Don't Forget To VOTE !!

PRIMARY DAY IN MARYLAND

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE !!

April Is Distracted Driver Awareness Month

Pledge to drive cell free this

 Distracted Driving Awareness Month 

Itasca, IL – The National Safety Council promotes April as Distracted Driving Awareness Month and encourages everyone to take the NSC pledge to drive cell free at nsc.org/pledge. Thousands of fatal crashes each year involve drivers using cell phones. Those interested in getting involved in this issue can get started by taking the pledge and also find a variety of downloadable materials including posters, videos and more at nsc.org/ddmonth. 

“It’s time to start changing the social acceptance of cell phone use while driving,” said Janet Froetscher, president and CEO of the National Safety Council. “While many understand the dangers, they still use their cell phones when they drive. We hope people will take the pledge this April to help prevent needless tragedies and keep our roadways safer.” 

April also is a perfect time for employers to begin implementing total bans on cell phone use while driving for all employees. NSC developed its free Cell Phone Policy Kit to help employers interested in implementing or enhancing a policy.  

National Distracted Driving Awareness Month was introduced as a resolution by former Rep. Betsy Markey (D-CO) and passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in a 410-2 vote on March 23, 2010. The resolution mentions 9-year-old Erica Forney, who was struck and killed by a distracted driver in Fort Collins, CO, in November 2008. Erica’s mother, Shelley Forney, is a founding board member of FocusDriven – Advocates for Cell-Free Driving. 

Visit nsc.org/ddmonth throughout the month of April for additional materials. NSC also would like to thank FirstGroup for being a sponsor of Distracted Driving Awareness Month. 

About the National Safety CouncilFounded in 1913 and chartered by Congress, the National Safety Council (nsc.org) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to save lives by preventing injuries and deaths at work, in homes and communities, and on the road through leadership, research, education and advocacy. NSC advances this mission by partnering with businesses, government agencies, elected officials and the public in areas where we can make the most impact – distracted driving, teen driving, workplace safety and safety beyond the workplace.

Williamsburg Pottery To Reopen

WVEC News
WILLIAMSBURG -- A pottery store than has been a big tourist draw for decades in Williamsburg is reopening.

The doors of Williamsburg Pottery closed more than a year ago for a major renovation.  Now, the finishing touches are being put on the $30 million transformation of Williamsburg Pottery.   It will officially reopen on Thursday.

Many people have been eagerly awaiting the store's reopening.

"People would stop in here and ask when it the pottery reopening, or where is it, what happened to it," said Cheryl Chestnutt Brown.

Nearby business owners are hoping shoppers and tourists going to Williamsburg Pottery will also give their businesses a boost.

"We're thrilled that its opening, and we expect a lot more traffic to come through," commented Beverly Grimes.

During construction, the pottery store had only 50 employees.  When it reopens, it will have 150 employees with plans to hire more.

Source:

Emergency Alert Signals To Sound Saturday

Worcester County residents:

 Saturday, April 7, Worcester County emergency alert signals will sound from area fire sirens. Officials say to expect a steady alert tone at 10A.M.  lasting for one minute.

These signals are tested the first Saturday of each month. In the event of an actual emergency, the sirens would be used to warn of danger

Presidential Proclamation --

 National Child Abuse Prevention Month, 2012

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

As parents, as communities, and as a Nation, the work of raising our children stands among our greatest responsibilities and our most profound blessings.  The support we give and the examples we set form cornerstones for their success, and by teaching our children to trust in themselves, we equip them with confidence, hope, and determination that can last a lifetime.  Tragically, neglect and abuse erode this fundamental promise for too many young Americans.  During National Child Abuse Prevention Month, we renew our commitment to break the cycle of violence, strengthen support for all who have been affected, and empower our young people with the best we have to offer.

Over half a million American children suffer neglect or abuse every year.  A strong and well informed family unit is the surest defense against child abuse, and parents and caregivers who have support    from relatives, friends, neighbors, and their communities    are more likely to provide safe and healthy homes for their children.  Trusted friends and active community members can help ensure families get the support they need by offering their time and resources, taking an active role in children's lives, and fostering a safe environment for young people to learn and grow.  By coming together in service to our communities, we do more to meet our obligation to do right by the next generation.

My Administration continues to prioritize the health and well being of children across our country.  With partners at every level of government and throughout the private sector, we are supporting services that protect young Americans from abuse and neglect and extend help to those who have been affected.  We are investing in early learning programs and supporting initiatives that promote positive outcomes for children and families.  And we are connecting parents and professionals to new tools to identify, treat, and prevent abuse.  I encourage all Americans to learn more about what they can do at:  www.ChildWelfare.gov/Preventing.

Every child deserves the opportunity to grow up with the promise and protection of a loving family.  This month, we recommit to that vision, and to providing care, stability, and a brighter future for our sons and daughters.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 2012 as National Child Abuse Prevention Month.  I call upon all Americans to observe this month with programs and activities that help prevent child abuse and provide for children's physical, emotional, and developmental needs.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this second day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand twelve, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-sixth.

BARACK OBAMA

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Attention- Slim:

Regarding your comments on the early 60's crash that claimed the life of Pocomoke's Dr. Hamilton.. email me and I'll email back the original front page headline story about the accident.

Same goes for anyone else who would be interested in seeing the story.

Email me at tkforppe@yahoo.com

tk for ppe

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Legislative Updates From Delegate Mike McDermott

DELEGATE MIKE MCDERMOTT: PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

4.2.12

“Urge the Members of the Ways and Means Committee to Take Action on HB966”

On March 15th, 2012, the House Ways and Means Committee heard HB 966 - Wicomico County - Board of Education - Selection of Members - Straw Ballot.  This bill, sponsored by Delegate Michael A. McDermott (Worcester and Wicomico Counties), would simply allow the people of Wicomico County to voice their opinions about the selection method of the members on the Wicomico County Board of Education.  It proposes a non-binding referendum that would ask whether voters favor changing the selection method of school board members from being appointed by the Governor to a direct election by county voters.

What has happened since the hearing on March 15th? Absolutely nothing. In response to this, Delegate McDermott is asking the citizens of Wicomico County to urge the Ways and Means Committee Members to vote on this bill.  In particular, please contact the Ways and Means Committee Chairwoman:

Delegate Sheila E. Hixson

Phone Number: 410-841-3469 or 301-858-3469 or 1-800-492-7122, ext. 3469 

Address: Room 131, House Office Building, Annapolis, MD 21401-1912

E-mail: sheila.hixson.annapolis@house.state.md.us

Fax: (410) 841-3777, (301) 858-3777

Delegate McDermott is also asking the citizens of Wicomico County to contact the members of the Wicomico County Delegation who did not support this bill:

Delegate Norman Conway

Phone Number: 410-841-3407 or 301-858-3407 or 1-800-492-7122, ext. 3407 

Address: Room 121, House Office Building, 6 Bladen St., Annapolis, MD 21401

E-mail: norman.conway@house.state.md.us

Fax: (410) 841-3416, (301) 858-3416

Delegate Rudolph Cane

Phone Number: 410- 841-3427 or 301-858-3427 or 1-800-492-7122, ext. 3427 

Address: Room 364, House Office Building, 6 Bladen St., Annapolis, MD 21401

E-mail: rudolph.cane@house.state.md.us

Fax: (410) 841-3780 or (301) 858-3780

If the people of Wicomico County want the right to simply ask a question at the ballot box, they must act now!

From Richard Douglas U.S. Senate Candidate - 2012

Ambassador John Bolton Backs Douglas, Romney

Ambassador John Bolton, appearing on behalf of Governor Mitt Romney'spresidential campaign at the Royal Kosher Restaurant in BaltimoreApril 1, voiced strong support for Douglas's April 3 primary bid tochallenge 45-year Democratic incumbent Ben Cardin.
"I am grateful to Ambassador John Bolton -- a native son of Baltimoreand Maryland resident -- for stating once again his support for mySenate candidacy and for serving as co-chairman of my campaign," said Douglas.

Douglas looked forward to the Ambassador's possible role in a new
Administration.

"If the people of Maryland choose me as their next U.S. Senator, I
will look forward to leading Senate action in January to confirm Mr.
Bolton for a senior national security position in a new Republican
cabinet."

SPCA EASTERN SHORE PET WALK

Celebrate Your Birthday At The Delmarva Discovery Center

Scott Rigell ~ 2nd Congressional District of Virginia

The Rigell Report: We Need Action, Not Studies, to Solve Our Energy Challenges


Friends and Neighbors,Last week the Administration announced it was drafting a programmatic environmental impact statement to "inform future decisions about whether, and if so where, energy leasing would be appropriate off of Virginia's coast," according to a press release from the Department of the Interior.

But the announcement was not news – it was a classic Washington head fake. Energy experts say since the President has banned lease sales in the Atlantic for at least the next five years, this study is just another attempt to infer action when there is none. So this ‘news’ was simply the Administration giving the appearance of moving toward an ‘all-of-the-above’ energy strategy without actually doing anything.

The President's ban on coastal energy is a ban on jobs and a ban on the revenue we need so Virginia can have superior schools, healthy children, and better roads. I believe the President truly wants to lower gas prices and create jobs for the good people of Virginia, but his approach is wrong. Now is not the time for more government studies. Now is the time to begin real development of the bountiful wind, natural gas, and oil off the coast of Virginia.

In February I introduced the Mid-Atlantic Energy and Jobs Act of 2012 (HR 3882) to open, in an environmentally-responsible way, the Outer Continental Shelf off the coast of Virginia for energy development. My legislation would help move America away from its dangerous reliance on foreign oil and create an estimated 18,000 direct and indirect local jobs. At the same time, the legislation would generate $1.4 billion in royalty revenue for the Commonwealth, a percentage of which would be required to go toward environmental preservation in Virginia.

We must pursue a true ‘all-of-the-above’ approach to energy policy in this country. We’re Americans. We can – and must – do this so we can pass on the blessings of liberty and freedom to our children and grandchildren.
Mindful that I work for you, I remain

Yours in Freedom,   Scott Rigell
Member of Congress

Legislative Updates By Delegate Mike McDermott

Apr. 1st, 2012

Field Notes

Observations and Reflections on Legislative Activities

By Delegate Michael A. McDermott

Week 12 March 26-30 , 2012
Monday Afternoon Regular Session:Third Reader Bills
These bills had some opposition:HB-443 creates the Health Care Exchange in support of Obamacare. It seems the democrats missed the news on the Supreme Court hearing this case and are happy to rush forward with legislation so we can be “first”. A real waste of effort and tax dollars.HB-1006  gives collective bargaining to all Baltimore City school employees. This was pretty much a party line vote.
Hunting License Increase-Shot Down on the Floor: HB-1419 was a rare victory snatched from the floor. The bill would have doubled Hunting License fees. Strategic questioning of the Floor Leader on the bill led to the opening of many eyes in the House on the democratic side. Following a hearty debate, the bill was defeated on a 62-69 vote. This will keep the cost of a license at $24.50. I must say, it felt pretty good to lead the charge and defeat a bad bill…as rare as it may be.

Monday Evening Regular Session:Third Reader Bills

Tuesday Morning Regular Session:First Reader Senate Bills, Messages from the Senate
Cross Filed Senate Bills Heard on Tuesday:
The following bills were heard (listed with their previously heard cross filed House Bill):SB-41 (HB-212), SB-59 (HB-117), SB-131 (HB-115), SB-374 (HB-251), SB-421 (HB-875), SB-439 (HB-379), SB-535 (HB-1029), SB-588 (HB-739).SB-70 has no cross file in the House. This bill seeks to codify the hearing process pertaining to guardianships and would require a hearing with the child who is the subject of the guardianship. SB-141 would repeal certain provisions concerning the reporting of information to the criminal justice system.

Wednesday Morning Regular Session:First Reader Senate Bills, Messages from the Senate
 Cross Filed Senate Bills Heard on Wednesday:
The following bills were heard)listed with their previously heard cross filed House Bill):SB-18 (HB-252), SB-170 (HB-524), SB-198 (HB-161), SB-514 (HB-396), SB-521 (HB-604), SB-640 (HB-715), SB-650 (HB-631), SB-673 (HB-926), SB-691 (HB-670)SB-245 would allow for the transference of a juvenile in custody to another treatment facility based upon a decision by the Dept. of Juvenile Justice. It provides, by amendment, the opportunity for judicial review and assignment. SB-247 addresses juvenile records and would seek to allow for additional sharing of criminal-detention information with other states which enter into a Memorandum of Understanding.
Maryland currently only has this agreement with Virginia and the District of Columbia.SB-16 is a similar to HB-353 concerning Jury Service and time off allocated by an employer. This is not a business friendly bill.

Thursday Morning Regular Session:Second Reader, Third Reader
On Second Reader was HB-411 which is the O’Malley-Brown Off-Shore Wind Bill. The bill has been amended several times and the dollar demands on consumers have been lowered (but will rise with inflation). In fact, the industry folks say that it is financially improbable that a company would be willing to enter into an agreement with Maryland under these terms. The fact is, without significant government and ratepayer subsidies, Off Shore Big Wind is too costly. If you consider wind produced kilowatts coming in at .24 cents and natural gas generation at .07 cents, this is not rocket science. On the floor, I argued that we should join with Virginia and their announced project to allow Dominion Energy to build one such tower three miles off the coast of Cape Charles and a monitoring station so they can determine if the technology will produce the results needed to make it a viable option. They put a three year moratorium on natural gas drilling that would net billions, yet they rush forward on an unproven technology that would bind our people to higher utility rates in the future. In a word, unbelievable! The Governor wants a “green” shingle to hang on his national resume, and, as ridiculous as it may be, the democrats in the General Assembly will deliver.
Cross Filed Senate Bills Heard on Thursday:SB-175 (HB-8), SB-283 (HB-1022), SB-353 (HB-318), SB-396 (HB-822), SB-453 (HB-707), SB-496 (HB-480), SB-512 (HB-1310), SB-562 (HB-614), SB-565 (HB-942), SB-612 (HB-1074), SB-647 (HB-1146), SB-711 (HB-774), SB-797 (1042), SB-856 (HB-762)
We also had our initial review of HB-15, the Medical Marijuana Bill. This one was assigned to Health and Government Operations as the primary committee, but we are reviewing it as well. The bill seeks to allow folks who provide marijuana to a person who has a medicinal need for the drug to be classified as “Care Providers” and would give them certain protection from prosecution. I think this is a terrible idea and the bill has so many holes in it legally, I do not think it can be repaired. The big problem in the General Assembly is that we have some who want to legalize marijuana or, at least, decriminalize possession, yet they use medical marijuana for cover to try and relax laws. Well, if they want the debate on legalization, let’s have it…but let’s stop trying to come in the back door behind this ruse of medicinal marijuana. I do not want Maryland to look like California when it comes to marijuana. We already look like them when it comes to taxes and environmental laws. We did not vote on the bill, but I doubt it receives a favorable report from Judiciary next week.

Friday Morning Regular Session:Second Reader, Third Reader House and Senate Bills
HB-441 is the Off-Shore Wind Bill. The bill is fraught with cost issues that could and would eventually be passed onto ratepayers and taxpayers. The bill makes provisions for union hiring and would eliminate non-union folks from being able to work on this project. In the end, it is government picking the winners and losers. On one hand, we fight against drilling for natural gas, and on the other we grant rate subsidies and make demands on utility companies to provide alternative energy that costs two to three times what is paid now. This is what happens when government gets involved in energy policies. The final vote was 88-47 in favor of the bill.

Erika Sifrit Cites Mental Issues In New Trial Bid

News Editor

Shawn J. Soper

OCEAN CITY -- With the 10th anniversary of the heinous crime rapidly approaching, convicted killer Erika Sifrit, who, along with her husband Benjamin, brutally murdered and dismembered a Virginia couple vacationing in Ocean City on Memorial Day 2002, this week filed her latest bid for a new trial.

Erika Sifrit, now 34, this week filed a petition seeking an overturn of her prior convictions and sentences and a bid for a new trial, citing her defense counsel at her original trial in 2003 failed to highlight her mental instability and the dominance of her husband at the time of the crimes. In 2003, Erika Sifrit was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of Joshua Ford and second-degree murder in the death of Martha Crutchley and was sentenced to life in prison plus 20 years.

Unlike prior attempts, Erika Sifrit’s latest appeal does not dispute the material facts in the case, but calls into question a lack of effort by her counsel at the Circuit Court level to investigate her mental condition at the time of the double murder.

“Despite the weight of the circumstantial evidence that she was involved in the murders with her husband, including but not limited to her ownership of the murder weapon and possession of victim ID’s and a ring at the time of her arrest, the record shows Ms. Sifrit’s trial counsel did next to nothing to investigate and develop a defense regarding her state of mind- the reason she was involved in the crime,” the appeal reads.

“Due to constitutionally inadequate investigation of Ms. Sifrit’s state of mind and mental health, trial counsel failed to respond to the state’s aiding and abetting case.”

The Sifrits lured Crutchley and Ford back to their Ocean City condo on Memorial Day weekend in 2002 after spending the evening with them at a resort nightclub before brutally murdering them and dismembering their bodies, parts of which were found in a Delaware landfill nine days later. The couple was caught during a botched burglary attempt at a north end restaurant nearly a week later and a trail of evidence led investigators to the scene of the murders.

The latest appeal attempt points to the failings of Erika Sifrit’s defense counsel to explore the depths of her mental illness or the possible effects of the drugs she was using at the time, including Paxil and Xanax, which were found on her at the time of the arrest following the burglary attempt.

“Counsel offered no evidence to explain how and why Ms. Sifrit came to be in the presence of her husband on that fateful evening,” the appeal reads. “Counsel offered no evidence in an attempt to explain why she remained with him, and kept her mouth shut, in the days that followed.”

SOURCE:

TIME MACHINE ... Passing Era Of The Old Eastern Shore Doctors.

(Reader-friendly viewing of newspaper archives material)

　

May, 1903

(The Denton Journal)

Passing of the Old Eastern Shore Doctor.

From The Baltimore Herald.

To the student and observer of the changes wrought by time in the social and institutional life of the Eastern Shore one of the most familiar and striking differences between the new and the old is seen in the Eastern Shore doctor. This important professional personage is now typified by a young, aggressive, business-like physician the antithesis of the sedate, courtly, punctilious practitioner of the old school. To the old Eastern Shore, as well as to the old Virginia doctor, with his lancet, calomel and jalap, his mercury and Peruvian bark and his eighteen months or so of medical education, there has come a successor, with a four years' training, under two score of professors, lecturers and teachers, in a score of allied medical sciences, most of which were unheard of a quarter of a century ago, with `a thousand and one drugs for the rapidly expanding list of the ills of man, and, above all, perhaps, with the manufacturing chemist at his back. And what wonders this patient and hard working scientist has performed. From his laboratories come discovery upon discovery of new drugs, of new combinations of old drugs, and vials upon vials of innocent looking pink and various colored pills, granules, triturates, tablets, etc., in which reside the "active principles" of remedial agents.

The old doctor's calomel bottle, alone, now holds an armamentarium of the little "active principles" in a form which the future hid from the eyes of his heroic predecessor. And as the old doctor replenished his saddle-bags from the apothecary's shop, the new doctor fills his pocket case and his carriage medicine chest from the manufacturing chemists of Baltimore, or of Philadelphia, and does his own dispensing. The country druggist, however, complains that he is not doing so well as did the apothecary. He claims that the new doctor sends him few prescriptions. The patient today is prone to patronize the physician who deals out his own remedies. He has but one bill to pay for attendance and medicine, and he is shrewd enough to see that this bill is likely to be less than the two of doctor and druggist. The "spirit of commercialism" has entered into the sickroom as well into all other affairs of this age. The doctor's "honorarium" is now the new doctor's fee- a cold now a clear-cut matter of business. The Hippocratic oath is now a relic of antiquity, and the schools no longer go through the formality of administering the jusjurandum.

Few of the old Eastern Shore doctors survive as a connecting link between the conditions which surround the present day practice of medicine and the flower of medical life which bloomed and blossomed and faded in the nineteenth century. Here and there one is found, in this county of that, who is still active and holds a clientele among old families, although the younger generations regard him askance. For the good old man has lost none of his reliance in the methods which dead and gone masters taught him, and the clash of theories and the actual results in practice of the old and the new the lagging veteran finds much in use by his younger brethren that is superfluous in the application of the art to the old familiar diseases common to this climate. He has seen the dreaded ague, once the scourge of the Eastern Shore, practically depart, and the fevers which once raged so extensively and disastrously in his early days have become lessened in volume and virulence. He is still in demand in certain cases, and when the grip seized the community and was heralded as a new and dangerous disease, and gave impetus to the labors of the chemists in producing the much exploited "coal tar products," he kindly got down an old author and identified the influenza and revived the forgotten treatment from three-quarters of a century ago, with gratifying success.

In the case of the Eastern Shore doctor the new regime has swept him and his virtues and his foibles aside. A man is shot through the abdomen in the morning. Long before night he is in a Baltimore hospital with a surgeon, dressed like a French baker, searching his intestines for perforations; or he may be in the hospital at Salisbury or Cambridge, or that soon to be erected at Easton, or the one in Elkton, with a city surgeon speeding to his side; or an alert, brilliant, daring local practitioner operating upon him.

An onset of typhoid fever or pneumonia sends the patient to a hospital, home or foreign, treatment by a specialist, and the "chronies" are ever searching for strange medical advices. The stupendous field of medical science today in which one man can hope to master little more than one branch has fixed the doom of the family doctor, and scientific and material progress, social changes, and the inexorable fiat of time have seen the (old-time) Eastern Shore doctor a memory.　

　

February, 1941

A "Blood Donors Club" was organized by 40 Pocomoke City residents. Members would voluntarily donate blood when lives of those in need of blood were at stake. The club was one of the first of it's kind in the state.

　　

January, 1927

In a list of construction projects to be covered by a proposed state loan program, Maryland Governor Albert C. Ritchie, designated $55,000 for an armory and land in Pocomoke City.

　　

January, 1970

With Pocomoke's 30-member National Guard unit being transferred to Salisbury arrangements had been completed for the city of Pocomoke to take over the Armory building on Second Street. Mayor J. Dawson Clarke said a portion of the building could be new headquarters for the Pocomoke police department. Sgt. Ames Byrd of the Guard said all the state and federal property in the Armory had been relocated to Salisbury.

　

　

Do you have a local memory to share with PPE readers.. such as a big snow storm, a favorite school teacher, a local happening, something of interest your parents or grandparents told you about? It can be just a line or two or more if you wish. Your name won't be used unless you ask that it be. Send to tkforppe@yahoo.com and watch for it on a future TIME MACHINE posting!