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September 29, 2023

Talbot Spy

Nonpartisan Education-based News for Talbot County Community

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The Mid-Shore’s Other Airport: A Look at Cambridge’s CGE

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At times, it’s a very quiet place, appearing deserted. But, for the 12-month period that ended May 18 of this year, Cambridge-Dorchester Regional Airport on Bucktown Road had 24,594 aircraft operations, an average of 67 per day. The mission of the county-owned, public-use complex is “to serve the air transportation and service needs of Dorchester County and the regional area by safely providing, operating, promoting, developing, and maintaining modern and efficient facilities and amenities for the traveling public.”

However, don’t compare it to BWI or Dulles, because the emphasis here is not on large-scale passenger travel.

“It’s really kind of a mix as far as the operations here,” said Director Steve Nuwer.

The airport covers a wide range of private and commercial uses, but the majority is general aviation, with five percent being military. 43 aircraft call this place home base, including crop dusters and jets. The local flight instructor handles training. Helicopters conduct practice on the grounds, and there are charter flights.

“We don’t have any commercial aviation transport operations out of the airport,” said Nuwer, “so we don’t have any charter operations that are based here, but they do fly in here on occasion.”

Some of those occasions include tourist visits to the Hyatt or even just attendance at the Ironman competition. It’s a long way from when airmail flights began on the grassy field back in 1936.

“There wasn’t a lot of commercial aviation back then,” said Nuwer. “Commercial aviation didn’t really start to pick up at least in this area until the fifties.”

In fact, the first paved runway here was laid around 1950. At some point (the records are vague), the city of Cambridge assumed ownership of the field, but eventually the county took over, and it has remained in Dorchester’s keeping ever since.

Nuwer did his original flight training at this airport in 1979. It was a family tradition to get up in the sky: his father did air shows in the seventies, and his brother flies for the Maryland Department of Agriculture. Nuwer retired from corporate sales and marketing four years ago to work for the airport.

Cambridge-Dorchester Regional has a five-year plan with the Federal Aviation Administration, a rolling plan that is updated every year. They have an eye toward further development of the 350 acres of property; space has already been set aside for building new hangars. Other projects are farther off, such as extending the 4,476-foot runway to the south, which would require moving the railroad and Cordtown Road. The next big endeavor will be resurfacing the existing runway, which the FAA considers to be at the end of its life. Fortunately, the airport just received $52,538 in federal funding for infrastructure improvements.

More recently, the focus was on completing a fence along the road.

“It’s a wildlife fence, because we have a lot of deer in this area and deer can be very, very problematic to aircraft,” explained Nuwer. “So, we’re trying to make it safer.”

They also hope to get a new restaurant into the space formerly occupied by the popular Katie’s at the Airport, which was forced by the County Council to close in January. An eating establishment would be a boon for a place that will inevitably get busier as time goes by.

“General aviation is continuing to grow,” said Nuwer. “Countrywide, there is a shortage of pilots. There’s a shortage of licensed aviation mechanics. There’s a lot of commercial opportunities in aviation. The one thing that this airport has to offer is there’s lots of room to grow. A lot of airports are really constrained. Neighborhoods are growing up around and things like that, and they just don’t have the ability to grow anymore. We’ve got plenty of land.”

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Empowering Cambridge: The Evolution of Pine Street Enrichment Program

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Julia Barker (left) and Sharon Chester.

The mission of the Cambridge Empowerment Center is to “work in partnership with the diverse community of Cambridge, Maryland, to provide underserved youth and adults in the city with education, health and wellness, work skills, and cultural enrichment programs.” Through that they hope to “ensure that everyone in the city of Cambridge has the skills and education necessary to contribute to the health and well being of the entire community.” This is a big goal for the organization known as the Pine Street Enrichment Program, but they are currently taking steps in the right direction.

The nonprofit, multi-use building opened in 2000 on the site of the former Pine Street Elementary School, which famously burned down in July 1967. It was intended to be a community center and did have some summer programming for children. Then, in 2014, a small after-school program was begun. This was around the time that retired school teacher Julia Barker got involved as a volunteer and tried to help get some funding for the center.

“I mean, they had nothing,” said Barker.

She acquired a grant that was used for computers, cabinets, and supplies. They fixed up a small library for the kids. Thanks to additional funders, things only got better from there.

“Everything’s organized,” said Barker, “and we’re in good shape, and the board gets along very well.”

The board, known as The Pine Street Committee, Inc., has seven members, including Barker. But they are always looking for new additions.

Every year, they have a summer program, and this year’s ran from June 20 to August 17. For four days a week from 8:30am to 4:30pm, kids came to the center for various activities. There was a learning component, part of which was conducted online using the platform IXL.

“We had started the program with 20 computers, and that wasn’t enough for 45 kids,” said Barker. “So, luckily we got some donations.”

They were able to acquire 15 more computers, and, with iPads for the youngest children, there was a sufficient number of units for everyone. The kids worked on their reading and math skills electronically, but they also benefited from volunteer tutors who came in once a week to give individual instruction.

“If they have that one-on-one attention, then they’re willing to do the work,” said Barker.

Some of the kids worked on their math skills, and there was reading time for everyone. The younger children would be read to while the others read independently. But the summer program was more than just academics.

Leslie Bishop, who is secretary of the board, would lead arts and crafts once a week. Someone conducted a weekly Tai Chi session. And, on Thursdays, the kids would have a field trip, sometimes to the public pool, but there were also excursions to an Air Force base and the Caroline County Fair. Overall, the summer was a success for this group of children.

“Personally I think it’s definitely a well-needed program for this community,” said Programming Director Sharon Chester, who added that she felt good knowing the kids were going back to school “with just a little bit of help,” which would put them at ease in the formal learning environment.

“So, we’re looking forward to our school year,” she said.

Because the Empowerment Center was licensed by the state of Maryland for childcare in March of this year, they can now have a full after-school program for 45 children, beginning the second week of September. The kids will be bussed in from Choptank, Maple, and Sandy Hill Elementary Schools and arrive between 3:30 and 4pm. They’ll have a meal provided by their school, and then they’ll go online for 15-20 minutes of math and language arts instruction and review. The rest of the time will be used for socialization, including games.

Then, parents get their kids at 5:30. The staff is currently trying to find a way to take children home if the parents are unable to pick them up.

“There’s a lot of kids whose parents are either working or have no transportation,” said Barker, “so, we’d like them to be able to come.”

The Center has always had a focus on the city’s youth, but the staff hopes to get community events going there, as well. They would like to be using the building during the day, when kids are in school, with a goal of being in operation seven days a week. Already they have monthly soup days for senior citizens and people with disabilities, and they’re brainstorming some other events for those demographics. Additionally, they are considering a preschool program.

But, before they can do any of those things, they need an executive director. In fact, they’ve been looking for one for a while. While Sharon Chester had been doing a great job in her position, she is only part time. So, the board has decided the new hire could be part time, too.

“Once we have an executive director, we can expand, because that person would be here working and doing marketing and trying to get more grants,” said Barker. “We’re really dependent on donations and grants right now.”

And they’re always looking for more volunteers.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Mid-Shore Education: Empowering Parents in Dorchester

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The nonprofit organization Moving Dorchester Forward, based in Cambridge, started as a group of local leaders concerned about the holes in the resources and services available to the community. They chose to concentrate on three areas: early learning, workforce development, and community engagement. The task of getting area citizens involved in what MDF was doing began with Community Engagement Coordinator Shay Lewis-Sisco and her team holding events to create awareness of MDF.

While they were out there, the team asked people what the community was missing and how MDF could connect them to vital resources. It quickly became clear that money, activities, personnel, and action planning (among other things) were sorely needed, so MDF decided to be the conduit to those services. One of the questions the organization asked themselves was, “What are the capacity-building skills for parents?”

Fortunately, they learned about the Parent Encouragement Program from Kevin Beverly, Moving Dorchester Forward’s board president. Beverly, who lives and works in Montgomery County, knew of the PEP group that has been active there for twenty years, meeting with parents and caregivers of children ages 3-18 and then teaching them skills in cohort-based environments.

“A lot of them are parents sitting there going, ‘How do you talk to a teenager, and how do you get them on regular routines’ and all that fun stuff,” explained MDF director Chris Wheedleton. “Particularly for folks that are working two jobs and maybe single-parent homes and all these extra challenges for them from a parent standpoint.”

PEP wanted to work in another community besides Montgomery County, so they came to Dorchester with a grant and the Family Resiliency Program, which helps families learn how to communicate with their children and generally balance the things in their lives.

MDF decided to conduct two pilot programs. Though PEP’s model typically relies on virtual classes, Wheedleton and his team chose to begin theirs in person. The first session of the initial cohort was held on February 7 at Delmarva Community Services Intergenerational Center, with Lewis-Sisco and another community engagement staff member as facilitators.

“We wanted to do it in person simply because it’s about building relationships, and it’s hard to build relationships when you’re doing that in a virtual environment,” said MDF Coordinator Nancy Shockley, who oversees PEP. “We were willing to do the structure and set up whatever we needed to do in terms of the food, in terms of the daycare and facilitation and stuff like that.”

Parents were able to take their children to the in-person session, where the kids were placed in groups by age to work with the community engagement staff while the parents focused fully on their own group. But, there were also challenges with everyone meeting in one place: the time of day they all could gather, activities parents needed to accomplish at home or elsewhere, and the difficulties of transportation.

So, MDF gave the attendees the option of having the sessions online, and the next time they met it was on Zoom, which turned out to work well. The second cohort ran from April to June and was fully virtual. It was offered in two groups of sessions, on Thursdays and Sundays. Any parents who wanted to participate but didn’t have the necessary equipment were provided with it by MDF.

The topics for the eight weeks of sessions, outlined by PEP, were very relatable and included helping a child manage change, raising more motivated and cooperative kids, knowing when to set limits, and responding to a child’s strong emotions. The facilitator would show an instructional video that presented simple tools parents could implement within their families. This would be followed by some specific questions, and the group members would hold a discussion about such things as how their own parents responded to them during difficult incidents of their childhood. There were talks about the three parenting styles–permissive, democratic, and authoritarian–and why the democratic style was the preferred one.

Then there were the discussions of mental health, which children need support with no matter their age or stage of development. Because of generational differences among the parents, there were some for whom the normalizing of mental health was a challenge.

“I will say that, in one session, I felt that culturally, specifically around mental health, there was some tension at times,” said Lewis-Sisco. But, it was her job to set the tone of the conversation, and she made sure everyone knew each session was a safe, confidential environment for difficult dialogues. “As a facilitator, you have to be intentional to make sure that, no matter what the culture is or race that’s present, they have the space to be able to share their experience. And I often say, in facilitated conversations we need to attack the problem, not the person.”

As the group members talked and realized that everyone was being open and transparent, they were willing to continue the engagements and connect on a whole new level. The parents found themselves looking forward to the sessions as their own form of mental health support. While the facilitator would play videos and ask the hard questions, it was up to the parents to provide each other with encouragement. Some of them even learned to be leaders themselves.

“And then from there, we’ve actually been able, through the first cohorts, to identify additional facilitators,” said Shockley, “because the whole idea of using that PEP model is that parents who go through the program can potentially become facilitators of the ongoing groups, which is really just building the capacity and giving parents sort of that peer sort of network opportunity of working together.”

When the cohorts were finished, MDF brought the parents together for a family fun night event at Cabin Fever in Downtown Cambridge. They were able to meet with author Joy Thomas Moore, mother of Maryland’s governor, for some family engagement activities and discussions.

“Both groups that went through said, ‘What’s next? We’d like to keep going,'” said Wheedleton. “And we just met with PEP recently and they said, ‘We’ve got additional funding to actually do eight more cohorts next year.'”

He and Shockley are now planning that with Lewis-Sisco, who will take the lead on the structure of the ongoing Family Resiliency cohorts to commence in the fall. At the same time, they are able to offer the parents other programming focused on such subjects as mental health, first aid, and finances.

“So many of these families are working two jobs and are struggling to make ends meet,” said Shockley. “And that makes parenting even more difficult because of the ongoing stresses of trying to pay the bills and meet all of those things. So, we’ve actually had a number of those parents sign up to participate in some of our other work around generational poverty and how to kind of take the next step and move on.”

For more information on PEP’s Family Resiliency Program or to sign up for the next sessions, contact Shay Lewis-Sisco at [email protected] or 443-440-5370.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Habitat for Humanity Choptank Progress Report

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CEO JoAnn Hansen and Director of Construction Wayne Suggs.

The team at Habitat for Humanity Choptank, which is headquartered in Trappe, envisions “a world where everyone has a decent, affordable place to live.” As CEO JoAnn Hansen would say, they’re accomplishing this in Dorchester and Talbot Counties one neighborhood at a time. Right now, that neighborhood is on Wells Street in Cambridge.

“We plan on building twelve new houses,” explained Hansen. “We originally purchased a number of properties pre-COVID on tax sale. And then additional properties we’ve purchased over time through landlords who were using the houses as rentals, and we looked at whether those house could be rehabilitated and they couldn’t. And so we ended up tearing those down. In that place will go new houses.”

With a grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank’s Community Reinvestment Act funds, HFHC is building eight of those twelve dwellings. The first is already occupied, the house at 610 Wells Street will become a home shortly, another home buyer will take possession this fall, and a fourth will move in by the end of the year.

“The home dedication for [610] is scheduled for August 26th at 9am,” said Hansen. “And that’s an event that we invite, obviously, the friends and family members of the home buyer, but we also invite the community to participate. It’s an open house that allows people to come in and tour the house before the home buyer takes possession and moves in. And it’s just really a nice celebration.”

At the same time, Habitat is using a Community Development Block Grant from the city for the infrastructure. This will include new sewers, a sidewalk, street lamps, and road repaving, to be finished in early November.

Four more homes will be done with people in them by July of next year, and the last four of twelve will be finished the year after that. Meanwhile, the area around these new houses might benefit, as well.

“What starts to happen when we build new homes in the neighborhood, it starts to spark home improvements,” said Hansen. “Not just by Habitat but by homeowners, by landlords, seeing people take pride in their neighborhood. I think how people feel even walking through the neighborhood, because you can just see hope. You can see it, you can feel it.”

So, Habitat also offers a repair program, which they fund with other government grants. They try to focus on areas where they’re building new houses, and in this case the state has allocated resources to be used specifically around Pine Street, which connects to Wells. The owners who benefit from the repairs are obligated to remain in their homes for five years, because Habitat and the state don’t want to see public funds go toward houses that will be flipped and sold.

The staff at HFHC spends time educating homeowners seeking repairs in order to decide if staying in their house is even the best thing to do. After all, there may not actually be enough money available to make all the needed fixes. The cost of lead abatement and asbestos removal alone could run upwards of $75,000. Then there might be electrical, drywall, plumbing, mold, siding, roof, and/or foundation.

Since HFHC also works in Talbot County, they have ten houses currently under construction in Easton in some phase, all with home buyers attached. Four of them are modulars on Prospect Avenue, and six are in the Hill District, with five being new homes and one a rehab. But, for the foreseeable future, most of Habitat Choptank’s endeavors will be concentrated in Dorchester, where they own property.

After the twelve houses on Wells Street and a few on Lincoln Terrace, also in Cambridge, HFHC will take on a potential twelve-home neighborhood on Camper Street. It would be a major project because of the opportunity to shape the whole area.

“First time we’ll put in a road to service the houses,” said Director of Construction Wayne Suggs. “This will be the first time we put in all the infrastructure including the roadway and everything.”

Suggs has had a significant impact at Habitat Choptank, where he’s been head of construction for eight years. One of the first things he did when he started the job was to examine all the occupied Habitat houses and make notes about the structural challenges he saw, such as the wear and tear the wooden porches were showing. Now they’re built out of concrete with brick accents and steps. In fact, there’s no wood anywhere on the outside of the house, but instead a composite material that is sometimes made to look like wood. Hand rails and columns are vinyl in fiberglass, and cement fiber board is used on the siding. The floors inside look like hardwood but they’re luxury vinyl planks.

“We really go above and beyond trying to use materials that are going to last for a very long time,” said Suggs.

The durable materials make up one of the three major elements necessary for a successful Habitat home. Another is energy efficiency. Insulation is sprayed in the walls, the attic is over-insulated, and high-quality windows are installed. The house is constructed to be so tight that a special fan must be put into the bathroom and run 24 hours a day to keep the air quality correct.

Accessibility is the third major element. There is a bedroom and full bath on the first floor of the two-story houses, along with the laundry room and water heater. This is so, as the residents grow older, they’ll have everything they need without having to go upstairs. If someone is in a wheelchair, they’ll find the lowered light switches and raised electrical outlets easily reachable.

“Most of our home buyers stay in their houses for their life, and that’s true across the nation for Habitat for Humanity,” said Suggs. “I am very proud of the houses that we build. We build a quality home.”

None of the construction would be possible without HFHC’s volunteers. But Hansen laments that it’s become more difficult to recruit new ones. People aren’t retiring at the age they used to, and when they do retire they’re not looking to make a long-term commitment, preferring to work on an “episodic” basis.

Suggs wants to make sure prospective volunteers know they don’t need any building experience. “I’ve talked to so many people. ‘Oh, I don’t know how to build a house.’ Okay, well, you don’t need to. You just need to be willing to help out in whatever way that you’re physically able to help out.”

After the Camper Street project, which would take two to three years, HFHC has their sights set on a 33-acre parcel of land off Mace’s Lane. That’s five years away, but they’re currently collecting data for it through local focus groups with key community leaders. Next, they’ll conduct a survey of current renters and homeowners in the area of the property to get concerns, ideas, and suggestions before making a drawing of the project.

“We won’t be able to meet everyone’s needs,” said Hansen, “but our heart’s desire is to meet as many of the community needs as we can and to capitalize on the strengths that this community, this city, and the county already bring.”

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

A Progress Report on Dorchester County’s Campaign for Grade-Level Reading

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In October of 2021, the John & Janice Wyatt Foundation introduced Dorchester County’s version of the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, a collaborative effort by various entities nationwide to ensure more children from low-income families experience educational excellence. It has three metrics for success: grade-level reading proficiency by third grade, readiness for kindergarten, and a decrease in chronic absenteeism. As director of programs for the Wyatt Foundation, Dr. Jymil Thompson has led Dorchester’s campaign, and he was eager to tell The Spy about the progress of their efforts.

With an eye toward tackling the campaign’s second metric, Thompson and the Wyatts looked seriously at implementing PreK-3, which posits that a child with two years of quality pre-kindergarten will be prepared for kindergarten. Then they collaborated with Dorchester County Public Schools on a pilot program at Sandy Hill Elementary School. According to Thompson, DCPS has been very cooperative with the PreK-3 program, though the foundation had to get the school system to trust that it would do what was promised. Eventually, DCPS realized PreK-3 wasn’t just a fad that would fade away.

“I think building that trust and fostering a good relationship was what was needed,” said Thompson, a member of the Talbot County Board of Education. “And I think, once we built that and we showed that we’re truly invested in the community by doing the PreK-3 pilot program, by doing the various other things that we do in the community, that bought us some trust.”

The Wyatt Foundation’s initial hope was that the first PreK-3 pilot would lead to others in the school system, and DCPS did just that once they had seen the value in the program. A second pilot was initiated at Hurlock Elementary, and two more were planned—one at Maple Elementary and the other back at Sandy Hill.

“This upcoming school year will be the first opportunity for those kids that started our PreK-3 pilot program in 2021 to take the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment,” said Thompson. “And then we should be able to see how effective two years of PreK is for those particular students.”

Regarding the third metric of the campaign, the results so far have not been as encouraging. The level of absenteeism this past school year did go down a couple of percentage points, but there is still a long way to go with chronic absenteeism. Various schools have had pockets of success, but others require new ways to help improve attendance. Thompson has been working with school system leaders to think of fresh incentives, which won’t have the same level of impact with all students.

“You have programs that will increase the attendance as a whole,” said Thompson, “but then you have other students who are chronically absent that require something a little bit more individualized. Giving them incentives isn’t going to work. They need something else more systematic and strategic just for that particular student.”

The attendance rate for DCPS stood this year at 85%. 90-95% would be preferable, but the school system wants to keep the base stable and not let it decrease while shooting for that higher aspiration. Unfortunately, the results are not broken down by the type of absence: an excused absence is still counted as an absence. And DCPS and the Wyatt Foundation need partners in the community to help figure out why those with continual unexcused absences are out so much. According to Thompson, it could be mental health, bullying, or the home environment. Once the reasons are established, plans can be developed to remediate or eliminate the problems keeping the kids out of school.

At the same time, Thompson has had much more tangible success with another initiative. Ready for K is a parent-engagement tool that sends text messages to area families, offering ideas for helping kids with academics and dealing with emotional issues.

“That’s actually been pretty good,” said Thompson, who sends the messages to 1,861 families, up from the early number of 1,400. “It’s been good because we extended that to the private daycare centers.”

Additionally, he and the Wyatt Foundation are no longer struggling so much with getting the word out about their program.

“I think that we have made tremendous progress as it relates to people or the community being aware of the foundation,” Thompson explained. “We’ve been able to bring in more partners, we’ve been able to do more marketing. We have a billboard on 50 [by McDonald’s], and we’ve been able to engage more businesses.”

He presented at the Hurlock Town Council and at the Lower Eastern Shore Mayors Association meeting. He spoke with the Cambridge City Council. He and the foundation have worked with some of their partners—such as the Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs, YMCA, Empowerment Center, and Dorchester County Public Library—on a summer reading challenge under the collective banner “All Together Now.” They even ordered T-shirts bearing that slogan.

“We’ve still got work to do, but it’s definitely moved farther along,” said Thompson.

Another collaboration important to the Wyatt Foundation is that between DCPS and the community, which Thompson and his colleagues facilitate. The campaign sponsors hold four meetings per month, covering school readiness, out-of-school time, attendance, and the activities of the steering committee. During those meetings, representatives of the various partner organizations discuss everything that’s going on in the community.

And, no doubt, they talk about their goals for the campaign. Thompson’s primary goal for the next school year is finalizing an initiative in which the University of Maryland will develop curriculum for PK-3. They’re also talking about doing teacher coaching and long-term assessment to see how effective the program can be for the private sector (kids who don’t start out in DCPS). The Wyatt Foundation will be helping to fund and implement these endeavors over a period of several years.

Thompson also wants to work on improving the cohesiveness of DCPS’s curriculum and the activities of out-of-school-time organizations. The idea would be to have the reading strategies of the providers be at least thematically similar so that it will be easier to identify the children’s educational deficiencies.

“That’s where I think the alignment is crucial,” said Thompson, “because you have two different entities that see the same group of kids, but their messaging may not be the same. You don’t want the message to be opposite.”

So, the Wyatt Foundation has made significant progress with its Campaign for Grade-Level Reading this year. But there is still much work to be done, and Dr. Jymil Thompson is untiringly passionate about it.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Cambridge Chief Urges Collaboration to Keep Kids Busy and Safe this Summer

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It is officially summertime, and school is out. The children of Cambridge now have lots of free time, and many have nothing to do. This situation is one that concerns Police Chief Justin Todd every year.

“I believe idle time and idle minds, they don’t go together,” he said.

Cambridge Police Chief Justin Todd

This unfortunate combination leads to mischief, even criminal activity: property crimes like vandalism, rocks thrown through windows, and thefts from and of vehicles. These actions can often be traced back to the groups kids are consorting with.

“There are gangs in Cambridge,” said Todd. “There’s gang activity that happens on the street when the children are hanging out on the street at night. They’re influenced by those gang members. That’s definitely an issue and a problem, especially with the amount of guns we’re taking off the streets now.”

It’s not a big pool of children causing this trouble. Todd estimates that the police have regular issues with 50 youths or fewer. But the department still needs an ample number of personnel to curb these incidences.

Last August, Cambridge PD had a total of 31 officers. Three recruits recently graduated from the Eastern Shore Criminal Justice Academy, and they will now be placed on the road for field training. Additionally, the department just took on another certified officer, and five new hires will be entering the academy. So, Todd expects to have 40 officers on staff by the end of the year.

But these officers have to do more than just chase criminals and write tickets.

“To be a community oriented policing agency, you have to be willing to go out in the community and get to know the community you serve,” said Todd. “You cannot effectively communicate with everyone if you don’t do that, if you just police every traffic stop.”

It’s not all up to the police department, however. There are things the kids can do to keep themselves safe and out of trouble during the summer. Among these are knowing the environment they’re in and who they’re socializing with, which can influence their actions.

“If there’s a decision that you have to make and you know what is right and wrong, you have to do the right thing because it can affect you for the rest of your life,” warned Todd.

An important way for children to stay out of danger is to get involved in positive activities, such as those at the Boys and Girls Clubs and New Beginnings.

Todd admitted that it can be too easy to stand around all day and not interact by taking the leap into a camp or program. “But once you do it and you build that confidence, you’re building a lot more. You’re building character. You’re getting to know people in the community. You’re getting to meet new friends and not be persuaded by negative influences that are happening out on the streets.”

However, it appears the word isn’t out to all of Cambridge’s youth, and the chief thinks it may be necessary to encourage the kids in person. That’s where community oriented policing comes in, because the department wants to help make sure, through meet-and-greets and preregistration drives, that everyone gets involved in some activity.

At the same time, there are things parents can do to keep their children safe, as well. They should ensure they know the kids’ whereabouts, what they’re doing, and whom they’re doing it with. Also, social media activity should be monitored, because it can greatly affect impressionable children. Most of all, parents should communicate with their kids. As a father of teenagers, Chief Todd knows that can be difficult, but it’s the best way to help young people understand the dangers outside the home.

The parents shouldn’t be alone in this, though. A collaboration with the police department, the schools, and the city government is vital for keeping children safe and reducing the level of crime in the community.

“I think sometimes it feels like it’s a long, long race,” said Todd, “but we have to remember that the steps forward are better than steps back.”

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

A Spy Guide to the Cambridge Special Election Candidates

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On June 6, the citizens of Cambridge will participate in a special election to choose new City Commissioners for Wards One and Five. This was necessitated by the fact that the current members, Brian Roche (Ward 1) and Chad Malkus (Ward 5), moved into each other’s ward. Both men are hoping to remain on the Council, but they face challengers for the seats. Roche will face Cleveland Rippons and Robert Aaron while Malkus competes with Laurel Atkiss. Below is information on each candidate.

Candidate (Ward 5): Robert Aaron

Background: From Madison. Grew up working class. Attended Easton High School.

Experience: Attends City Council meetings.

On Moving YMCA: Should stay where it is.

On Housing: Code enforcers not doing their job. Inconsistent enforcement. All property owners deserve a second chance.

On Hearn Building: Would be cheaper to tear it down and build something new.

On Sewer Breaches: City says there is much funding, but he hasn’t seen anything done.

On ARPA funds: Doesn’t know any of the funds’ receivers.

On Crime: Offer police officers more money and have them sign contract requiring certain number of years in the city.

Candidate (Ward 1): Laurel Atkiss

Background: Born in Cumberland and educated in Baltimore (earned a BFA). Has lived nearly half of her life on the Eastern Shore, 10 years in Cambridge, 3 years in Ward 1. Previously owned a flower shop.

Experience: Working knowledge of retail, tourism, and service industries as well as non-profit promotions. Involved in community service, fundraising, and event organization.

City Activities: Engaging community through programs with area’s youth and heritage, after-school children’s programs funded by the Dorchester Center for the Arts.

Wants to see: Enthusiasm for the thoughtful development of waterfront; revitalization of neighborhoods to be safer and healthier; more citizens present, involved, and informed on functions of the city; more engagement in reconnection of neighborhoods; youth following a positive path and holding pride in their hometown.

Wants to do: Bring open communication, community connections, and healthy progress to her ward.

On Moving YMCA: Waterfront facility would not benefit the communities that need it most; it should be centrally located for easy access to multiple neighborhoods. The waterfront is valuable property that should draw tax revenue, and a not-for-profit like the Y would not. The ARPA funds that the YMCA organization used on a study of a new facility could have been put to better use.

On Housing: There are seniors living in dilapidated houses who don’t know about available resources. Code enforcement should be equitable and consistent. Neighborhoods held to code are safer, healthier, cleaner, and more sustainable.

On Hearn Building: Don’t tear it down; it is part of Cambridge’s history and charm. Think outside the box, get creative. What has been done before hasn’t worked. Make it multi-use space with market-rate housing, workforce housing, and retail.

On Sewer Breaches: Because of climate change, flooding and overflow are going to get worse, so Cambridge must be educated on the issue and proactive.

On ARPA funds: Whatever remains should be used on something that will create more income for the city.

On Crime: A holistic approach is needed. Improve economic opportunity and housing. Give youth better opportunities.

Candidate (Ward 1): Chad Malkus

Background: Raised on family farm in Cambridge. Graduated from Cambridge-South Dorchester High School, where he was class president. BA in Secondary Education and English from Clemson University. Juris Doctor from University of Baltimore School of Law. Admitted to the Maryland Bar in 2002. Lived in Ward 1 various times, including in the West End and on Glasgow Street.

Experience: Practiced law for two decades, focusing on land use, corporate, real estate, and environmental as well as trusts and estates. Currently VP and Senior Fiduciary Advisor for national banking corporation. Teaches Trusts & Estates and Financial Planning at Purdue School of Business (Salisbury University). Served as president of Dorchester County Bar Association, acted as attorney for Dorchester County Planning and Zoning. Appointed last year to Chesapeake Bay Critical Areas Commission. Has been City Commissioner for Ward 5 for two years.

City Activities: Part of Cambridge business and professional community, serving on boards and charitable committees. Served on board of Cambridge Main Street, eventually became president. Founder and organizer of Sailwinds Park Kite Festival. Spearheaded effort for new fencing and improvements to Cambridge Cemetery and Cedar Street gateway.

Wants to do: Continue work towards realization of vision for vibrant waterfront district, thriving Main Street, safe community, cutting red tape impacting Cambridge businesses.

On Moving YMCA: Facility at Cambridge Harbor would be “site activator” and draw people. There have been problems with past rehabs of current building. Although waterfront facility would not provide tax revenue, could make up for that with new houses on the old property.

On Housing: New programs like land banking and lead abatement will help. New code enforcement officer in FY 2024. Court is giving too many chances to slumlords, who must be held accountable.

On Sewer Breaches: Will be a headache to replace sewer systems, but it is necessary and has been a top priority of the City Council.

On Crime: Council has revamped salary plans for police officers. Department has invested in new technology like Shot Spotter. Community-oriented policing is important.

Candidate (Ward 5): Cleveland Rippons

Background: Raised on Hooper’s Island. Served in Air Force. BS in Business Administration.

Experience: Financial planner. As Cambridge Mayor (2000-08), learned intricacies of running a city.

Wants to see: Proactive government.

On Moving YMCA: Citizens would lose much if Y moved out of current facility. Need to see Waterfront Committee’s comprehensive plan first. Y is zoned for institutional, waterfront property for commercial; should not second guess zoning board’s work.

On Housing: Some areas of city need far more resources then have been allocated. High percentage of rental properties, not enough code enforcers. Should have discussions with landlords to understand their situations.

On Hearn Building: Renovate and make it mixed use.

On Crime: Need to spend time with residents.

Candidate (Ward 5): Brian Roche

Background: Cambridge native, grew up on Willis Street. Graduated from Cambridge-South Dorchester High School, where he was class president. BA in Biology and Environmental Studies from Swarthmore College. Lived outside Philadelphia for ten years.

Experience: Career in Internet technology, mostly with Bay Country Communications, building broadband to rural and underserved areas. Vice Chair of Maryland Broadband Cooperative. Served on board of directors of Eastern Shore Land Conservancy. Appointed by Governor Hogan to Task Force for Rural Broadband. Managed rental property for nearly 20 years. City Commissioner for Ward 1 for last two years.

City Activities: Served as chair of Historic Preservation Commission. Recognized by Cambridge Main Street as volunteer of the year.

Wants to do: Work with local leadership to focus on urban revitalization initiatives that make Cambridge desirable place to live, work, play, and invest. Emphasize unique history, culture, niche economy.

On Moving YMCA: Sympathetic to both sides. If Y moves to new facility, will work to ensure there is no void at old location.

On Housing: Create inspection and tiered rental licensing program to encourage improved housing. Plan ordinances requiring given share of construction to be affordable by people with low-to-moderate incomes. Subject contractors and property owners to fines if process not followed, but make it cheaper and easier to do right thing.

On Neighborhoods: Create neighborhood investment districts. Provide curbside recycling.

On Hearn Building: It is structurally stable. Must invest in and renovate it into mix of housing for different incomes.

On Sewer Breaches: Need green infrastructure on Cedar and Water Streets to handle storm water naturally while protecting bikers and pedestrians.

On City Council: Term limits for Council members. Must do better job making public meetings available online.

On Traffic: Get rid of unnecessary stoplights. Add stop signs, break up long stretches of city streets so they are not race tracks. Create traffic circle at base of creek bridge. Support downtown street closures for more economic activity.

On Pedestrians: Build public pedestrian promenade that connects from Historic Pine Street through Cannery Way to Cambridge Creek. Path from Long Wharf to Great Marsh Park accessible via bike, walking, and wheelchair.

In person voting on June 6, 2023, will be held at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church at 205 Maryland Avenue between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. This polling station will be the only in-person location for both wards.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

The Young Historian’s Journey: Unveiling the Path with Dorchester History Society’s Zoe Phillips

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Zoe Phillips

The new director of the Dorchester County Historical Society is twenty-one years old. Take a minute to let that sink in.

But, despite her age, Zoe Phillips is well suited to the job, even though she never expected to have it.

“I wasn’t even really thinking that way or anything,” she said while sitting in her office at the Heritage Museums and Gardens of Dorchester in Cambridge. “I kind of thought it would be fun to work here.”

A native of Cambridge, who lives two streets over from the museums (“I could walk here if I wanted to”), Zoe came by her love of history naturally.

“I was interested in history just being from this area,” she said, “because my family is kind of involved with Historical Society stuff, and my father and my uncle collect Native American artifacts. My uncle used to own an antique shop close to Church Creek near Blackwater. But they also got me interested in local history.”

She did like the subject while attending Cambridge-South Dorchester High School, but she didn’t really want to be a history teacher. So, her career options were limited. However, her aunt was a volunteer at the museums, giving tours to students, so Zoe decided to try it herself.

“I wanted to gain more experience, definitely wherever I could, because it’s not like there’s many other jobs related to history or even places to volunteer,” she said. “I started volunteering here just after I got out of high school [four years ago], doing some work in our library, like genealogy stuff, filing old newspaper articles, all different stuff. And then the problem came up that we didn’t have an updated website.”

So, she offered to help make a new site, to which she transitioned all the old information. At the same time, she was taking college classes online, choosing history as her field. She was able to put her new education to work when DCHS decided to create an internship for her at the museums, allowing her to work there on a regular basis, doing specific projects. She maintained the website, wrote the newsletter, and helped with small advertisements.

When Administrator Mitch Anderson fell sick, the society desperately needed help because the museums were starting to open up again after Covid and more events were being undertaken. Zoe was hired as a part-time employee while finishing her degree.

Anderson unexpectedly died on February 24. The position of director was advertised, and Zoe made the big decision to apply. She officially started the job on April 17.

She is taking the responsibility as the face of the society in stride. “I guess I’m trying to make sure that we’re doing what we’re supposed to. We’re keeping on top of everything. And, yeah, I want to give us a good representation.”

The job is never boring for Zoe. “Some days you end up giving tours all day. Some days I end up answering research requests. Some days I’m going through artifacts. Some days I’m prepping for events. Some days I’m doing all sorts of stuff. It really is every day is different.”

The most important event on her calendar currently is DCHS’s 70th Anniversary, which begins this month. This fact was a surprise to the whole staff, including Zoe.

“None of us had been paying attention to that,” she admitted. “And then somebody reminded us, ‘Hey, this is the year we were founded seventy years ago.’ And so we all just kind of had to again shift gears and start thinking about, ‘Okay, what do we want to do for our 70th Anniversary?’”

Following the big semi-annual yard sale they held early in May, the staff started a major cleanup to make sure all the exhibits were set up the way they wanted them. And they hope to work toward having an open house for a day or two in the fall during which all the buildings on the campus will be open.

Zoe wants to plan many events to bring locals to the museums. “I’d say like probably half of our visitors lately have all been people from out of town or people just visiting our people who didn’t know we were here. And I mean even a lot of local people don’t know we’re here. So, we’re trying to draw attention here a little bit by little bit as much as we can.”

To help with that, Zoe is making sure the society covers all its bases when it comes to advertising—in their guide, their website, and the newspaper. Plus, they’re making appearances on the websites run by the Chamber of Commerce and Dorchester County Tourism.

“The Visitor Center has been really good with working with us and trying to help us get back on our feet and make sure that we’re kind of going into every area we need to. I mean, we’ve fallen behind in a lot of things like grants, paperwork, accessioning [cataloging], and donated items for the museum. So, we’re trying to play catch-up on all of this stuff while we’re also trying to prepare for all of these other events. There’s definitely a lot going on.”

Does she feel any pressure while leading all these efforts?

“I’d say if there’s any pressure, it’s just going to be kind of making sure things get done on the scale that we want them.”

For more information about the Dorchester County Historical Society please go here.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

The Trials and Tribulations of Cambridge’s Historic School

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On February 13 of this year, the Planning Commission presented to the Cambridge City Council proposed Ordinance No. 1212, which would amend the Unified Development Code to delete certain language that prevented a developer from turning the Mill Street School building into rental apartments. According to the commission, these amendments were “necessary to protect and promote the public health, safety, and welfare.” This appeared benign enough on the page, but the proposition managed to create a minor uproar in the Historic District.

The Issue

“You’ve got a school sitting in a residential district that’s supposed to be single-family, detached houses,” said Rick Klepfer of Choptank Avenue recently. “That’s a problem.”

After the school closed for good in the late 1990s, the city decided it should be used for a different purpose, and the property was approved for multi-family development with the provisions in the city’s 2003 Zoning Ordinance using the Planned Unit Development criteria. Then several applications were submitted to the Planning Commission, one of which was heard by the City Council in September 2013. The proposal received a conditional approval, but the final plan was never completed.

In December 2014, Cambridge adopted the Unified Development Code, and the area around Mill Street was designated a Neighborhood Conservation 3 Zone, which allowed single-family homes. But the school was still there, so the decision was made to create a special overlay district just for that property.

“I don’t think anyone was particularly in favor of the overlay zone putting in there,” explained Klepfer, “but it was approved anyway, and we said, ‘Okay, this is fine.’ There was a document put out by [City Planner] Pat Escher describing what the limitations of it were. What they developed was a way that you could convert the school to apartments, but at some point they had to become condominiums.”

History of the School Building

There were at least two more development submissions for the property between 2019 and 2021, but they did not reach a successful conclusion. During one of those later attempts, the city asked the Historic Preservation Commission for an architectural review to determine the significance of the schoolhouse. On May 28, 2019, HPC Chairperson George Vojtech began by reading a document relating the property’s history.

In 1902, Dorchester County’s public high school for boys burned down, and a new building was constructed by J. Benjamin Brown, a prolific local architect and former mayor. It was called Cambridge Academy and served as an elementary school that was attended by prominent individuals, including future Maryland governors. The building was sold in 1974 and became the private Golden Shore Christian Academy until the late 1990s.

After relating the history, Vojtech read into the record a June 17 letter from architectural historian Paul B. Touart, who had authored the property’s Maryland Historical Trust inventory form in 2010. In his letter, Touart stated that the school building was “a contributing resource to the historic nature of Mill Street and the larger district.” He defined a contributing site as one that “embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction or that represents the work of a master, or that possesses high artistic value.”

Thus, the HPC unanimously voted in favor of a determination that the school and property were historically significant. Then, a succession of neighborhood residents announced their agreement with the vote. But, as Klepfer put it recently, even a building on the National Historic Register can be demolished.

“I think basically most of the neighbors at this point would be happy if they tore the school down and put five or so decent houses there,” he admitted.

Enter Bret Davis

The head of Davis Strategic Development LLC in Salisbury presented his application for eight dwelling units in the school building and four duplexes behind it to the Planning Commission on August 2, 2022. HPC reviewed the renovation plan in October and reported favorably. A Planning and Zoning Staff Report was drafted on the following February 7, after which the Planning Commission listened to a number of remaining concerns, including a letter of outright opposition from the Cambridge Association of Neighborhoods.

CAN, led by President Chuck McFadden, asked the City Council to reject Ordinance 1212 for several reasons. Among them was the fact that Davis had purchased the schoolhouse property with full knowledge of the requirement to establish a condominium regime but was insisting on the right to create rental apartments that would remain that way forever. According to CAN, Cambridge was in need of purchasable condo units that were not part of a waterfront development because they would “provide for entry level ownership opportunities, as well as affordable units for elderly citizens that may want to downsize from larger homes in the community.”

The Decision

At the March 13 City Council meeting, where the second reading of the proposed ordinance was held, many locals stood up to oppose it. Speaking as a resident of the West End Historic District and a CAN board member, Klepfer said that Davis wanted the ordinance to favor him while he had made no efforts with the community. Pete Doyle of Choptank Avenue stated that the Planning Commission had broken the agreements between the developers, residents, and city, and that the residents felt like they were kept in the dark during the process. Cheryl Hannan of Mill Street said Davis had no ties to the community and hadn’t carried out any commitment to the citizens.

Ultimately, the Council voted unanimously against the ordinance. However, according to City Planner Pat Escher, Davis still intends to develop the school building.

 

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The Attempt to Move a Dorchester County Voting Rights Monument

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The large blue-granite monolith is easy to miss, as it stands within a chain link fence on the side of the road between Preston and Hurlock on MD 331. Ironically, a slab jutting out at the base reads “Lest We Forget.”

“I think we have forgotten,” said Cambridge resident Chuck McFadden mournfully.

The Historical Freedom Shrine, as it is officially known, is dedicated to ten Dorchester County men who brought about local and state voter reform in Maryland by challenging the injustices in the political process and leveling the playing field for minorities. It’s strange to see such a significant monument in such an obscure place, and there are some people who think it should be moved somewhere more prominent so everyone can see it and understand the reason for its existence.

Historical Freedom Shrine

Between the 1950s and 1970s, new federal laws were passed to outlaw various forms of discrimination against minorities, and among them were voting rules. But, into the 1980s, the five county commissioners of Dorchester County were elected using an “at large” system, in which the winners were the nominees who got the most votes from the entire county. This meant that all the council members always came from the most populated area—Cambridge—and were always white.

The same thing applied to the city council of Cambridge itself: because of the at-large election rules, it was very difficult to elect a Black commissioner, even from the largely Black Second Ward. And, since at least 1882, the boundaries of that ward encompassed all but one of the blocks where African Americans lived. According to the 1960 census, the Second Ward had over ten times as many people as the all-white Third Ward. The next year, the City redistricted to equalize the population of all the wards except the second. As a result, Black electoral participation was basically fixed to that voting area, thus depriving those residents of true representation.

“I went back and looked at the city and how they had the streets divided in wards,” said Greg Meekins, one of the men whose names are on the monument. “And streets specifically said ‘Whites Only.’ This was prior to the 80s, but because it was in place so long folks just assumed that you don’t move out.”

“It’s just inconceivable that anybody could come up with a system like that,” said McFadden, “where they pushed everybody into one ward and the wards were not equal.”

Concerned that the at-large system made it extremely difficult to elect anyone from the northern part of the county, some people got together in 1980 and raised litigation funds. The following year, an action committee called the North Dorchester Democratic Club was formed by a group of influential men, led by George C. Jones, who determined that the county commissioners could and should be elected by districts. The club approached Meekins, who at the time was president of the Cambridge branch of the NAACP, and they forged a partnership.

“We thought it was an opportunity to enlarge minority representation,” Meekins remembered. “So, that’s why we got involved.”

In November 1983, the club filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice that the 1964 Voting Rights Act was being violated. After depositions by the members, the DOJ filed United States of America v Dorchester County Board of County Commissioners in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.

Norman P. Ramsey
United States District Judge 1980 – 1992

The following May, the Department was made aware of the county seat’s voting practices, and in December 1984 United States of America v the City of Cambridge declared that the City’s at-large system violated Section Two of the Voting Rights Act as well as the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Alleging that Cambridge had adopted the at-large format in order to dilute the voting strength of its Black citizens, the government asked the district court for an injunction preventing the City from conducting future elections under that system. The court ordered the defendants to come up with a plan for meeting the requirements of federal law.

Cambridge finally agreed to a consent decree, and settlement negotiations started in June 1985. A DOJ attorney told the City that the government sought a racially fair election plan. The outcome was the establishment of a new format that was approved by the Court and the DOJ. It included the stipulations that commissioners must reside in the ward they represent, they must be elected by the voters of that ward, and the voting population of each ward must be approximately the same. Similar requirements were established for Dorchester County elections.

On July 8, 1985, Judge Norman J. Ramsey ordered the creation of five equal voting districts, abolished at-large voting, and signed the consent decree. In 1986, the Maryland legislature amended the state constitution. The results were the election of the first Black county commissioner in Dorchester history and the broadening of Black representation on the Cambridge City Council.

To immortalize the efforts of the North Dorchester Democratic Club, George Jones had a 20-ton monument created in 1987. The inscription includes the names of all ten men: Jones, Meekins, Charles F. Hurley Sr., Don W. Bradley, Oliver Harding, Richard Harding, William Reid, Edward Conway, William O. Corkran, and Leon Medford. The monument also offers information about the events that led to the end of at-large voting in Dorchester County. It is an impressive shrine deserving a place of honor.

Dr. Carl S. Barham

However, because of a backlash of feelings about the voting rights cases, the local government could not “find” any public land—in Cambridge or the county—on which to put the monument. So, Jones had it installed on his own out-of-the-way property. It was erected on November 10, 1987.

After Jones died, the land was sold twice, and the current owner put up the fence around the shrine to keep people out. According to Meekins, curious visitors have “caused a little pain for [the owner] and his family.”

“I think it’s a shame that it’s sitting out there,” lamented McFadden. “There’s no parking, you have to just pull up to the side of the highway and walk around a drainage ditch to get to the fence that surrounds it.”

In an attempt to remedy this, Dr. Carl Barham started going to the state legislature annually to keep the monument in the public’s view. His goal has been to see about moving it to a more centralized location, such as Cambridge or Hurlock.  At one point, Meekins was interested in having it placed at North Dorchester High School, and he even approached the Board of Education about adding the lawsuits to the history curriculum so students would learn to be vigilant and keep their eye on what happens with voting rights in America. Generally, though, Meekins prefers to remain in the background. But he and Barham keep in touch.

McFadden knew none of this when he began researching the Cambridge City Charter “because of what’s going on with the City Council and people living outside of their wards.” He happened upon the voting rights case, which he had only vaguely heard of, even though he served with Meekins on the city’s ethics commission for several years.

“I thought it was back in the sixties, during the riots and all that kind of stuff,” said McFadden. “I didn’t realize it was ‘85, and I also didn’t realize it was ‘85 when they had this disproportionate ward system.”

Then, during Black History Month this year, Mayor Steve Rideout called Meekins and said, “I thought about that monument and would love to see it moved.”

Meekins was pleased that there was some interest in the project. But it had to wait until he investigated some of the technicalities surrounding the monument’s ownership. He didn’t know if Jones had included anything about it in the property’s deed before he died.

“As soon as we find out what the technicalities are,” explained McFadden, “I would like to approach both the county and the city to find funds to move it. It is a big object, not something you can put on the back of your pickup and move. This is big. But, if they could put it out there, they can put it anywhere they want.”

If funds are not available for moving the monument, McFadden will be happy to lead the effort to raise the money needed for the move, a new place to put it, and a rededication.

“So, I don’t know what it’s going to take,” he said. “It’s going to take some effort, but I’m retired.”

McFadden thinks it’s important to “make amends” for the neglect of the monument and its reason for being. “It’s just as important to me as the riots in the 60s, maybe up there with Harriet Tubman.”

“It’s a part of history,” said Meekins. “And, ironically, despite all the black eyes Cambridge and Dorchester County get, we’ve been a trendsetter in the state as far as activism in the community, more so than some other counties.”

The monument was important enough for Governor Larry Hogan to visit it a few months before he left office—the first Maryland governor to do so. He and Meekins took some photos together with it. Hogan recognized that the triumph of the North Dorchester Democratic Club needs to be remembered.

In November 2014, Dr. Barham said, “The works of ten bold, brave men should not be minimized or go in vain, because their passion and vigilance changed the political landscape of Dorchester County.”

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.