Honors For Pocomoke Elementary!

From The Dispatch, Ocean City.

National Recognition For Pocomoke Elementary School

Mar 09,2017 by Charlene Sharpe

POCOMOKE – Pocomoke Elementary School earned recognition as a National Title I Distinguished School this week.

“We are incredibly excited to have Pocomoke Elementary School recognized for the outstanding work the administration and staff are doing to ensure the children in Pocomoke are achieving at high levels,” Superintendent Lou Taylor said. “The efforts of the PES family are commendable, and this is certainly a day to celebrate not only in Pocomoke, but across our county.”

The National Title I Distinguished Schools Program was created in 1996 to highlight the efforts of Title I schools making significant improvements for their students. Schools are honored in one of three categories — exceptional student performance for two consecutive years, closing the achievement gap or excellence in serving a special population of students. Pocomoke Elementary earned its recognition for exceptional student performance.

Principal Michael Browne says this is the second time in five years the school has received the recognition, something state officials told him had never happened before.

Browne credits the FAME (Formative Assessment for Maryland Educators) initiative, which has been in place at PES for three years, with the increase in student achievement that led to the Title I honor. Beverly Watson, FAME specialist, says teachers have worked ongoing formative assessments into the curriculum so that rather than simply testing student comprehension at the end of a unit, they monitor it throughout the process.

“I think it’s played a tremendous role in supporting students,” she said. “You see a great deal of growth across the board.”

Browne said along with FAME, his school’s efforts to do more with technology and increase parent involvement had also had a positive impact on student achievement. Melissa Freistat, assistant principal at PES, said the school had implemented activities to get parents involved in their children’s education.

“Parent engagement is important,” she said. “That plays a big role in student achievement … I think it’s important the public know it’s a partnership. We’re all pieces of a puzzle fit together for the betterment of the child.”

Browne agreed and said the National Title I Distinguished School recognition was an honor for the entire PES community. He says it’s a great feeling to watch PES students — 72 percent of whom come from households of poverty — walk into school each day eager to learn in spite of any hardship they might face.

“They strive to learn,” Browne said. “This is an honor for the students as well as the staff

Tribute Event This Weekend

From The Dispatch

10th Annual Snow Hill Blues Jam Organized As Mike Armstrong Tribute

Mar 06,2017 by Charlene Sharpe

Mike Armstrong

SNOW HILL – The Snow Hill Blues Jam will celebrate 10 years with a tribute to a local musician.

The 10^th annual Snow Hill Blues Jam is set for March 11 at the town’s old firehouse. This year’s event will honor Mike Armstrong, a local musician who passed away in September.

Armstrong was a member of the Snow Hill All Stars, a group known for its participation in the Blues Jam.

In addition to the live music, attendees at the Blues Jam will be offered a barbeque dinner, cash bar, raffle and silent auction. Tickets are $25 and are on sale at www.snowhillmd.com or at the Town of Snow Hill office.

Read the full article:
https://www.mdcoastdispatch.com/2017/03/06/10th-annual-snow-hill-blues-jam-organized-as-mike-armstrong-tribute/

TIME MACHINE: The Pocomoke River Bridge Collapse1988.

(Reader-friendly viewing of news archives/historical archives material)

August, 1988

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Baltimore Sun

In August, 2009 our late Brenda Wise (jmmb) for The Pocomoke Public Eye posted pictures and information she had gathered regarding the 1988 bridge collapse.

The Falling of the Pocomoke Bridge

August 17,1988

Do you remember the day the Pocomoke River Bridge fell? My telephone rang very early that morning to tell me the news. I will admit I didn't really believe it until I saw it for myself! For some reason, very early in the morning the little bridge just came tumbling down. And of course, for months there were the rumors and speculations of how it could fall, who was the last to travel it and how remarkable it was no one had been killed.

My news clippings from the Pocomoke paper are gone but I did find these pictures that were taken 2 days after it collapsed. There isn't much on the internet but I did find some interesting information.......

Well, that was not all I found. Two days before the collapse of span, a motorist traveling west to east noticed a dip in the bridge deck and that the pedestrian crosswalk railing ,in places seemed to bowed downward. The same motorist on August 16,1988 crossed the bridge again and noticed the dip in the bridge had become more severe. He naturally assumed that the bridge tenders were aware of it and didn't feel the need to report it to anyone. ( I would assume that too). And the manager of the market on the Somerset side of the bridge noticed the same thing
on those same two days.


August 16, 1988, around 11:00 a.m. another motorist noticed
a "V" shaped depression that traveled 10 to 12 inches deep and about 20 ft. long. This wasn't all he found to be faulty with the bridge and immediately drove to Pocomoke City Police Dept. and reported it to the dispatcher. The dispatcher did not notify the officers on duty nor was it logged in as a complaint on the police log.

Finally that afternoon another motorist noticed it and contacted the police chief. The police chief stated that all he saw was a pothole, and did not inspect any other sections of the bridge.

The report further stated that the police department is not trained in matters of bridge construction and defaults................And even though the tiny bridge would have collapsed anyway, IF someone had perhaps paid more attention to what these 3 people were saying that bridge could have been shut down and eliminated the possibility of personal injury or even death. No, personal injury did not occur. But it sure could have.

Quite interesting. I worked downtown for over 25 years and never heard any of this. I don't know of anyone at the time that had heard about this report written in January of 1990. Be sure to read it.  Another DUH moment.

Posted by jmmb at 9:52PM

A link to the report was posted by Brenda but that link is no longer working.  The bridge re-opened in June, 1989 with Maryland governor William Donald Schaefer on hand for the ceremonies.  Cost of repairs was about $3.5 million. -tk 

Do you have a local memory to share with PPE readers or something of interest your parents or grandparents told you about?  Please send to tkforppe@yahoo.com .

When you're clicking around the Internet remember to check in with The Pocomoke Public Eye.  We strive to be a worthwhile supplement to your choices.