An Educational News Source for Chestertown Maryland
Jesse Colvin is on track to win over his five opponents in the Democratic Primary for the Congressional District 1. With 225 of 294 precincts reported, Colvin is leading the field with 38% of the vote count followed by Allison Galbraith at 27.8% and Michael Brown at 14.6%.
The Spy will have complete election totals for all local races on Wednesday morning.
Editor’s Note: Poet Donald Hall passed away this week at the ripe age of 89 years old. Over the course of his career, he grew to become one of America’s most gifted and respected writers of the last century. His work inspired thousands of students to begin writing poetry, as he did when he visited Washington College in the 1970s, and eventually became the country’s poet laureate.
When he married fellow poet Jane Kenyon, almost twenty years his junior, in 1972, it was assumed that Hall would be the first to pass away. Sadly, it was Kenyon who died at 47 years old.
One of the Spy’s favorite poets, Sue Ellen Thompson, counseled reprinting Kenyon’s poem “Afternoon at MacDowell” that she wrote after one of Hall’s many health crises as a compelling way to remember both of these special American poets.
Afternoon at MacDowell
Jane Kenyon, 1947 – 1995
On a windy summer day the well-dressed
trustees occupy the first row
under the yellow and white striped canopy.
Their drive for capital is over,
and for a while this refuge is secure.
Thin after your second surgery, you wear
the gray summer suit we bought eight
years ago for momentous occasions
in warm weather. My hands rest in my lap,
under the fine cotton shawl embroidered
with mirrors that we bargained for last fall
in Bombay, unaware of your sickness.
The legs of our chairs poke holes
in the lawn. The sun goes in and out
of the grand clouds, making the air alive
with golden light, and then, as if heaven’s
spirits had fallen, everything’s somber again.
After music and poetry we walk to the car.
I believe in the miracles of art, but what
prodigy will keep you safe beside me,
fumbling with the radio while you drive
to find late innings of a Red Sox game?
Jane Kenyon, “Afternoon at MacDowell” from Collected Poems. Copyright © 2005 by the Estate of Jane Kenyon.
While the League of Women Voters forum on Sunday afternoon at Chesapeake College for Republicans running in the 1st District primary race turned out to be a bust with only one candidate (Rep. Andy Harris) out of three showing up, which meant, according to League rules, the program was canceled, the Democrats seemed to make up for it by having all five of their primary candidates show up for their own LWV forum a few hours later.
Candidates Jesse Colvin, Allison Galbraith, Erik Lane, Michael Pullen, and Steve Worton all made their case for winning the Democratic nomination on June 26 to take on Representative Harris in the general election in November.
The Spy was there to capture their opening statements and responses to audience questions.
This video is approximately fifty-six minutes in length
It is safe to say that Sunday afternoon did not turn out to be what Congressman Andy Harris had expected when he dutifully showed up the League of Women Voters forum.
Anticipating to share the stage with two GOP opponents in the Republican primary race on June 26, Dr. Harris instead learned that both Martin Elborn and Lamont Taylor were “no shows” which prompted the LWV to cancel the event to be in compliance with the League’s standing rule that a forum can not take place with only one candidate in attendance.
To Rep. Harris’ credit, he nonetheless stayed in the lobby for close to an hour to answer questions from constituents, many of whom were Democrats, which centered around the Congressman’s long-standing opposition to the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare).
He also took a few minutes with the Spy to answer our questions about the current Congress, his support and a few disappointments of President Donald Trump’s leadership and analyzing his chances to keep the 1st Congressional seat in the 2018 general election in November.
This video is approximately seven minutes in length.
A significant change in the Maryland retirement policy takes place at the end of the year is one that will separate prescription drug coverage from the state’s retiree health plan.
This is a very big deal for the thousands of Medicare-eligible state retirees who must enroll in its Part D medication coverage plan by December 31 to continue their drug coverage.
What makes this even more difficult is that official rates for those plans will not be announced until October just as open enrollment begins. The good news is that Maryland’s Insurance Assistance Programs staff in each Mid-Shore county will be offering workshops and individual consulting for those impacted.
The Spy state down with Talbot County’s program counselor Pam Limberry for a quick check in on this important revision in coverage.
This video is approximately two minutes in length. For more information about Part D planning, please contact Pam at 410-822-2869 ext. 231 or plimberry@uppershoreaging.org for more information.
One relatively recent trend on the Mid-Shore that sometimes goes unnoticed in comparison to the region’s passion for such things as sailing and art, is the remarkable growth in historic cars and the collection of specialty automobiles. From the annual Ridgely Car Show to the fancier Concours d’Elegance, and more recently, the opening of the Classic Motor Museum in St. Michaels, the Shore is booming with car collectors.
To date, some 2,000 vehicles in the five-county area are considered “historic” by the Maryland DMV, and one can easily doubles that number if including the hundreds of performance and other rare cars that are not old enough for that designation.
The challenge for all those car owners is where to safely keep their pride and joys.
For the very wealthy, the answer is an easy one; simply build more garage space. And perhaps for those on the lower end of the scale, its simply replacing the family sedan with one’s beloved 1970 Volkswagen convertible for example.
But for a significant number of Mid-Shore car enthusiasts, there were very few options in-between for secure storage facilitates that would not only keep these unique museum quality automobiles safe but also well maintained.
That was until now.
Just a few months ago, Mike Kealy, owner of Bay Hundred Auto in St. Michaels which specializes in the maintenance and repair of rare cars, partnered with a customer and friend to solve this gap. Their solution is now open for business in the back of a nondescript commercial warehouse with the appropriate name of Prestige Auto Vault.
The concept is simple enough. Customers park their cars there until they feel the urge to drive them. But unlike many other storage facilities, the Vault takes a few extra steps to ensures the autos are not only secure but also frequently maintained.
Every month, each car in the Vault has a service check. All fluids are inspected, tires are properly inflated, batteries charged, all for the sake of making sure that the vintage car actually works when the client does have the impulse for a Sunday drive in a thirty or forty-year-old car.
The Spy talked to Mike last week to understand more about this entrepreneurial experiment.
This video is approximately two minutes in length. For more information about Prestige Auto Vault please go here.
While it is pretty typical of a philanthropic foundation to have an event to celebrate their grantees every year, it is tough to beat the overwhelming sense of goodwill and fun generated with the annual Women & Girls Fund luncheon.
For sixteen years, the WGF has not only donated but worked to pull resources to help some of the Mid-Shore’s most needy organizations who focus on women and girls issues. From mentoring programs to bilingual computer literacy, environmental education, and summer programs, the Fund has invested a half million dollars in these and similar programs since its founding.
It also didn’t hurt that this year two of the Mid-Shore’s heroes, artist and educator Sue Stockman and Robbin Hill of the Mid-Shore Community Foundation, who have dedicated their careers to empowering women and girls in all five Mid-Shore counties.
The Spy was there for some of the fun and wanted to share with our readers a few special moments.
This video is approximately two minutes in length. For more information about the Women & Girls Fund please go here
For the 6th year in a row, the folks from Horn Point Laboratory gathered at Waterfowl Festival Headquarters on Harrison Street last Friday to once again celebrate the achievements of a special individual from the Mid-Shore who had made a substantial contribution to the environmental health of the Chesapeake Bay.
This year, Jerry Harris, former businessman and now farm owner in Dorchester, received the award for his work in working with Horn Point and Ducks Unlimited (where he serves on the national Board of Directors) to host educational programs for students wishing to become wildlife managers.
Harris joins an extraordinary list of conservation leaders as a Chesapeake Champion They include Amy Haines of Out of the Fire Restaurant; Chip Akridge, owner of Harleigh Farms; Albert Pritchett of the Waterfowl Festival and Waterfowl Chesapeake; Jordan and Alice Lloyd of the Bartlett Pear; and Jim Brighton of the Maryland Biodiversity Project.
The Spy was there to capture some of the evenings best moments as Horn Point Director Mike Roman hosted the gathering of two hundred guests.
This video is approximately four minutes in length. For more information about the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Horn Point Laboratory please go here
Recently, photographic artists of all walks and every part of the country were invited to submit their latest works to a new national juried show at the Academy Art Museum this spring. The exhibition, now on display, highlights the current state of photography across a broad spectrum with artists submitting all types of photographic works including digital, analog, and other alternative processes.
The juror for the igural program was Sarah Stolfa, C.E.O. and Artistic Director of the Philadelphia Photo Arts Center. Sarah is a working fine-art photographer herself, and educator with over eight years of experience in photography, education, curatorial work and digital lab creation and management.
The first winner of “Best of Show” was awarded to Baltimore-base Antonio McAfee for his unique use of oval formatted portraits from The Exhibition of American Negroes presented in 1900, organized by W.E.B. Du Bois and Thomas Calloway.
The Spy captured a few moments of the Saturday afternoon event.
This video is approximately two minutes in length. For more information about the Academy Art Museum please go here
