The Talbot Spy

441 Acres Preserved in Cecil County for Addiction Recovery

September 19, 2020 by Eastern Shore Land Conservancy Leave a Comment

Eastern Shore Land Conservancy (ESLC) is pleased to announce closing on a new conservation easement! The easement, completed in partnership with the U.S. Army and Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MD DNR), protects 441 acres of agricultural land and critical species habitat with scenic value, off Back Creek and McGill Creek in Cecil County.

A conservation easement is a voluntary legal agreement between a landowner and a land trust, which protects a property’s agricultural viability, natural habitat, rural heritage, and/or scenic open space in perpetuity.

Aerial of RCA Building

The newly preserved property is the Bracebridge Hall location for Recovery Centers of America (RCA), whose mission is to save 1 million lives from the disease of addiction using evidence-based practices and clinical expertise to deliver quality patient care tailored to individual patients’ needs. The property is 530 acres in total, with 89 acres of unprotected land to allow for the expansion of Bracebridge Hall’s buildings as necessary for operations.

“We are thrilled to partner with ESLC and want to be good stewards of the natural landscape that makes Recovery Centers of America Bracebridge Hall such a unique environment for treating substance use disorder,” said Michael Ogden, Bracebridge Hall CEO. “Our patients are able to commune with nature right on the property and this ability to step outside and appreciate the beauty of the natural landscape without drugs or alcohol can be an important tool for reeestablishing the benefits of a meaningful life in long term recovery.”

This easement brings ESLC’s total to 303across 65,052acres on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, and it is one of the Conservancy’s most unique easements based on its use beyond agriculture.

Over the course of 30 years, ESLC has actively worked with thousands of farms, families and community members to protect and enhance the Eastern Shore’s working agricultural landscape. Cecil County has had several big conservation wins – and this is surely one to celebrate.

“Conservation of Bracebridge Hall has been a huge priority for well over a decade,” said ESLC President Rob Etgen. “When this beautiful property was subdivided into over 100 lots potentially destroying the farm soils and habitat, the community partnered with ESLC to strive for a better future. With Recovery Centers of America, a positive steward for the land has been found and a permanent conservation easement will ensure that stewardship lasts into perpetuity. Many thanks to RCA for your commitment to conservation, and congratulations to the community for your long vigilance!”

This project was made possible thanks to financial support from Maryland Department of Resources’ Rural Legacy Program and the U.S. Army’s Compatible Use Buffer Program.

Waterfront View

The Rural Legacy Program was created in 1997 to protect large, contiguous tracts of Maryland’s most precious cultural and natural resource lands (often referred to as “the best of what’s left”) through grants made to local applicants

The U.S. Army’s Compatible Use Buffer Program works with conservation-focused partners to preserve high-value habitat and limit incompatible development in the vicinity of military installations.

ESLC Land Program Manager, David Satterfield said, “Our staff is grateful to DNR and the Army for their dedication to this project. Their support and hard work was instrumental in helping us realize this long-term protection goal. Even more so, we applaud Recovery Centers of America for their dedication to conservation. Our staff looks forward to working with them, in perpetuity, to protect this important resource and hope that it helps guide many of their clients to a healthy future.”

For more information, contact Land Program Manager, David Satterfield, atdstatterfield@eslc.org, or visit www.eslc.org.

About Recovery Centers of America

RCA provides substance use disorder treatment in MD, PA, NJ, MA, and IL. Patients can obtain immediate care by calling 1-800-Recovery.Four Recovery Centers of America treatment facilities, were recently named as 2020 best U.S. treatment facilities that focus on addiction by Newsweek Magazine, including RCA at Bracebridge Hall and RCA Capital Region, both located in Maryland.

About the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy

Eastern Shore Land Conservancy (ESLC) is a private, nonprofit land conservation organization committed to preserving and sustaining the vibrant communities of the Eastern Shore and the lands and waters that connect them. For more information please visit www.eslc.org.

ShoreRivers Awarded Maryland Tax Credits for Education

September 19, 2020 by Spy Desk Leave a Comment

ShoreRivers educator Rebecca Murphy (left), teachers and students investigate critters pulled from a seine net on the Choptank River.

ShoreRivers supporters are now able to donate to the organization’s education program and receive state tax credits in addition to their typical deduction. ShoreRivers has been awarded Community Investment Tax Credits (CITC) through the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development to incentivize donations that support environmental education programs in Eastern Shore public schools.

ShoreRivers is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that restores and protects Eastern Shore waterways through science-based restoration, education, and advocacy. With regional offices in Galena, Chestertown, and Easton, the ShoreRivers education department has partnered with public schools for over seven years to provide grant-funded science and environmental programs that support students and schools in meeting graduation requirements, cultivate the next generation of river stewards, and introduce students to environmental career opportunities.

ShoreRivers’ education programs include elementary and high school environmental and science curriculum, cost-free field experiences, and funds that support student-driven projects that reduce pollution and increase environmental awareness at their schools.

ShoreRivers Director of Education Suzanne Sullivan explains why the CITC program is so important, especially this year. “Our schools are facing immense challenges in facilitating at-home, remote learning. ShoreRivers is creating solutions to those challenges while supporting annual science and environmental learning. The CITC program comes at a critical time to allow ShoreRivers to focus on the programs, teachers, and students when they need it most.”

Since 1997, the CITC program has awarded Maryland tax credits through a competitive application process. The program provides benefits that include allowing nonprofits to enhance revenue, offer creative tax relief for business and individual donors, target impacts in communities, and increase visibility and support for nonprofit programs. The tremendous impact of the CITC program speaks for itself with over $3.1 million donated to various Maryland nonprofits in 2018 alone.

In order to qualify, gifts must be a minimum of $500 and the individual or business donor must file taxes in the state of Maryland. To make a donation today, visit ShoreRivers.org/donate and indicate “Education Tax Credits” in the comments box under gift preferences. Tax credits are limited and will be awarded on a first come, first served basis. If you’d like to learn more about the program, contact Rebekah Hock at rhock@shorerivers.org.

ShoreRivers protects and restores Eastern Shore waterways through science-based advocacy, restoration, and education.

shorerivers.org

Adkins Arboretum Field Trips Go Virtual

September 19, 2020 by Adkins Arboretum Leave a Comment

Adkins Arboretum has received funding from the Gray Charitable Trust to create a virtual “Birds, Bees, and Dandelion Seeds” field trip program. Nearly 1,000 second-graders in Queen Anne’s and Caroline County Public Schools will participate in the week-long program to learn about plants, pollinators, seed dispersal and Maryland bees.

As part of the virtual field trip, public school teachers will receive five days of interactive lesson plans to use online with their students. The lesson plans will include games, songs, experiments, suggestions for outdoor activities and daily video clips featuring the Arboretum’s native meadow, wetland, stream and forest habitats. Lessons are aligned with Next Generation Science Standards.

In 2019, the Gray Charitable Trust provided funding for bus transportation so that all second-graders in Caroline County Public Schools could participate in the “Birds, Bees, and Dandelion Seeds” field trip at the Arboretum. Positive feedback from students, parents and teachers prompted Arboretum educators to create a virtual version of the program for use while in-person field trips are on hold.

Kellen McCluskey, Adkins Arboretum’s staff photographer and membership coordinator, and volunteer Luke Adelman film Assistant Director Jenny Houghton for the Arboretum’s virtual field trip.

The “Birds, Bees, and Dandelion Seeds” lesson plans and video clips are available on the Arboretum website for use by homeschool families, private schools and the general public. The Arboretum hopes to resume in-person field trips in the fall of 2021.

Adkins Arboretum is a nonprofit organization located in scenic Caroline County on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Although the Visitor’s Center is currently closed, the Arboretum’s 400 acres and five miles of paths are open daily from dawn to dusk. To learn more or to access the virtual field trip and other education resources, visit adkinsarboretum.org.

Adkins Arboretum is a 400-acre native garden and preserve at the headwaters of the Tuckahoe Creek in Caroline County. For more information, visit adkinsarboretum.org or call 410-634-2847, ext. 0.

Matt Zoll – Classic Works at Troika Gallery

September 19, 2020 by Troika Gallery Leave a Comment

Troika Gallery is proud to present new paintings by Matt Zoll, Classic Works, opening First Friday, October 2, 2020.

Painting professionally for over twenty two years, Zoll studied at The Schuler School where he learned the painting techniques of the Flemish Masters. Incorporating hand- ground oil pigments and a rare painting medium which produces a rich luster and an intense luminosity, Zoll’s paintings achieve remarkable color and vibrancy.

Matt Zoll, Preserves, oil, 10 x 15

The Matt Zoll show runs through November 2, 2020. Be sure to stop in and see his hightly detailed still lifes which combine an old master approach with a modern sensibility.

Troika Gallery located at 9 South Harrison Street, Easton is open Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Monday, 11 am -6:30 pm and Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday by appointment, www.troikagallery.com. 410-770-9190

ShoreRivers Hosts Chesapeake Bay Commission Meeting on Agriculture

September 17, 2020 by Spy Desk Leave a Comment

In early September, ShoreRivers virtually hosted the Chesapeake Bay Commission’s quarterly meeting, which explored successes and challenges to meeting agricultural pollution reduction goals as outlined in the federally mandated Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL). The 21-member commission, comprised of state legislators from Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia as well as natural resource cabinet secretaries, acts as a catalyst for the coordination and leadership of state legislative and policy action to restore the Bay watershed.

As we near TMDL’s 2025 deadline,most jurisdictions in the Chesapeake Bay watershed are relying heavily on the agricultural sector to achieve the pollution reductions needed. Other sectors include urban stormwater, wastewater treatment plants, and septic systems. The commission heard from local experts about successful practices, the policies that support them and suggestions for policy changes in order to complete the final push.

In the state of Maryland, the Eastern Shore’s agriculture sector will produce approximately a third of the total nitrogen reductions required of the state;17% will come from the Western Shore’s agricultural sector; and the remaining half will come from the urban, septic, and wastewater sectors across the state.

The agriculture sector on the Eastern Shore will account for a third of the total nitrogen reductions required of the state.

This presents an opportunity for the Eastern Shore to benefit from substantial conservation funding, increased technical expertise, and innovative ideas and technologies to reduce pollution in order to meet the 2025 deadline. State and federal funding for conservation projects including wetland and stream restorations, drainage practices, and floodplain reconnections boost the local economy by investing in local businesses and farms, contractors, engineers, construction workers, nurseries, and horticulturalists.

The meeting’s first panel, representing perspectives from the science, conservation, and agribusiness fields, was comprised of Isabel Hardesty, deputy director for ShoreRivers; Jeff Sweeney from the Environmental Protection Agency; and Lindsay Thompson, director of Maryland Association of Soil Conservation Districts and Maryland Grain Producers Association.

“In order to meet our 2025 pollution reduction goals, we need to provide funding to fully staff Soil Conservation Districts,” said Hardesty. “We need more technical service and expertise to implement conservation practices. These county districts are understaffed and it is actively inhibiting our ability to reach Watershed Implementation Plan goals.” Thompson highlighted this need as well.

Tim Rosen, director of agriculture & restoration for ShoreRivers, led the Commission on a virtual tour of the history of conservation drainage practices around the Bay watershed, ending with a tour of projects completed with local farmers Kyle and Bobby Hutchison. Conservation drainage practices allow for better control of water in a farm field, resulting in less nutrient loss, erosion, and flooding, and greater crop yields.

“There is ample opportunity to implement conservation drainage practices across the Bay watershed and retain significant amounts of nutrients and sediments on farm fields instead of losing them to surface waters,” said Rosen.

To adequately meet pollution reduction goals, the Chesapeake Bay TMDL requires that all conservation practices be in place by 2025. In the remaining four years, both funding and implementation of practices must be prioritized in order to meet the deadline and achieve cleaner rivers and a healthier Bay.

ShoreRivers protects and restores Eastern Shore waterways through science-based advocacy, restoration, and education.

shorerivers.org

CBF Announces New VP for Environmental Protection and Restoration

September 17, 2020 by Chesapeake Bay Foundation Leave a Comment

Alison Prost

Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) President William C. Baker is pleased to announce that Alison Prost is CBF’s new Vice President for Environmental Protection and Restoration. Ms. Prost has broad experience in environmental issues, having received her Environmental Law Certificate from the University of Maryland and having worked at the Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning before coming to CBF. She has been with CBF for more than 12 years, first as the Maryland Office attorney, then as the Executive Director of the Maryland Office. Prost began her career as a legal intern with CBF in 2003 before joining the staff fulltime in 2007.

“Alison Prost’s broad experience with local, state, and federal government agencies makes her an ideal choice to lead CBF’s policy, grassroots, and restoration programs,” CBF President William C. Baker said. “Alison understands the challenges the Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint faces. With just five years to go it is essential that EPA and the Bay states accelerate efforts to reduce pollution. Alison’s experience and knowledge will be crucial to restoration of this national treasure.”

The Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint, implemented in 2010, is unlike past state/federal voluntary agreements. It includes pollution limits, state-specific plans to achieve those limits, two-year milestones to evaluate progress, and consequences for failure. In it, the states also committed to implement the practices necessary to restore the Bay by 2025.

As Maryland Office Director, Prost led CBF’s advocacy efforts in the state that have helped increase funding for Bay restoration efforts, establish and permanently protect oyster sanctuaries, conserve forested land, and aid farmers who install environmental practices. She has also overseen CBF’s Maryland restoration work, which has included planting millions of new oysters and tens of thousands of trees during the previous decade.

“CBF is an amazing place to work,” Prost said. “It’s a team of committed staff that are at the top of their fields. I look forward to applying my experiences in Maryland throughout the watershed. In this new role, I’ll continue to fight for completing the Blueprint so that future generations can have cleaner streams, rivers, and a restored Chesapeake Bay to enjoy.”

Alison Prost resides in Anne Arundel County, Maryland.

UM Medical System Observes World Patient Safety Day On September 17th

September 16, 2020 by UM Shore Regional Health Leave a Comment

Tomorrow, member organizations of the University of Maryland Medical System will join the World Health Organization’s World Patient Safety Day (WPSD) movement to recognize patient safety issue as a global health priority. This year’s theme for WPSD is “Health Worker Safety: A Priority for Patient Safety.”

Observing WPSD, UMMS is highlighting the importance of keeping health care workers safe and promoting patient safety, two issues critically important especially during the time of the global COVID-19 pandemic. A significant focus during COVID-19 is encouraging and reminding individuals to wear a mask to protect everyone, including those who care for our sickest individuals. All UMMS member organizations will be promoting this effort across their campuses and social media properties on September 17.

“We are all in this together and are fully supportive of recognizing patient safety as a global health priority,” said Mohan Suntha, MD, MBA, President and CEO of UMMS. “As a System, nothing is more important than keeping our patients and employees safe. I have been impressed by how our System has truly come together as OneUMMS during our COVID-19 response, which has benefitted our patients and those in the communities we serve across the state.”

World Patient Safety Day was established by the 72nd World Health Assembly in May 2019 with a goal of bringing together health workers, patients, families, care-givers, communities, health care leaders and policy-makers to demonstrate commitment to health worker safety and patient safety. The overall objectives of World Patient Safety Day include enhancing the global understanding of patient safety, increasing public engagement in the safety of health care and promoting global actions to enhance patient safety and reduce patient harm. The origin of the Day is firmly grounded in the fundamental principle of medicine – First, do no harm.

UMMS has a workforce of 28,000 employees and delivers approximately 25 percent of all hospital care in Maryland.

About the University of Maryland Medical System

The University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) is a university-based regional health care system focused on serving the health care needs of Maryland, bringing innovation, discovery and research to the care we provide and educating the state’s future physician and health care professionals through our partnership with the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the UM Schools of Nursing, Pharmacy, Social Work and Dentistry in Baltimore. As one of the largest private employers in the State, the health system’s 28,000 employees and 4,000 affiliated physicians provide primary and specialty care in more than 150 locations and at 13 hospitals. UMMS’ flagship academic campus, the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore is partnered with the University of Maryland School of Medicine and is recognized regionally and nationally for excellence and innovation in specialized care. Our acute care and specialty rehabilitation hospitals serve urban, suburban and rural communities and are located in 13 counties across the State. In addition, UMMS operates health insurance plans serving Medicare and Medicaid members. For more information, visit www.umms.org.

Emanuel Takes Chesapeake Film Festival’s Jury Prize

September 15, 2020 by Chesapeake Film Festival Leave a Comment

On June 17, 2015, national headlines blazed the story: Churchgoers gunned down during prayer service in Charleston, South Carolina. After a 21-year-old white supremacist opened fire in Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, nine African Americans lay dead, leaving their families and the nation to grapple with this senseless act of terror.

Featuring intimate interviews with survivors and family members, Emanuel, from Executive Producers Stephen Curry and Viola Davis, & Co-Producer Mariska Hargitay, is a poignant story of justice and faith, love and hate, examining the healing power of forgiveness.

With a 100% rating on the movie critique website, Rotten Tomatoes, Emanuel was lauded by critics when it came out:

“Emanuel achieves a rich solemnity in honoring lives ripped away too soon and often quickly forgotten by a public all too often redirected by the news cycle toward another mass shooting.”

(October 18, 2019, Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times)

“Emanuel is a tribute to those who lost loved ones, but it’s also a movie with a message, one that emphasizes some survivors and family members’ willingness to forgive Roof just mere days after he walked into their church.”

(October 11, 2019, Monica Castillo, TheWrap)

Emanuel

Ben Kenigsberg, of the New York Times writes that “Emanuel is primarily an act of bearing witness that does not ask to be judged on conventional filmmaking terms.” (Emanuel Review: Race, Religion, Thoughts and Prayers, October 10, 2019). He further describes the film:

“At a time when news of each new mass shooting vanishes all too quickly from headlines, Emanuel offers a memorial. The director Brian Ivie weaves in a bit of the history about Charleston, a hub of the slave trade, and about churchgoing as a symbol of independence for African-Americans after the Civil War.

Initially, it seems like a mistake for the movie to introduce the shooter Dylann Roof, a white supremacist, onscreen. He is seen only in archival footage, but why not keep the focus on the nine people, all of whom were black, he killed? Then the film shows that, at Roof’s bond hearing less than 48 hours after the shooting, some of the bereaved — like Nadine Collier, whose mother was killed — began to offer expressions of forgiveness for him. The film argues that these expressions were not submissive (as some critics have claimed), but demonstrations of courage and grace.

This film, headlining at this year’s virtual Chesapeake Film Festival (October 1, 9 am EDT- October 4, 12 pm EDT) is highly impactful and considered a tour de force in documentary movie-making. You can experience the best in independent filmmaking from the U.S. and around the world in the 2020 Virtual Chesapeake Film Festival. Watch any or all of the 45 films FOR FREE as the Chesapeake Film Festival’s gift to communities coping with CoVid 19.

Donations and sponsorships are appreciated. The Chesapeake Film Festival is a 501 c3 charitable organization.

Check chesapeakefilmfestival.com for more information or call Nancy Tabor, Executive Director at 443-955-9144.

The Chesapeake Film Festival is generously supported by the Shared Earth Foundation, Maryland Film Office, Maryland State Arts Council, Talbot County Arts Council, Talbot County Department of Tourism, Artistic Insights Fund, Richard and Beverly Tilghman, Karen and Langley Shook, U.S. Small Business Administration, Talbot CARES Small Business Grant and The Ravenal Foundation. Funding has also been provided to the Chesapeake Film Festival from Maryland Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as part of the 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020.

Studio B Art Gallery Presents Master Jove Wang’s Opening Exhibit October 10

September 15, 2020 by Spy Desk Leave a Comment

Studio B Art Gallery is pleased to announce that Master Jove Wang will be teaching a Plein Air Workshop in Tilghman Island, Maryland, October 9 – October 15, 2020. To celebrate his trip to the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Studio B Art Gallery invites the public to Master Jove Wang’s Opening Exhibit on Saturday, October 10, 5:00-8:00 p.m.

“Fisherman’s Harbour” by Master Jove Wang

Master Jove Wang is a highly sought after World-renowned artist, award-winning plein air painter, professor, and author. His career spans more than three decades. During his impressive career, he has received exceptional recognition and won numerous awards. Master Wang’s demonstration at the 15th Plein Air Easton Competition in 2019 was a highlight of the festivities.

“Jove fell in love with Tilghman Island last year when he was the featured artist demonstrating at the Avalon Theatre during Plein Air Easton 2019,” Studio B Art Gallery Owner Betty Huang said. “We are so lucky to have Jove come back to the Eastern Shore this October.”

Master Jove Wang’s theory in creating is that “A work of art Must Have Soul”. His paintings are a visual accumulation of experience and artistic integration that create a powerful visual effect reflecting the soul of what he paints – whether it is a figure, landscape or still life. His spirit of freehand expression of realism made his artistic achievements on the level of mastery sought by many. This is a rare opportunity to meet and learn from a master artist.

“Old Bottles and Flowers” by Master Jove Wang

“October is the best month to be painting plein air on the Eastern Shores,” Huang said. “The 2020 Plein Air Easton Competition in July was a huge success and we can’t wait to get outside again and paint with the master artist.”

Master Jove Wang’s work is available for purchase at Studio B Gallery in Easton, MD. Studio B Art Gallery is located in the heart of Easton’s historic district, at 7 B Goldsborough Street. Visit www.studioBartgallery.com for more information,

UM SMC at Chestertown, Dorchester Receive Bi-Annual CAP Re-Accreditation

September 13, 2020 by UM Shore Regional Health 1 Comment

The College of American Pathologists (CAP) announced this past spring that University of Maryland Shore Medical Center at Chestertown and UM Shore Medical Center at Dorchester’s laboratories successfully met the Laboratory Accreditation Program Standards for Accreditation. This is Chestertown’s 15th bi-annual re-accreditation and Dorchester’s 19th bi-annual re-accreditation of this gold standard accomplishment.

“Chestertown has shown high standards of laboratory excellence since their first inspection in 1991. Dorchester has been participating since 1983, displaying a high standard of excellence in each inspection,” says Juliana Hospodor, director, Laboratory Services, UM Shore Regional Health. “Our teams continuously work to maintain the high standard of care expected by CAP.”

As part of the accreditation process, participating laboratories also do peer inspections of other hospital labs. Recently, UM SMC at Chestertown’s Laboratory Services team received a letter of commendation from CAP for their inspection of another laboratory.

CAP awards accreditation every two years and laboratories must maintain continuous compliance throughout their accreditation term. UM Shore Medical Center at Easton and UM Shore Emergency Center at Queenstown were re-accredited in 2019. This is the 25th re-accreditation of UM SMC at Easton’s Laboratory, which began participating in CAP accreditation in 1971. UM SEC at Queenstown first became accredited in 2011.

“I want to congratulate our entire team on this achievement, as together we help to provide excellence in laboratory medicine services for UM Shore Regional Health,” says Hospodor. “We strive to provide the very best in laboratory medicine to the people of the Eastern Shore each day. This is a significant accomplishment and we are pleased to offer such a high quality commitment to our communities and the patients we serve.”

The College of American Pathologists serves patients, pathologists and the public by fostering and advocating excellence in the practice of laboratory medicine; and the CAP Laboratory Accreditation Program is the gold standard for laboratory practices throughout the world. For 70 years, CAP has fostered excellence in laboratories and advanced the practice of pathology and laboratory science. There are currently more than 4,800 laboratories in Maryland – but only 130 have achieved CAP Accreditation. The laboratories at UM Shore Regional Health have been participating in the CAP Accreditation program for almost 50 years.

About UM Shore Regional Health: As part of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), University of Maryland Shore Regional Health is the principal provider of comprehensive health care services for more than 170,000 residents of Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot counties on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. UM Shore Regional Health’s team of more than 2,600 employees, medical staff, board members and volunteers work with various community partners to fulfill the organization’s mission of Creating Healthier Communities Together.

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