Saturday, May 25, 2013
TIME MACHINE ... This Sunday's Preview
1914.. Rebuilding a Somerset County church brick by brick by mail?; 1990.. A chance to ride the rails from Parksley to Pocomoke City; 1977.. Sunday business operations to be legal in Pocomoke City; 1930.. A new concrete road from Stockton to state line; 1893.. Eastern Shore's southern hospitality reputation.
Although you may not find these items in a history book, they are a part of our local history and you can read more about it this Sunday right here at The Pocomoke Public Eye!
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. Send to tkforppe@yahoo.com and watch for it on a future TIME MACHINE posting!
Virginia State Police Increase Patrols for Memorial Day Weekend
Virginia State Police Increase Patrols for
Memorial Day Weekend/ /
Click It or Ticket
Click It or Ticket
RICHMOND, Va. – Motorists, who anticipate enjoying the extended time off from work by traveling around the Commonwealth during the holiday weekend, can expect to see an increase in Virginia State Police troopers on the road with them.
The additional patrols statewide are part of the annual Operation C.A.R.E., (Combined Accident Reduction Effort) to reduce crashes, fatalities and injuries associated with speed, failure to wear seatbelts and impaired driving.
The state-sponsored, national program encourages law enforcement agencies to increase its visibility and traffic enforcement efforts on major travel holidays.
As a result, state police will boost patrols around the Commonwealth beginning Friday morning, May 24, 2013, at 12:01 a.m. and continue through midnight, Monday, May 27, 2013.
National Missing Children’s Day on May 25th
The National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA) and the 3,083 elected sheriffs nationwide, expressed their strong support for recognizing May 25th as National Missing Children’s Day, as well as support for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) Take 25 Initiative.
As a continuing effort to prevent the abduction and sexual exploitation of children, the National Sheriffs’ Association is an honored partner with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and its collaborative organizations to recognize May 25, 2011, and May 25th of every year, as National Missing Children’s Day. This special day is a time to remember those children who remain missing and give hope to their families that one day they will be found.
Furthermore, the National Sheriffs’ Association is proud to support NCMEC’s Take 25 Initiative, which encourages parents, educators, and communities to “Take 25” minutes to help children stay safer. Such education and awareness is essential in helping to prevent tragedies, such as child abduction and sexual exploitation, which have unfortunately become all too familiar incidents to law enforcement agencies throughout the United States.
As the chief law enforcement officers in our respective counties and cities, it is the duty of sheriffs nationwide to work to protect the safety and security of all citizens in our communities, particularly our most precious resource – our children. The National Sheriffs’ Association is proud to continue our vital partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and express our unwavering support for
National Missing
Children’s Day on May 25th and the Take 25 Initiative.
Children’s Day on May 25th and the Take 25 Initiative.
http://www.take25.org/ — Caroline County Sheriff's Office
Biggest Lego Model Ever
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| Photo/Lego |
The newest addition to the grand list of Coolest Things Ever is being unveiled in New York today: the Lego X-Wing, the largest Lego model ever built.
The model of the classic Star Wars fighter being unveiled in Times Square has a wingspan of 44 feet and comes complete with R2-D2 and a full range of sound effects. It’s a super-duper-sized version of Star Wars Lego starfighter set #9493 and was made with 5,335,200 Lego bricks. That, according to Lego, makes it the largest model ever built, eclipsing the Lego robot at the Mall of America by some 2 million bricks. This replica of the Rebel Alliance dogfighter is 42 times the size of the Lego version we’ve all built and a bit bigger than a real X-Wing. (Yes, yes, we know they’re not real. Just go with it.) The X-Wing Luke Skywalker and his fellow rebels flew was about 41 feet long, 2 feet shorter than this Lego masterpiece.
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| Photo/ Lego |
The X-Wing was built at the Lego Model Shop at the company’s facility in Kladno, Czech Republic. It took 32 “master builders” (Note: This is a real job, and we’re preparing our resumés.) 17,336 man-hours to construct the X-Wing. Plans for the model were created using Lego’s proprietary 3-D design software, and the construction team had to work with a team of structural engineers to ensure that the model was safe, master builder Erik Varszegi told Wired.
“This has been a wild and exciting project for us, and it’s taken an international team of designers, engineers, structural consultants, model builders, and logistics personal over a year to bring this model from a conception to reality,” Varszegi said in an email. “In one respect, designing it was the ‘easy’ part, as we were creating a scaled version of an actual toy construction set.”
Once completed, the model — which weighs 45,980 pounds — was broken down into 34 pieces to be shipped to New York by boat (the voyage took two boats two months to complete). Lest the West Coast feel left out, the starfighter is coming to Legoland California after its tenure in Times Square and will remain there until the end of the year. Twenty-three tons is a whole lot of anything, especially Lego bricks, but much of the model’s weight lies in the model’s steel skeleton, which it needed in order to withstand the vibrations from the subway that runs beneath Duffy Square in Manhattan and any seismic activity it could face in Southern California.
READ MORE....
Friday, May 24, 2013
Memorial Weekend Car Show
Memorial Weekend Car Show
Eddies Auto Repair
Market Street
Pocomoke City MD
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| Photo BW |
Saturday, May 25, 2013
11am – 3pm
Description Trophies awarded to the
“Top 24”
“Best in Show”
”Eddie’s Choice”
“Peoples Choice”
“Top 24”
“Best in Show”
”Eddie’s Choice”
“Peoples Choice”
Motorcycles will receive 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place Trophies
**Dash Plaques for the first 50 registered vehicles
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| Photo BW |
**Only $10 to register. Registration 11 AM-1PM
All proceeds go towards Living Waters Outreach Ministries
Any questions please contact Sammy at (410) 957-0212
or leave a message at the church (410) 957-3389.
DON’T LET SUMMER FUN BE A DISTRACTION
Maryland State Police Superintendent Colonel Marcus L. Brown has ordered traffic safety initiatives to be conducted throughout the state. Troopers from each of the 22 state police installations will be out working a variety of enforcement programs. These initiatives will include DUI saturation patrols, speed enforcement as well as aggressive and distracted driving. Troopers are joining forces with local law enforcement and the Maryland Highway Safety Office to remind motorists that driving while impaired or distracted is not a good way to start the summer travel season.
“Our enforcement efforts focus on reducing fatalities and protecting the citizens of Maryland,” said Colonel Brown. “We hope motorists realize the dangers involved in distracted and impaired driving, to the point where they modify their driving habits to help protect themselves, their families, and others on the roads.”
Last year in Maryland, there were two fatal collisions on Memorial Day. In both of these crashes, alcohol was a contributing factor.
According to the National Highway Safety Administration, 3,092 people were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver in 2010. An estimated additional 416,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver. That same year, eleven percent of fatal crashes reported were listed as distraction-affected crashes.
High visibility enforcement is planned on Maryland roads, with a special emphasis on interstates and major highways where the majority of travel will be occurring. Overtime funding for additional patrols will be provided by grants from the Maryland Highway Safety Office.
Submitted:
Maryland State Police
Coast Guard Oversees Oil Containment Following Boat Sinking
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| Photo/US Coast Guard |
The Marine Environmental Response Branch from Coast Guard Sector Hampton Roads attempted to contact the boat's owner but were unsuccessful. Due to the possibility of pollution, crews from the Coast Guard Hampton Roads Maritime Incident Response Team and the Portsmouth Fire Department responded to investigate, and as a precautionary measure, deployed containment boom around the boat.
Due to the inability to establish contact with the boat's owner, the Coast Guard has federalized the response. A federalized response allows the Coast Guard members to utilize the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to assist with clean up efforts. Hepaco Environmental Services has been contracted as the oil spill response organization.
Members of the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and the Virginia Department of Transportation have been notified.
Submitted:
U.S. National Guard
One More Charged In Northampton Murder
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| John Logan |
Jordan was killed at a party at A&E Auto Repair in Treherneville on April 13.
Northampton County Deputies along with the Virginia State Police, the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Accomack County Sheriffs Department arrested Devon Thomas Blake, 30, Deleon Kinte Fitchett 29 and Durell Marion Fitchett 25 all of Tasley, and charged each of them with malicious assault by mob with intent to maim, disfigure or kill.
Devon Thomas Blake is also charged with second degree murder.
All four are incarcerated in the Eastern Shore Regional Jail in Eastville.
Source:
Va. Landmark Natural Bridge Up For Sale
Virginia landmark and tourism attraction once owned by Thomas Jefferson is up for sale.The privately owned Natural Bridge, north of Roanoke, is being put on the market, along with Natural Bridge Caverns and a 150-room hotel.
Roanoke-based Woltz & Associates is marketing the tourist attraction.
Woltz & Associates owner and president Jim Woltz tells The Roanoke Times (http://bit.ly/Z2ioIT) the 1,600-acre property will be divided and listed by tracts. Potential buyers could purchase only the 215-foot-high limestone arch, or every tract.
The property's primary owner is Washington, D.C., businessman Angelo Puglisi. Woltz says Puglisi wants the bridge to remain open to the public.
Woltz would like to see the bridge become a national or state park. He plans to contact federal and state officials about purchasing it.
Source:
Store Caught Selling $40 Water To Tornado Victims
Prosecutors in storm-ravaged parts of Oklahoma are harnessing a special law to ensure that desperate victims aren't ripped off by unscrupulous business owners.
The Oklahoma attorney general's office has already dispatched a team of investigators to uncover cases of price gouging and fraud in the wake of Monday's deadly tornado in Moore, ABC News reported.
According to the Emergency Price Stabilization Act, passed after another devastating tornado ripped through Oklahoma in 1999, businesses are barred from increasing prices more than 10 percent on goods and services like water and hotel rooms for 30 days following a disaster.
That period is extended to 180 days for construction services.
Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt told ABC News that his office already has found a grocery store trying to sell water for $40 a case and a hotel overcharging, in violation of the Stabilization Act. His office is also examining prices on storage units, work gloves and rental cars, Pruitt said.
"They would never anticipate or expect or guess that someone would take advantage of them right now, but this situation is what criminals prey upon," he told ABC News.
Source:
Thursday, May 23, 2013
UPDATE ON DENTON TRAFFIC INCIDENT INVOLVING OFF-DUTY TROOPER
The off-duty trooper, assigned to the Easton Barrack, has been upgraded to serious condition, according to officials at the University of Maryland R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center. The trooper is continuing to receive treatment at the hospital.
After interviews by State Police investigators and a review of information by the Caroline County State’s Attorney’s Office, no charges are being filed at this time against the three teenagers who were questioned overnight. All three were released after they were interviewed.
At this point in the investigation, information indicates the teen driver and his two companions may have encountered one or more trash cans in the roadway as they traveled in the area of 7th Street and Market Street in Denton, at about 7:15 p.m. yesterday. According to information developed during the investigation, the driver may have been attempting to push a trash can out of the way with the car. Then, a passenger reached out and grabbed the can, attempting to move it further out of the path of the car.
When the off-duty trooper drove up behind this scene in his personal car, it appeared the three may have been tampering with the trash can and possibly moving it into the roadway or turning it over. When the off-duty trooper approached the car, he was wearing plainclothes and was not displaying his badge or identification card.
The investigation indicates the 17-year-old driver was startled and unsure of whom the off-duty trooper was and may have instinctively accelerated away out of concern for his safety. The trooper was in contact with the car and was dragged down the street until he became dislodged and was injured as the car continued on.
The investigation is continuing.
Submitted by:
Maryland State Police
SUSPECT SOUGHT IN QUEEN ANNE'S CO. JEWELRY STORE ROBBERY
The suspect is described only as a male, about six feet tall, with a thin build, possibly weighing 180-200 pounds, and possibly having short dark hair. He was wearing an oversized suit jacket, a backpack on his chest, a dark wig, a fake beard, sunglasses, and a ball cap. He was operating a white Yamaha sport motorcycle with silver stickers.
At about 8:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 19, 2013, the suspect entered the Ultra Diamonds jewelry store, in the 100-block of Outlet Center Drive, Queenstown, Md. He displayed a handgun and stole dozens of pieces of jewelry from the store. No one in the store was injured during the robbery. The suspect left the store on foot to an area behind the shopping center where he took his disguise off. He fled the area on the Yamaha motorcycle and was seen wearing a green and black riding jacket, with a multi-colored helmet that had yellow/green duct tape holding the face shield on.
The suspect was seen abandoning the motorcycle and fleeing into a wooded area on Nesbit Road in Grasonville. Maryland State Police, Natural Resources Police, and Queen Anne’s County Sheriff’s Office personnel set up a perimeter around the area. K-9 units and a State Police helicopter responded to assist with the search. Although an intense search of the area was conducted, the suspect was not located.
The motorcycle was recovered where the suspect abandoned it. It was found to have been stolen from Washington, D.C. in 2010. The motorcycle also had a stolen registration plate displayed on it.
State Police investigators believe the suspect was seen by a number of people in the shopping center parking lot before he committed the robbery. According to evidence developed, the suspect obviously turned his head and attempted to avoid people he encountered while making his way toward the store. His actions may have made his appearance and behavior even more obvious to people in the area.
Investigators believe the suspect’s ‘disguise’ was clearly fake and would attract the attention of people who encountered him. Police are hoping anyone who saw him or who was in the area of Outlet Center Drive in Queenstown on the evening of May 19th will call them immediately at the Centreville Barracks, at 410-758-1101.
Callers may remain confidential. Investigators would also like to speak with anyone who observed any suspicious vehicles or persons in the area of the Chesapeake Motel, Nesbit Road, Blackbeard Road, Winchester Creek Road, Hissey Road and Route 50 in the Grasonville area during the past weekend. Citizens should not consider any information or observation they have to be insignificant.
Submitted:
MD.State Police
TIME MACHINE ... This Sunday's Preview
1914.. Rebuilding a Somerset County church brick by brick by mail?; 1990.. A chance to ride the rails from Parksley to Pocomoke City; 1977.. Sunday business operations to be legal in Pocomoke City; 1930.. A new concrete road from Stockton to state line; 1893.. Eastern Shore's southern hospitality reputation.
Although you may not find these items in a history book, they are a part of our local history and you can read more about it this Sunday right here at The Pocomoke Public Eye!
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. Send to tkforppe@yahoo.com and watch for it on a future TIME MACHINE posting!
Crazy Lady Crusaders ~ Cancer Awareness
Crazy Lady Crusaders
(Relay For Life)
Be sure to look for the
Crazy Lady Crusaders booth
during the 2013 Pocomoke Cypress Festival
to be held June 12th ~ 15th
Cancer Awareness items will be for sale
For $1 ~ Sign their banner showing you donated
to defeat cancer
DON'T FORGET :Buy a $5 raffle ticket and you could win a set of
Victory Tailgate Custom Cornhole boards valued at $170.00
Victory Tailgate Custom Cornhole boards valued at $170.00
~All proceeds go to Relay For Life~
All this is in preparation for their
fundraiser and actual relay later this summer.
LIKE them on Facebook
OFF-DUTY TROOPER INJURED IN HIT AND RUN IN CAROLINE CO.
(DENTON, MD) – An off-duty state trooper is being treated for injuries he sustained when he apparently confronted vandalism suspects in a car and was dragged by the car when the driver accelerated and fled the scene in Caroline County earlier this evening.
Maryland State Police are still investigating the incident. Details are incomplete at this time.
The trooper is an eight-year veteran of the Maryland State Police assigned to the Easton Barrack. He is currently undergoing treatment at the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center where hospital officials say he is listed in critical condition.
The preliminary investigation by the Maryland State Police Criminal Enforcement Division indicates that at about 7:15 p.m. today, the trooper was traveling off-duty in the area of 7th Street and Market Street in Denton when he observed several people in a car ahead of him who appeared to be involved in some type of vandalism. The trooper exited his car and approached the car ahead of him on foot.
While the trooper was talking with the three individuals in the car, all apparently juveniles, preliminary information indicates the driver accelerated and the trooper was somehow dragged by the vehicle an undetermined distance down the road. The trooper became dislodged from the vehicle and fell to the roadway. The suspect vehicle fled the scene.
The trooper was flown by a Maryland State Police helicopter to the Shock Trauma Center. State and local police began a search for the suspect vehicle. A suspect vehicle has been located and three individuals are currently being questioned by State Police investigators.
No further information is available at this time. Additional information will be provided when it becomes available, probably at some point tomorrow morning.
The investigation is continuing.
Submitted:
Maryland State Police
VA. Gov. McDonnell Being Investigated
RICHMOND -- Gov. Bob McDonnell is under investigation over the statements of economic interest he has filed.
The investigation was initiated by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, who sent a letter in early November 2012 to Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Michael N. Herring, appointing him to review McDonnell’s statements. By law, elected officials are required to account for all gifts received in excess of $50.
"I did what I have consistently tried to do as attorney general, which is to uphold the law impartially," Cuccinelli said in a statement today.
" I made a referral to Richmond Commonwealth's Attorney Mike Herring in November 2012 to conduct an investigation into possible violations of financial disclosure provisions, as information came to my attention that triggered my requirement to look into the matter. The law also requires me to designate a commonwealth's attorney with independent discretion to investigate the matter further.
My referral to Mr. Herring was not a conclusion that any violation occurred. Under the law, that conclusion will be made by Mr. Herring alone."
In response to to a Freedom of Information Act request for correspondence between the attorney general’s office and Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Office filed last week by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Herring says:
“In that letter, the Attorney General designated me, pursuant to Virginia Code Section 2.2-3126(A)(2), to review certain Statements of Economic Interest filed by the governor."
The section of the Virginia Code referenced in Herring’s response outlines the responsibility of the attorney general as the sole official charged with the initial enforcement function with regard to disclosures required by certain state officers and employees. It states:
“If he determines that there is a reasonable basis to conclude that any officer or employee serving at the state level of government has knowingly violated any provision of this chapter, he shall designate an attorney for the Commonwealth who shall have complete and independent discretion in the prosecution of such officer or employee.”
In his response to the Times-Dispatch FOIA, Herring says he will not provide the letter sent by Cuccinelli requesting the investigation.
“I am not tendering the actual letter from the attorney general because I believe it constitutes 'criminal investigative file' material,” Herring states in his response, dated May 21.
“For future reference, I will not disclose the content, substance or results of my review until it is complete, and only then through due process and in accordance with the law.”
Continue Reading....
Drunk Driver Arrested After Short Pursuit
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| Steven Josef Martin |
On May 20, 2013, at approximately 11:20 p.m. Ocean City Police observed a vehicle being driven erratically northbound on Coastal Highway. Based on police observations, the driver was suspected to have been under the influence of alcohol. Police attempted to stop the vehicle near 74th Street; however, the vehicle fled.
Police pursued the vehicle at which time the driver, later identified as Shawn Josef Martin, 29, of Eldersburg, MD, turned into a parking garage on 77th Street. Martin then sped through and exited the garage at which point struck a bush. Police attempted numerous times to have Martin stop; however, he continued to flee driving through several stop signs and traveling at a dangerously high rate of speed. Martin turned back onto Coastal Highway and crossed four lanes of traffic where he lost control and nearly struck the center median. He then turned east onto 79th Street, drove onto the sidewalk and struck a street sign at which time his vehicle stopped.
Martin exited his vehicle and attempted to flee the crash scene on foot but was taken into custody shortly after by responding officers.
During the on-scene investigation, police confirmed their suspicion that Martin was intoxicated. Officers also noted that there were no injuries during the incident.
Ocean City Police have charged Martin with 49 citations for various reckless/aggressive driving charges. Martin must appear in court for 12 of those citations.
At the time of this release, Martin is being held by the Ocean City Police pending an initial appearance before a District Court Commissioner.
Submitted:
Ocean City Police Dept.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Pocomoke City Police Department Participated In "Click It Or Ticket" Campaign
Officers completed additional enforcement patrols to aide drivers with vehicle safety, officers issued 20 seatbelt citations, 1 child seat citation, 5 traffic citations and also had a DUI Arrest.
Each driver stopped was given a Click It or Ticket pamphlet to help educate them on the dangers of not wearing their seatbelts.
Two FBI Special Agents Remembered
Fallen Agents Remembered for Their “True Valor”
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| FBI Photo |
Special Agent Christopher W. Lorek, 41, and Special Agent Stephen P. Shaw, 40, died May 17 during a maritime counterterrorism exercise involving helicopters and a ship off the coast of Virginia Beach, Virginia. The agents were in the process of fast-roping from the aircraft onto the ship when the helicopter encountered difficulties. The agents tragically fell a significant distance and suffered fatal injuries.
At the U.S. Marine Corps Memorial Chapel at Quantico—together with family, friends, and colleagues of the two agents—Director Mueller heralded the men as members of an elite team that “assumes the greatest risk as part of their everyday job.”
Agent Lorek joined the FBI in 1996 in a professional support role. Two years later, he became an agent and headed to Milwaukee for his first field office assignment. He graduated HRT operator training in July 2008, and most recently, served on the team that rescued the 5-year-old boy taken hostage in Alabama.
“Intelligent, thoughtful, and always up for a challenge, with a ready smile on his face,” the Director said of Lorek, a native of Maywood, Illinois, who is survived by his wife and two daughters, ages 11 and 8.
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| FBI Photo |
Agent Shaw entered the FBI in 2005 and graduated from HRT operator training in November 2011. He earned recognition for his leadership skills and his willingness to take on even the most menial of tasks for the benefit of his team.
“He seemed to genuinely like and take an interest in everyone around him, regardless of rank or situation,” Director Mueller said. “He was quick to make you feel like you were his best friend…his brother.” Born in Santa Paula, California, Agent Shaw is survived by his wife, a daughter who turns 4 this week, and a son, age 1.
Trained in military tactics, HRT members put themselves in harm’s way to help safeguard the nation and to save lives, serving as federal law enforcement’s counterterrorism tactical team. 2013 marks the HRT’s 30th anniversary.
“True and unerring valor was a gift given to both Chris and Steve—a gift that was tested time and again, through their commitment to the FBI, to the Hostage Rescue Team, and to the citizens they served,” the Director said.
Don't Forget To Buckle Up!
Worcester County Sheriff’s Deputies patrolled Rt 113 at the Maryland State line with Selbyville Delaware police looking for drivers who refused to wear their seatbelts. The Worcester County Sheriff’ Office also patrolled Rt. 13 at the Maryland Virginia border looking for unbuckled drivers front seat passengers.
15 citations were issued and 24 warnings during the enforcement initiative.
Remember to always wear a seatbelt when in a vehicle.
Buckle up. The life you can save may be your own.
Submitted:
Lt. Edward C. Schreier
Worcester County Sheriff’s Office
Next Mudbog Competition To Be Held In Snow Hill
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The mudbog scheduled for Sunday, May 26, 2013 has been CANCELED due to excessive water on the Crisfield Elks Lodge grounds.
NO MUDBOG IN JUNE
Since yesterday the commitee members have found that rescheduling a makeup mudbog for June would cause a scheduling conflict with the Elks Lodge. Keep in mind that the Crisfield Elks Lodge schedules so many other wonderful events - other than provide a place for mudbogging and making us comfortable on race day.
A new date will be decided and I will have all of that information for you when I receive it.
The next race date is Saturday, July 13, 2013 in Snow Hill sponsored by the Snow Hill Volunteer Fire Company. This is the first time the Snow Hill Volunteer Company has sponsored a mud bog and
I hope all of you will help make it a success. More information will be posted soon.
Thanks for your understanding and patience!
2013 Racing Schedule
CANCELED ~Sunday May 26 Crisfield ~ CANCELED
Saturday July 13 Snow Hill
Saturday July 13 Snow Hill
Saturday July 27 Crisfield~ NIGHT RACE
Saturday Aug. 31 Crisfield
Sunday Sept. 22 Gumboro
Saturday Aug. 31 Crisfield
Sunday Sept. 22 Gumboro
More information, photos and videos-
click below
Nature Trail Update ~ Hard Work And Happy Times
There's still plenty to do so don't be afraid to volunteer. And by all means, donations are very welcomed and will be put to great use. All the info you need is in this Nature Trail Update. I'm quite anxious to see what has taken place around Stevenson's Pond.
"Not bad for a small bunch of volunteers.
But these aren’t just any volunteers!" ~
Richie Shoemaker
Construction:Seriously,
how many readers thought we would have 96 feet of Trail built with treads in
place in three weeks? No one? We do.
How many thought
that we would actually reach our goal of completion of these 50-ton transport
and 600-foot construction projects in less than one month? Don’t bet against
it.
With work schedules
and rain, we couldn’t get much done (until Sunday) this week but Chris Miles did
starting on Friday. There he was cutting up heavy, freshly salt-treated lumber
each 16 feet long into the 4-foot treads (AKA treated treads). How many boards?
Another 250!
Andy Clarke likes
math problems, as do I. Here’s the Trail tread math quiz:
(1) How many pounds
of lifting did installation of 1000 treads on the Trail require?
First, Chris lifted the boards onto his big truck, and then unloaded the 70-pound boards one at a time to take into his shop. He placed the wood on his long saw bench and cut the 4 foot pieces one at a time. Remember that most 16 foot boards are 193.5 inches long. Does that affect your answer? He lifts each cut piece to stack onto two platforms, building multiple 20-piece towers eight feet wide. Then he lifts (with the help of some old guy) 60-80 pieces onto an old small pick up to make a load. The loaded treads are tossed by the old guy down the hill leading to the construction site where Mike Thornton or Mike Redden (two days), or get this, Donna Clarke (Andy’s mother), picks the boards up and then the treads are stacked after being carried over three bridges and two hummocks to the tread-staging area. The treads are then unstacked and trundled into position where they are nailed in place after they are placed bark-side up. We don’t ever want to lift the same board twice in one spot as that would be making a retread.
(2) How many times were the treads handled individually or as part of a 16 footer?
And your answers are? The first correct answer sent to Jennifer Rafter at the Chamber of Commerce (complete with a $10 donation to the Trail) gets a free copy of the Nature Trail book, a free Famous Trail Bird t-shirt, a free Nature Trail bumper sticker and an honorary plaque as Trail Bull Work Math Champion. Call Jennifer at 410-957-1919. We expect hundreds of responders so don’t delay! Perhaps new users of our Missing Loop of the Trail will have a different level of respect for the volunteers when they walk on our beautiful treads.
NEWS FLASH: Now, thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor, ALL correct entries will receive prizes and the plaque for the first correct entry has been upgraded.
I don’t want to get political but we are going to have to deal with those who say “Don’t tread on me.” I agree. Don’t tread on my rights makes a lot of sense.
But let’s think about this treading idea. If I can’t tread on you, and I don’t think that such treading is politically or socially correct, and I am a 4-foot piece of wood nailed to the Trail, then why are you allowed to tread on me? To answer that question I think we would need to know how much wood could a treated wood tread tread, if a treated wood tread could tread wood. Now if we didn’t have the treads and someone wanted to access our otherwise inaccessible Trail site, they would have to tread water a long time to enter the island so my suggestion is to tread lightly on the treads or else this idea will become water under the bridge treads.
To finish this discussion I am astounded that the big boar raccoon we saw and then inadvertently treed would not come down from its perch to tread on our treads. The treeing must have made him ill. But still, his decision to wait was oak with me; however unpoplar, as maple he wood come down tomorrow, if he weren’t pining for his past free (non-treed life) or not if he wasn’t syca(ny)more. I guess he is right because if he started to de-tree and we were around he would be re-treed. It is better to tread than to retreat.
All attempts at
word play aside, after the rains blew out to sea on Sunday, Andy wanted just to
put in two racks at the construction site. “Just to see how it would go over the
deepest water part of the swamp,” he said. So look at who came out to help:
Supervisor Don Malloy; the old physician; Andy; Hunter and Scott Tatterson; Mike
Thornton; and Katy Clarke (Andy’s bride). I’m telling you what; those folks
forever more moved it.
“No reason to stop now, Andy,” I said, “let’s make it to the cypress ahead.” In a 90-minute instant, in the hot steamy swamp, humidity at 90% and 80 degrees, we had 96 feet of racks and railroad tie sleepers (which will not be called Pullmans ever in this discussion) linking the start of the Loop to our first target, the 125-foot cypress tree.
Larry Fykes and Andy hopped on the developing Trail Monday and now we are walking on treads. Amazing. Andy’s powerful portable battery operated drill performed way more than what mine could do. Modern Torx drive screws are such an advance on our old toe-nailed racks from the Mastodon era of Trail construction from twenty years ago.
And in just a few days the Trail Loop will be back to the best cypress of all at the base of the high ground of the Trail. Now that is a magnificent tree but it is just another stop on the new treaded highway.
Still, who has seen that tree to appreciate it? Not many, I am sure. Now we all can.
Be sure to come out on Saturday morning, May 25th beginning at 9 AM. Meet at the Greenway parking lot just off Winter Quarters Drive at the beginning of the Fishing Pier. Walk around the pond towards Route 13, but not on the Pier side. You will hear us. Come join the fun!
Donations:
I wish I had a better list to report. For some reason the town merchants aren’t leading the charge that will surely bring them notice and foot traffic. The Trail is a prize of Pocomoke. Let’s all have some civic pride!
PNC Bank is our leader this week, with a $500 gift. Graham Wilson of Mathews, North Carolina bought 10 Feet of the Trail and Bobbie (Lynch) Hammerbacher bought one Foot of the Trail. We are so grateful to our donors. We look forward to the time they all can walk on our new loop and see their donations recognized publicly.
Stay tuned: we might not have the observation stations done on Saturday but I fully expect to be able to walk from high ground on Broken Back Island to the high ground near the otter slide and the grove of royal pawlonia trees without getting my feet wet on Saturday.
Download the Pocomoke City Nature
Trail Donation Form
"Not bad for a small bunch of volunteers.
But these aren’t just any volunteers!" ~
Richie Shoemaker
Nature Trail
update
by Ritch Shoemaker MD, project chairman
by Ritch Shoemaker MD, project chairman
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| Photo/Donna Clarke |
First, Chris lifted the boards onto his big truck, and then unloaded the 70-pound boards one at a time to take into his shop. He placed the wood on his long saw bench and cut the 4 foot pieces one at a time. Remember that most 16 foot boards are 193.5 inches long. Does that affect your answer? He lifts each cut piece to stack onto two platforms, building multiple 20-piece towers eight feet wide. Then he lifts (with the help of some old guy) 60-80 pieces onto an old small pick up to make a load. The loaded treads are tossed by the old guy down the hill leading to the construction site where Mike Thornton or Mike Redden (two days), or get this, Donna Clarke (Andy’s mother), picks the boards up and then the treads are stacked after being carried over three bridges and two hummocks to the tread-staging area. The treads are then unstacked and trundled into position where they are nailed in place after they are placed bark-side up. We don’t ever want to lift the same board twice in one spot as that would be making a retread.
(2) How many times were the treads handled individually or as part of a 16 footer?
And your answers are? The first correct answer sent to Jennifer Rafter at the Chamber of Commerce (complete with a $10 donation to the Trail) gets a free copy of the Nature Trail book, a free Famous Trail Bird t-shirt, a free Nature Trail bumper sticker and an honorary plaque as Trail Bull Work Math Champion. Call Jennifer at 410-957-1919. We expect hundreds of responders so don’t delay! Perhaps new users of our Missing Loop of the Trail will have a different level of respect for the volunteers when they walk on our beautiful treads.
NEWS FLASH: Now, thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor, ALL correct entries will receive prizes and the plaque for the first correct entry has been upgraded.
I don’t want to get political but we are going to have to deal with those who say “Don’t tread on me.” I agree. Don’t tread on my rights makes a lot of sense.
But let’s think about this treading idea. If I can’t tread on you, and I don’t think that such treading is politically or socially correct, and I am a 4-foot piece of wood nailed to the Trail, then why are you allowed to tread on me? To answer that question I think we would need to know how much wood could a treated wood tread tread, if a treated wood tread could tread wood. Now if we didn’t have the treads and someone wanted to access our otherwise inaccessible Trail site, they would have to tread water a long time to enter the island so my suggestion is to tread lightly on the treads or else this idea will become water under the bridge treads.
To finish this discussion I am astounded that the big boar raccoon we saw and then inadvertently treed would not come down from its perch to tread on our treads. The treeing must have made him ill. But still, his decision to wait was oak with me; however unpoplar, as maple he wood come down tomorrow, if he weren’t pining for his past free (non-treed life) or not if he wasn’t syca(ny)more. I guess he is right because if he started to de-tree and we were around he would be re-treed. It is better to tread than to retreat.
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| Andy Clarke, Katy Clarke and Montana Photo/Donna Clarke |
“No reason to stop now, Andy,” I said, “let’s make it to the cypress ahead.” In a 90-minute instant, in the hot steamy swamp, humidity at 90% and 80 degrees, we had 96 feet of racks and railroad tie sleepers (which will not be called Pullmans ever in this discussion) linking the start of the Loop to our first target, the 125-foot cypress tree.
Larry Fykes and Andy hopped on the developing Trail Monday and now we are walking on treads. Amazing. Andy’s powerful portable battery operated drill performed way more than what mine could do. Modern Torx drive screws are such an advance on our old toe-nailed racks from the Mastodon era of Trail construction from twenty years ago.
And in just a few days the Trail Loop will be back to the best cypress of all at the base of the high ground of the Trail. Now that is a magnificent tree but it is just another stop on the new treaded highway.
Still, who has seen that tree to appreciate it? Not many, I am sure. Now we all can.
Be sure to come out on Saturday morning, May 25th beginning at 9 AM. Meet at the Greenway parking lot just off Winter Quarters Drive at the beginning of the Fishing Pier. Walk around the pond towards Route 13, but not on the Pier side. You will hear us. Come join the fun!
Donations:
I wish I had a better list to report. For some reason the town merchants aren’t leading the charge that will surely bring them notice and foot traffic. The Trail is a prize of Pocomoke. Let’s all have some civic pride!
PNC Bank is our leader this week, with a $500 gift. Graham Wilson of Mathews, North Carolina bought 10 Feet of the Trail and Bobbie (Lynch) Hammerbacher bought one Foot of the Trail. We are so grateful to our donors. We look forward to the time they all can walk on our new loop and see their donations recognized publicly.
Stay tuned: we might not have the observation stations done on Saturday but I fully expect to be able to walk from high ground on Broken Back Island to the high ground near the otter slide and the grove of royal pawlonia trees without getting my feet wet on Saturday.
Download the Pocomoke City Nature
Trail Donation Form Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Commercial Vehicle Collides Into Police Car
A commercial vehicle described as a “Bethany Resort Furnishing” box truck failed to stop causing the box truck to strike the marked police car. This caused a chain reaction involving four vehicles total.
The two officers inside the police vehicle, who are not being identified at this time, were treated at the scene by Ocean City EMS and transported to Atlantic General Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Both officers were later released from the hospital, however will not return to duty for several days. The police vehicle involved sustained a significant amount of damage and has been taken out of service.
The operator of the at-fault commercial vehicle has been identified as John Clifton Truitt, 33, of Salisbury, MD and was charged with:
- Failing to control speed to avoid a collision
- Negligent driving
- Failing to have valid medical certificate (Commercial Driver Code Violation)
National Click It or Ticket Enforcement
As motorists take to the roads this Memorial Day holiday weekend, Ocean City Police are urging everyone to buckle up. Beginning Monday, May 20th, law enforcement officials were out in full force, taking part in the 2013 national Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement mobilization and cracking down on motorists who are not belted.
“We want everyone to enjoy their summer here in Ocean City. One big part of that is staying safe,” said Acting Chief Gregory Guiton. “Buckling your seat belt is one of the easiest choices you can make to ensure your safety.”
On the morning of May 20th, OCPD joined law enforcement agencies throughout Maryland and the entire northeast region in mobilizing the Click It or Ticket “Border to Border” Operation.
Law enforcement agencies that share State borders will team up to provide increased seat belt enforcement at border sites, sending a ‘zero tolerance’ message to the public: Driving or riding unbuckled will result in a ticket, no matter what State.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 52 percent of the 21,253 passenger vehicle occupants killed in 2011 were not wearing their seat belts at the time of the crash. As noted, deaths involving seat belt nonuse are more prevalent at night than during the daytime. According to the NHTSA, 62 percent of the 10,135 passenger vehicle occupants killed in 2011 during the overnight hours of 6 p.m. to 5:59 a.m. were not wearing their seat belts at the time of the crash.
“Maryland’s seatbelt law is about to get tougher. Come October first, everyone must wear a seatbelt. Everyone. Those in the back seat as well as those in the front,” said John Kuo Administrator of the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration and the Governor’s Highway Safety Representative for in Maryland. “Governor O’Malley just signed into law a bill that will require all occupants of a vehicle to be buckled.”
In 2011, seat belts saved an estimated 11,949 lives nationwide according to the NHTSA. While this year’s Click It or Ticket enforcement mobilization runs from May 20 through June 2, officers are out enforcing seat belt laws year-round.
For more on the national Click It or Ticket mobilization, please visit www.nhtsa.gov.
Submitted by:
Ocean City Police Department
Change Maryland: More Job Losses for Maryland
More Job Losses for Maryland
Maryland lost 6,200 jobs in April according to the latest available numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Maryland is the only state in the region to experience significant job losses last month while many parts of the country have begun a path towards economic recovery.
Change Maryland notes the tragic irony of the report’s release the same day as Governor Martin O'Malley and President Obama were in Baltimore city touting the President’s “Middle Class Jobs & Opportunity Tour.”
“The President has had a rough week. Visiting Maryland to tout job creation on the same day a report shows Maryland lost the third highest number of jobs in the country is just another stroke of bad luck for this President this week,” said Larry Hogan, Chairman of Change Maryland. “But it is tragic for Maryland’s struggling middle class families."
"After nearly seven years of failed economic policies, it has become crystal clear that the O’Malley-Brown Administration just does not get it when it comes to jobs,” Hogan added. “Year after year, their jobs, jobs, jobs rhetoric is simply that – rhetoric. But their record stands in stark contrast. The fact of the matter is when it comes to jobs, our increased reliance on government to create jobs has left Maryland’s economy vulnerable to the ever changing political winds in Washington.”
In the most recent report, Maryland’s loss of 6200 jobs was the third worst, trailing only mid-western states Minnesota and Wisconsin for the numbers of jobs lost in April. In all, 31 states experienced job growth for April. Further, the Bureau of Labor Statistics revised Maryland’s employment numbers downward for March.
Regionally, only Delaware, with 300 lost jobs, experienced job losses over the same period of time. Virginia gained over 12,000 jobs and Pennsylvania added over 6,000.
Riverside Grill Pocomoke Honors EMS This Week
PLEASE NOTE:
Riverside Grill will be
CLOSED
for the holiday
Sunday 5/26
and on
Memorial Day, Monday 5/27
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