The Spy has teamed up with the Dorchester Chamber of Commerce, WHCP Community Radio, and the Mid-Shore Board of Realtors to host several candidate forums in advance of the July 19, 2022 primary election. The goal is to get the forums complete well ahead of the July 19th primary to provide County residents time to learn more about each candidate.

We continue our series with Republican candidates Addie Eckardt and Johnny Mautz running for Senate District 37.

This video is approximately 80 minutes in length. 

The Spy has teamed up with the Dorchester Chamber of Commerce, WHCP Community Radio, and the Mid-Shore Board of Realtors to host several candidate forums in advance of the July 19, 2022 primary election. The goal is to get the forums complete well ahead of the July 19th primary to provide County residents time to learn more about each candidate.

We continue our series with candidates running for Dorchester County Board of Education.

This video is approximately 90 minutes in length

A diverse crowd of all ages and races filled several blocks on Harrison Street in Easton on Saturday; and for those who doubted if such a celebration might ever occur in their lifetimes, this was more than a beautiful sunny day. The Delmarva Pride Festival was sponsored by the Delmarva Pride Center, a community service organization of volunteers dedicated to creating a positive environment of services and support for persons of all sexual orientations and gender identities throughout the Delmarva community.

Over 60 tables and booths lined several blocks along Harrison. The organizations and vendors participating included the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Caroline County and Easton YMCAs, Dorchester County Health Department, Mid Shore Pro Bono, Mid Shore Behavioral Health, Talbot County Free Library, Delmarva Pride, Quiet Wealth, LGBTQ Professionals, For All Seasons, Talbot Interfaith Shelter, Talbot County Department of Social Services, Chesapeake College Pride, Planned Parenthood, Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, The Arc, Talbot Humane, Jas Snack Shop – and many more.

Log Cabin Republicans of Maryland also participated, as did the Maryland Democratic Party, Talbot Democratic Women’s Club, Talbot Democratic Forum, and Democratic candidates Michele Dappert for Talbot County Council, Jim Bruce for Talbot County Council. representation for Wes Moore for Governor of Maryland, Republican Talbot County Council candidate Kyle O’Donnell, and candidate Naomi Hyman for Maryland State Senate.

On a day filled with both sunshine and relief, one visitor expressed his wish that Pride had been around earlier so that he wouldn’t have had to wait until he was 50 to come out; and a Log Cabin Republican, noting that they are not always received so warmly, appreciated that people here seemed “civilized.” A teacher also greeted a former student, exclaiming, “You are beautiful!” And most of us would likely agree that she truly was the most attractive person there.

There was more. The eleventh annual Juneteenth celebration, sponsored by the Academy Art Museum, Building African American Minds (BAAM), the Frederick Douglass Honor Society, and Talbot County Library, was just around the corner on South Street. This year’s celebration of the day in 1865 when a quarter of a million people learned of their freedom included the music of Dat Feel Good and Julie Outrage, exhibitions of paintings and illustrations, and food vendors including Scottish Highland Creamery, Danielle’s Pit Stop, and Gabee’s Icees.

This was clearly a day of sunshine and progress for the Mid-Shore.

This video is approximately one minute in length. 

A community meeting addressing short-term rental concerns on Tilghman Island was held at the firehouse on Sunday, June 5. By 2PM over 50 concerned citizens had filled most of the seats provided, and more filed in as this well-attended and very well-organized meeting commenced.

Jane Hawkey and participant 

Community concerns were outlined by Jane Hawkey; and Karen Allen, a resident of Tilghman since 1994. elaborated upon each of them.

Traffic has become a concern where she lives on Rude Avenue. With considerably more traffic on this narrow road and as many as several hundred visitors expected annually, residents fear for the future of their neighborhood.

Waterfront property is more modestly-priced on Tilghman, and commercial operators are buying homes. If just seven additional homes were approved for short-term rental, the neighborhood would become 43% STRs. One of these short-term rentals has already burned.

Resident Elise Davis’ new puppy insisted on a “potty run” at 2AM, and she saw smoke and flames next door. The renters from Key West had called 911, but their cell phones connected to emergency assistance in Florida.

Talbot County’s code for STRs was updated in 2020, and the county has two code compliance officers; but concerns, particularly for infrastructure requirements and density in neighborhoods remain. 115 STRs have been approved in Talbot County. 27 are on Tilghman, and more applications are scheduled for consideration.

Citizens were advised that a short-term rental review board meeting will be held on June 9 at 1PM at the Talbot County Community Center. One of those applications is scheduled for consideration.

Tilghman Island resident Leslie Steen introduced Scott Kane, chair of the STR review board and candidate for Talbot County Council.

His involvement in these matters was predicated by STR disturbances in his own Easton neighborhood four years ago; and his advice now includes becoming familiar with STR code and phone numbers and letting our county know of citizens’ concerns.

He also pointed out the advantages of short-term rentals, and those include additional income, and more recently, housing for visiting nurses. Negative aspects included compliance issues, neighborhood concerns, and and the oversight required.

Particularly timely was his reminder that the review board would be addressing only concerns related to applications being considered at the June 9 meeting. General concerns and policy issues are first submitted to the county council.

Three groups then formed to focus upon issues of transparency, enforcement, and commercialization. County council Vice President Pete Lesher and county council candidates Keasha Haythe, Jim Bruce, and Phil Jackson contributed to these conversations, but focused more upon becoming informed of citizen’s concerns.

Following 15 minutes of discussion, concerns were shared: Website issues were mentioned by all three groups. Other issues included the possibility of having more zoom meetings, the possibility of requiring STR owner occupancy (as in Easton), clarifying compliance issues, making the consequences of violations clear; and perhaps most importantly for Tilghman, developing metrics for density.

Participants left the meeting with a detailed sheet of instructions for contacting compliance officers and sharing their concerns with the county. And most, wishing to be kept informed, left their contact information with the meeting’s organizers.

Thirty-two years ago, a small nonprofit seeing the absence of after-school programs for young people began life in a small closet at the local elementary school as the St. Michael Community Center. And from those humble beginnings, the SMCC has grown substantially in both the programs they offer and the number of families they serve throughout the entire Bay Hundred region of Talbot County.

In fact, after a few temporary homes, the St. Michaels Community Center took the bold step to lease an old warehouse in the historic district in 2009 to meet the growing demand for children programming, teen outreach efforts, and senior citizen support. And in 2015, the organization’s board made another courageous decision to purchase the 5,000 sq foot facility to create a permanent home for these vital services.

And while its location on Railroad Avenue was ideal, given its proximity to many of the families needing those programs, an old warehouse was still an old warehouse. In addition to the crude lighting and the lack of heat for many rooms, most of the facility was simply no match for the community’s growing needs for educational and nutrition programs.

Almost from the day the building was purchased, the SMCC board of directors knew that they either had to renovate what they had or once again start a search for a more appropriate facility. And after a careful evaluation of options, the leaders concluded that the Railroad location would be ideal if only funds could be raised to redesign the structure and expand its operational use.

So, with fingers crossed and with the help of old pros like the SCMM president and campaign chair, Langley Shook (who had led the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum’s fundraising efforts while serving as President), the board voted to launch the organization’s first capital campaign to fulfill that mission.

With a stated goal of $3.5 million, Langley and his volunteer campaign leaders thought there was a reasonable chance that the community would generously respond to the initiative. They were correct in their assumption. Almost $3 million has been raised in cash or government grants to date.

But what Shook and his team could not have imagined when the goal was set was the unprecedented disruption that the COVID pandemic has caused in the worldwide supply chain. Already hard costs have risen by over $400,000 since they began the quiet phase of their fundraising effort, and, as Langley notes in his interview with the Spy from last week, he and his colleagues are finding themselves in a race to finish the campaign before the second wave of price increases forces even more costs to the project.

The Spy talked to Langley about those challenges and his team’s determination to break ground as soon as possible on the innovative plan that architect Mark McInturff designed.

This video is approximately four minutes in length. For more information or to make a donation to the St. Michaels Community Center campaign please go here.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

With a unanimous vote at the May 18, 2022 meeting, the Talbot County Board of Education  appointed Dr. Sharon Pepukayi as the new Talbot County Superintendent of Schools, effective July 1, 2022, pending finalization of the contract and approval of the Maryland State Superintendent of Schools, Mr. Mohammed Choudhury.  

Dr. Sharon Pepukayi

“The Board was very pleased with the high quality of the 18 applicants for the position of Superintendent of Talbot County Public Schools,” said Susan Delean-Botkin, Board President. 

“Dr. Pepukayi stood out with her excellent credentials, outstanding leadership, stakeholder support and local knowledge.  The Board is very pleased to welcome Dr. Pepukayi to Talbot County Public Schools. 

Dr. Pepukayi is currently an assistant superintendent for the Appoquinimink School District. As an educator for 30 years, Dr. Pepukayi has served in numerous roles including student advisor, mentor, reading coach, teacher, assistant principal, and principal prior to moving to district administration. It is while spending time in classrooms, that she recognized the need to keep students at the forefront of her decision making. Her passion for students is undeniable and she loves to talk with them about their educational journeys. 

Dr. Pepukayi is a collaborator and believes in unleashing the talents of others. She has worked tirelessly to develop leaders and promote equity and diversity efforts in her district. In addition, she helped with the expansion efforts as the district enrollment increased to over 3,000 during her tenure. This included opening new educational facilities, expansion of preschool and bilingual programming, and promoting student excellence within the community. 

Being no stranger to Maryland’s Eastern Shore, Dr. Pepukayi graduated from St. Michaels High School, then pursued her post-secondary education in North Carolina, Ohio, and Delaware. She credits her parents for instilling her love of teaching and learning. Her mother is a retired teacher, and her father is a retired waterman, businessman, and former school board member. Dr. Pepukayi earned her Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education from Bennett College, Master of Arts in Early and Middle Childhood Education from Ohio State University, and a Doctor of Education in Innovation and Leadership from Wilmington University. She is a member of many educational organizations, and a charter member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She has also provided training and presented at several national conferences. 

In her free time, Dr. Pepukayi enjoys being around the water, traveling, and spending time with family and friends. She is the proud parent of two sons.