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June 8, 2023

Talbot Spy

Nonpartisan Education-based News for Talbot County Community

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Education Ed Homepage News News Homepage News News Portal Lead

WC’s Interim President Powell on COVID, Campus Morale, and Presidential Search

February 4, 2021 by Dave Wheelan

It’s hard to imagine a more difficult time to lead a small liberal arts college than in the first few months of 2021. In addition to the ongoing struggle of adjusting a school’s business model to remain competitive, college presidents now must cope with the massive disruption caused by COVID on an institution’s mission and finances.

And if you’re in these roles in an acting capacity, like Washington College’s Interim President Dr. Wayne Powell, it might be easy to double the stress factor in navigating through these troubled waters.

But in listening to Dr. Powell yesterday when he talked to the Spy, it is surprising to note his general theme of optimism in the face of these unprecedented challenges.

In his Spy interview, the former president of Lenoir Rhyne University talks candidly about his short tenure at WC in fulfilling his primary task of managing the school’s operations and creating a solid runway for a new permanent president to inherent once selected later this year.

This video is approximately thirteen minutes in length. For more information about Washington College please go here.

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

Filed Under: Ed Homepage, News Homepage, News Portal Lead

Talbot Interfaith Shelter Purchases Second Shelter in Easton

January 27, 2021 by Spy Desk

In mid-November, the Board of Zoning Appeals voted unanimously to approve a permit for Talbot Interfaith Shelter (TIS) to operate a second shelter facility directly next door to their existing shelter in the heart of downtown Easton.  On January 26th, TIS finalized the purchase of the property.

After a few upgrades, including the installation of a fire suppression system, this new shelter will serve single men and women, while the organization’s first shelter, located in a former bed and breakfast called Easton’s Promise, will be converted to a families-only facility.

“This is a big leap forward for our organization,” says TIS Executive Director Julie Lowe.  “We have been receiving approximately 25 calls per month from single individuals seeking shelter and assistance with getting back on their feet.  It has been heartbreaking to turn people away, and we are looking forward to being able to welcome more of our neighbors into our family in the near future.”

To celebrate the purchase of the new shelter, Talbot Interfaith Shelter is holding a house naming contest.  Those with a name suggestion can visit here before Wednesday the 2th to submit their idea.  Voting will open on Thursday 29, and the winner will be announced on February 15.

In addition, those looking to provide financial support for the shelter’s expansion now have a unique opportunity to double the impact of their donation.  In honor of Marketing and Development Director Jayme Dingler’s 40th birthday, a generous donor offered to match the next $40,000 donated in support of Talbot Interfaith Shelter’s mission.  Dingler will also donate $40 each in honor of the first ten people to make a gift as part of the campaign.

She says, “One of the biggest blessings of my entire life is being a part of this incredible organization…  As TIS and I are reaching major milestones at the same time, it seems only fitting to celebrate my ‘big day’ by celebrating TIS!  Thank you to our generous matching donor for making this possible, and thanks in advance to everyone who contributes.  I am humbled and so grateful!”

To make a donation, visit talbotinterfaithshelter.org or mail a check to PO Box 2004, Easton, MD 21601.  Contact Jayme at jaymedingler@talbotinterfaithshelter.org or 443-786-4676 to learn about other ways to give.

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

Filed Under: News Homepage, News Portal Lead

Mid-Shore COVID Vaccine Rollout: A Chat with Shore Health’s Lead Pharmacist Kevin Chapple

December 17, 2020 by Dave Wheelan

Perhaps never before has the tagline of “make sure to ask your pharmacist” been more relevant to our community than after hearing the news that a coronavirus vaccine shipment had arrived on the Eastern Shore on Tuesday. And in the case of Mid-Shore, the pharmacist to ask is Kevin Chapple, who is the Regional Shore Health’s director Of pharmacy for the system’s five coverage.

In our Zoom chat from yesterday, Kevin and the Spy talk about the rollout plans for the vaccine at their Chestertown, Easton, and Cambridge hubs over the next year. We also talk about who should take medication and the health system’s capacity to manage this historic campaign to protect the region from the worldwide pandemic.

This video is approximately ten minutes in length. For more information about Shore Regional Health and COVID please go here
.

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

Filed Under: News Homepage, News Portal Highlights, News Portal Lead

Frontline Health Care Workers Get First Round of COVID-19 Vaccines

December 16, 2020 by Spy Desk

Fifteen University of Maryland Shore Regional Health (UM SRH) frontline health care workers from throughout the hospital system’s five-county region were vaccinated today with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

Those vaccinated included employees from emergency departments throughout the Shore, COVID units and infectious disease departments, as well as respiratory therapists, nursing staff, environmental services team members and security personnel.

University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) and University of Maryland School of Medicine (UM SOM) began vaccinating its frontline health care workers on Monday. The vaccine is being administered in a tiered system that prioritizes frontline team members involved in patient care.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was the first vaccine granted emergency authorization in the United States on December 11, nine months into the COVID-19 pandemic that has claimed the lives of more than 300,000 Americans.

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health were the first in the U.S. to test the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, studying its safety, efficacy and dosing, and hosted clinical trials. Vaccine experts from around the world have determined that the new vaccine is safe and effective.

UMMS received an initial shipment of 975 vaccine doses and has fairly allocated doses across its 13-hospital System, with additional vaccine delivery expected later this week. UM SRH intends to administer of its allocations of the COVID-19 vaccine to team members this week.

Vaccines are being distributed according to the Framework for Equitable Allocation of COVID-19 Vaccine — developed by the National Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) — as well as ACIP’s Ethical Principles for Allocating Initial Supplies of COVID-19 Vaccine. These guidelines ensure the vaccine is allocated ethically across our populations of health care professionals, including students, faculty and other essential workers, while still in limited supply.

“For many months, we have been looking forward to the day when vaccines would be available to protect our health care workers and very soon for the community at large,” said Mohan Suntha, MD, MBA, president and CEO of the University of Maryland Medical System. “As we begin vaccinations, and finally begin the process of ending this pandemic, I’m thankful to our UMMS and UM School of Medicine colleagues who have been working tirelessly to care for our community and lead in the development of innovative treatments and vaccines.”

Ken Kozel, president and CEO, UM SRH, said he is proud of the way the UM SRH team has tackled the continually evolving challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“During these past nine months, and well before that, the dedication, perseverance and skill of our Shore Regional Health family has always been incredible to witness,” Kozel said. “This vaccine is the hope we have all been waiting for — not just for our frontline health care workers, but also our communities. The recent authorization of this safe and effective vaccine paves the way for our System to begin vaccinating our frontline staff. We are proud to be among the first in the country to receive this life-saving vaccine so we can continue to care for the communities we love and who trust us to provide exceptional care.”

William Huffner, MD, chief medical officer and COVID-19 incident commander for UM SRH, said he is proud of the UM SRH team effort in combating the COVID-19 pandemic and looks forward to turning the page on this moment in our nation’s history as more people are able to be vaccinated in the coming days and months ahead.

“This vaccine is a critical part of our ability to successfully combat this highly infectious disease,” Dr. Huffner said. “We have been looking forward to this day for months. Protecting our communities is what we do. Now, with the vaccine, we can ensure we are further protecting our frontline teams’ ability to do just that.”

The first UM SRH team member to receive the vaccine was Rosa Mateo, MD, an infectious disease specialist with UM SRH. Dr. Mateo oversees the COVID care units at UM Shore Medical Centers at Chestertown, Dorchester and Easton. Dr. Mateo believes in the science behind the vaccine.

“I have been fighting COVID-19 for more than nine months now and I’ve been waiting for this day since the pandemic started,” Dr. Mateo said. “We finally have the tool we’ve been waiting for to finish the fight against COVID-19. I’m excited to be the first team member to receive the vaccine. I did this not only for myself, but for my family, my co-workers and all the patients that may need to visit us from our communities. This vaccine will help us get back to our normal lives, before the pandemic started.” 

UM SRH looks forward to being able to vaccinate employees across its five-county region in the days and weeks ahead, as more vaccine supply becomes available. For the latest information and updates on UM SRH COVID-19 response efforts, visit umshoreregional.org/coronavirus.

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

Filed Under: News Homepage, News Portal Highlights, News Portal Lead Tagged With: coronavirus, covid, frontline, health care workers, Shore Regional Health, umms, vaccine

We Are Not Going Away!” About 100 Gather to Protest Confederate Monument

October 29, 2020 by Spy Desk

“We stand together on this battleground. We are not going away!”

That was the message Dr. Kirkland Hall delivered to a crowd of about 100 gathered on the lawn of the Talbot County Courthouse Tuesday evening to protest the Confederate monument.

“Move the statue and vote like your lives depend on it, “ said Hall, a former professor at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and a commissioner on the Maryland Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Hall was one of four speakers at the rally, the fifth gathering held by The Move the Monument Coalition during the Talbot County Council meeting.

The rally is part of an ongoing commitment to gather the nights the Talbot County Council meets to send the message that their 3-to-2 vote to leave the statue in place does not represent the sentiments of the majority of Talbot County’s citizens who will continue to push for its removal.

All of the speakers spoke of the monument, erected in 1916 during the Jim Crow era, as a symbol calculated to intimidate Blacks and to keep them from enjoying full rights and privileges. Its continued presence is an affront, they said.

Hall spoke of growing up in an era when Blacks on the Eastern Shore had to walk on one side of the street and drink out of “colored-only” water fountains. “I am confused; I am disappointed that we still have to fight this fight,” he said.

Jazzmine Davis, a founder of Collective Majority, a community activist group that focuses on social justice issues, said the statue “sends a clear message to black residents that our feelings don’t matter.”

“We’re angry; we’re sad and we’re tired,” she said.

Rose Potter, who served two terms as commissioner for the town of Trappe and ran for County Council in 2018, spoke of the monument’s presence on the courthouse lawn as “tormenting and distressing.”

“It is not moral or respectable to have this depiction,” she said.

Tranel Stanford, one of three members of A Tribe Called 3, a podcast that focuses on social justice issues, told the crowd that the “statue represents all the negativity we face as Black people.”

“If we enter the courthouse, we have to go by that. It’s a slap in the face,” he said.

Doug Cephas, another member of A Tribe Called 3, added:

“This statue doesn’t belong next to the Frederick Douglass statue. It doesn’t belong in front of the courthouse. It belongs in the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay. It’s an absolute abomination that we are still even talking about this statue in 2020, especially considering the year we have had.”

The next rally will be 6 p.m., Nov. 10, to coincide with the next County Council meeting.

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

Filed Under: News Portal Lead

COVID-19 on the Shore after Eight Months with Dr. William Huffner

October 27, 2020 by Dave Wheelan

The last time the Spy sat down with Dr. William Huffner, UM Shore Regional Health’s chief medical officer, was March 13 of this year. While the country was waking up to the severe threat of COVID-19, it was also before Governor Larry Hogan would issue his “stay-at-home” order for the state of Maryland, and before any cases of coronavirus had been reported on the Mid-Shore.

Since that afternoon in mid-March, the Mid-Shore has had approximately 3,290 cases of COVID and 80 deaths related to the pandemic. It has been a trying time for Dr. Huffner and his colleagues, but as he notes in our most recent interview, he is incredibly proud of the way Shore Regional Health has been able to perform during the crisis. In particular, Huffner stresses that Shore was at a significant advantage, given its relationship with the University of Maryland Medical System with its network of specialists and access to equipment and personal protection.

And while Dr. Huffner has been pleased with his team’s response so far, he is the first to say that the Mid-Shore is not out of the woods. With the arrival of colder weather and evidence that points to a new surge in local cases, vigilance, including social distancing, mask-wearing, and hands-washing, are the essential tools to limit the community’s exposure over the next several months as the world waits for a vaccine in 2021.

This video is approximately six minutes in length. For more information about Shore Regional Health and COVID information please go here.

 

 

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

Filed Under: Health Lead, Health Portal Lead, News Homepage, News Portal Lead

The Future of Finance…and much Else by Al Hammond

September 25, 2020 by Al Hammond

With mail-in voting poised to begin in Maryland next month, there have been concerns (mostly misplaced) about the security of that process. By the time of next presidential election in 2024, however, it’s likely that voting from home via a novel technology called “blockchain” will completely eliminate any chance of fraud. Blockchains are also poised to eliminate fraud from credit card purchases and simplify (as well as secure) cross-border financial transactions. So blockchains are likely to be part of your financial future. But what is this novel and still poorly understood technology and where did it come from?

The invention of the internet created a fundamental shift in how we access and share information. In effect, the internet digitized the sharing of information in ways that made email, web sites, and smart phone apps possible—in the process changing the way we live. Now another technological innovation, the blockchain, looks ready to digitize both how we store information safely and how we share value (via digital money or digital tokens that convey ownership of physical assets). Indeed, the CEO of IBM has said “What the internet was for communication, blockchain will do for trusted transactions.”

The first blockchain—the bitcoin blockchain—was created in 2009 by an anonymous inventor who was also a gifted programmer. A blockchain is just digital record of transactions that is stored in a global network of computers in such a way that each page or “block” of transactions is unalterably linked to the previous one—forming a continuous set or “chain” of blocks of data. The computer network operates under consensus rules written into the blockchain software, so that all nodes of the network have to agree before a new block of transaction data can be added to the records. Because the records are stored in multiple places (distributed across thousands of nodes in the bitcoin network) and protected by advanced cryptography, no one person or institution has control of the data. That makes the data virtually impossible to alter—an intruder would have to take over more than half of the nodes simultaneously—and therefore much safer than your data stored at a credit agency, a merchant, or a credit card company (all of which can and have been hacked).

The bitcoin blockchain was intended to create a store of value that could not be manipulated by governments (by, for example, printing huge sums of money). But its invention stimulated a flood of ideas about how to apply the blockchain idea to other problems or opportunities. These innovations—involving many different consensus rules, but all using linked blocks of data distributed across many nodes—now seem poised to transform banking, credit cards, real estate transactions, and many other financial activities. Blockchains could even enable secure, fraud-free voting from home, while keeping the information about how each individual votes completely anonymous: indeed, the U.S. Postal Service has been issued a patent for just such a voting system.

Major financial institutions are adopting blockchain technology at a rapid pace. Fidelity and Morgan Stanley are preparing to offer their customers access to bitcoin and other digital or “crypto” currencies as well as stocks. The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which regulates banks, has just approved U.S. banks to store digital currencies for their customers (many European banks already do). And virtually every major bank is exploring blockchain applications. Mastercard is developing a blockchain replacement for debit and credit cards that could eliminate the growing and costly incidence of fraud and theft. Square, a financial firm that services small merchants, also enables individuals that use its cash app to buy and sell bitcoin or use it to pay bills—resulting in $875 million of bitcoin revenue last year. Paypal is preparing to offer similar services to its 300 million users worldwide. Walmart and UPS are starting to use blockchains to track supply chains and facilitate cross-border transactions. At a global level, the Depository Trust Closing Corporation, which settles some $54 trillion in cross-border financial transactions a year, has already closed $10 trillion in transactions with a blockchain. China recently launched a national blockchain platform and with it a prospective national digital currency. So blockchains are rapidly going mainstream.

Much of the attention around these innovations has focused on digital or “crypto” currencies such as bitcoin, a form of digital money that is not issued by a government or managed by a financial institution and which can be instantly transferred from one person to another anywhere in the world. In effect, bitcoin is a kind of software, created by the consensus rules of its underlying blockchain. That blockchain permanently stores the complete history of every bitcoin transaction, and updates the information—verifying and adding new transactions on which all the nodes of the network agree—about every 8 minutes. The operators of the nodes are paid for their services by transaction fees charged those making transactions and by a block grant of new bitcoin—created by the network’s governing consensus rules. Those rules also dictate that the supply of new bitcoin is cut in half every 4 years and will never exceed 21 million bitcoin. (About three-quarters of that amount has already been created.) So if demand increases while supply is limited, the price of bitcoin will rise—which accounts for its growing attractiveness as an investment. For that reason, bitcoin is often described as a potential digital gold, a secure (if volatile) store of value—and indeed, since its creation, the value of bitcoin has risen faster than gold or any other asset class, including stocks. In contrast, the purchasing power of the U.S. dollar has declined 20 percent since 2008.

One limiting factor to widespread use of bitcoin and other digital tokens is that they are not yet exactly consumer friendly. They are mostly bought or sold on digital exchanges (some of which have been hacked) and are typically stored in digital wallets that can be intimidating to use (since sending bitcoin to a wrong address is not recoverable). On the other hand, you can trade or send bitcoin to a friend 24/7 and the transaction typically takes only a few minutes—compared to as much as several days and much higher fees to send money across borders through the banking system. And improvements are coming, both in ease of access and use, in faster transactions, and secure third-party custody.

Adoption and use of bitcoin and other digital tokens is also accelerating. About 10 percent of the U.S. population are now believed to own some bitcoin. One analyst—noting that it took 10 years for 10 percent of the U.S. population to use the internet, but then adoption reached more than 70 percent in a second 10 years—predicts that bitcoin is following a similar timeline, with adoption driven both by increasingly institutional use and by millennials and still younger generations (who tend to be more comfortable with digital objects). More fundamentally, blockchain innovations are nearing commercial use in many different sectors of the economy—in the U.S., in Europe, and especially in Asia.

Al Hammond was trained as a scientist (Stanford, Harvard) but became a distinguished science journalist, reporting for Science (a leading scientific journal) and many other technical and popular magazines and on a daily radio program for CBS. He subsequently founded and served as editor-in-chief for 4 national science-related publications as well as editor-in-chief for the United Nation’s bi-annual environmental report. More recently, he has written, edited, or contributed to many national assessments of scientific research for federal science agencies. Dr. Hammond makes his home in Chestertown on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

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

Filed Under: News Homepage, News Portal Highlights, News Portal Lead

Talbot Boys to Stay; Protesters Call for Statue Removal and Council Members to be Voted Out

August 12, 2020 by John Griep

The county council voted 3-2 Tuesday night against removing the statue atop the rebel monument on the courthouse lawn.

The vote on Resolution 290 came after a majority of the members of the Talbot County Council voted against, or abstained from, amendments that called for removing the entire monument, not just the statue.

Protesters affixed signs to the statue calling for the monument’s removal and for council members who voted against removal to be voted out. Photo by John Griep

Council President Corey Pack and Councilman Pete Lesher voted for removal; members Frank Divilio, Chuck Callahan, and Laura Price voted against.

The vote, held in council chambers closed to the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic, drew a quick response from local residents fighting to have the statue removed.

Signs reading “Take it down” and “Vote them Out” were affixed to the statue and a growing crowd gathered on Dover Street outside the courthouse to shout “take it down,” “no justice, no peace,” “black lives matter,” and other chants that could be heard inside the council chambers.

A banner reading “No hate in our state” later was unfurled as the demonstration continued.

After a brief recess near the end of the meeting, the council decided to suspend the remainder of the session.

“We understand that citizens are quite upset over the earlier vote taken today so council is going to go ahead and suspend the balance of this meeting,” Pack announced. “Basically we’re at the end of the meeting.”

“I know there has been a number of people online (teleconference) for public comment. We certainly will take any comment in writing that persons will have,” he said.

Pack, who proposed Resolution 290, had previously voted against the monument’s removal.

“Where I was five years ago is not where I am today,” he said before the final vote. “People change, times change. And I’ve said repeatedly that a man who fails to change his mind will never change the world that’s around him….

“I do not support the Talbot Boys statue remaining on the courthouse lawn. I don’t think it’s appropriate. I know what I’ve said in the past and I’m very much aware of what I’ve said in the past, but it is not appropriate to keep that symbol on the courthouse lawn,” he said.

“I’ve made my apologies to myself, I’ve made my apologies to … persons previously because of my vote in the past. It’s not one of my better votes and I’m ashamed to have voted that way.

“But that’s done, that’s in the past,” Pack said. “We can only look to the future and only make those changes today which will impact our future. I think that not removing that statue will certainly say a lot about this county, a lot about this council as we move forward through the rest of this term and into the next.”

Lesher, in comments before the vote, said the decision would speak to what the county believes in and its failure to change and said he was worried about the effect on the county’s tourism and hospitality industries.

“The removal of this monument … would not change the history of this county and it may not directly improve anyone’s economic or physical well-being, but the number who’ve expressed their feelings in this matter have made it clear that this, this is indeed a powerful symbol and our actions on it tonight, I’m afraid, sadly speak to who we are now as a county and the extent to which we have not yet changed.

“I hope, I aspire, to be better than this.

“Our failure to act to remove this monument from the courthouse square, in our failure to do so, Talbot County increasingly puts its tourism economy at risk along with our legendary reputation for hospitality,” Lesher said. “Whatever it may have meant in the past, the Talbot Boys today is not viewed as a welcoming symbol, that we accommodate all people here with equity and with justice.

“Now, more than ever, if Talbot County’s economy is to recover from the devastating impacts of COVID-19 pandemic, I fear that we further imperil it by allowing us to remain the last holdout of a Confederate monument on public property outside of a battlefield or a cemetery in the state of Maryland.”

Saying it applied to the situation in Talbot County, Lesher also read an excerpt from the speech New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu made in May 2017 after that city removed its Confederate monuments:

“To literally put the Confederacy on a pedestal in our most prominent places of honor is an inaccurate recitation of our full past, it is an affront to our present, and it is a bad prescription for our future.

“History cannot be changed. It cannot be moved like a statue. What is done is done. Surely we are far enough removed from that dark time to acknowledge that the cause of the Confederacy was wrong. And in the second decade of the 21st century, asking African-Americans or anyone else to drive by this property that they as members of the public own occupied by reverential statues and names of men who fought to destroy the country and deny that person’s humanity seems perverse and absurd.

“Centuries old wounds are still raw because they never healed right in the first place. We are better together than we are apart.”

Before the vote, Divilio, Callahan, and Price pushed for delay, arguing the council’s decision to close its meetings to the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing technical issues with the audio for the live video and teleconference of meetings had restricted public input.

Divilio and Callahan also called for the public to decide the issue by putting the statue’s removal on the ballot in 2022, while Price argued that the resolution was improperly introduced because the council only was meeting during the pandemic to deal with critical operations and the budget.

“I’d like to push it down the road a little bit,” Callahan said, noting the two amendments introduced Tuesday night.

He said it is difficult to hold meetings without the public in attendance.

“This is a big deal for a lot of people and it’s a big deal for us to make such a historical decision on something that is 150 years old. We’re changing the way we’re looking at history,” Callahan said. “I think we better really take a couple steps back and make sure we’re doing the right thing and at this time I don’t think we’re doing the right thing.”

Price also opposed taking action Tuesday night and suggested Resolution 290 had been improperly introduced.

“Because we have had no public input on amendments 2 or 3, I believe that that is inappropriate for us to take any votes on the amendments this evening and additionally the entire resolution should not have been introduced under our emergency order,” Price said. “We were only supposed to deal with critical legislation and the budget at this time. As an example, we let several pieces of legislation expire including short-term rentals that’s also supposed to be voted on this evening.

“Certainly this is a worthy issue to be given its proper attention but it is not appropriate to vote on tonight when we still lack sufficient public comment, knowledge of the cost of any removal, approval of the historic district commission … and knowledge of where and how the statue will be stored,” she said. “Because we have not had that feedback from the public and I believe this resolution was introduced at a time that was deemed only critical to county operations and the budget, I believe that we should not vote on anything this evening, but especially the amendments which have had no public input at all.”

Pack noted amendments are often introduced by members and voted on without additional public hearing and the proposed amendments were not deemed as substantive changes to the overall bill.

And, unless Resolution 290 is passed, there is nothing to take before the Easton Historic District Commission, he said.

Pack and Lesher also noted the first amendment, which would have changed Resolution 290 to include the removal of the entire monument, had been publicly available before the July 28 hearing on the resolution.

“If the statue is simply removed, there will never be a statue that represents a very complex period in the county’s history,” Price said. “If people haven’t come together with any effort over the past five years, it surely isn’t going to happen once it’s gone.”

Divilio said he had offered an idea for a unity statue, suggesting a group be formed to develop a design and raise funds for a new monument.

“I’m committed to move forward with a plan, a committee, and a ballot question so that we can put this issue to rest with full public input at the nearest possible election,” he said.

“Now it’s time for us to put it back to the community, if they’ve asked three different councils to change their opinion and we’ve tried, we’re putting it back to the community to put it on a ballot question would be my plan so that everybody has an opportunity to voice their opinion.”

With the pandemic and a budget freeze, Callahan said it was the wrong time for the council to vote on the issue. He also called for the public to decide the fate of the statue.

“I think that this should be in the hands of the community and not our hands. This is something that should be voted on from the community. People have asked me many, many times can you put it on the ballot? We all know we can’t do that this go-round. We’d have to do it in ’22.

“It’s only fair that the community make that decision, not us. I feel very uncomfortable with something that’s happened 155 years ago and I’m making a decision on whether this thing should go or not. I don’t think that’s fair. I don’t think that should be my decision, I don’t think it should be the council decision, I think it’s the community that should be making that.”

Callahan also noted a prior council had rejected the statue’s removal in recent years and had said it would consider a Union statue if a group proposed one.

Pack noted Callahan had frequently said in the past that county voters had elected him to make decisions.

“So you can’t go back and forth and say one day they hired you to do a job … and now say you’re going to throw it back on the people,” Pack said.

Divilio interjected, arguing that Pack was twisting his and Callahan’s comments, but Callahan said to let Pack finish.

Pack noted he had not mentioned Divilio’s comments and was simply highlighting Callahan’s prior statements contradicting his stance on the statue removal.

“Let’s go back five years ago,” Callahan responded. “We’re dealing with your change right now; you’ve done flip flopped 180 degrees. We’re dealing with that as a council. So if I feel like it’s the wrong time and we need the public to vote on this, that’s what I think. So don’t tell me I’m this and I’m that ….”

After a somewhat heated discussion between the two men, Callahan said, “We’re talking history here…. And nobody’s here that’s on that statue — there’s 84 names on that statue — and they can’t stand in front of us and tell us what their thoughts are. And that’s something you need to think about too.”

This is the third time the county council has rejected calls to remove the monument, which has a statue of a young flag bearer holding the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia atop a base listing the names of 84 men from Talbot County who fought against the United States.

As the nation continues to grapple with the wounds of its history of slavery, white supremacy, and racism, and amid cries for equal justice for all races, former rebel states have seen fit to remove the battle flag of Gen. Robert E. Lee’s army and to remove statues to rebel leaders from public spaces.

Mississippi voted this summer to remove the battle flag from its state flag. Richmond, Va., capital of the Confederacy, removed all Confederate monuments from Monument Avenue.

In Talbot County, more than 400 patriots fought for the Union, significantly higher than the 84 rebels who fought against their state and country.

Marjorie Opalski, right, and daughter Jessica listen to the county council Tuesday night outside the courthouse lawn. Photo by John Griep

As the council met Tuesday night, Marjorie Opalski and daughter Jessica stood at the main Washington Street entrance to the courthouse lawn. Marjorie Opalski held her cell phone, listening to the council discussion on speaker, as Jessica held a sign that read: “No Confederate statues.”

While mother and daughter were the only two demonstrating earlier Tuesday night, a crowd began gathering on the lawn after the vote, moving to the entrance to the courthouse’s south wing, where the county council meets, before moving to the sidewalk along Dover Street where they chanted for justice and the statue’s removal outside the windows to the council chamber.

Among the crowd were Easton Council President Megan Cook and Talbot NAACP President Richard Potter. A marked Easton Police Department SUV drove down Dover Street several times, but didn’t stop.

Talbot County Sheriff Joe Gamble and a deputy arrived about 8:30 p.m. and went inside the building for a period of time before Gamble left less than 30 minutes later.

At about 9 p.m., the demonstrators split into several groups to ensure all exits from the south wing of the courthouse were covered and council members would have to face citizens upset about the vote.

This video is approximately 39 minutes in length 

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

Filed Under: News Homepage, News Portal Lead Tagged With: confederate, confederate flag, county council, courthouse, statue, talbot boys

Talbot County Council Votes to Keep Talbot Boys in Place; Protesters Chant for Justice

August 11, 2020 by John Griep

The Talbot County Council voted 3-2 tonight to keep the controversial Talbot Boys statue on the county’s courthouse lawn. With Council President Corey Pack and Councilman Pete Lesher voting to remove the Confederate memorial, the balance of the council, including Council Members Chuck Callahan, Frank Divilio, and Laura Price, voted in the majority to keep the Talbot Boys in place.

Shortly after the decision, some one hundred protesters spontaneously arrived in downtown Easton to voice their opposition to the decision.

The Spy will have a full report on the vote on Wednesday.

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

Filed Under: News Homepage, News Portal Lead Tagged With: black lives matter, confederate, county council, protest, statue, Talbot, talbot boys

The BLM Murals: A Different Perspective with Freedom of Speech Expert Jim Astrachan

August 8, 2020 by James Dissette

The Black Lives Matter and We Can’t Breathe street mural proposals will be presented to the Chestertown Town Council on Monday, August 10th, at 7:30 pm.

For several weeks the proposals have dominated discussions throughout the community and have garnered widespread support and criticism.

One concern especially has been brought to the fore: what are the legal ramifications of a painted mural on a town street, and does it open a Pandora’s box of claims for equal representation by other organizations?

As with most cases in Chestertown, an expert in first amendment rights was just around the corner.

The Spy has turned to attorney and Chestertown resident Jim Astrachan to frame the mural proposal in a town law and Constitutional context. He neither promotes nor dismisses the idea, but offers scenarios using the legal principle of government speech doctrine. In other words, the Free Speech Clause of the 1st Amendment does not restrict government speech.

Consequently, the Town could accept the mural proposals and make the BLM murals a government statement. But where does a street mural fit into legal precedents, and if the mural was to become government speech, what legal challenges could be presented?

During a more extended overview of Constitutional issues, Astrachan offers some insight into how the mural project might proceed, its potential challenges, and an interesting alternative.

Jim is a partner at Astrachan Gunst Thomas in Baltimore and professor of Law at Baltimore University and speaks nationwide on intellectual copyright, property topics, including advertising law, branding, trademark protection and copyright protection. He is the author of The Law of Advertising and Mass Communications.

This video is approximately six minutes in length

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

Filed Under: News Homepage, News Portal Lead

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