An Educational News Source for Chestertown Maryland
To follow up on Monday night’s Town Council decision to accept as town speech the two street murals “Black Live Matter,” and “We Can’t Breathe, the Spy will offer a series of short interviews with council members and participating members of the community.
The Spy caught up with Chestertown Mayor Chris Cerino for his thoughts on the aftermath of Monday’s Town Council meeting.
Monday’s three hour Chestertown Town Council meeting to consider the proposal for the Black Lives Matter and We Can’t Breathe murals on High St. and College Avenue evolved into a spirited, if not sometimes contentious debate showcasing a town grappling with how to express an anti-racist message and welcome and embrace its Black community residents.
Mayor Cerino and council members (minus Tom Herz who recused himself), listened to over a dozen Chestertown residents, as they weighed the issue for its legal liabilities, application, and maintenance. Cerino was also concerned that his role as Mayor required him to guard the town against legal challenges that could financially impact the town.
Attorney Jim Astrachan summed up a legal option: if the town adopted the two mural phrases as their town government message it would be considered protected as government speech
that recognizes that a government entity “is entitled to say what it wishes,” and may advance its expression without requiring viewpoint neutrality.
The Council agreed unanimously to adopt the proposal on these grounds adding that they wanted a tagline attached to both murals, “Chestertown Unites Against Racism,” to further define it as a town message and not an endorsement of the BLM political movement.
This video is approximately fourteen minutes in length.
The Black Lives Matter and We Can’t Breathe street murals were formally adopted Monday Night by the Chestertown Town Council as town government speech and as such will be painted in their proposed locations at High St. and Cross St. to Lawyer’s Row, and on College Avenue.
As government speech, the murals are town government statements rather than permits awarded to private parties, and as such do not open the process for applications by other parties to paint other messages.
The proposal was first suggested by the Social Action Committee for Racial Justice members Wanda Boyer, Maria Wood, and Arlene Lee. Since their proposal was aired five weeks ago, the subject has virtually dominated discussion in Chestertown.
In a passionate and sometimes contentious 3-hour online session, the council heard from more than a dozen Chestertown residents, the majority in favor of the adoption.
Councilman Tom Herz recused himself from the meeting because of his association with attorney Phil Hoon from whom he rents office space.
The three council members, David Foster (Ward 1), Ellsworth Tolliver (Ward 1) and Meghan Efland (Ward 4), along with Mayor Cerino, debated through their concerns about legality and maintenance arriving finally to a unanimous agreement that the statements should be adopted, and that it would be more than symbolic in the town’s effort to embrace and welcome the Black community.
The Council also agreed that the murals should include the tag-line “Chestertown Unites Against Racism.”
More from the Spy this afternoon.
Receiving a diagnosis for an incurable disease can be a frightening moment for the individual and family. For most of us, any end-of-life plan remains vague and lacks knowledge of options.
As much as the idea of dying can be fearful, making decisions and managing one’s end-of-life plan can maximize the quality of life for those who have been diagnosed with an incurable disease.
One of the great options is hospice, a service that focuses on the quality of life for people experiencing advanced, life-limiting illness.
That’s where hospice comes in, providing comfort, support, and a host of other care services provided by a team of health care professionals whose mission is to reduce pain and address physical, psychological, social and spiritual needs.
Compass Regional Hospice in Centreville is a shining example. Their spectrum of services offers “care on your terms” for the individual and the family, and have been serving Kent, Queen Anne’s and Caroline since 1985.
Depending on one’s needs, Compass can help families make decisions as soon as a person has been diagnosed. That may range from home care when curative treatment is no longer an option, to residential hospice care, a medically supportive alternative when staying at home is no longer possible. Other services include continuous care to address short-term crisis care in the home and general inpatient hospice care for short-term pain management and symptoms requiring 24-hour medical supervision.
The Spy was recently offered an opportunity to talk with Shelagh Grasso, whose father, Keith, decided on Compass as soon as he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure in June.
Both Shelagh and Keith were familiar and impressed with Compass. Some years ago, Shelagh’s mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and the family suddenly found themselves in need of a plan for her care. That’s when they discovered Compass Regional Hospice.
Keith’s second wife also succumbed to Alzheimer’s, and once again, Compass became part of the family’s life.
Keith wanted to remain home as long as he could and continue living on his own under the care of Compass’ Home Hospice Care team, who visits several times a week.
But it’s more than just health check-ups. Shelagh says that members of the Compass team have become “family.”
“Right now, he’s very happy comfortable, and I’m comfortable knowing that there’s someone other than me caring for him and making his life a little easier,” Shelagh says.
This video is approximately seven minutes in length. For more information about Compass Regional Hospice please go here.
The Black Lives Matter and We Can’t Breathe street mural proposals will be presented to the Chestertown Town Council on Monday, August 10th, at 7:30 pm.
For several weeks the proposals have dominated discussions throughout the community and have garnered widespread support and criticism.
One concern especially has been brought to the fore: what are the legal ramifications of a painted mural on a town street, and does it open a Pandora’s box of claims for equal representation by other organizations?
As with most cases in Chestertown, an expert in first amendment rights was just around the corner.
The Spy has turned to attorney and Chestertown resident Jim Astrachan to frame the mural proposal in a town law and Constitutional context. He neither promotes nor dismisses the idea, but offers scenarios using the legal principle of government speech doctrine. In other words, the Free Speech Clause of the 1st Amendment does not restrict government speech.
Consequently, the Town could accept the mural proposals and make the BLM murals a government statement. But where does a street mural fit into legal precedents, and if the mural was to become government speech, what legal challenges could be presented?
During a more extended overview of Constitutional issues, Astrachan offers some insight into how the mural project might proceed, its potential challenges, and an interesting alternative.
Jim is a partner at Astrachan Gunst Thomas in Baltimore and professor of Law at Baltimore University and speaks nationwide on intellectual copyright, property topics, including advertising law, branding, trademark protection and copyright protection. He is the author of The Law of Advertising and Mass Communications.
This video is approximately six minutes in length
Kent Center in Chestertown is one of the least known and most valuable health assets in Kent and northern Queen Anne’s counties, where they provide opportunities for adults with intellectual and developmental issues to learn to live up to their potential.
Recently celebrating its 50th year of operations, Kent Center offers a broad spectrum of customized programs and services for the individual with special needs.
Under the new Executive Directorship of Wesley Campbell, the Center continues its mission to prioritize the health and well-being of every person in their care even as they have to suspend programs and activities to safeguard their clients from the pandemic.
The disruption in services hasn’t been all bad, Campbell says.
“As we restructured the organization we began looking closely at the fundamental ways we’ve been doing things. The pandemic shutdown gave us an opportunity to re-evaluate the care process and are now experiencing better outcomes,” he says.
With 150 employees, Kent Center is one of the largest employers in the area and hopes to expand to 200, a target they say would optimize the delivery of their services.
“It’s heartfelt work and requires dedication. We’re always looking for that special kind of employee.”
The Center also owns or rents 14 houses from Kent Narrows to Galena to provide independent living “for people who may have previously been unable to live in the community due to complex medical conditions or severe disabilities” along with people wanting to transition from their home environments.
They also provide Community Supported Living Arrangements (CSLA) to enable the individuals to live and thrive in their own homes, apartments, family homes, or rental units. Services may include meal preparation, engagement in community events and activities, assistance with medical appointments, help with shopping and other errands, money management.
Another strategy is their Supported Employment Service to provide the training, job connections, training on the job coaching and one on one help with resume writing, interviewing, interview follow-up, and other job connection services.
“We want to help them meet their personal goals as valued citizens in the community,” Campbell says.
Wesley Campbell recently met with the Spy to introduce us to Kent Center.
This video is approximately six minutes in length. To find out more or make a donation to the Kent Center please go here.
The highly anticipated August 3rd Town Council meeting scheduled to address the Black Lives Matter mural proposal experienced technical issues: the live feed was not functioning.
The issue has been rescheduled for the Monday, August 10th meeting at 7:30 pm.
UPDATE: The issue has been fixed and the live feed will be available for next Monday’s meeting.
Even before rounding the corner to the basketball court behind Kent County Middle School you hear the characteristic thumping of basketballs: lots of them.
Welcome to 4th Quarter Grind, a summer training camp for basketball enthusiasts.
Each evening at 6pm, Dominic Harris works with 20 Kent youths of all ages to help them hone their basketball skills. From basic ball-handling to creating a game-ready mind-set, Harris moves through the practices like a seasoned coach, readying the players for their next county game.
Self-funded, the training program is open to anyone with interest in the sport.
“We had a great tournament session in DC two weeks ago. It’s important for these kids to see the wider world outside of Kent County,” he says.
Harris says he’s been playing basketball since he was a kid. “I was inspired by my younger brother. His consistency and his dedication to work out every day motivated me.”
His love for basketball and recognition that Kent County needed more youth activities led Harris and his brother to start a basketball training group in 2008. Over the years they tried out different names and settled on 4th Qtr Grind three years ago. Since then, and especially during COVID-19, the young coach has seen interest grow exponentially.
“We try to practice every day. If it’s not raining, we’re training,” Harris says.
Harris sees basketball training as a template for life. “I watched my brother develop skills in training that applied to work ethics in life. Life can be hard, but learning some basic skills like working with others, trust, and commitment, can get you there.”
At the end of the day, Harris sums up his sense of satisfaction by watching a young player being able to accomplish something that he could do at the beginning of the practice session.
“That’s what it’s all about for me,” he says.
For those interested in the training camp, Dominic may be contacted at 4thQtrGrind@gmail. com. To see more visit their Facebook and Instagram pages.
One of the wonders of the Chesapeake Bay region, be it Annapolis, Chestertown or Talbot County, is that it’s not unusual to find a leading expert in almost any field just around the block, so to speak. With close proximity to Washington, D.C. these communities have found themselves attracting the best and the brightest for decades.
So it wasn’t too surprising to find one of the country’s leading experts in infectious diseases who so happens to make his home just outside of Chestertown.
For more than thirty years, Dr. Mark Dybul has been in the forefront of some of the world’s most dangerous pandemics. Starting with his early work with AIDS in the 1980s, when he became a colleague and friend with Dr. Anthony Fauci, Dybul has helped lead global efforts to defeat such dangerous diseases, as SARE, Ebola, MERS, and H1N1, just to name a few.
He’s the former Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight HIV, Tuberculosis and Malaria and is now Faculty Co-Director of the Center of Global Health Quality and Professor in the Department of Medicine, Georgetown Medical Center.
Earlier in his career, he joined the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and worked with Dr. Anthony Fauci on clinical studies on HIV virology, immunology, and treatment, which led the first controlled trials using antiviral therapies in Africa and effort that helped save 17 million lives. Dr. Fauci continues to be his mentor and colleague, and the two discuss weekly the implementation of a plan to control the virus worldwide.
“A global pandemic requires a global response; solidarity,” Dybul says. “When AIDS hit, no one knew what to do, but we became aware that we are a more connected world.”
Dybul has been interviewed widely and always expresses his mission to help create a global template to deal not only with COVID-19 but pandemics to come
In a recent interview in One— a global movement campaigning to end extreme poverty and preventable disease—he was asked about the US response to the global pandemic. “If the virus is lurking anywhere in the world, we are at risk. If we are not engaged and don’t know the patterns of transmission, we are in deep trouble; we are flying blind into a future we have no sense of. Flying blind is incredibly dangerous.”
But Dybul is not without optimism, despite the uncoordinated US effort to contain the virus. He says it’s not “rocket science.” If we look to European countries, we can see that it controlling the transmission of the virus can be accomplished within months if we follow the recommended protocols of wearing masks, social distancing, contact tracing, and quarantining. But it takes a unified effort, and the fortitude to carry through.
This video is approximately fourteen minutes in length. For more information about the Center of Global Health Quality please go here.
Now available in podcast format.
