Snow Hill’s Opera House Renovation Eyed

SNOW HILL — The town of Snow Hill is “coming back alive” in terms of economic and community development, according to Mayor Charlie Dorman. Meeting with the Worcester County Commission Tuesday, Dorman requested for fiscal year 2014 $700,000 in grant funding, an increase of $300,000 from last year with $200,000 of that earmarked for Old Opera House renovations.

“I want to say the town of Snow Hill is coming back. It’s a wonderful place to live,” he said. “The council and myself and the town manager are all on the same page. We have a vision for Snow Hill that we want to put forward.”

Dorman outlined a few of the new events and attractions Snow Hill is building to try to become a “destination” on the Eastern Shore. Come this spring the town will be hosting its first annual “Cupcake Chunking,” an unusual variation on the traditional pumpkin chunking. Couples are also being targeted by town leadership.

“Snow Hill is going to be a wedding destination,” promised Dorman. “You’ve got to come to the courthouse to get your license, we’ve got bed and breakfasts where you can stay, we’ve got wonderful restaurants and it will all be put together in a package.”

The Old Opera House building on the corner of North Washington and West Market streets is also being marked as a means to attract new visitors. However, due to its age, the building needs renovations.

“This building has begun to deteriorate over the years and being in the center of the town, as well as across the street from your governmental center, we feel it prudent to rehabilitate this structure to encourage tourism and economic development,” wrote Dorman.

The town has estimated that replacing the roof and “stabilizing” the building will cost roughly $200,000, which Dorman requested that the county fund. Total construction costs are ball-parked at $1.5 to $2 million and Snow Hill is seeking avenues to gather that money, including grants.

Another big cost for the town is its wastewater treatment plant and other basic infrastructure.
“Our infrastructure in the town is just terrible,” Dorman said.

Tying up costs with the wastewater plant and road improvements will require extra funding, said Dorman.

“While most of the expense was grant funded, we still have seen some significant expense on our part,” he wrote of the wastewater plant. “We have various street issues that need to be addressed, as well as other operational expenses that have increased each year.”

Suggestions For Beating Those Winter Blues

BERLIN — For those feeling the “Winter Blues” this season, riding out the gloom until spring isn’t the only option, according to Dr. Jennifer Leggour, Clinical Director at Worcester Youth and Family Counseling Services (WYFCS).

Unlike the prolonged, clinical Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), winter blues is an umbrella term used to describe feelings of sadness, lethargy and fatigue commonly experienced in the period after the clocks fall back but before they spring forward.

“It’s mostly just low levels of feeling sad or down or just blah,” explained Leggour. “It’s a lack of motivation, low energy, feeling fatigued, wanting to stay inside and not go out; wanting to hibernate a little bit more.”  

There is a big difference between the blues and SAD, however. The winter blues are fleeting and never reach more than mild levels of melancholy. SAD is a clinical disorder that can lead to serious depression, unplanned weight loss or gain and prolonged dissatisfaction with things that used to make you happy.

“You would see a lot of clustering of these symptoms occurring in a serious level for at least two weeks if not more,” said Leggour.

Another indication of a clinical affective disorder is that it “interferes with your functioning,” she added.

The common winter blues wouldn’t fit into that category but despite being much less serious are considerably more common. A number of seasonal factors contribute to the blues, according to Leggour, though many issues are attributed to a lack of sunlight during the winter months. Sunlight provides melatonin, which plays a role in regulating a body’s circadian rhythm and sleep schedule. It also delivers vitamins C and D, both crucial for staying healthy and staving off feelings of fatigue.

Because there are less hours of daylight during the winter and because the cold and weather often discourages time outdoors, Leggour explained that for most people exposure to sunlight plummets between December and March. This can be counteracted by taking the necessary vitamins as over the counter supplements or spending time in rooms lit by full-spectrum light bulbs such as those used by the owners of some pets, usually reptiles.

However, in many ways there’s no substitute for the original and Leggour recommends controlled exposure to sunlight every day during the winter.

“You should be outside for about 20 minutes a day with no sunglasses,” she said, adding that it also helps to open blinds and curtains in a room while the sun is shining.

Diet and exercise can also be used to manage the winter blues.

“Exercise is my favorite recommendation,” Leggour said. “Obviously it gets people moving, it gets people outside sometimes, and it gets happy chemicals going in your body.”

Setting goals or sticking to resolutions can also battle the blues as they provide milestones that can be reached on a regular basis, boosting self-esteem. People should socialize regularly as well and when it comes to the weather, Leggour recommends “embracing the season.”

“Don’t say ‘I hate winter, I can’t wait for summer,’” she said.

While the Eastern Shore isn’t known for its skiing or snowfall, Leggour suggests making the best out of whatever the weather provides and finding the silver linings, like the cold clearing out the crowds from the beach and Boardwalk.

With keeping up regular socialization, Leggour revealed that WYFCS is planning on a “Couples Enrichment Workshop” beginning on Tuesday, March 12 at 6 p.m. and running for four consecutive Tuesdays. Even for couples with no complaints she said the experience will be valuable.

“It’ll be some really healthy skills you can learn and help you enhance your relationship,” she said.  

Indian Sculpture’s Future In Ocean City Unclear

OCEAN CITY — With restoration funding uncertain, the future of the landmark Indian sculpture at the Inlet in Ocean City is in doubt this week as the weather has taken its toll on it over the last three decades.

Artist Peter Toth presented the Indian sculpture perched near the entrance to the Inlet parking lot to the town of Ocean City and the people of Maryland in 1976 as part of his larger plan to create a similar piece for every state in the U.S. as part of the nation’s bicentennial celebration. Through his Trail of the Whispering Giants plan, Toth created a sculpture unique to each state to raise the public’s consciousness of the plight of Native Americans and his gift to Maryland represents the Assateague Indian.

For over 30 years, the sculpture carved from 100-year-old oak has stood the test of time, tides and fierce weather along at the entrance to the Inlet, but it has gradually eroded to the point it will likely need to be restored to last another three decades.

Ocean City Public Works Director Hal Adkins said this week the deterioration of the sculpture was noticed following Hurricane Sandy, which passed over the resort area last fall.

“When doing our initial recovery from Sandy, we discovered a large whalebone that sat next to the Inlet Indian for years had washed into the street,” he said. “While we were restoring that, we decided it was a good time to take a closer look at the sculpture, and we discovered it had started to split again and was in need of some serious restoration.”

From that initial analysis came a plan to solicit bids for restoring the aging sculpture and a noted West Ocean City woodworker and carpenter came up with a plan to repair the Inlet Indian at a cost of just under $10,000. The plan called for removing the sculpture with a crane and transporting it to the West Ocean City shop for a major repair and restoration, then returning it to its original location.

While a plan was in place for the restoration, a funding source was not immediately identified. Adkins said he first approached the Ocean City Development Corporation (OCDC), which has a public art sub-committee, to consider funding the restoration or pursuing grant money to find the funding. The OCDC was on board initially, but has recently backed off its support.

“There was an interest expressed by OCDC to try to replicate this badly damaged sculpture, but the board decided not to pursue it,” said OCDC Executive Director Glenn Irwin this week.

OCDC President Bob Givarz said this week the organization was initially involved in the effort to restore the sculpture, but changed its position after doing some research on other Toth sculptures around the country.

“Initially, when we heard it was in desperate need of some attention, we thought it was important for us to be involved,” he said. “When we started doing some research into it, we learned many of them around the country were in the same state as ours and some had just gone by the wayside or disappeared over time. We then started thinking a repair might not be the way to go and began considering a way to replace it or replicate it.”

Givarz said that realization led the OCDC board to consider letting the Inlet Indian run its course and pursue another piece of public art in or near the same area in the future.

“We started thinking maybe it was the right thing to do to let the sculpture live out its useful life and consider another appropriate piece of public art in the downtown area, just as we have in other areas of town,” he said. “The OCDC has made a firm commitment to do something in the downtown area and the board has decided to commit some money on a different piece of public art in that area.”

Meanwhile, Adkins said he has not abandoned the idea of restoring or replacing the landmark sculpture at the entrance to the Inlet. He has since approached City Manager David Recor and plans to make the situation known to the Mayor and Council.

“We need to bring it to their attention,” he said. “If somebody doesn’t maintain that Indian sculpture, it’s eventually just going to fall apart.”

Thus far, no immediate plan to restore the sculpture has emerged although Adkins holds out hope there could be a viable funding solution.

“So far, I haven’t received any guidance on how to proceed,” he said. “I’m waiting to hear something back on it. At some locations, they have deteriorated to the point they just fell apart and were not replaced. I’m hoping there’s a sensible solution to keep that from happening here.”

Toth’s Trail of Whispering Giants includes sculptures in other neighboring beach resorts including Virginia Beach, Bethany Beach and Rehoboth. Some have been restored and in at least one case, a fiberglass mold now stands where the original sculpture was placed. Others have deteriorated and have been left to serve out their usefulness.

Zoo Announces Baby Monkey Born

SALISBURY — On Sunday, Jan. 20, the Salisbury Zoo’s Titi monkey pair gave birth to their first baby. At this point, the sex of the baby is not known.

The mother has had experience in raising offspring while the male who is 3 years old has never produced until now. The father has had experience with a family group of Titis, which has given him the tools to be a good father, zoo officials report. The baby is being well taken care of by mom and dad.

Titi monkeys are from South America in the Amazon basin. They have a thick coat of fur, with long, fine wavy hairs that range in color from reddish-gray to dark brown to black. They weigh one to two pounds. Along with all four feet, they have a long, hairy, non-prehensile tail that they use for balance through the branches of dense vegetation. Titis eat mainly unripe fruits which are supplemented by leaves and shoots. They stay mainly in the canopy, foraging and sleeping. At night, they sleep together in a thicket of vines, with their tales entwined, a habit unique to this species.

The birth of this baby Titi is significant as there are now only 50 Titi monkeys in institutions in the United States.

Teachers Union Treasurer Sentenced In Theft Scheme

SNOW HILL — An Ocean Pines woman was sentenced this week to five years in jail, all but two suspended, and ordered to pay restitution after absconding with well over $400,000 from the Worcester County’s Teachers Association (WCTA).

In August, Denise Inez Owens, 58, was charged with two counts of theft over $500 and one count of theft scheme over $500 for alleging bilking the WCTA out of $433,784 while acting in the capacity of the association’s treasurer. In February 2012, Worcester County Bureau of Investigations (WCBI) detectives began an investigation into theft involving the WCTA.

On Tuesday, Owens in court admitted taking the money to cover her long-time gambling addiction. She pleaded guilty to one count of theft scheme over $500 and was sentenced to five years with all but two suspended. She was also ordered to pay $211,545 in restitution to the National Union Fire Insurance Company.

The investigation revealed Owens, who served as treasurer from 2006 to 2009, was in charge of all of the association’s financial transactions during that time frame. It was also learned Owens had full access to all of the association’s bank accounts. During her time as treasurer, it was learned Owens allegedly wrote numerous checks to herself and others. Owens made further withdraws from the account and used the money for personal issues and gambling debt.

In early 2009, a forensic audit of the WCTA’s accounts was conducted and the audit determined the association was short $433,784 and that the shortage was related to Owens’ theft scheme. According to the statement of charges, an informant told a WCBI detective in March that Owens was asked to resign in 2009 when she was confronted about the money missing from the WCTA account. In a second meeting, Owens allegedly admitted taking an undisclosed amount of money from the association.

Owens and the WCTA’s attorneys had another meeting in Annapolis following the forensic audit in 2009 and later agreed to have Owens begin paying restitution without notifying authorities about the crime. Essentially, Owens agreed to pay back the pilfered money and the WCTA created a new bank account to receive the restitution payments without alerting law enforcement about the $400,000-plus in stolen WCTA funds.

However, WCBI followed up with its own investigation and interviewed Owens on March 5. Owens confirmed she was the WCTA treasurer from 2006 to 2009 and said she left the position in 2009 because of a divorce and other personal issues. However, when pressed further, Owens then asked the WCBI detective if he knew about the other bank account created for restitution.

According to charging documents, the WCTA contracted with the National Union Fire Insurance Company, a bonding company, to facilitate Owens’ restitution plan. Through subpoenas and court orders, WCBI detectives were able to obtain all of the bonding company’s documents pertaining to the WCTA.

The investigation revealed in June 2009, Owens completed a written confession of her involvement in the theft from the WCTA. Owens said she was the only WCTA board member who had access to the two bank accounts and that during her time as treasurer she had written unauthorized checks totaling approximately $440,000.

Due to the substantial loss, the Maryland State Education Association (MSEA) hired its own independent firm to conduct an audit of the WCTA records. That investigation revealed a total of $368,984 in unauthorized checks written to Owens, a total of $40,351 in unauthorized checks to two individuals, a total of $17,585 in unauthorized checks to a third individual and a single check for $3,500 to a fourth. The recipients’ names are included in the charging documents, but weren’t revealed by this publication at the time because the extent of their involvement is not known. Meanwhile, following Owens’ indictment, the MSEA said in an official statement it learned of the improprieties associated with the WCTA’s funds and probed Owens for answers.

“When MSEA discovered that WCTA had fallen into arrears in its scheduled state transmission of dues, the association confronted Ms. Owens, then the treasurer of the WCTA,” the statement reads. “Although Ms. Owens promptly resigned her position as treasurer and agreed to restitution, MSEA triggered a full investigation, including a forensic audit. The investigation determined the funds in question were owed to the MSEA and the National Education Association (NEA) rather than the WCTA, and that the local dues money was not part of the mishandled funds.”

The MSEA statement goes on to state the bonding company’s investigation was closed with no criminal or civil action taken.

School Safety Plan Includes 13 Resource Officers

SNOW HILL — A new Safety Action Plan for Worcester County’s public schools, including armed security officers in schools, was recommended by the Board of Education’s Safety Committee and officially accepted by the board this week.

While the approval was swift, Board of Education officials stressed that this does not mean that School Resource Officers (SROs) will be patrolling schools immediately, only that the board agrees with the recommendations made by its Security Committee and will approach the County Commissioners regarding special funding.

“The Board of Education has adopted the safety committee’s recommendations and plans on requesting the need for SROs and funding for the other safety recommendations to the County Commissioners,” said Coordinator of Public Relations and Special Programs Barb Witherow. “Funding requests for safety recommendations will be outside of the proposed FY2014 operating budget.”

Included in the committee’s recommendations are 13 SROs, 14 electronic entry systems with cameras and two-way speakers, and nine card swiping entry systems for doors leading to portables at Buckingham Elementary School, Berlin Intermediate School, Showell Elementary School, Stephen Decatur Middle School, Snow Hill Elementary School and Snow Hill High School. Also recommended are eight new security cameras, six front entrance vehicle barriers, window blinds or tinting in four schools and 15 standardized visitor identification systems.

Not counting the security officers, the initial anticipated cost of the committee’s recommendations is roughly $219,000, though there will be some minor recurring licensing fees. The cost of the SROs is currently unknown, though estimation is expected to be outlined in the Worcester County Sheriff’s Department’s FY2014 requested budget. The security officers would serve under the jurisdiction of the Sheriff’s Office.

Officers would be placed at each school facility, with connected Snow Hill Middle School and Cedar Chapel Special School sharing an officer. The central office would not have an SRO but one would be stationed next door at Worcester Technical High School.

Assistant Superintendent for Administration Lou Taylor told the school board at Tuesday’s meeting that the current list is only the beginning and that additional measures will be brought forward as the Safety Committee reviews them.

“We will continue to work on other areas, and these are also based not only from the committee but on the security assessments that [Facilities Director Steve] Price and our Sheriff’s Department did of each individual building.”

Price has also been tapped to head student safety efforts. With many of the committee’s suggestions, including visitor ID systems and electronic entry systems, Price admitted that students and parents might experience some inconvenience. However, all of that extra work is the price for more secure schools, he said.

“There may be some inconveniences involved with some of the security measures we’re taking,” he said. “But everyone needs to understand that inconvenience is part of our efforts to ensure the safety of our students.”

The school board will be going before the County Commissioners, possibly as early as March, to request that special funds be set aside to pay for the list of security improvements currently being suggested. The security officers will be part of the Sheriff’s Department’s FY2014 budget request to the commission, however.

Komen Race For The Cure Eyes April Return To OC

OCEAN CITY — The boards in Ocean City will once again be flooded with pink this April when the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure returns to the resort town for its second year.

Despite dismal weather conditions, the debut Race for the Cure in Ocean City last year was a big win for both the town and the fight against breast cancer, according to Race and Development Coordinator Margo Mandes.

“In total we raised just over $351,000,” she said during a pre-race press conference last Friday. “Seventh-five percent of the net proceeds go to fund local grant programs that provide education, screening, treatment, and support services.”

A total of 3,662 people registered for that first race on the Boardwalk, with 85 percent of those registrants coming from Maryland. Twenty-two other states were also represented. The turnout was incredible, according to City Council President Lloyd Martin, especially for a debut event that clashed with cloudy skies and a soggy Boardwalk.

“Last year’s event was a huge success. Despite some wet weather, our beautiful Boardwalk and our beach offered a perfect location for nearly 5,000 participants who came to Ocean City to support a great cause,” Martin said.

The efforts of Komen Maryland, added Martin, are invaluable in the fight against breast cancer. Last year the organization awarded nearly $2.5 million to 29 grant programs across the state and an additional $41,000 to five small grants. Komen Maryland estimated that more than 25,000 people were affected by their educational efforts leading to 9,997 women receiving clinical breast exams and 58 cases being diagnosed. Roughly 3,000 women statewide received some form of support with 471 supplied with direct financial aid.

While much of Komen Maryland’s focus is on the population centers across the bay, the Eastern Shore remains a priority funding and education site, according to Mandes.

“We are proud to have invested more than $3 million on the Eastern Shore since 1998,” she said.

The numbers may be a lot to process, but 2013 Race Chair Suzy Taylor reminded those attended at last Friday’s conference at Seacrets that the fight against breast cancer is hard to frame with just statistics. At its core, it’s about families, according to Taylor.

“This cause is really very important to me personally. I lost my mother to breast cancer in 1980,” she said. “And I lost my mother’s sister, my favorite aunt, in 2006.”

According to Taylor, when her mother first learned of her diagnosis, breast cancer “wasn’t something that could be said publically.” There wasn’t a true support network in place, she continued, and every family and every individual fought their own private battles. But organizations like Komen, which Taylor said has “led the charge on breast cancer awareness and education,” have changed the culture to the point where no woman or man has to stand or fight alone.

Martin agreed, calling survivors and Komen Maryland “true warriors” in the fight against breast cancer.

While the altruistic nature of Race for the Cure could be considered enough justification to bring it into Ocean City, Taylor pointed out that the event also serves as a booster shot to the resort’s economy and a strong warm-up before the crowds traditionally begin to return in May.

“I have seen firsthand the economic benefits of having this event come to Ocean City,” said Taylor, also a small business owner.

Komen Maryland estimated that last year’s race had an economic impact of $896,000 to Ocean City. The impact was based on having 2,800 non-local race participants at an estimated $320 per person.

The goal for this year’s race, which will take place on April 21, is set higher at 5,000 race participants and a fundraising mark of $435,000. Komen Maryland will be bringing other community events into the area alongside the race. April 12 through 21 will be Dine Out for the Cure, where participating restaurants donate a portion of their profits for the week.

Seven Ocean City eateries participated during the first Dine Out in 2012 with all contributing 20 percent of sales from at least one meal on certain days during the week and several participating for multiple meals on multiple days. Like Race for the Cure, 75 percent of the net stays in Maryland for local programs while the remaining 25 percent is earmarked for breast cancer research on the global level.

Also in April businesses in Ocean City are being encouraged to “Paint the Town Pink” by decorating their buildings in the color. Judges will select one business as the best decorated and award them a free beachfront advertising package. The “Seaboard Business Prize Package” will run on certain days between May 24 and June 7 and will include one 10 second advertisement displayed every five minutes running the entire length of the beach. Also included will be 16 beach passes worth $1,280.

For more information or to register for the race, visit www.komenmd.org and select Ocean City under the Race for the Cure tab.

Habitat Rehabilitates Mobile Home For Local Family

BERLIN — Habitat for Humanity Worcester County, Inc. (HFHWC) announced this week the recent completion of a rehabilitation project for a local family in need.

In partnership with Habitat for Humanity International, HFHWC has embraced moving towards rehabilitation projects and neighborhood revitalization efforts in order to increase assistance to those in need in our local community.

“With this project, we were able to facilitate a family’s dire situation, because of a donation received,” said Andrea Bowland, executive director of HFHWC.

A local woman, Hannah Purnell, contacted HFHWC looking for assistance when her mobile home had fallen into an alarming state of disrepair. Around the same time, HFHWC received an offer for a donated mobile home, and while not something usually accepted, the need and a viable property were already in place to relocate the donated unit.

The previous home was removed and the donated mobile home transported from Montego Bay in Ocean City to Sinepuxent Road in Berlin. From there, local volunteers and members of the HFHWC Board of Directors completed construction on the home and Purnell and her son were able to move back in last Friday, Feb. 15.

“This project would not have been possible without a number of individuals and businesses within our community who came together to provide a safe and affordable home for this family,” said Bowland.

The mobile home was donated by Carol Jane Donovan and her nieces Pam Stansell and Deborah Holden, hotel stays for the family during construction were provided by Jason Gulshen at Holiday Inn 66th St. with the Harrison Group, driveway materials were donated by Rayne’s Sand and Gravel and construction work, in part, was provided by ShoreCan Construction.

Habitat for Humanity Worcester County Inc. is a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide safe, affordable housing for all. To become a volunteer, donate, inquire about assistance or become a partner family, call 410-208-4440 or email inquire@habitatworcester.org.