James Dissette

Town Council Open Meeting Tonight for Human Rights Commission

October 26, 2020 by James Dissette Leave a Comment

The Mayor and Council of Chestertown will hold a public hearing on ORDINANCE 07-2020 (renumbered from 06-2020 due to a duplication of ordinance numbering) ESTABLISHING A HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, October 26, 2020 via Zoom. The full text of the Ordinance is available online or by calling 410-778-0500 to request a copy.

The public hearing will be live-streamed or you are encouraged to attend and comment by contacting jen@chestertown.com or kees@chestertown.com. Written comments prior to the hearing are also welcome.

By Authority of
Chris Cerino, Mayor

Livestream here.

Keeping Art Alive and Selling During COVID with Carla Massoni

October 26, 2020 by James Dissette Leave a Comment

Since March, every business open to the public has been forced to invent a new way of surviving the pandemic restrictions. New strategies are required to creatively adapt to the coronavirus.

Carla Massoni, owner of MassoniArt Gallery on High Street, fearing the worst for a business dependent on a vibrant tourist trade and community engagement, “pivoted” early with a strategy to continue promoting her artists.

“I will do anything in my power to support the artists that I have represented for years. I value what they do. I love their work—this is the partnership we’ve established. They do the work, and I find a way to get it to market,” she said in a recent interview.

Even before the restrictions began to ease up, Massoni began to enhance her online presence with professional videos by Andover Media and to return to her scheduled exhibits.

Concerned that an open gallery approach risked to much social exposure during the pandemic, Massoni decided to customize her approach by inviting customers by appointment only. That way, she says, visitors can have the gallery to themselves and take their time with the exhibit.

The November-December exhibit, Marc Castelli’s “Shouting at the Wind” is already attracting appointment dates. His reputation for astonishing portraits embracing the heart of the Chesapeake—its waterman—along with his on-site talks about the men who are his subjects have been a perennial draw for the gallery.

But change comes with a cost. She misses the pre-pandemic gallery openings, the crowds of First Friday visitors, and the excitement of Tea Party and Downrigging’s festivities.

“I love being with all the people who have come in all these years… I’ve watched a whole generation of people who come in and out of the gallery, folks who have weekend homes and I’ve seen their children awkwardly graduating from high school and college and now they bring their new wife or husband and baby.”

Massoni speaks for all of us in our lament for better days. But she also speaks to our determination to move forward and to continue to innovate, create, and connect in new ways.

This video is approximately seven minutes in length. To find out more about MassoniArt and watch the artists’ videos please go here.

Melissa McGlynn: Savory Pot Pies, a Vaccine for Our Times

October 19, 2020 by James Dissette 3 Comments

One bright silver lining to the utter mayhem of the pandemic is the necessary drive to innovate. Business closures alone have swept jobs into a river of uncertainty. School closures and remote learning have upended family life. Social distancing has muted social life.

Some are lucky to continue their work remotely while others are forced to scan the horizon for work that may be far afield of their talents. Innovators take the leap of faith and strike out on their own.

One fantastic example of this has been Melissa McGlynn’s Cottage Pies’ sudden appearance and immediate success, a savory vaccine for our time.

For three consecutive Saturdays, McGlynn and her husband, Walt Steffens have hauled a week’s work of their made-from-scratch frozen pot pies from the kitchen at Betterton American Legion to Saturday Market. It takes a week of baking to stock up enough pies for the market, and those are gone within minutes.

McGlynn is no novice when it comes to specialty baking. Cordon Bleu trained and five years of creating popular baked goodies at local bakeries and restaurants from Evergrain Bakery, JR’s, and Louisa’s Restaurant, she has cultivated a community following. But when COVID hit, work came to a halt.

“I was at Louisa’s in March and knew when Italy closed because of the pandemic we would be next in line. The day Memo closed the restaurant closed, I had pastries in the oven.”

The next couple of months were tough.

“I sat around in depression and realized the pandemic wasn’t going away anytime soon, but I couldn’t just sit around,” she says.

McGlynn and Steffens began to kick around a few ideas. “I wanted to head out on my own but wanted to make sure I wasn’t stepping on anyone’s toes.”

Recalling that Swanson pot pies were always a winner at dinner as a kid, McGlynn began to consider creating a medley of pot pies. It seemed the perfect fit. Then things began to fall into place.

Meeting the rigid Health Department requirements for licensing, McGlynn searched for a kitchen and found her new home at Betterton American Legion.

“The licensing took months, and I couldn’t have done it without Erica at the Health Department who took time out of her emergency level schedule dealing with the pandemic. In the meantime, I tested a few recipes in my kitchen, starting with chicken pot pies, the universal comfort food.”

These days she offers a full menu including Chicken Pie, Beef Vegetable Pie, “BOM” Pie (Beef, Onion, Mushroom, Jarlsberg cheese), Shepherd’s Pie, Vegetable Pie, Vegetable Shepherd’s Pie, Aussie Pie, and a seasonal fruit pie. Last week it was Apple, Walnut, and Salted Caramel Apple. And yes, everything is from scratch, from the pie dough to the caramel.

Struck with sudden success, McGlynn looks to the future. At this point, she does not take orders. It’s a first-come, first-served offering that works well as she refines the process and logistics of having 200 pot pies ready by Saturday.

“We’re excited by the challenge,” McGlynn says. “I’m at capacity now and working on expanding the business at a healthy pace,” she adds.

Indeed, the town is ready. If you want one of McGlynn’s Cottage Pies, you have to get to Saturday Market early. Very early. Everyone knows comfort is one pot pie away.

This video is approximately two minutes in length. For more information please go here on FaceBook.

Chesapeake History: Kent County’s 1863 Failed Election Coup with Kevin Hemstock

October 15, 2020 by James Dissette 1 Comment

Every election cycle is rife with fear of corruption, ballot tampering, or some nefarious “rigging.” Certainly, a raging pandemic and a storm of hostile political divisiveness aren’t doing much to quell anxiety surrounding the current election.

Despite the general consensus that US elections’ integrity is safeguarded, there have been a few brazen attempts to interfere with election outcomes. New York’s Tammany Hall and Boss Tweed come to mind and before that, an organized mail-in ballot scam by Union troops favoring George McClellan in his attempt to end Lincoln’s presidency.

Others, like the Kennedy-Nixon election of 1960 and Bush-Gore in 2000, still linger under suspicion despite countless investigations finding little evidence for grand malfeasance.

Kent County Maryland, however, is another story, according to Kevin Hemstock.

Hemstock, former Editor of The Kent County News and regarded regional historian tells the tale of an attempt to forcibly “rig” the local county election of 1863 during the height of the Civil War. It is a story complete with a Casablanca “round up the usual suspects” at gunpoint moment, a steamboat of arrested prominent Kent citizens shipped to Baltimore, Federal troops at the polling stations, and a dramatic intervention.

The coup attempt was even bizarre enough to make it to Lincoln’s desk where it might have affirmed his decision to suspend Maryland’s constitutional rights at the outbreak of the Civil War.

In fact, Hemstock’s story reflects Lincoln’s concern with Maryland, a slave-state teetering on succession. In the microcosm of local politics, Kent County faced an Emancipation Proclamation dilemma—could Maryland both embrace the North and retain its slaves? Slave owners in Kent County tried: one party thought as much while another believed unconditionally in abolition however it could succeed.

G. Kevin Hemstock, is a lifelong history sleuth, archivist, and author. His books include “Injustice on the Eastern Shore,” “The Thirteen Most Sensational Murders of Kent County, MD,” “Freaks, Fables and Fires of Kent County, MD,” and “The History of Millington: Vol 1 and 2.”

This video is approximately eleven minutes in length.

What’s Next: A Conversation with Arlene Lee on Ctown Human Rights Commission

October 13, 2020 by James Dissette Leave a Comment

The Town Council accepted the ordinance to establish a human rights commission in Chestertown as a “first reading” during its October 5 council meeting making it a significant step toward addressing systemic racism.

Evolving out of a Resolution Against Racism submitted in August by the Council by Ward 3 Council Member Ellsworth Tolliver, the Town ordinance formalizes the Resolution’s language and awaits further input from the community during its November 2 meeting.

But what is the mission of a Human Rights Commission, and how is that mission implemented?

The Spy reached out to Arlene Lee, co-founder with Paul Tue of the Social Action Committee for Racial Justice (SOCRJ), to discuss how such an ordinance might work. She is former Executive Director of the Governor’s Office for Children, where she worked with both governmental and private agencies, focusing on policy and programs to help children and families.
Fundamentally, Lee says, an HRC is a solutions-based commission whose primary mission is to mediate discrimination issues, may they be racial, sexual orientation, gender, or other protected rights.

The video is approximately eight minutes long. The ordinance may be found on the Town website here. For more about Social Action Committee for Racial Justice, go here.

Chestertown Human Rights Commission Proposed

October 7, 2020 by James Dissette 1 Comment

Monday night’s Town Council meeting addressed the proposed formation of a Human Rights Commission ordinance to “be empowered to investigate and resolve allegations of racial discrimination in employment, housing, by town agencies and by businesses.”

Ordinance 06-2020 would be the authoritative law framing the anti-racism resolution introduced by Ward 3 Council Member Ellsworth Tolliver during the town council meeting of August 17.

The council took issue with the term “independent” in Section 5 of the original resolution feeling that it would mislead the community into believing the Commission would be an entity separate from the Town. After much discussion, the term was stricken from the final text of the proposal.

The council accepted the final draft of the ordinance language as a “first reading,” and will offer the public an opportunity to discuss it during the November 2 town council meeting.

The Spy will address the commission formation, function, and scope in upcoming editions.

The following is the final drafted text of Ordinance 06-2020 “Establishing the Human Rights Commission”and remains open to amendments.

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TOWN OF CHESTERTOWN
ORDINANCE 06-2020
ESTABLISHING THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION

WHEREAS, the Town Council adopted Resolution 03-2020 Black Lives Matter on October 5, 2020 recognizing that Chestertown has a documented history of overt and structural racism which was originally designed to prevent African Americans from equal access to housing, education, employment, recreation, dining and voting, and,

WHEREAS Chestertown residents, along with people from across the country and the world, have risen up to assert that Black Lives Matter here and everywhere and that Chestertown aspires to be a place of equality, understanding and inclusion in the creation of a more just and equitable future for everyone, and,

WHEREAS each human being deserves to live with dignity and respect and have equal opportunity in our Community,
BE IT THEREFOR RESOLVED THAT the Chestertown Mayor and Council:

1. Deeply apologize for the history of local slavery, the slave trade and the lives, the wealth and the freedoms that were stolen from enslaved people entering our port and our town.
2. Acknowledge and honor the positive contributions of African Americans in the creation and the endurance of Chestertown, Maryland.
3. Strongly affirm that all the citizens of Chestertown Maryland have equal rights, equal access to goods and services in our businesses, equal rights to be treated fairly by law enforcement and the criminal justice system, equal rights to start and maintain businesses, and equal access to housing and employment.
4. Proclaim that racism is a Human Rights issue.
5. Commit to establishing a Human Rights Commission to be empowered as an independent board with the task of gathering information for review, of analyzing data and of making necessary recommendations toward the effort of resolving allegations of discrimination in employment, housing, education, recreation and others human relation areas by Town agencies and by businesses.
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Chestertown Human Rights Commission be empowered to investigate and resolve allegations of racial discrimination in employment, housing, by town agencies and by businesses.

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the Human Rights Commission be established as follows:

MEMBERSHIP:
The Chestertown Human Rights Commission shall consist of seven residents of the Town of Chestertown, of which not less than four members shall be People of Color. Each member shall have demonstrated an interest and have acquired experience in matters relating to human rights concerns in the Town. Residents interested in serving shall apply by letter or email to the Commission Chair and Vice-Chair, who will nominate Commission members to the Mayor and Town Council. All Commission members shall be approved and confirmed by the Town Council. Each member of the Commission shall serve for a term of three years, or until a successor is appointed and qualifies, commencing on July 1st in the year in which appointed. The Town Council shall designate the initial terms of the members of the Commission so that the terms of not more than three members expire in any one year.

RULES/DUTIES:
1. With the adoption of this Ordinance, the Town Council shall appoint an interim Chair and an interim Vice-Chair, who shall be responsible for nominating the initial seven Commission members. Upon the Council approval of the full Commission, its members shall elect a Chair and a Vice-Chair from among its membership, each of whom shall serve for one year.
2. The Commission may adopt such rules and regulations as it deems necessary and desirable for the regulation and conduct of its meetings and activities.

AUTHORITIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
The Commission is authorized to:
1. Conduct public meetings and survey current practices and conditions relating to the treatment of citizens in areas of public accommodations, employment, housing, recreation, education, and other human rights areas.
2. Conduct programs for the purpose of informing the public regarding matters of human rights and of bettering human rights within the community; Accept complaints relating to discrimination and refer the complaints to appropriate authorities.
3. Make recommendations to appropriate authorities and propose legislation regarding human rights practices and conditions.
4. Accept complaints relating to discrimination and refer the complaints to appropriate authorities.
5. Act as a mediator to resolve disagreements in matters of human rights if the parties so desire, or to refer to a local mediation group if the parties prefer.
6. Coordinate activities with and utilize the resources of other public and private human rights bodies.
7. Issue an annual report of its activities and on the status of the Town’s racial justice and equity.
8. Perform other duties and functions as may be specified by the Town Council from time to time.
NOW, having been introduced this 5th day of October 2020, Ordinance 06-2020 can be adopted on October 19, 2020 and will then become effective on November 9, 2020.

Mayor Presents a “Go Big or Go Home” Plan for Chestertown River Walk

October 6, 2020 by James Dissette 6 Comments

Mayor Chris Cerino put the riverfront walkway back into play during Monday’s Town Council meeting by presenting an in-depth slide show of how the project might look if pursued on a grander scale, what he calls the “go big or go home” model.

The discussion of a river walk has been put on hold since September 2019. Still, Cerino wants to ignite interest in the issue now after having surveyed problems of a deteriorating riverfront at Wilmer Park.

The Wilmer Park riverfront and bulkhead was built in the mid-1980s using pilings reinforced by anchored cable and backfilled with dirt. Currently, the riverfront part of the park drops a foot in elevation indicated by fissures in the sidewalls and terrain. If left unaddressed, the boardwalk as it exists would eventually collapse.

Historically, this part of the park succumbs to monthly floods, which deteriorate the park shoreline.

Cerino’s idea is to rebuild the vulnerable section of the park riverfront and has offered six possibilities, from simply fixing the broken boardwalk to a long-term comprehensive pedestrian loop along the lines of 2019’s Chestertown Heritage Trail and few versions in between.

The council showed interest in the larger plan and wants to open the subject up to the many stakeholders who might be interested. Cerino offered the possibility of holding community charrettes in the future much like the town meetings during the marina conceptualization.

This video is approximately nine minutes in length. For more information about the Town of Chestertown Council please go here.

Chesapeake History: Community Alliances Preserve an Eastern Shore African American Schoolhouse

October 5, 2020 by James Dissette 3 Comments

Restoring a link to Kent County’s Black history couldn’t come at a more significant time, and a small African American schoolhouse languishing in disrepair is the perfect collaborative project for an alliance of Chestertown organizations.

Officially registered in Kent County as Worton Point Colored School #2, the one-room classroom was built in 1890 to teach up to 30 local Black children in grades one through six who, prior to the 1930s, traveled from as far as six miles by foot or horse and carriage to attend class.

The school stayed open until 1958 and subsequently became a landmark museum under the supervision of nearby St George’s church. Over the years, the structure needed repairs and became ripe for restoration. Lacking funds to take up the challenge, St. George’s looked for help.

The African American School House Museum before renovation. Photo courtesy of Rebuilding Together Kent County

The stars aligned when Kent Cultural Alliance Director John Schratwieser got involved.

“When the Cliff’s City schoolhouse was finished, Chris Havemeyer of Preservation Inc and Kent County Questers approached me. They had funds left over from their schoolhouse restoration and asked if I could steward the residual money toward the Worton Point School House,” Schratwieser says.

KCA agreed to act as a fiscal manager with Irene Moore, Elder at St. George’s, and together they surveyed the building. The drop-ceiling, wall panels, and carpet had to go.

After a few consulting ideas failed to put together the team’s need for the job, Schratwieser turned to Rebuilding Together Kent County, the local arm of the national non-profit home rehab organization.

“Rebuilding Together Kent County jumped at the chance of working with us. Their volunteers finished gutting the building and are coming up with basic pricing and guidance for additional work needed,” Schratwieser says. “Our finances will only go so far and eventually we will be looking at the community for help,” he adds.

Rebuilding Together Kent volunteers carefully deconstructed the interior of the Worton Point African American School. Here, John Hanley supervises. Photo courtesy of Rebuilding Together Kent

Before the demolition stage of the structure could take place, the contents of the building had to be saved, and another partner stepped in: The C.V. Starr Center at Washington College.

“Patrick Nugent, Deputy Director of the Starr Center, Jasmyn Castro, Digital Historian and Archivist at the Starr Center, and Raven Bishop, NBCT, Instructional Technologist, Washington College helped pack and store the contents so that we could put things back after the construction. This last weekend, critical items, letters, photos were digitized, 3D scanned, and archived for future generations, Schratwieser says.

Here, the Spy sat down with St. George Church Elder Irene Moore who attended the school as a child. For years she was also a Sunday School teacher and gospel choir director.

This video is approximately eight minutes long. To see more photographs of the project, go to the Rebuilding Together Kent County Facebook page. To contribute to this important project go here or mail your contribution directly to Kent Cultural Alliance, 101 Spring Ave, Chestertown MD 21620.

What’s Next: A Conversation with Chestertown Council Member Tom Herz

October 2, 2020 by James Dissette 1 Comment

When Tom Herz ran for the town council, his candidacy was defined by an advocacy for economic development, specifically that Chestertown and the County could become a ”technology hub” and attract data center developers and the significant revenue they produce.

Now, through the lens of Black Lives Matter/#ChestertownUnitesAgainstRacism and Mayor Cerino’s 16-month plan to address systemic racism, Herz sees a data center as win for the kind of economic development that could create solutions guided by a sense of social justice.

Here, Herz talks with the Spy about some of the “next steps” needed to make the street murals meaningful statements by recognizing, acknowledging, and changing an economic structure that needs to address the legacy and current manifestation of systemic racism.

This video is approximately eight minutes in length. The Town’s 16-month plan may be reviewed here.

What’s Next: A Conversation with Chestertown Council Member David Foster

September 28, 2020 by James Dissette Leave a Comment

It has been three weeks since the town council approved two resolutions to address the history and current manifestation of systemic racism in Chestertown and two anti-racist street murals later, council members are beginning to focus on next steps.

The 16-month plan offered by Mayor Cerino and a resolution by Council Member Tolliver offer a comprehensive, long-term framework to address education, legislation, and unification.

Here, Council Member (Ward 1) David Foster talks about his initial feeling about the “Black Lives Matter and We Can’t Breathe #ChestertownUnitesAgisnt Racism” murals on High Street and College Avenue, and how the symbolic paintings began to take on a different meaning for him.

But one of Foster’s primary concerns for real change in an effort to fight systemic racism must happen on the policy level. In his view, the long-disputed tax differential between the town and county should continue to be addressed.

Kent is only one of three counties in Maryland who do not receive a tax set-off, rebate or differential, from towns that provide services for law enforcement, highway maintenance and other town services that save the county from those expenditures.

Since a tax differential does not exist between the county and town, Foster looks at the issue through the lens of economic inequality and feels that county rebates to the town would ease the need to draw funding solely from the town’s rising property taxes. To stem rising property taxes, a differential would ease the burden for all.

This video is approximately nine minutes in length and a part of a conversation that will be aired later in October.

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