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April 1, 2023

The Talbot Spy

The nonprofit e-newspaper for the Talbot County Community

Education Ed Notes

You Too Can Practice Conservation Landscaping!

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Let’s face it, the birds and bees can use all the help they can get these days.  Fortunately, there’s plenty that gardeners can do to provide much needed habitat and still have an attractive garden.

Join Chesapeake Forum for a three-course program on conservation gardening beginning April 18th and learn how  to provide habitat for local and migratory birds, butterflies and other beneficials.   Field trips will trigger your imagination as you learn how to find suitable native plants to add to your landscape to support your favorite pollinators, and perhaps replace plants from foreign habitats.

The course will focus on the habitat of the Eastern Shore region and the unique solutions that native plant options can provide when puzzling over how to “perk up” your landscape with care-free selections that will survive from year to year while providing a positive habitat for pollinators.

You Too Can Practice Conservation Landscaping is three (3) classroom sessions on Tuesday, April 18, 25th and May 2nd from 1-2:30 PM.  Plus, two (2) field trips on Friday April 21st and 28th from 10-11:30 AM and an optional field trip to Mt. Cuba on May 5th, which requires a separate registration.  To register, visit https://chesapeakeforum.org.

Chesapeake Forum is nonprofit organization dedicated to providing lifelong learning opportunities for residents of the Eastern Shore.  To receive Chesapeake Forum’s newsletter, please send your email and mailing address to info@chesapeakeforum.org.

Gunston’s Fairuz Manion Earns “Outstanding PIPSN School Nurse Award”

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Fairuz Manion, PhDc, MSN, RN

The Gunston School is pleased to announce their School Nurse/Health Coordinator Fairuz Manion, PhDc, MSN, RN has been awarded the 2023 Outstanding Private, Independent, and Parochial School Nurse (PIPSN) Award by the the PIPSN Special Interest Group of the National Association of School Nurses (NASN).

This award recognizes school nurses who demonstrate excellence through clinical expertise, research and education, management, mentoring, advocacy and leadership with a scholarship to both the NASN Conference and the Maryland Association of School Health Nurses (MASHN) annual conference.

Manion leads the school’s overall approach to health, wellness, and health education, working with the school’s leadership to deliver a best practices health and wellness education program. She oversees student care management, employee care management, employee wellness program coordination, mental health support, and instructing the ninth grade wellness course.

Additionally, Manion secured grant funding to equip the campus with all new automated external defibrillator (AED) devices and leads the school’s annual trainings on First Aid, CPR, AED, epipens, Narcan administration, bloodborne pathogens, and “Stop the Bleed” programs. She organizes and administers vaccination clinics for employees and coordinates the school’s feminine hygiene program.

“Ms. Manion’s impressive resume details her many educational accomplishments,” said Christine Ratych, President of MASHN Executive Board. “She has served as a faculty member at several universities and also several years in clinical practice. She is also very involved in her community as well as her school.”

Before Manion joined The Gunston School in 2020, she worked for BayHealth Medical Center in Dover for more than 15 years, specializing in patient care, discharge planning, and overseeing outreach programs aimed to prevent communicable diseases and comorbidities within the state of Delaware. She also routinely volunteered as a substitute school nurse for Holy Cross Elementary for a number of years. She has a Masters degree in Community Health, and an extensive background in nursing education, serving recently as a Professor at Wesley College, Wilmington University, and Ana G. Mendez University.

Head of School John Lewis reflected, “Since she started at Gunston during the pandemic, Nurse Manion has improved and sustained a culture of health and safety at Gunston. In addition to being a caring and skilled nurse for students who are ill or injured, she’s integrated a series of innovative, best-practices measures for the entire community.”

Founded in 1911, The Gunston School is an independent, nonprofit, nonsectarian, coeducational, college preparatory high school located on 75 waterfront acres in Centreville, Maryland. Visit gunston.org for more information.

An Earth Day Eco-Poetry Reading

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An Earth Day Eco-Poetry Reading. Saturday April 22, 2023, 2:00-4:00 p.m., Talbot County Free Library-Easton Library.

In celebration of Earth Day 2023 and National Poetry Month, Talbot County Free Library, Shore Lit, and The Shore Poetry will be presenting a free eco-poetry reading.

The event will be held in the Easton Library’s Meeting Room and moderated by The Shore Poetry co-editors John Nieves, Caroline Chavatel, and Emma DePanise. They have selected fifteen regional poets to read original poems related to the themes of place, liminality, and human interaction with our environments.

Featured poets will include: Lindsay Lusby, Jane Satterfield, Ned Balbo, Christine Spillson, Sarah Brockhaus, Chris Cocca, Catherine Pierce, Summer Smith, Siobhan Murray, Cassandra Whitaker, Shannon Ryan, Gary Fox, Nancy Mitchell, Tara A. Elliott, and Terin Weinberg.

The event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will follow the reading, giving attendees a chance to engage with the poets and editors and speak to them about their work. Reservations are not required.

A special Earth Day 2023 issue of The Shore Poetry featuring poems from the event will launch on Earth Day (4/22) at theshorepoetry.org.

This program is sponsored in part by funds from the Friends of the Talbot County Free Library, Talbot County Free Library, and by a grant from Talbot Arts, with funds from the Maryland State Arts Council and the governments of Talbot County, Easton, Oxford, and St. Michaels.

About The Shore Poetry:

The Shore Poetry is an online poetry publication seeking cutting, strange, and daring work from new and established poets alike. The Shore Poetry publishes poems that explore the worlds of things and ideas, that recognize the liminality, the shifting of everything around us and our ability to name a thing whole—poems that press and push and ache and recede. The journal is published four times a year, once each season.

About The Shore Poetry’s editors:

John A. Nieves has poems forthcoming or recently published in journals such as: North American Review, Copper Nickel, American Poetry Review, 32 Poems, and Southern Review. He won the Indiana Review Poetry Contest and his first book, Curio, won the Elixir Press Annual Poetry Award Judge’s Prize. He is associate professor of English at Salisbury University and an editor of The Shore Poetry.

Caroline Chavatel is the author of White Noises (Greentower Press, 2019), which won The Laurel Review’s 2018 Midwest Chapbook Contest. Her work has appeared in AGNI, The Missouri Review, Foundry, and Poetry Northwest, among others. She is co-founding editor of The Shore Poetry, an editor at Madhouse Press, and currently a Ph.D. candidate at Georgia State University.

Emma DePanise has poems forthcoming or recently published in journals such as Poetry Northwest, The Minnesota Review, The Los Angeles Review, New York Quarterly and The National Poetry Review. She is a winner of a 2019 AWP Intro Journals Award and the 2018 winner of the Pablo Neruda Prize for Poetry from Nimrod International Journal. An editor of The Shore Poetry, she holds an MFA from Purdue University and is a current PhD student in English at the University of Missouri.

About Shore Lit

Shore Lit founder Kerry Folan is a reader, a writer, and a professor of writing and literature at George Mason University. She has been living in Easton since 2017 and aims to enhance local cultural offerings with regular, free book talks open to the public. Shore Lit events are designed to explore relevant ideas, foster literary conversation, and build inclusive community. Spring 2023 events feature novelist Jung Yun (in partnership with AAM); essayist and cultural critic Lawrence Weschler (in partnership with AAM); and an eco-poetry reading with The Shore Poetry (in partnership with TCFL). Sign up for our monthly newsletter at shorelit.org and follow us on Instagram @Shore_Lit.

About Talbot County Free Library

It is the mission of the Talbot County Free Library to enrich and renew the lives of the people it serves. There are two locations: The main library in Easton is located at 100 W. Dover St.; and the St. Michael branch is at 106 Fremont St. The Maryland Room in the Easton branch holds a voluminous collection of genealogical resources and historical documents. Services at both locations include the circulation of books, DVDs, and digital devices, as well as free Wi-Fi, public computers, exhibits, and programs for both children and adults. Many of the Talbot County Free Library’s programs are made possible by the generous support of the local community. For more information, please visit www.tcfl.org. Be sure to like the library on Facebook and follow us on Instagram @Talbotcountyfreelibrary.

Bay Country Chorus Welcomes New Members

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L to R: Joey Frankos (Baritone), Laverne Crabson (Tenor), Olivia Fleischfresser (Lead) and Sandy Ryder (Tenor). Back row Lesley Aaron (Director) and Bob Worsthorn (Lead).

The Bay Country Chorus is the Easton Maryland chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society. Founded in 1995 the chorus has performed in the four mid-shore counties at senior living communities, and venues where folks are in rehab or dealing with dementia. Many of these special citizens cannot get out to enjoy live music. Quite simply we bring the music to them.

Starting in 1995 the chorus has been an all-male group. Recently the Barbershop Harmony Society invited ladies to become full-time members. The chorus grasped that opportunity, and we now have four new female singers and one new male singer as well. On the male side we could use a bass or two.

Ladies or men who would like to take a look at the chorus are invited to attend one of our rehearsals. We meet at the Talbot County Senior Center at 400 Brooklets Ave. in Easton beginning at 6 pm on Monday evenings For further information on the chorus or to book a performance please call John Crovo 410-820-4761.

April is National Safe Digging Month

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April is National Safe Digging Month and Easton Utilities reminds contractors and homeowners to call 811, which begins the process of marking underground utility lines. “This free resource is a proactive measure which helps eliminate the risk of striking an underground utility line,” stated Andrew Ober, Safety Specialist for Easton Utilities. To prevent injuries, property damage and outages, residents must call 811 approximately 48 – 72 hours prior to work beginning.

The is a free service that notifies affected utilities of a person’s intent to dig. Within a few days, Easton Utilities will mark the locations of the utility-owned lines with paint or flags. The depth of utility lines can vary for a number of reasons, such as erosion, previous digging projects and uneven surfaces. Utility lines need to be properly marked because even when digging only a few inches, the risk of striking an underground utility line still exists. Call before you dig. It’s the law.

To learn more about Easton Utilities, call the Customer Service Center at 410-822-6110 or visit www.eastonutilities.com.

TIS Lip Sync Battle Goes Live Once Again In Its 7th Year

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During the year-end holiday season, one might walk into a store or turn on the radio and hear various singers proclaiming, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year!”  The staff and supporters of Talbot Interfaith Shelter (TIS), however, have that refrain stuck in their heads throughout what they affectionately refer to as ‘Lip Sync Season’ – the weeks leading up to and including TIS’ highly-anticipated annual Lip Sync Battle fundraiser.

After taking the competition online for two years and a hybrid event last year, Lip Sync Battle 2023 – presented by Sun Management Rising Technologies – is returning to its roots with a full live show on April 29th at the Waterfowl Building (former Armory) in Easton.  Doors open at 6:00 pm for light fare, cocktails, mixing, mingling, and photo booth fun.  Showtime is at 7:00 pm.

Talbot Interfaith Shelter’s Lip Sync Battle is a can’t-miss evening filled with joy from start to finish.  Hands will be clapping, toes will be tapping, and laughter will fill the air as teams from across our community come together to entertain and inspire the audience in hopes of earning votes for the title of 2023 Lip Sync Champion.  This event makes for a perfect date night experience, a memorable evening of family fun, or a friends’ night out!

There are three competition categories this year: Live Performance, Videos Presented at the Live Show, and Online-Only Videos.  Every team is competing to raise the most money in support of TIS’ mission to provide Shelter, Stability, Support, and a path to Success for local families and individuals in need.  The winners in each group will be announced at the end of the show, as will the “People’s Choice” award, which is decided by audience applause.

“We are so excited to bring everyone back together once again this year,” says TIS Executive Director Julie Lowe.  “There is absolutely nothing like the energy in the room during Lip Sync Battle.  To look out and see a beautiful cross-section of our community and watch them share laughter and joy together… It is truly magical, and we just cannot wait!”

The competition has already begun, and the community can visit https://talbotinterfaithshelter.org/lsb to purchase tickets and/or vote for their favorite team(s) from now through the end of the show on April 29th.

Those interested in becoming a Lip Sync Battle sponsor or volunteering during the event should contact TIS Development Director Laura Richeson at 443-786-6962 or lauraricheson@talbotinterfaithshelter.org.

Talbot Interfaith Shelter is a homeless shelter and transitional housing program based in Easton, MD and serving the five counties of the Mid-Shore (Talbot, Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Annes).  They have developed the innovative and comprehensive S4 Program (Shelter, Stability, Support, Success), which is designed to guide local families and individuals from homelessness to self-sufficiency. 

Guests begin at one of TIS’ two neighboring shelter homes – Easton’s Promise for families and Evelyn’s Place for single men and women – where they receive rigorous case management and attend life skills training while they work to attain financial stability.  Once they are ready, guests move into one of TIS’ 15 off-site transitional apartments, where they continue to receive case management while their portion of rent gradually increases until they are able to sustain all of their expenses.

To learn more about Talbot Interfaith Shelter and how to help, visit https://talbotinterfaithshelter.org or contact Julie Lowe at 410-310-2316 or julielowe@talbotinterfaithshelter.org.

Choptank Health Announces New Women’s Health Provider

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Becky Kroeger, DNP, CNM

Choptank Community Health System recently welcomed women’s health practitioner Becky Kroeger, DNP, CNM of Easton, Md. to its medical practices.

Kroeger is offering prenatal care and women’s health services at Choptank Health’s Easton Health Center and Fassett Magee Center in Cambridge. She will also be expanding access to women’s health services at Choptank Health Centers located in Caroline and Kent counties.

Services include well-women exams for cervical cancer and breast cancer screenings, gyn/pelvic exams, STI screenings, and contraceptive counseling with IUD and Nexplanon placement.

Kroeger’s experience includes working as a Certified Nurse Midwife providing antepartum, intrapartum, postpartum, gynecology, birth control, well-women care, and post-menopausal care. She has served on the adjunct clinical faculty of Salisbury University, where she worked advising and evaluating students in clinical settings.

She graduated from Frontier Nursing University with a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree and a Master of Science in Nursing degree, specializing in the field of Nurse Midwifery. Her academics earned her membership in the Frontier Nursing University Honor Society.

Kroeger additionally holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Phoenix University and graduated from the Chesapeake College MGW Nursing Program with an Associate Degree in Nursing.

Choptank Community Health System provides medical, dental, and School-Based health services to more than 30,000 adults and children in Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s, and Talbot counties, with a mission to provide access to exceptional, comprehensive, and integrated healthcare for all.

Medical services include primary healthcare, women’s health, pediatrics, behavioral health, chronic health management, and care navigation, with new medical patients now being accepted. More information is at www.choptankhealth.org.

Culinary Excellence Contributes to Healthy Lifestyle at Londonderry on the Tred Avon

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Londonderry on the Tred Avon’s commitment to excellence is apparent in every aspect of the community, with each department playing a role in helping residents be active and healthy. The dining experience is no exception, providing the community with the healthy, nutritious and delicious meals that meet the team’s renowned high-quality standards.

Chelsea Harris, Londonderry’s Director of Dining, describes culinary excellence as “having the freshest, top-quality ingredients utilized by our trained team of chefs and cooks to create delicious and nutritious meals.”

Harris’s “eat good, feel good” mentality greatly influences what the dining department serves residents. “The food we provide to the community is essential to the Londonderry lifestyle because what we put into our body is going to affect not only our physical well-being but also our mental health,” says Harris.

Residents certainly appreciate the dining team’s efforts since their dining room is filled with patrons each evening and the meal-delivery service is also very popular.

Londonderry Tred Avon’s dining team plays a critical role in helping residents be active and healthy by providing the community with the healthy, nutritious and delicious meals. Director of Dining Services, Chelsea Harris and Lead Line Cook and Baker, DJ Moaney, work in the Londonderry Kitchen.

“We have created a welcoming and homey dining area, where residents and guests are catered to in every way we can manage,” says Harris. “We love to give residents the best dining experience, whether that is at the table with their neighbors or in the comfort of their own homes.”

A special feature that the dining team offers is a tour of the kitchen, where the staff talks Londonderry residents through each station so that they may learn how their food is prepared.

Residents can also experience fun activities in the kitchen, such as nutritional cooking classes and how to build charcuterie boards.

Londonderry also invests in its culinary team and offers 100% tuition reimbursement for all staff members who wish to pursue additional education in the field.  Harris shared that Andy Riesburg, Prep Cook, and Nick Satchell, Line Cook, are currently in culinary school.

Other culinary team members include Shavonte Greene – Lead Line Cook and Baker, DJ Moaney – Lead Line Cook, Bryant Harper – Prep Cook,  Emma Freeman – Prep Cook, Charlie Guy – Dishwasher, and Willey Cephas – Dishwasher.

“Our team is very proud to provide residents with delicious and nutritious meals,” shared Harris. “We will continue to play our part supporting Londonderry’s mission of promoting the complete wellness of every resident.”

About Londonderry on the Tred Avon

Londonderry on the Tred Avon is an intimate residential cooperative community for adults ages 62+, offering a variety of housing options from convenient apartments to spacious cottages among 29 acres, including 1500 feet of waterfront shoreline. For more information, visit www.londonderrytredavon.com.

Perdue Executive to Discuss Agribusiness Market Trends at April 3 Event in Easton

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Tim Frump

Tim Frump, vice president of risk management and soy merchandising at Perdue AgriBusiness, will speak at the Let’s Talk Business Speaker Series at 6 p.m. on Monday, April 3, at the Talbot County Free Library in Easton. He will present an overview of current market conditions in agriculture, including a look at how the war in the Ukraine is affecting commodity prices.

Frump’s presentation wraps up the spring speaker series presented by the Talbot County Department of Economic Development and Tourism in partnership with the Talbot County Free Library.

“The media has reported extensively on the Russian invasion of the Ukraine and its impact on the global grain market,” says Cassandra Vanhooser, director of economic development and tourism for Talbot County. “We are excited to have Tim join us to discuss the market trends impacting local farmers and agribusinesses, including current grain production the Ukraine.”

Frump is responsible for managing the hedging and physical coverage for Perdue Foods and Perdue AgriBusiness, one of the largest family-owned grain companies in the United States. A native of Ohio, he has enjoyed a multi-decade career that includes managing the export trading of corn, soybeans, wheat, and specialty grains.

Before joining Perdue, Frump managed the trade activity for corn, sugar, soy oil, soy meal, natural gas, and other hedgeable commodities at Tate and Lyle. He also has traded many U.S. domestic markets with Cargill, ADM, and CGB Enterprises. Frump is a summa cum laude graduate of The Ohio State University.

The Talbot County Department of Economic Development and Tourism’s mission is to enhance and promote a business-friendly environment for current and prospective enterprises and to advocate for policies that support and strengthen the economic vitality of Talbot County. The department’s vision for Talbot County is built on the principles of strong communities, empowered businesses, and innovative solutions.

Business owners and managers are encouraged to attend all sessions of the speaker series and to subscribe to the Department of Economic Development and Tourism’s Talbot Works newsletter and breaking news at www.talbotworks.org. The department can also be reached at 410-770-8058 or by visiting their office at 11. S. Harrison Street, Easton, Md.

Adkins Arboretum Offers Trip to Mt. Cuba Center

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With origins stretching back more than 80 years, Mt. Cuba Center in Hockessin, Del., has been a home for conservation and preservation since the 1930s. Transformed from farmland to a lush botanical garden featuring more than 1,000 species of native plants, Mt. Cuba inspires an appreciation for the value of these plants and a commitment to protect the habitats that sustain them. On Thurs., May 25, join Adkins Arboretum on a trip to explore Mt. Cuba’s stunning gardens and grounds and to learn about the history of preserving the site’s natural lands.

Pamela and Lammot du Pont Copeland completed their Colonial Revival-style home and began establishing formal gardens on the site in 1937. In addition to these gardens, which surround the house and are laid out with the symmetry and geometry that characterize formal garden design, Mt. Cuba Center includes a 15,000-square-foot trial garden used for native plant research, wooded paths and slopes, ponds, a bog garden, a dogwood path where woodland meadow plants intermingle at the forest edge, a meadow, a trillium garden and other points of interest.

Surrounded by exotic-looking plants and trees that brush the skyline, Mt. Cuba’s Ponds provide shelter and sustenance for carnivorous plants, native orchids and water-thriving wildlife. Photo courtesy of Mt. Cuba Center.

The day will include a guided in-depth tour of the gardens and opportunities to learn about notable natives, sustainable gardening practices, climate change, systems-thinking and consciously sourcing native plants. Following lunch in the Colonial Revival house, there will be ample time to explore the grounds. Participants can expect to see plants such as phacelia, coreopsis, Canada anemone, Ozark phlox, spiderwort, Bowman’s root, penstemon, baptisia, blue flag, sarracenia and lady slipper orchid.

The fee of $145 for Arboretum members and $180 for non-members includes transportation, driver gratuity, admission, guided tour and a gourmet boxed lunch. The bus departs from Aurora Park Drive at 8 a.m. and will make stops at the Route 50 westbound/Route 404 Park and Ride at 8:20 a.m. and the 301/291 Park and Ride in Millington at 8:45 a.m. Return time is 5 p.m. Advance registration is required at adkinsarboretum.org or by calling 410-634-2847, ext. 100.