News Portal Highlights

The Future of the Talbot Boys in 2020 with Council President Corey Pack

June 15, 2020 by Dave Wheelan 2 Comments

Long before the murder of George Floyd last month, the Talbot County Council has been wrestling with the future of the Talbot Boys monument on its courthouse green. Five years ago, in the wake of the Charleston Church Massacre in 2015, the local chapter of the NAACP petitioned Talbot County to remove the confederate statue. And after a considerable public debate, the Council unanimously voted to keep the Talbot Boys with the then Council president, Corey Pack, speaking on its behalf to defend their decision in November of 2015.

Five years later, Corey Pack is still Talbot Council president, but his conviction that the Talbot Boys memorial not be removed has changed dramatically. After much soul-searching after the tragedy in Minneapolis and the growing support of the Black Lives Matter movement, Pack and his current council colleagues will be moving forward with a resolution on June 23, that would remove the sculpture of the confederate soldier from its base. That proposal will open up a process that will once again ask Talbot County citizens for public comment, and Mr. Pack is the first to admit that there is much to say about this compromise solution where the names of those who served in the Confederacy remain in place.

In his Spy interview on Sunday, President Pack outlines the rationale for this proposal, including the belief, based on his own research, that the United States Congress had approved a bill that designated all who served in the Confederacy as United States veterans. That is one of several considerations Pack notes in detailing a deliberate process to reach his conclusion that the Talbot Boys base should remain. Pack also discusses what he is recommending as action steps for Talbot County to be on the forefront of ending racial inequality.

(Editor’s fact check: The U.S. Congress did not designate those who fought for the Confederacy as U.S. veterans. This claim, which began circulating in 2015 after the Charleston Church Massacre, is based on a 1958 law that gave the widows of Confederate veterans a pension benefit. At that time, there were an estimated 1,500 Confederate widows alive; the last known surviving Confederate veteran had died seven years earlier, in 1951.)

This video is approximately twelve minutes in length.

After Minneapolis: A Chat with Kent County Sheriff John Price

June 9, 2020 by James Dissette 3 Comments

No matter how much trust a local police force has earned over decades of outreach and training, an incident like the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis last month can only be seen as a major setback. Communities, particularly those of color, respond to this kind of national tragedy questioning all forms of law enforcement, even those that have been doing the right thing continuously in serving and protecting their towns and counties.

With that in mind, the Spy thought it would be a good time to check in with the region’s top public safety leaders to hear first hand their impressions on the police role in the death of Mr. Floyd, and how they are processing the event and its consequences.

We continue with Kent County Sheriff John Price.

This video is approximately seven minutes in length. For more information about the Kent County Sheriff’s Department, please go here.

Chestertown Silently Honors the Memory of George Floyd and Confirms Black Lives Matter

June 6, 2020 by The Spy Leave a Comment

Some 200 residents of greater Chestertown gathered on Friday night at Fountain Park in a display of unity and respect for Black Lives Matter and to honor the life of George Floyd. From the downtown park, the demonstrators walked peacefully to College Avenue and circled back to Wilmer Park in silence.

Organized with the help of Leon Frison, bishop of Greater Highway of Church of Christ in Kent County and local clergy, the crowd listened to the words of Rev. Robert Brown Jr. of Bethel A.M. E. Church.

The Spy was there to document this historic event.

This video is approximately two minutes in length

COVID-19: Preparing for Phase Two on Main Street with Kay MacIntosh

May 29, 2020 by Dave Wheelan Leave a Comment

Slowly but surely, Mid-Shore main streets are starting the long process of opening up after their two months COVID-19 hibernation. As Maryland begins a multiphase program to re-open its economy, the region’s downtowns are working on final plans on how local merchants can unlock their doors. At the same time, these municipalities are also surveying the collateral damage that the coronavirus crisis had caused to its retail economy.

One person who has been watching this very carefully has been Kay MacIntosh,Executive Director of Main Street Historic Chestertown, one of the town’s primary organizations for promoting tourism and supporting its retail economy. And like many people in his role, Kay sees the seeds of a promising re-opening but maintains a realistic awareness that this is the beginning of a very long road.

The Spy sat down with Kay this morning by Zoom to get an update.

This video is approximately nine minutes in length For more information about Main Street Historic Chestertown please go here.

Spy COVID-19 Daily Update May 12

May 12, 2020 by Spy Desk Leave a Comment

Key points for today

• The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Kent County remains at 120.

• The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Maryland is 34,061, an increase of 688 in the last 24 hours.

• Of the state’s 1,643 deaths, 70 were in the last 24 hours; another 113 deaths in Maryland are likely due to the novel coronavirus.

The chart below is scrollable and sortable.

COVID-19 Statistics 5.12.2020

	Confirmed Cases	Daily Change	Total Recovered*	Cases within facilities	Percent cases within facilities	Cases per 100k Pop.	Total Deaths**	Deaths within facilities	Percent deaths within facilities	Deaths per 100k Pop.
Kent	120	4	N/A	74	61.67%	619.10	18	15	83.33%	77.39
QA	116	30	N/A	4	3.45%	230.25	0	0		0.00
Talbot	63	3	37	0	0.00%	169.44	1	0		2.69
Caroline	174	0	59	0	0.00%	522.46	0	0		0.00
Dorchester	106	3	70	1	0.94%	331.99	2	0		6.26
Mid-Shore	579	40	N/A	79	13.64%	336.28	21	15	71.43%	12.20
Cecil	284	1	128	69	24.30%	276.12	19	1	5.26%	18.47
Md.	34,061	688	2,394	6,218	18.26%	563.39	1,643	803	48.87%	27.18
Del.	6,741	176	2,802			692.26	237			24.34
USA	1,351,248	-	232,733			411.67	80,897			24.65
World	4,215,514	-	1,470,598			54.20	287,809			3.70

Sources: State and local health departments, Johns Hopkins University.

The Spy updates this chart between 2 and 3 p.m. Statewide data is updated about 10 a.m. each day; counties may update data throughout the day until 5 p.m. Hopkins updates its map data throughout the day.

Nursing home data is updated weekly on Wednesdays.

If county and state data conflict, county data is reported.

* Maryland and Cecil County report the total released from isolation.

Additional information

• There currently are 1,563 people hospitalized — 973 in acute care and 590 in intensive care. The number of patients currently hospitalized increased by 19 in the last 24 hours.

• Of the state’s 34,061 cases, 6,287 patients have ever been hospitalized for treatment.

• Maryland says 2,394 patients have been released from isolation, including 96 in the last 24 hours.

• The state reports 135,442 negative test results, including 4,035 in the last 24 hours.

• Benchmarks for the Maryland Roadmap to Recovery include a 14-day downward trajectory of COVID-19 cases, hospitalization rates (including ICU bed usage), and number of deaths.

The graphs below are from coronavirus.maryland.gov and show the trends for cases, hospitalizations, and deaths.

Spy COVID-19 Daily Update May 11

May 11, 2020 by Spy Desk 2 Comments

Key points for today

• The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Kent County increased by 3 to 116.

• The Spy reports the number of deaths in Kent County as 18. We get that number by adding the 13 deaths reported on the county and state websites with the five Queen Anne’s County residents who died after contracting COVID-19 in a Kent County congregate living facility. See related story at chestertownspy.org/2020/05/11/discrepancies-in-reported-covid-19-deaths-in-kent-queen-annes.

• Of that number, 33 patients have recovered and 17 required hospitalization at some point.

• The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Maryland is 33,373, an increase of 786 in the last 24 hours.

• Of the state’s 1,573 deaths, 35 were in the last 24 hours; another 110 deaths in Maryland are likely due to the novel coronavirus.

The chart below is scrollable and sortable.

COVID-19 Statistics 5.11.2020

	Confirmed Cases	Daily Change	Total Recovered	Cases within facilities	Percent cases within facilities	Cases per 100k Pop.	Total Deaths**	Deaths within facilities	Percent deaths within facilities	Deaths per 100k Pop.
Kent	116	3	N/A	74	63.79%	598.46	18	15	83.33%	77.39
QA	86	0	N/A	4	4.65%	170.70	0	0		0.00
Talbot	60	0	33	0	0.00%	161.37	1	0		2.69
Caroline	127	0	59	0	0.00%	381.34	0	0		0.00
Dorchester	103	0	62	1	0.97%	322.59	2	0		6.26
Mid-Shore	492	3	N/A	79	16.06%	285.75	21	15	71.43%	12.20
Cecil	283	50	N/A	69	24.38%	275.14	16	1	6.25%	15.56
Md.	33,373	786	2,298*	6,218	18.63%	552.01	1,573	803	51.05%	26.02
Del.	6,565	118	2,619			674.19	225			23.11
USA	1,337,541	-	216,169			407.49	79,323			24.17
World	4,148,034	-	1,428,161			53.34	284,124			3.65

Sources: State and local health departments, Johns Hopkins University.

Nursing home data is updated weekly on Wednesdays.

If county and state data conflict, county data is reported.

* Maryland lists the total released from isolation, not the total recovered.

Additional information

• There currently are 1,544 people hospitalized — 959 in acute care and 585 in intensive care. The number of patients currently hospitalized dropped by 96 in the last 24 hours.

• Of the state’s 33,373 cases, 6,183 patients have ever been hospitalized for treatment.

• Maryland says 2,298 patients have been released from isolation, including 5 in the last 24 hours.

• The state reports 131,407 negative test results, including 4,063 in the last 24 hours.

• Benchmarks for the Maryland Roadmap to Recovery include a 14-day downward trajectory of COVID-19 cases, hospitalization rates (including ICU bed usage), and number of deaths.

The graphs below are from coronavirus.maryland.gov and show the trends for cases, hospitalizations, and deaths.

Spy COVID-19 Daily Update May 10

May 10, 2020 by Spy Desk 3 Comments

Key points for today

• The number of confirmed cases in Kent County increased by 11 to 113.

• The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Maryland is 32,587, an increase of 1,053 in the last 24 hours.

• Of the state’s 1,538 deaths, 28 were in the last 24 hours; another 106 deaths in Maryland are likely due to the novel coronavirus.

• There currently are 1,640 people hospitalized — 1,029 in acute care and 611 in intensive care. The number of patients currently hospitalized dropped by 25 in the last 24 hours.

• Of the state’s 32,587 cases, 5,955 patients have ever been hospitalized for treatment.

• Maryland says 2,293 patients have been released from isolation, including 134 in the last 24 hours.

• The state reports 127,344 negative test results, including 2,850 in the last 24 hours.

• Benchmarks for the Maryland Roadmap to Recovery include a 14-day downward trajectory of COVID-19 cases, hospitalization rates (including ICU bed usage), and number of deaths.

Spy COVID-19 Daily Update May 9

May 9, 2020 by Spy Desk 1 Comment

Key points for today

• The number of confirmed cases in Kent County increased by four to 102.

• The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Maryland is 31,534, an increase of 1,049 in the last 24 hours.

• Of the state’s 1,510 deaths, 57 were in the last 24 hours; another 104 deaths in Maryland are likely due to the novel coronavirus.

The chart below is scrollable and sortable. Due to discrepancies in the numbers of deaths reported in Kent County, the per capita death rate for Kent County is based on the total deaths in facilities.

COVID-19 Statistics 5.9.2020

	Confirmed Cases	Daily Change	Total Recovered*	Cases per 100k Pop.	Total Deaths*	Deaths per 100k Pop.
Kent	102	4	N/A	526.23	15	77.39
QA	73	3	N/A	144.90	0	0.00
Talbot	59	1	33	158.68	1	2.69
Caroline	106	4	59	318.28	0	0.00
Dorchester	96	4	61	300.67	2	6.26
Mid-Shore	436	16	N/A	253.23	18	10.45
Cecil	233	8	N/A	226.53	14	13.61
Md.	31,534	1,049	2,159	521.60	1,510	24.98
Del.	6,277	166	2,450	644.61	221	22.70
USA	1,297,549	-	1,346,319	395.31	77,744	23.69
World	3,991,010	-	1,300,592	51.32	276,815	3.56

Sources: State and local health departments, Johns Hopkins University.

If county and state data conflict, county data is reported.

* Maryland lists the total released from isolation, not the total recovered. See note below about total deaths.

About the numbers

The websites for the state of Maryland and for Kent and Queen Anne’s counties show discrepancies in the number of deaths in those counties.

The state and the Kent County Health Department report 10 deaths in the county; yet the state also reports that 15 residents of a Chestertown nursing home have died as a result of COVID-19.

In neighboring Queen Anne’s, the county reports zero COVID-19 deaths, but the state reports 8.

Health officials in both counties have said the discrepancy is based on the address listed on the death certificates for those patients.

“The dilemma that we have is the state webpage uses the information that is listed on the death certificate,” William Webb, the Kent County health officer, said. “The county of residence for the death certificate is determined between the funeral director and the next of kin. Typically, the Bureau of Vital Statistics does not get involved.”

“What happens is, for the sake of expedience and also for estate processing purposes, they will decide to put the residence for any number of reasons on the death certificate,” Webb said.

Queen Anne’s County officials have said the eight deaths listed for that county were Queen Anne’s County residents living in facilities elsewhere when they were infected and later died. Of those eight cases, five were living in Kent County at the time of diagnosis.

Additional information

• Of the state’s 31,534 cases, 5,932 patients have ever been hospitalized for treatment.

• Maryland says 2,159 patients have been released from isolation, including 118 in the last 24 hours.

• The state reports 124,494 negative test results, including 2,792 in the last 24 hours.

• Benchmarks for the Maryland Roadmap to Recovery include a 14-day downward trajectory of COVID-19 cases, hospitalization rates (including ICU bed usage), and number of deaths.

The graphs below are from coronavirus.maryland.gov and show the trends for cases, hospitalizations, and deaths.

Spy COVID-19 Daily Update May 8

May 8, 2020 by Spy Desk 1 Comment

Key points for today

• The number of confirmed cases in Kent County remains at 98.

• The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Maryland is 30,485, an increase of 1,111 in the last 24 hours.

• Of the state’s 1,453 deaths, 52 were in the last 24 hours; another 107 deaths in Maryland are likely due to the novel coronavirus.

COVID-19 Statistics 5.8.2020

	Confirmed Cases	Daily Change	Total Recovered	Cases within facilities	Percent cases within facilities	Cases per 100k Pop.	Total Deaths	Deaths within facilities	Percent deaths within facilities	Deaths per 100k Pop.
Kent	98	0	N/A	74	75.51%	505.60	8	15	-	77.39
QA	70	3	N/A	3	4.29%	138.94	0	0		0.00
Talbot	58	4	33	0		155.99	1	0		2.69
Caroline	102	4	59	0		306.27	0	0		0.00
Dorchester	92	5	60	0		288.14	2	0		6.26
Mid-Shore	420	16	N/A	77	18.33%	243.93	N/A	15		N/A
Cecil	225	9	N/A	69	30.67%	218.75	14	1	7.14%	13.61
Md.	30,485	1,111	N/A	6,268	20.56%	504.24	1,453	804	55.33%	24.03
Del.	6,111	172	2,288			627.56	213			21.87
USA	1,263,052	-	195,036			384.80	76,032			23.16
World	3,889,841	-	1,300,592			50.02	271,732			3.49

Sources: State and local health departments, Johns Hopkins University.

If county and state data conflict, county data is reported.

Additional information

• There currently are 1,674 people hospitalized — 1,103 in acute care and 571 in intensive care. The number of patients currently hospitalized dropped by 9 in the last 24 hours.

• Of the state’s 30,485 cases, 5,811 patients have been hospitalized for treatment.

• Maryland says 2,041 patients have been released from isolation, including 12 in the last 24 hours.

• The state reports 121,702 negative test results, including 2,476 in the last 24 hours.

• Benchmarks for the Maryland Roadmap to Recovery include a 14-day downward trajectory of COVID-19 cases, hospitalization rates (including ICU bed usage), and number of deaths.

The graphs below are from coronavirus.maryland.gov and show the trends for cases, hospitalizations, and deaths.

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COVID-19 Statistics 5.12.2020

COVID-19 Statistics 5.11.2020

COVID-19 Statistics 5.9.2020

Key points for today

COVID-19 Statistics 5.8.2020

Additional information