Backside of recent cold snap brings electric bill jump

Friday, Feb. 5, 2010

From neighborly natter to courthouse chatter, a boost in the charges in the latest batch of home electricity bills in St. Mary's and elsewhere did not go unnoticed, but there's a simple atmospheric explanation.

"There's no rate increase," Thomas Dennison, spokesman for the Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative, said this week, and the actual customer rate for electricity has fallen 1.5 cents per kilowatt, or 20 percent, from what it was a year ago.

"The bottom line," Dennison said, "is that the last billing cycle, which included [portions of] December and January, included a lot of extreme cold temperatures that have caused an extreme increase in usage. Unfortunately, it's a testament to the weather."

Heat pumps basically draw whatever warmth there is outside into a home, Dennison said, but if the temperature falls too far, the machines resort to heating coils within their indoor unit and blowing air over the coils. "As it gets colder, they become less efficient," he said.

And the electric space heaters that might cost little in a store use that less efficient technology all the time. "The cost of operating those really eats up a lot of energy," Dennison said.

Dennison said that SMECO continues to offer its customers bill-budgeting assistance, upgraded thermostat programs and free home energy efficiency checks to help them manage their electricity costs.

Sotterley postpones Black History event

The "FREE at Last! Black History Celebration!" originally scheduled for tomorrow at Sotterley Plantation in Hollywood has been postponed to its snow date of Feb. 20. The rescheduled event starting at 10 a.m. still will feature Sandi English's living history performances, and the event's organizers are hopeful that the St. Peter Claver Gospel Choir also will be able to accommodate the new date. For more information, call 301-373-2280.

Boating course starts

America's Boating Course, recognized by the U.S. Coast Guard and approved by the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators, is now being taught at Trinity Lutheran Church in Lexington Park.

Maryland law requires that anyone born on or after July 1, 1972, who operates a registered or documented pleasure vessel including personal watercraft on Maryland waters must be in possession of a Certificate of Boating Safety Education.

The eight-session course is designed to educate recreational boaters, under motor, sail or oar power.

An exam will be given after five sessions, followed by a return for two sessions of charting and digital charting with an optional introduction to navigation section. To register, call 301-475-3883.

Church to hold Feb. 8 preschool sign-ups

St. Paul's Lutheran Church on New Market Turner Road in Mechanicsville will hold registration at 9:30 a.m. next Monday, Feb. 8, for its 2010-2011 school year. Classes are available for 3-year-olds in a nursery school program, and there is also an extended day program for 4-year-olds in a prekindergarten program. Call 301-884-2063 for more.

Tourism officials savoring St. Mary's

A kick-off meeting for Savor St. Mary's Restaurant Week, encouraging partnerships between area restaurants and food growers preparing for summer demand, will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. next Monday, Feb. 8, at Lenny's restaurant in California. For more information, call 301-475-4200, ext. 1404, or send e-mail to rebecca.deprey@stmarysmd.com.

Higher ed center to host film series

The Southern Maryland Higher Education Center is presenting an international film festival titled "Bridges to the World," recognizing Maryland's global reach and its connections.

The series will run for five weeks, on Wednesday evenings, at the Higher Education Center's Center Hall in Building II. Each film will be introduced, screened and followed by a discussion.

All films will be shown at 7 p.m., with English subtitles.

The schedule begins next Wednesday, Feb. 10, with a showing of the Russian film "The Island," followed on Feb. 17 by "My Dear Enemy" from Korea, a Feb. 24 presentation of the Argentinean film "Son of the Bride," a March 3 showing of "December Heat" from Estonia and a March 10 finale of "The Royal Messengers" from Nigeria.

Tickets are not required for the free screenings, but seating is on a first-come basis.

For more information on the Higher Education Center, call 301-737-2500 or go online to www.smhec.org.

Greenwell programs continue in winter

Greenwell State Park in Hollywood has shifted its Nature Time program to a winter schedule, meeting twice a month on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The theme is the same each month, with two different lessons.

The schedule includes Feb. 10 and 23 sessions titled "Baby, It's Cold Outside!" to be followed on March 10 with "Seed Heads" and on March 23 with "Journal Time."

Nature Time returns to a weekly schedule beginning in April, alternating on Tuesdays and Wednesdays with a different theme each week. The class on April 7 will be titled "Bunny Hunt," followed on April 13 with "Horse Sense," April 21's "Spaceship Earth," April 27's "Cherry Blossom Festival," May 5's "Garden Party," May 11's "Let's Go for a Hike," May 19's "Snakes Out There!," May 25's "Bowl Me Over," June 2's "Hide Painting," June 8's "Obstacle? Of Course," June 16's "Long, Slim, Slimy Ones" program on worms, June 22's "Swallow That," June 30's "Summer Beach Party," July 6's "Seine any Fish?," July 14's "Blind Hike," July 20's "What's the Buzz?" July 28's "Camp Out," Aug. 3's "Pirates on the Patuxent," Aug. 11's "Greenwell Regatta," Aug. 17's "Sunny Day," Aug. 25's "Beach in a Bottle" and Aug. 31's "Walk Like the Animals."

For more information, call 301-373-9775 or go online to www.greenwellfoundation.org. In addition, general-public registration will begin March 1 for this year's Camp Greenwell program.

Go online to www.greenwellfoundation.org for dates and rates for the "Taste of Greenwell" Spring Break Camp to be held March 29 to April 1 and April 6 to 9, as well as this summer's Camp Greenwell outdoor recreation camp, horse camp, kayak camp and fishing camp.

Sotterley legends tours resume Feb. 27

Sotterley Plantation in Hollywood will host another round of Legends and Lore Tours at 5 and 7 p.m. on Feb. 27, focused on the historic site's 300-year-old mansion. To make a reservation, call 301-373-2280.

For more information on events, go online to www.sotterley.org.

‘Looking for Trouble' run/walk planned

The Community Mediation Center of St. Mary's County will hold its third annual "We're Looking for Trouble" 5K run/walk and kids' fun run on Saturday, April 3, at the Three Notch Trail in Charlotte Hall.

Preregistration has begun, and race day registration will start at 7:30 a.m. for the 9 a.m. kickoff of the event to be held rain or shine. Proceeds will be used to benefit the nonprofit organization dedicated to providing free mediation services to the residents of St. Mary's County. Call Lindsey Bradley at 301-475-9118 or go online to www.st-marys-mediation.org.

Former school staff invited to join group

The St. Mary's County Public Schools Retirees Association distributes new books to children in the community, donates canned goods to local soup kitchens, helps at nursing home birthday bingo games and gives out annual student scholarships.

The association gives a $2,000 scholarship to a local high school student who agrees to teach in St. Mary's for two years, with an option to award three continuing $1,000 scholarships for the next three years. Call Laura Clements at 301-872-4587.

2010 farm grants now available

The Southern Maryland Agricultural Development Commission is offering a round of farm viability grants. The funds are being made available as a continuation of the Agriculture Commission's ongoing Southern Maryland farm viability enhancement grant program, established to increase the sustainability of existing farms and encourage the development of farming enterprises.

Applications for the farm viability grant are due to the Southern Maryland Agricultural Development Commission by Feb. 22. To get a grant application, go online to www.smadc.com, or call 301- 274-1922.

jwharton@somdnews.com