Pocomoke City Volunteer Fire Company Hosts Convention

The Del-Mar-Va Volunteer Firemen's Association Convention to be hosted by
The Pocomoke City Volunteer Fire Company

Ron Taylor, Convention Chairman

 

On April 28, 29 & 30, 2011 The Pocomoke City Vol. Fire Co. will host the 82nd Delmarva Volunteer Firemen's Assoc. and the The 77th Ladies Auxiliary Convention. The Association members include fire and rescue stations from Wilmington, DE to Cape Charles, VA

On Thursday, April 28, 2011 at 6:00 p.m., there will be a "Meet the Host" function at the Pocomoke City Vol. Fire Co. - 1410 Market St.

On Friday, April 29, 2011 starting at 9:00 a.m., the opening ceremony and meetings will be held at the Pocomoke City Vol. Fire Co. - in the Community Center. Friday evening will be the associations annual banquet, also at the community Center - beginning at 6 p.m.

On Saturday, April 30, 2011 at 9 a.m., there will be the Memorial Service at Bethany United Methodist Church (next to the Post Office in Downtown Pocomoke City). This service will recognize all of the deceased members.  Pocomoke members recognized  will be Raymond Spence, firefighter and Joy Parsons, Ladies  Auxillary member.

The meetings will resume, at the Community Center, following this service with the election and swearing in of officers of the Delmarva Vol. Firemen's Assoc. for 2011-2012.

Tommy Trice, a member of the Denton Volunteer Fire Co., is the present president of the association and Barbara Starkey, a member of the Easton Ladies Auxiliary, is the present president of the Delmarva Ladies Auxiliary.

The Convention is closed following a parade at 2 p.m.

The parade will stage at the Pocomoke City Middle School...travel 8th St. to Market St. and then South on Market Street, concluding at the Fire Station (1410 Market St.).

The reviewing stand will be located in front of Hartley Hall Nursing Home.

The general public is invited to attend the opening ceremonies on Friday at 9 a.m. and are welcome to enjoy the parade of antique and modern firefighting equipment and marching members of the Associations member companies.

Awards will be presented at the Pocomoke City Vol. Fire Co., 1410 Market St., following the parade.

www.pocomokefire.com

~PANCAKE SUPPER~

ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT PANCAKE SUPPER

Emmanuel Episcopal Church

in

Jenkins Bridge, Virginia

SUNDAY   May 1, 2011

4:00 PM  until  7:00 PM

MENU:  Regular and buckwheat pancakes, fried apples, sausage, scrambled eggs and drinks

Tickets:  Adults - $8.00 each     Children   $4.00 each

Tickets can be purchased from any church member or by calling the church office at 824-5043.

Only a  limited number  of tickets will be available at the door.

Takeouts will be available after 5 p.m.

The women of the church will be host a bazaar. Baked goods, books, craft items, and flower bulbs will be for sale.

A hand-crafted "bird condo" will be featured as a raffle item.

"Mr. Messenger" William H. Kerbin Sr. is a 2011 MDDC Hall of Fame Inductee

Congratulations ! Bill Kerbin !! 
I found this article yesterday (written Feb. 9) and thought that maybe there were a lot of people that weren't aware that the quiet Bill Kerbin is somewhat a celebrity.  It makes me feel so good when I see that the people I saw on a daily basis working in downtown Pocomoke finally get some recognition they so richly deserve.  This article says it all of the wonderful person he is. 
I searched for a follow up article on the awards ceremony and dinner but I just figured perhaps Bill hasn't written it yet.

February 9, 2011 — After a decades-long career as a journalist and editor in Worcester County, MD, the semi-retired former MDDC President William H. Kerbin, Sr., is a 2011 inductee to the association's Newspaper Hall of Fame. Greg Bassett, executive editor of The Daily Times, had this to say about Kerbin:

Readers who only know him through what’s in print now are missing quite a story in Bill Kerbin.

Newspapering is in his family. The Democratic Messenger, owned by his father since the mid-1940s, was his first taste of the work; he was stuffing inserts into papers when he was 8 years old. He interned with Salisbury’s The Daily Times as a young man as well, and by the early 1970s, he was reporting on Worcester County news.

When a businessman and Virginia politician, George McGrath, purchased the Messenger and combined it with a Worcester newspaper he already owned, the Pocomoke Democrat, Kerbin became the combined paper’s founding editor. He continued to report and write stories, and “he took a hell of a lot of pictures,” said his sister, Charlotte K. Cathell. His centrally located office had a wide-open-window’s view of the town’s daily life.

Residents, colleagues and friends say Kerbin – also a former MDDC board member – practiced community journalism before anyone thought to call it by that name. “He was always noted for his involvement with the community. He not only reported the news; he was always there to help and support nonprofit organizations,” said Gee Williams, who worked as an editor alongside Kerbin in the newspaper group for 20 years.

“No news story was too big or too small, ever”, Williams said. “He definitely was a classic community journalist that way. He not only knew the issues in those communities; he knew the people.”

Curt Lippoldt came to know Kerbin not long after Lippoldt moved to Pocomoke City in 1971. Lippoldt would become Pocomoke’s mayor, from 1986 to 1998, and he says Kerin managed well a challenge familiar to any small-town journalist: fairly covering an acquaintance who happens to be in politics. “I really liked the way he reported,” Lippoldt said. “Nothing can be more boring to citizens than city council meetings, but he wrote it in a very interesting style. We have a very informed citizenry thanks to Bill’s style of writing about civic affairs.”

Through the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s, Kerbin oversaw the coverage of a county that was changing rapidly; more houses being built; more businesses extending their reach; and more being demanded of local government by voters. Kerbin witnessed “the growth of county government,” says Williams, who is now mayor of Berlin.

“It went from being very parochial and very limited as the ‘70s were beginning to much more what we understand today” – expected to help attract high-tech jobs, prevent violent crime and the spread of drugs, and manage intense growth pressures while preserving the natural environment. “The tremendous progress of the local schools – he covered a lot of that,” Williams said, along with the efforts to restore and revitalize historic downtown Snow Hill and Pocomoke.

Kerbin was as active in civic life as he could be without holding public office himself. A leading layperson in his church, he also belonged to the Rotary and today is involved with the Relay for Life, a cancer fundraiser. But, Lippoldt said, he held apart enough his civic engagements and his duties to readers to present the best news he could. “I never, ever found one inkling that what he reported was influenced by what he said or did,” said Lippoldt. “He never editorialized.”

The semi-retired Kerbin still covers Pocomoke City government and community news for MDDC member paper, the Worcester County Times, a descendant of the Messenger.

Kerbin will be (was) honored at the Hall of Fame Dinner taking place Thursday, April 21, 2011, in conjunction with MDDC's Annual Awards Assembly.

Source; http://www.mddcpress.com/mc/page.do?sitePageId=124238

Second Body Found In River Not Linked To Phylicia Barnes Case

Jessica Anderson

 The Baltimore Sun

The body of a Virginia man found less than four miles from where Phylicia Barnes' body was spotted has ended in another roadblock for investigators, who said Tuesday that the two deaths are not related.

Darryl Harper, 53, of Richmond, Va., was identified as the man found the same day that Barnes' body was pulled from the Susquehanna River on April 20. But investigators said they have found nothing to connect him to the teen or to her disappearance, according to Maryland State Police.

Detectives "were looking at this case as it was — two people who were found dead. They needed to determine how they ended up that way. I don't know that there was any kind of hope" that they were connected, state police spokesman Gregory M. Shipley said Tuesday.

"Investigators look at these things matter-of-factly," he said, adding, "They will continue to gather additional details on what led to his death."

State police matched fingerprints from Harper with prints entered in the National Crime Information Center database for missing persons. Police said Harper, who had been reported missing by his wife, had stayed at a hospital in southern Pennsylvania for mental health problems and had a history of attempting suicide.

Barnes, who would have turned 17 in January, went missing from her half sister's Northwest Baltimore apartment three days after Christmas. The search for her drew local, state and federal police into an investigation that baffled detectives, who, along with volunteers, searched through the city's Leakin Park and Patapsco Valley State Park.

Last week, crews working on the Conowingo Dam reported a body floating in the river; the body was identified as Barnes. She was found naked, without obvious signs of trauma to her body. Several hours later, boaters reported finding Harper's nude body in the river south of the dam, which prompted speculation that the two deaths might be related.

City police, who led the Barnes investigation for months, as well as the girl's family, said they had no reason to search the area around the river, which divides Cecil and Harford counties.

Baltimore police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said that identifying Harper was "an alley … we have to explore. At least now we can rule that out."

He said 12 state troopers are continuing to investigate Barnes' death, alongside city homicide detectives who have worked the case for months.

"Now we can focus on her death investigation. The next step is the cause of death," Guglielmi said.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has not yet determined the cause and manner of death for Barnes and Harper, as they continue to perform tests. Dr. David R. Fowler, the state's chief medical examiner, would not comment further, citing the pending investigation.

Shipley said detectives are investigating the death of Harper, who was reported missing by his wife on April 15. She told police she last spoke to her husband in mid-March.

She told Richmond police that her husband left that city in early March to move belongings from their former apartment in Cockeysville. The couple moved to Richmond in February.

On March 25, she told police that a relative, who lives in the Harrisburg, Pa., area, called to tell her that Harper had checked himself into a mental health facility in Pennsylvania.

Police confirmed that he stayed in the hospital one night. According to his wife, Harper had told a relative in March he was going to jump off a bridge. She said her husband had attempted suicide in 2006.

Source;  http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-barnes-body-identity-20110426,0,6268576.story

Supreme Court Rejects Review Of Health Care Law

The Supreme Court rejected a call Monday from Virginia's attorney general to depart from its usual practice and put review of the health care law on a fast track. Instead, judicial review of President Barack Obama's signature legislation will continue in federal appeals courts.

The justices turned down a request by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, a leading opponent of the law, to resolve questions about its constitutionality quickly. The Obama administration opposed Cuccinelli's plea.

Only rarely, in wartime or a constitutional crisis, does the court step into a legal fight before the issues are aired in appellate courts. Hearings already are scheduled in May and June in three appeals courts.

The case still could reach the high court in time for a decision by early summer 2012.

Justice Elena Kagan apparently took part in the court's order Monday, as there was no announcement that any justice sat out. There had been questions about whether she would participate because she served as Obama's solicitor general when the law was passed. Kagan indicated in Senate testimony last year that she played no role in the administration's planning and handling of challenges to the law.

So far, five federal judges have ruled on challenges to the law. Two Republican appointees, in Florida and Virginia, have declared it unconstitutional in whole or in part. Three Democratic appointees, in Michigan, Virginia and Washington, D.C., have upheld it.

Cuccinelli filed suit on behalf of Virginia, while 26 states joined in a separate lawsuit in Florida claiming that Congress exceeded its authority in requiring citizens to buy health insurance or pay a penalty starting in 2014.

In asking the high court to pluck the health care cases from the appeals courts before decisions were rendered there, Cuccinelli said delay imposes a "crippling uncertainty" upon the states.

In December, U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson in Richmond declared that the heart of the sweeping legislation -- the requirement that citizens buy health insurance or pay a penalty starting in 2014 -- is unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson of Florida came to the same conclusion in January in striking down the law in its entirety.

Both rulings have been put on hold pending appeals.

In the meantime, the federal and state governments have begun to put in place other parts of the law, including changes in payment rates under the Medicare system for older and disabled Americans and a provision allowing children up to age 26 to remain on the parents' health insurance policies.

Source; shoredailynews.com

At The Mar-Va ~ Two Shows One Night ~ Tickets While They Last

THE DATE HAS BEEN CHANGED

ELVIS  AND   NEIL DIAMOND

  Saturday  May 28th at 7 PMTickets: $15 in advance, $20 at the door

A Cash Bar will be available

*Door Prizes will be given!

Come to the Mar-Va to experience two amazing acts in one night.

One hour of Elvis and one hour of Neil.

Advance tickets will be available at the following locations:- The Mar-Va Box Office
- The Pocomoke Chamber
- Country Blossoms
- Market St. Deli
                - T's Corner

For more information, call the Box Office: 410-957-4230

Gaddam Quackenbus

I took this one at the Riteaid in Salisbury check out the managers names.

Crop Circle?

I was cleaning out old pictures that I had saved on my cell phone and I came across this little gem. This circle is much more pronounced in the winter months but as you can see it's still very obvious. The circle itself is about 20' (twenty feet) in diameter and the line of grass that makes-up the circle is probably around 2' (two feet) wide.

It's also right here in Pocomoke but about 3-4 miles outside of town.

What is it? 

Ford Recalls Over One Million F-150's

Faced with mounting government pressure, Ford Motor Co. has agreed to recall 1.2 million F-150 trucks and 16,000 Lincoln Mark LT pickups. The number is in addition to the 135,000 trucks that Ford recalled in February for the same problem: sudden, unexpected air bag deployment. Ford is also recalling 89,000 trucks in Canada and 47,000 in Mexico.

The recall is for certain models from 2004-2006, which the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) had been investigating. Their investigation found at least 269 cases of sudden air bag deployments, resulting in 98 injuries.  The investigators determined “if the clockspring jumper wire comes in contact with the driver side frontal air bag lower horn plate, the wire insulation may become chafed, creating a potential for a short circuit. If this occurs the air bag warning lamp may illuminate indicating that service is required.”

 Or, the air bag could inadvertently deploy, a problem which has resulted in chipped teeth, fractured arms, and burns. It could also result in the loss of vehicle control. So, the recall has been implemented.
Ford will notify owners and instruct them further on where to get the free repairs performed. Or owners may contact the customer relationship center at 1-866-436-1332. Click here to see the NHTSA’s official notification .  ....

VIA; Ford-Trucks.com

One Final Ride Around Baltimore For William Donald Schaefer

Marylanders — hands on their hearts, crisply saluting or wiping away tears — lined streets and gathered at landmarks to bid personal farewells to William Donald Schaefer Monday afternoon, as the former mayor and governor was taken on one final trip by motorcade through his beloved Baltimore.

"His heart was in the city, and I wanted to say goodbye," said Bronwyn Mayden, who watched from Lexington Market, near her office at the University of Maryland School of Social Work, where she is an assistant dean.

It was an oft-repeated sentiment along the 14-mile course that served as a partial rewinding of Schaefer's life, one largely lived within the boundaries of a city that bears the legacy of his terms in office.


For two hours, the motorcade traveled to some of the spots nearest and dearest to his heart, from his childhood home in West Baltimore to the Inner Harbor, from Camden Yards to Corned Beef Row, from Federal Hill to Little Italy. Along the way, he would be feted by music — by players from the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra to those from the Baltimore Colts turned Baltimore Ravens Marching Band — and heralded with signs, some handmade with messages of gratitude, others old campaign posters, yellowed and faded.




Most touching to the former aides and friends who had choreographed the tour, though, were not the landmarks that he had a hand in building, but the people who gathered along the motorcade route or waited at the stops. Some were fellow politicians he had worked or battled with, some were advocates who represented neighborhoods or causes, most were simply Baltimoreans who came out for one final show of support.



Photo by reporter Julie Scharper via Twitter Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake leads Schaefer's casket into City Hall.



"It was all the people he loved and who loved him," said Lainy LeBow-Sachs, Schaefer's longtime aide, who received multiple flowers and tributes on his behalf. "And that's what he was all about — people, people, people."



The day began in Annapolis, with Schaefer lying in state at the State House for several hours. Then the motorcade, led by motorcycle police and carrying some of Schaefer's closest friends, made its first stop at his childhood home, 620 Edgewood St. in West Baltimore, where a Maryland flag was flying from its porch.

There, a warm and welcoming crowd applauded as the cars approached, waved signs and offered up pots of Schaefer's favored African violets — the kind of scene that would be repeated as the group criss-crossed the city.



More; http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-schaefer-motorcade-20110425,0,2338692.story

GUMBORO MUD RACING THIS SATURDAY

First Saturday of racing at Gumboro!

Saturday   April 30, 2011

Gate opens at 10:00 AM

Adults:  $7.00 - Children under 10 FREE

(ALL CHILDREN MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY AN ADULT!!!)

BACK AGAIN THIS YEAR IS THE POWER RACING FOR THE KIDS!

Pit admission this year will be $5.00 per person.  NO excessive vehicles in the pit.

 PLEASE NO ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES!!!

For more information:  www.gumboromudbog.com

Race will begin @ 1:00 PM

NASA Joining Forces With Military Families For Education Programs

ORLANDO, Fla. -- NASA's Office of Education will kick off a new campaign on Thursday, April 28, focused on reaching out to America's military families and engaging them in agency activities to promote science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education.

This initiative supports the Joining Forces campaign announced by First Lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, earlier this month.

During the NASA Education Pre-Launch Summit at the Peabody Hotel in Orlando, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and Associate Administrator for Education Leland Melvin will lay out the agency's plan to share educational resources and programs with students of military families.

Bolden will deliver the keynote luncheon address at 12:30 p.m. EDT and join invited military families afterward for hands-on STEM education activities. Military families also will attend the launch of space shuttle Endeavour on Friday as NASA's guests.

This outreach to military families is just one of many programs NASA education offers using the excitement of exploration to engage the nation's youth in STEM-related studies. The goal is to open the door to exciting future career options.

For more information about NASA's education programs, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/education  

Prayers For Courtney Bloxom

Please remember to keep Courtney Bloxom and her family in your prayers.

Joshua Nordstrom Is Chairman of Robotics Challenge

Written By:  Bill Kerbin

POCOMOKE CITY -- A number of students from the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia have been participating in Eastern Shore Robotics, a program in which they have been actually building robots at a section of the MIST building in Pocomoke City.

Having participated in the recent regional competition the students now have their sights set on the national championship. And to participate in this event they have to raise money.

One planned fundraiser is the Robotics Technology Exposition and Challenge set for Saturday, May 21, at Midway GM/Toyota. The Worcester/Accomack, Northampton and Salisbury teams will be demonstrating their robots at this event. Members of the teams will also be available to discuss the process that they use in building their robots. The event will feature the robots built and used in this year's first competition by the local teams.

In addition to Midway and the teams, the event will be co-sponsored by the Mid-Atlantic Institute for Space and Technology. Recently team members spoke to the Pocomoke mayor and Council and were given a contribution toward the national championship.

Joshua Nordstrom, who is chairing the event, said that he and the other sponsors want to show the students that there are career opportunities in the science, mathematics, engineering and technology fields; that there are scholarships and internships available.

He is hoping for additional corporate sponsors who will want to set up booths and displays. This year he is hoping to raise $3,000 to help fund the trip to the national championship and to expand the event in the future.

Anyone interested in the event can contact Fotios Skouzes at 410-957-6570 or Joshua Nordstrom at 4190-957-2222.

Source; http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20110421/WCT01/104210312/Shore-students-set-to-show-off-robotics-work?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Worcester County Times|s

NJ Man Pleads Guilty To Gun Trafficking From The Eastern Shore

Beasley is one of five arrested in June 2010 for smuggling guns from the Eastern Shore.  Three of the five men were from the Eastern Shore of Virginia.

TRENTON, N.J. (Associated Press)

A New Jersey man has admitted leading a network that smuggled guns from the Eastern Shore of Virginia to Trenton and sold them to gang members and drug dealers.

Trayle Beasley, 30, of Trenton pleaded guilty Monday in state Superior Court to being a leader of a firearms trafficking network. The state Attorney General's Office will recommend a 12- to 14-year prison term at sentencing on May 31.

Authorities say guns linked to Beasley have been used in at least two homicides in Trenton, including the shooting death of a 13-year-old girl at a block party in June 2009.

Criminal Justice Director Stephen Taylor said Monday that 75 percent of crime guns in New Jersey come from out of state. Virginia is the second biggest source, behind Pennsylvania.

Source; http://hamptonroads.com/2011/04/nj-man-pleads-guilty-gun-trafficking-eastern-shore

Words of Wisdom

If you are right handed,  you will tend to chew your food on the right side of your mouth. If you are left handed, you will tend to chew your food on the left side of your mouth.

For All Of You

We hope that today you will be able to celebrate Easter with your loved ones.

~~HAVE A VERY WONDERFUL EASTER SUNDAY ~~

Spring Painted By Nature

The grass has been cut.  Edging done.   Gardening complete!  Flower beds have been raked and weeded and now hold the blossoms that will last throughtout spring into summer.... then fall.

So many finely manicured lawns on the backroads of the Eastern Shore in Virginia.  Or anywhere else during spring.  Neatness counts for most people.....as if does for me.

But I  still prefer to watch and see what Nature designs in Spring.

She always paints with such beauty all of her  disorganized organized mess.

Always leaving just the right touches.

Get out and enjoy the Spring and enjoy the works of Nature.......while the beauty is  still here.

Prayers For Courtney

Extra prayers are needed for Courtney Bloxom.  Courtney was taken to Shore Memorial Hospital a few hours ago with  severe stomach pains. 

Please keep Courtney and her family in your prayers.

Town Clerk Charged With Embezzlement

ONANCOCK, Va. (WAVY) - Police arrested and charged the town clerk of Onancock with embezzlement, after recording her actions over the past month with a hidden camera.

Police said Patricia Colleen Reiber, of the 15000 block of Waterfield Street in Painter, was charged with embezzlement of public funds by a public officer.

State police started started watching Reiber on March 18, and made the arrest on April 19.

According to court documents, police installed a hidden camera into the town office at the town hall. Over the last month, police recorded Reiber taking money from the register and petty cash drawers on several occasions.

Police said they do not know the total amount of what she took, but at one time, she allegedly stole $200.

Reiber is currently out on bond.

Source; http://www.fox43tv.com/dpps/news/local/town-clerk-charged-with-embezzlement_3782589

TIME MACHINE ... April, 1977

Having cleared both the Maryland House and Senate the Pocomoke City Sunday Blue Law bill was ready to be signed into law by the governor, clearing the way for Sunday merchandise sales in Pocomoke City. In a 1974 referendum the Pocomoke City area voted against lifting Sunday Blue Law restrictions while the rest of Worcester County voted in favor and was permitting the Sunday sales. The bill to bring Pocomoke City in line with the remainder of the county was co-sponsored by House Of Delegates members Russell O. Hickman of Worcester County, R.C. (Biggy) Long of Somerset County, and Joseph J. Long of Wicomico County.

PRESS RELEASE SURF DOG RICOCHET RECEIVES PROCLAMATION FROM MAYOR

PROCLAIMING APRIL 28, 2011  AS PAY (PAW) IT FORWARD DAY &
ENCOURAGES OTHERS AROUND THE WORLD TO GET INVOLVED!
SAN DIEGO, CA, April 19, 2011… San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders signed a proclamation designating April 28, 2011 as Pay (Paw) It Forward Day.  By signing the proclamation, Mayor Sanders commends this observance to all our citizens.  Ricochet calls upon animal lovers, surfers, website administrators, bloggers, Facebook users, Twitter users, media, businesses, communities, health care professionals, educators, volunteers, and all people & pets of the world to get involved! 

The idea of Pay (Paw) It Forward Day, is for people to do one good deed for three others. When recipients ask how they can re-pay the favor, which can be big or small, they are instructed to pay/paw It forward to three more people.  With each good deed, the cycle of generosity and kindness will ripple across the world, making us all better people and pets.

Surf Dog Ricochet, the SURFice dog who inspires others with her charitable/Paw It Forward lifestyle, initiated the proclamation signed by Mayor Sanders.  She uses the term "Paw" it Forward to describe what she, and other pets can do to make a difference.

Pay (Paw) It Forward Day is a worldwide initiative based on the novel of the same name written by Catherine Ryan Hyde.  The premise of the story is about a 12 year old boy who did three good deeds for others in need.  All he asked in return, was for them to pass on the good deed to three other people, and keep the cycle going.

On April 28th, Ricochet will be pawing it forward locally, and encouraging people/pets around the world to do the same.  She recently had wrist bands made with the message "Paw it Forward", and proceeds are being donated to charity in the spirit of pawing it forward. Random acts of kindness can be as simple as holding a door open for someone, or paying for the vehicle ahead of you in the toll booth lane. Other acts of kindness can be rescuing an animal in need, helping a senior citizen, or babysitting for a friend. The list is endless!

Pay (Paw) It Forward Day is about all people, from all walks of life, giving to someone else, and making a positive difference.  There are over 15 countries involved, hundreds of schools are participating, and thousands of people will be paying it forward across the world.

Ricochet was named an ambassador for Pay It Forward Day by founder, Blake Beattie, "Ricochet embodies what Pay It Forward Day is all about.  She has done some wonderful good deeds and has made a real difference in the lives of many.  I think we can all learn some powerful lessons from this amazing dog who has a heart of gold.  It is great having Ricochet as an official ambassador of International Pay It Forward Day as she truly helps inspire the world - one good deed at a time."

Ricochet sincerely thank Mayor Sanders for proclaiming April 28, 2011 as Pay (Paw) It Forward Day. She encourages people to visit her website for more suggestions on how to Pay (Paw) it Forward http://www.surfdogRicochet.com, or her Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/SurfDogRicochet.  For more information on the worldwide Pay it Forward initiative go to http://payitforwardday.com

Note: For additional information contact Judy Fridono at 707-228-0679 or pawinspired@aol.com.

Prices Rise- Quanity Lessens

Not only are gas prices soaring rapidly so are the prices on everything we consume.  Sometimes the prices go  up AND the quanity becomes smaller.  Alot of shoppers aren't even aware of it.

Someone brought this to my attention yesterday and I was amazed.  I'm guilty of buying this brand of sugar simply because it is less expensive than the 5 lb. bag  of  Domino sugar in  Wal*Mart.

Now I'm quite sure Wal*Mart has done everything correct with the pricing and all the info we need to know is on the shelf sticker and the weight is  clearly marked on the bag. 

My friend and I just never noticed. We assumed the 4 lb. bag of Great Value Pure Sugar was a 5 lb. bag. 

Does anyone know if this was ever a 5 lb. bag?

Breyers icecream did this a good while back.  Have you noticed the same thing happening in other foods?

Over 10 MILLION DOLLARS Unpaid To Accomack County

Alot of Accomack County taxpayers would like to know what is being done to collect the monies owed to the county.  Have we become such a wealthy county that these taxes don't need to be paid ?  Or is the County Treasurer's Office just hoping none of the taxpayers that carry the burden by paying  taxes on time will ever ask?  Taxpayers of Accomack County deserve some prompt answers!

The Accomack County Board of Supervisors met for their regular meeting on Wednesday, April 20, 2011 in the board chambers in Accomac.

During the Public Comment part of the meeting, Belle Haven resident Wesley Edwards told the board that he has confirmed with the County Treasurer that over 10 million dollars is owed in delinquent taxes. He provided the board members with copies of pages from the Supervisor's manual that states that the Treasurer must prepare several lists of uncollectible taxes and delinquents by August 1 of each year.

 The lists include real estate on the commissioner's land book improperly placed with the amount of taxes charged, other real estate which is delinquent, and taxes assessed on tangible personal property which the Treasurer in unable to collect. It also stated that the board may order the lists of delinquent taxes to be published in the newspaper.


 Edwards said he has never seen any of these lists and wants to know what is being covered up and wants taxpayers and voters to know who owes these millions of dollars that are not being collected. Edwards also provided the board with the list of the top 25 people who owe delinquent taxes.


Shirley Zamora of Onancock told the board that she believes decreasing the number of supervisors is a good idea. She said it would save the county money and asked the board to consider this sacrifice for the citizens.
Zamora expressed her concerns about the Whispering Pines hotel, calling it a nuisance and liability, noting that there are derelict buildings and a pool that she believes is filled with nasty water.


County Attorney Mark Taylor said the property owner, who is an investor from Pennsylvania owes over $10,000 in delinquent taxes. He also told the board that there were someone living at the hotel, who provides security for the property. Supervisor Wanda Thornton said because they owe over $10,000, the property needs to be sold. The board voted unanimously to have the Treasurer to sell the property as soon as possible.


There will be a public hearing concerning redistricting on May 12th at the board chambers in Accomac at 7:30. Board members and staff will be available for citizens to ask questions and view the redistricting maps at 6:30 p.m. At the Redistricting Meeting held last week, the board voted 8-1 to limit the amount of precincts in a district to three. District 8 Supervisor Donald Hart was the only one who voted against the motion. Hart stated he is concerned with the way redistricting has gone so far.


He went on to say that voting should be convenient, noting that the decision means that he is losing two of his smallest precincts in his district. Quinby residents must travel to Wachapreague to cast their vote and Keller residents will now vote in Bobtown.


Hart is concerned that this will make it more difficult for elderly citizens to vote.

Source;  shoredailynews.com

Longtime Aide To Schaefer Dies The Same Day

The Baltimore Sun

Here is how Charlie Kelly imagined the scene at the pearly gates this week: William Donald Schaefer  awaits entry as St. Peter goes over his list. Maybe his eyes are widening as he sees all the rude, bombastic things Schaefer has said over the years.

A diminutive woman who just passed through the gates interjects, "He really didn't mean all those things he said."

St. Peter continues down his list — it's a long one — and the woman starts to reconsider. "Maybe you're right," she says. "A little bit of purgatory might do him some good."

Pam Kelly was one of  William Donald Schaefer's closest aides, from Baltimore's City Hall to the State House in Annapolis. She ran his Cabinet meetings, she managed his tantrums, she whispered election night intelligence in his ear.

And on Monday, she did one last piece of advance work for the former mayor and governor: Kelly, 66 and suffering from lung cancer,  died four hours before Schaefer did.

"She probably was up there getting things ready for him," said her husband, Charlie.

Schaefer's circle, of which she was something of a social director, has been much in the news this week as they plan his memorial service and funeral next week. But to less public attention they have also been mourning the loss of the woman some considered Schaefer's right hand, someone whose counsel he trusted and who could be counted on to save him from himself.

Story Source;  http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-pam-kelly-death-20110420,0,5149751.story

Chincoteague Island Easter Decoy and Art Show

32^nd Annual Easter Decoy & Art Festival

April 22 & 23, 2011
Friday, April 22   Noon to 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 23     9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 23  Auction  7:30 p.m.
Chincoteague Combined School
4586 Main St.
Chincoteague Island, VA  23336

Local and national carvers and artists of all kinds exhibit and sell their works.  Awards are given in various categories.  Wooden Easter Eggs decorated by the exhibitors are offered in a silent auction. A live auction of donated works caps off the weekend. 
Admission to the show is $3.00 per day.
(children under 12 are free--no admission to auction)
757-336-6161
Fax: 757-336-1242
Email: chincochamber@verizon.netwww.chincoteaguechamber.com

Mar-Va Theater Performing Arts Center

Accepting Applications for 2011 Theater Academy!

This year the Mar-Va Theater Performing Arts Center will bring you three exciting sessions of Theater Academy. 

We will offer sessions for varying abilities.  Our Introductory Session is for those thespians that are beginning to learn the craft of theater and performing arts. Students with three years or more experience may register for our Advanced or Musical sessions.  Each session culminates in a production.  

Advanced Session: Midsummer Night's Dream

Musical Session: Peter Pan and Wendy

For more information contact Emily by email:  emily@marvatheater.com

Click HERE to download the application for 2011 Theater Academy.

~The Colors of Spring~

Nature doesn't need fake egg dye to color her eggs.  She has her own palette of colors to select from.

And it doesn't  really matter where we call home just so we are all snuggled together in the same tidy nest.

Thanks Jordan !

'Cold Feet' Gets Groom Jail Time

Nancy Drury Duncan

Staff Writer- Daily Times

ACCOMAC -- An Accomack County man described by his attorney as having "cold feet" before his wedding will serve jail time for taking his girlfriend's money and car and trying to flee to Central America just weeks before the planned nuptials.

Gilbert Werner, 33, of Chincoteague pleaded guilty to charges of uttering, grand larceny and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle in Accomack Circuit Court.

Defense attorney Patrick Robbins said the man was having "second thoughts" two weeks before the upcoming marriage.

Werner took $500 from his fiancé, forged her checks and used her car in a way that was described as "beyond the scope of her permission."

The car was found in Salisbury where Werner left it. Werner bought an airline ticket out of the country in an attempt to meet his mother in Costa Rica, according to Robbins.

He had been abandoned by her as a child and grew up in an orphanage, Robbins told the court.

On the witness stand, Werner said he was going through a lot.

"I had just found my mother," he said. "I just kind of broke down."

He said his then-girlfriend had forgiven him for what he did. "She still loves and misses me," he said.

Robbins said his client had made restitution and even filed his 2010 tax return from jail, where he has been the past 10 months.

Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Francis Suraci presented evidence that Werner should serve time in jail because he had a criminal record. He was convicted of arson and unlawful wounding when he was 19 years old, Suraci said.

A year later, Suraci said, he served time for grand larceny and unlawful wounding.

"He was good for 13 years," Robbins said. He has been working and making "pretty decent earnings."

Werner was sentenced to nine years in prison with all suspended but 18 months.

Source; http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20110419/NEWS01/104190393/Groom-gets-jail-time-cold-feet-?odyssey=mod|mostview