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January 27, 2021

The Talbot Spy

The nonprofit e-newspaper for the Talbot County Community

Spy Highlights Spy Top Story

The Legacy of Martin Luther King with Bishop Ronald Fisher

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For Bishop Ronald Fisher of the Faith Life Church in Kent County, Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy is a simple one. With literally decades of service to the Eastern Shore and the church, the Bishop has been consistent in his firm belief that Dr.King’s legacy rests on the role of faith in conquering social inequality.

A native of Queen Anne’s County, Bishop Fisher quickly adopted into a life of service. In 1974, he started his life with God. He then promptly joined Gospel Church of God (Faith Life) two years later under pastor Bishop C.W. Cotton and succeeded him as Pastor in 1990.

Beyond his role as pastor, the Bishop has been an active participant on a state and local level. He has served as a counselor with the State of Maryland’s Division of Parole and Probation Boot Camp, provided sensitivity training for police departments, and is a member of the Kent County Extension Advisory Council for the Maryland Cooperative extension. He also developed two after-school mentoring programs, Boys to Men and Young Ladies on the Move.

With this deep background, Donald plans to focus on the power of MLK’s message in times of conflict for his virtual address today to the annual 19th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Observance and Breakfast. The Spy sat down with him last week by Zoom to capture his thoughts for those who couldn’t make the online event.

This video is approximately five minutes in length. For more information about Faith Life Church please go here.

 

An Angel in Easton: Washingtonian Magazine Looks at the Prager Phenomenon

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Perhaps one of the best gifts to a community is when an outside news source can bring a new perspective on sometimes controversial issues or trends taking place.

One of those trends taking place in every Spy market on the Mid-Shore is the appearance of “angels” in these small towns with not only a vision to rescue its struggling downtowns but access to capital to implement those plans.

To many residents in these communities, there is a sense of gratitude that their town is worthy of such remarkable investments. On the other hand, as Easton knows well, some challenges come with these engaged, strong-willed stakeholders who don’t hesitate to use their legitimate say on issues impacting a town’s look and culture.

The Washingtonian in its January issue provides a unique take on Easton’s number one fan and benefactor, Paul Prager, and his Talbot County hospitality projects.

Read the full article here.

 

 

 

A Special Encore of Two Friends Talking: Hopeful

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As many Talbot County residents have noticed over the last few months, the word “Hopeful” has been appearing on street corners, storefronts, homes, car bumpers, bicycles, and any other hard surface that exists silently and without explanation. That was the simple message that the artist Charlie Hewitt wanted to convey as a public art project as the country faced the dangers of COVID-19 and the impact it has had on millions of people.

Starting in Portland, Maine earlier this year, the “Hopeful” project has now has found its way to dozens of communities where these signs catch both pedestrians and motorists off guard. Those brief encounters immediately asked observers to interpret the word and its meaning without any other assistance from the artist. Was it a statement or was it a question? Or, in the case of Easton’s Dock Street Foundation, was it a call to action?

For Dock Street, the project was seen as a unique way to motivate the community not only to be hopeful but be proactive by donating to the Mid-Shore Community Foundation’s COVID-19 Response Fund. In partnering with MSCF, Dock Street has been using “Hopeful” to raise funds to provide food, shelter, and mental health services during these challenging times. 

The Spy interviewed Charlie a few weeks ago to define his art project and discuss its impact. But we also thought it was a good time to bring back our “Two Friends Talking” hosts Amy Haines and Sue Stockman, whose series last year was on the power and meaning of special words, to discuss briefly the word “hopeful” and what it means to them. 

This video is approximately four minutes in length. To make donation to the Hopeful project please go here.

 

 

Avalon Takes to the Stage Again: The Spy Chats with Tim Weigand

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There were times over the last six months when the words “live concert” seemed to be a dated concept for the Avalon Foundation. Shut down by the COVID-19 crisis, staff and patrons alike were more than worried that one of the most essential parts of Avalon’s programming would come to an abrupt end as Maryland’s stay-at-home orders were issued in March. With no ability to forecast when the Avalon Theatre or the Stoltz Listening Room would open its doors again, it was hard to see any silver lining for the art organization that had made its weekly concerts one of the most successful and critical acclaimed parts of its regional reputation.

Equally disappointing was the technology being used for remote concerts. While Zoom might have been a godsend to hundreds of businesses and schools eager to keep their lights on, the use of such tools had minimal appeal for the world of musicians. Those software programs’ video quality was marginal at best, while the compression of audio signals made professional musicians pull their hair out.

But as the Avalon’s Tim Weigand explains in his interview with the Spy yesterday, much as changed since so those early days of the coronavirus. The Avalon team devoted months to testing different models that would allow the venue to continue live performances and perfect their video and audio equipment that would provide a professional-grade level for remote concerts.

And it the last few weeks, all of this has come together in a unique pairing of limited seating live concerts and a robust live stream experience. Saturday concerts at the Avalon now allow seating up to twenty in their main theatre (which typically holds close to 200 seats) and, at the same time, offers viewers at home to plug in through Facebook and YouTube.

This video is approximately two minutes in length. For more information about the Avalon Theatre schedule, please go here. 

Talbot County Free Library Adjusts to the COVID Era

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If anyone is looking for an excellent example of how the COVID-19 crisis has changed our lives and culture, one only needs to know that the Talbot County Free Library recently increased the number of books one can check out to fifty. That’s right; from the days when most could only check out one or two books at a time, you can now show up with shopping bags to bring home dozens of books.

Aimed primarily to help students study at home, this is just one of many ways that the TCFL staff are adjusting to the needs of patrons during the coronavirus crisis.

The Spy sat down with two of the Library’s team working the front lines during this challenging time. Both Laura Powell, TCFL’s Youth Services Librarian, and Jo Powers, its Information Services Librarian, have been working double-time to find creative ways to help students with homework, seniors needing reading material, or making online resources available for those seeking employment or government assistance.

This video is approximately three minutes in length. For more information about the Talbot County Free Library’s eResources offerings please go here.

 

Spy Art Moment: Being Hopeful at Washington and Dover Streets

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Early Friday night, a crowd of about one hundred gathered in Thompson Park for the unveiling of two art sculptures by Maine artist Charlie Hewitt entitled “Hopeful” which will be seen on Dover and Washington Street as part of the Hopeful 2020 project.

The Dock Street Foundation and the Mid-Shore Community Foundation are the two major sponsors of Hopeful 2020, which plans to engage citizens to express hope for the future by contributing funds to the Mid-Shore Community Foundation’s Covid-19 Response Fund. Those contributions, in turn, will support nonprofit organizations that provide food, shelter and health services to Talbot County’s underserved residents.

The Talbot Arts Council is so partnering with their encouragement of arts groups to consider new projects in music, fine arts, crafts, poetry, and writing related to the theme of “hope.”

The Spy captured some of Hewitt’s comments regarding the meaning of being hopeful. 

This video is approximately three minutes in length. For more information about the Mid-Shore Community Foundation Covid-19 Response Fund or make a donation, please go here.

And Yet Plein Air Easton Perseveres: A Spy Chat with the Avalon

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Like many arts organizations, the Avalon Foundation found themselves with a daunting decision to make after COVID related social distancing became mandatory. In Avalon’s case, it was what to do about Plein Art Easton, their flagship event for the past eighteen years.

The first option of merely cancel Plein Art was discarded quickly. Nobody, be they Avalon staff and board members, artists, or artist patrons, wanted this major art event, which already had social distancing baked into its programming, to disappear.

The better option was answering the question of how to make Plein Art work during a coronavirus crisis. And with that goal in mind, the Avalon’s Al Bond and Jessica Bellis started working with their long term partners and stakeholders to come up with a plan of action.

In their Spy interview, Al and Jess talk about how their team quickly pivoted to make Plein Art Easton 2020 exciting and safe at the same time.

This video is approximately three minutes in length. To learn more  all of what Plein Art Easton offers please go here. 

Spy Moment: Honoring John Ford at Easton’s Rails to Trails Park

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Just a stone’s throw away from the late Town of Easton Council President John Ford’s house is the gateway to the Rails to Trails Park entrance. It seemed like the perfect location for naming a tree is his honor to his thirty years of public service to the town he loved so much.

With Mayor Robert Willey leading the dedication this morning, over a hundred of John Ford’s friends and colleagues gathered to pay their respects to a special town leader. John’s wife, Peggy, did the honors of the unveiling of the plaque, and expressed her gratitude to the town for acknowledging her husband’s devotion to Easton’s civic life.

COVID Makes New Partners with the Avalon, Tidewater Inn, and Wylder Tilghman Island

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There was a lot in common with the Avalon Foundation, the Tidewater Inn and Wylder Tilghman Island before COVID-19 came knocking on their doors. All three have always been heavily dependent on the summer months for special events, weddings, and seasonal crowds all eager for entertainment and hospitality services. But after the coronavirus crisis hit, most of those long awaited plans were left in the dust in the wind as stay-at-home orders came down from the Governor’s office.

Nonetheless, the desire by all three to partner on a creative way to create new revenue was almost immediate. With the Avalon’s Suzy Moore, using her eighteen years as its artistic director, securing popular local bands, coupled with chef Jordan Lloyd at Wylder and chef Daniel Pochron at the Tidewater on the food front, the team has formed a dinner and music program that has already become a huge success on Tilghman Island and in downtown Easton.

The Spy asked Suzy, Jordan and the Tidewater’s Lauren Catterton to spend a few minutes to talk about this new alliance and how Wednesday and Thursday nights have been turned into the Sunlit Summer Song Series, an al fresco style dinner and some of the region’s best performers.

This video is approximately three minutes in length. For more information about the Wylder Inn concert series please go here.  For the Tidewater Inn’s programming please go here. 

 

Cybercrime is Another Epidemic Talbot County Needs to Worry About

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Almost every resident of Talbot County knows there is a significant and dangerous epidemic threatening the region. The arrival of COVID-19 on the Eastern Shore has already done considerable damage to both families and businesses, and only through a conscious effort to protect one’s home or store can this severe pandemic be controlled.

But Fred Christie, Easton Utilities’ Chief Information Officer, wants to add to that list of severe threats by including another type of epidemic, that of the rise of cybercrime.

Despite the lack of publicity, cybercrime is growing, not retreating. The use of sophisticated ways to access personal accounts as well as large networks by criminal hackers is posing a significant danger to individuals and companies. Like fighting any pandemic, Fred Christie wants EU customers to be proactive in protecting their accounts and cloud-related assets.

The Spy talked to Fred in the spring about protecting your identity, financial accounts, and other valuable information on the web with some simple, common-sense solutions.

This video is approximately two minutes in length. For more information about Easton Utilities please go here.