Loveville Road resident is rebounding from latest fire

THIS ‘N' THAT

Friday, March 13, 2009

"We're plagued with fire for some reason," Medley, 67, said this week, clarifying that the impact generally has been on himself. "It's just been me," he said.

The trouble started with a house trailer fire in 1995, he said, followed by a blaze at his body shop a couple years ago and another that last year damaged a storage building.

Medley already was saying that the pain and loss from last week's house fire also would pass, as volunteer firefighters were still dousing remnants of the blaze that the state fire marshal's office later ruled was the result of an electrical malfunction.

Medley's wife died five years ago, and he has eight children to make sure he has a place to stay and help in the rebuilding of his damaged home.

"We've been getting some drywall and doors to put back in there," he said, but fire-prevention safety also is part of the process.

"We have to get the whole thing rewired," he said.

Mayor makes rounds to plug essay contest

The deadline for fourth-graders in St. Mary's schools to submit an essay for the Maryland Municipal League's "If I Were Mayor, I Would ... " essay contest is fast approaching, on April 1.

Leonardtown Mayor J. Harry Norris will hold a mock town council with various fourth-grade classes in the county, starting off this year with a visit at 9 a.m. today, Friday, to Hollywood Elementary School. His next visit will be at 8:30 a.m. next Friday, March 20, to Greenview Knolls Elementary School, and another visit is in the works for Leonardtown Elementary School later this month. For more information on the contest, go online to www.mdmunicipal.org.

Scrapbooking event set for Saturday

A scrapbooking event will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. tomorrow, Saturday, at the Ridge firehouse at 13820 Point Lookout Road in Ridge, to support the Ridge Volunteer Fire Department Auxiliary. Morning snacks, lunch, tea and water will be served.  A Creative Memories consultant and products will be available, and there will be seat favors and door prizes. For more information or to reserve a table, call Jacqie Cooper at 301-872-5047 or e-mail cooper594@md.metrocast.net.

Families vs. bullies group to meet Sunday

Families Against Big Bullies, a group launched to increase public awareness and response to intimidating behavior in the workplace, neighborhoods and other public settings, will meet at 2 p.m. this Sunday, March 15, at the Lexington Park Library on FDR Boulevard. Attendees are encouraged to bring documents including court records. Refreshments will be served. For more information, send e-mail to fabb@hotmail.com.

Artists' guild to hold weekend show

The Calvert Artists' Guild Inc. will hold its spring multi-media art show and sale from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. this weekend, March 14 and 15, at the Annmarie Garden Gallery on Dowell Road in Solomons.

There is no admission fee. Artists' entries will be judged, and awards will be given. Call 410-394-3467 or e-mail lewpatasbury@comcast.net.

Ospreys' return prompts advisory

The expected return of ospreys to the area within the next week or so has prompted a request that people clean up trash that the birds might dangerously mistake for nesting material.

Jennifer Keats Curtis, author of the children's book "Osprey Adventure," urged area residents this week to place all trash including fishing line, ribbon and twine in a recycling bin or trash can with a lid on it, to keep the birds safe from entanglement. "Every year, just around St. Patrick's Day, the osprey, one of the most recognized birds on the Chesapeake Bay, makes its way back to our area," Curtis reports. "Though the brown and white birds are often mistaken for eagles, the osprey is smaller, [and the] … marks on its wrists and crook in its wing as it flies clearly distinguishes it from other birds of prey."

Pete McGowan, a biologist with The Chesapeake Bay Field Office, has noted that ospreys were nearly wiped out by pesticide in the early 1970s since they dine nearly exclusively on fish, but the birds have made a comeback since the pesticide was banned. Today, they are found on all continents except Antarctica, perching on the sides of their huge nests of jumbled sticks. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the Chesapeake, where the abundance of osprey has led to the bay being called the "Osprey Garden of the World."

Trash still poses a threat to the well-being of the birds, and researchers believe that half or more of all osprey nests on the bay and surrounding rivers contain fishing line or similar material.

To help curb the problem, the public is encouraged to recycle monofilament line when feasible, cut it into small pieces first if it's placed in a trash can, and abstain from throwing any plastic or pieces of plastic into the water. Found fishing line, balloon ribbon, kite string, rope, plastic or other debris should be disposed of properly. For more information about scheduling a presentation on ospreys, contact Curtis at 410-626-7657 or jcurtis@cablespeed.com.

Talking points offered for parents and teens

The Staying Connected with Your Teen program is a five-session communication skills program for the parents of teenagers to help improve family harmony, and it will begin at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 25, at the Lexington Park library on FDR Boulevard. There is no cost to the families to attend, and all materials needed for the program will be supplied, including light refreshments at the start of each session.

E-mail Viet Nguyen of the St. Mary's Department of Human Services at viet.nguyen@stmarysmd.com, or call 301-475-4200 ext. 1851.

Greenwell to hold benefit dance

The Greenwell Foundation will hold its fifth annual Evening for Greenwell benefit event with live music, dancing, cocktails and hors d'oeuvres from 7 to 11 p.m. on Saturday, April 18, at Lenny's banquet room in California.

The event will help support the Greenwell Foundation's inclusive and accessible horseback riding, summer camp, kayaking and outdoor nature programs held at Greenwell State Park in Hollywood. Proceeds from the event also support "Vacations for Vets," a respite program for wounded servicemen and women. The suggested attire is business casual dress. Tickets are available online at www.greenwellfoundation.org, and also be purchased at the door.

Sotterley ghost tours resume March 20

Historic Sotterley Plantation's Legends and Lore Tours resume on the evenings of March 20 and 21, and reservations are now being accepted. The popularity of the eerie after-hours tour experience when it was first offered has led to its return, featuring stories about actual spirit sightings from the past to present on the site of the more than 300-year-old Tidewater plantation in Hollywood. Stories of unexplained happenings will be shared, providing guests with enough information to decide whether or not they believe.

The tours are limited to people 16 and older. To make a reservation, call 301-373-2280.

jwharton@somdnews.com