby and Andrew, along with with Sultana board members, and fellow Downrigging co-chairs, Samantha Hollomon & Brooke Logan, on why the Sultana made this decision and what they have planned for Tall Ships and Bluegrass 2019.

This video is approximately three minutes in length. For more information the Sultana Downrigging please go here.

Profiles in Education: Chesapeake College’s Cliff Coppersmith Starts Year Two

October 15, 2019 by Dave Wheelan

Try as we might, the Spy was slightly delayed in circling back with Chesapeake College’s Cliff Coppersmith after our initial interview from April of 2018. We had promised to check in with Dr. Coppersmith once he had completed his year in office, but by the time we found a convenient time to chat, the new president was already headlong into year two of his plans to make the community college one of the best of its kind in the region.

This modest delay made it all the more impressive what Cliff Coppersmith has been able to accomplish since he was appointed a year and a half ago. From the completion of a long term strategic plan, building his senior leadership team, making the Todd Performance Center a major entertainment hub with a new partner the Avalon Foundation, or improving campus safety, President Coppersmith has not wasted time moving forward with an ambitious new vision for higher education on the Mid-Shore.

The net results so far are promising. Unlike other community colleges that are facing declining enrollment, Chesapeake College admitted 5% more students this year from the previous academic year. And while Dr. Coppersmith acknowledges that that figure could change dramatically in any given year, he remains confident the College will successfully fulfill its mission well into the next decade.

This video is approximately six minutes in length. For more information about Chesapeake College, please go here. For a copy of the College’s strategic plan please go here.

UMM Merrill School’s Lucy Dalglish on Freedom of Speech and Journalism

October 5, 2019 by Dave Wheelan

You have to hand it to the Aspen Wye Fellows, the Chesapeake Bay’s affiliate of the Aspen Institute, to time their lectures to the most current of current events. Year after year, the Fellows have brought to the Mid-Shore some of the country’s leading figures in the fields of policy, politics, law, and other world-renowned experts to join in what Aspen calls “global dialogue” of issues and ideas.

A few weeks ago, that tradition continued with the appearance of Lucy Dalglish, dean of UMM’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism, at Easton’s Temple B’nai Israel to talk about the challenging role of journalism in the 21st century.

The Spy was invited to talk to Dean Dalglish just prior to her addressing the Fellows about the state of journalism, its role in protecting freedom of speech, and the need to find a new and updated business model for America’s threatened newspapers. She also talks about the challenge facing college campuses to ensure that the right of free speech is preserved, even for the most repugnant points of view.

This video is approximately four minutes in length. For more information about the Aspen Fellows please go here.

Taking Action on Talbot County for Humane Treatment for Immigrants

September 25, 2019 by Dave Wheelan

It is one thing to see the nightly news and anguish about the plight of new immigrants coming to America, and it’s another to take action, even in a small place like the Eastern Shore. And those volunteering to help these new neighbors navigate a complex new country in a new language are motivated for humanitarian reasons.

But family history is another critical reason why Robin Stricoff and Davis Bobrow, the founders of Humane Treatment for Immigrants, began a local effort to help these families assimilate locally. In both cases, they come from families who made that same difficult journey.

In our Spy interview, Robin and Davis share their family stories of coming to the United States and their mission to assist a new generation of citizens to our country.

This video is approximately four minutes in length. To learn more or to volunteer with Humane Treatment for Immigrants contact Davis at Bobrow@pitt.edu.

Spy Moment: Protecting Historic Cemeteries with Childlene Brooks

September 23, 2019 by Dave Wheelan

Nothing can be more disturbing to the descendents of deceased family members then to witness the degradation of the cemeteries of their final resting place. And yet in Talbot County, with a number of rural churches closed or without maintenance funds for these historic burial grounds, this has become such a major concern that a number of local volunteers have come together to address this sad oversight.

The Family & Friends of the Asbury & Green Chappel was formed to not conserve these sites but have tasked themselves to the painstaking research required to identify past family members graves and their location.

Last week, the Spy sat down with Childlene Brooks, one of the dozens of volunteers helping on this project, to talk about its mission and an upcoming workshop for the community on October 5 to learn on how to participate in these important perveration efforts.

This video is approximately one minute in length.

Cemetery Preservation & Restoration Workshop featuring Robert Mosko
Mosko Cemetery Monument Services, Saturday October 5th, 8:30 – 4:00 p.m. New St. John’s Church, 9123 Tilghman Island Road Wittman, MD Registration is FREE ~ Contact Lynn Freeburger at lsfrebgr@bellatlantic.net

At the Academy: Aaron Taylor Kuffner Makes an Offering to Easton

September 18, 2019 by Dave Wheelan

To hear Aaron Taylor Kuffner talk about his artwork is perhaps not that different from taking a quick survey course on the science and art of sound. Serious evidence is abundant, Kuffner suggests, that specific noise frequencies can transcend the listener into a unique audio and visual space.

But Aaron’s art is not only a reflection of this scientific phenomena but also of his experience in Indonesia and his love for its music tradition called gamelan. While many instruments can be part of this heritage, one of the most common are metallophones played by mallets. And these remarkable metallophones play a central role in his creation of what Kuffner calls Gamelatrons.

As Aaron describes in his recent check-in with the Spy, this art is a unique offering to the community. Built to be welcoming, his work, entitled “Bodyphones,” will be on the Academy’s front lawn from October 1, 2019 – April 30, 2020. He is also to serve as honorary chair & visionary artist for 2019 AAM Crafts Show.

This video is approximately two minutes in length. For more information about the Academy Art Museum please go here.

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