Alcohol merchants group crosses river for meeting

THIS ‘N' THAT

Friday, Oct. 16, 2009

The destination for Tuesday's meeting was Coles Point Tavern, which was built over top of the Potomac River off the Virginia shore during Southern Maryland's slot machine era that ended more than 40 years ago. The business had a St. Mary's liquor license then, as Maryland's jurisdiction reaches across the entire waterway, and it still has a St. Mary's permit now.

The tavern is rebounding from major storm damage that briefly shut its doors a couple of years ago, but it's been back up and running since then and now is seeking an expansion of its alcohol serving area, atop its frame of sturdy pilings.

"We had close to 10 people gone over," David Dent, the association's treasurer, said of the trip made possible through a 40-foot vessel provided by Jim Cryer and his Back Road Inn in Compton.

The meeting's agenda included the association's support of a legislative proposal to limit the number of new off-sale alcohol outlets in the county through a per capita quota system, and its opposition to legislation that would let wine businesses bypass retail stores through direct sales to customers.

"It was just like a regular association meeting, but we took a little boat trip. We had a beautiful day for it," Dent said Wednesday from his family's grocery and bar business in Tall Timbers.

Scott J. Rudge, a licensee of the Coles Point Tavern, provided a meal of fried chicken, potato salad and apple cobbler, Dent said, and the attendees got a chance to tour the premises.

"He's done a great job over there. It has a nice big dance floor in the back," Dent said of the proprietor's renovations.

"It looks nice," he said, "but it still has the feel of an old time tavern. There's a lot of good old history there."

The request to extend the business' serving area to include its entire side deck was outlined by Rudge and Michael V. Davis, his business partner and the tavern's lawyer, at last month's meeting of the St. Mary's Alcohol Beverage Board.

Rudge said his Virginia customers can smoke tobacco in bars in their home state, but because the tavern is in Maryland, he can only offer them the outside deck for smoking.

The boundary issues linger on, Rudge told the board members, including whether his Maryland tavern needed a deck permit from the Virginia Marine Resources Commission.

"They're not sure if they have jurisdiction. I'm just going along with what they want," Rudge said, who offered his own geographical perspective. "The tavern is an island in Maryland," he said. "It has a small bridge that goes to Virginia."

Davis said Maryland's jurisdiction over the Potomac River has been long understood, following a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Desegregation TV program to be shown

"With All Deliberate Speed: One High School's Story" is a documentary by Meredith Taylor on the desegregation of Great Mills High School during the Civil Rights era, and it will be shown at 6 p.m. tomorrow, Saturday, on MetroCast cable Channel 95. Additional weekly broadcasts are listed on the county's cable channel schedule at www.stmarysmd.com, and the program also can be viewed on the Web site. Betty Currie narrates the documentary written, directed and produced by Taylor, a professor at St. Mary's College of Maryland.

Great Mills grad to be on Jeopardy

Jennifer McFann, a 2002 graduate of Great Mills High School, will appear on a "Jeopardy" television quiz show broadcast, her mother reports, scheduled to air next Wednesday, Oct. 21.

The episode will air at 7 p.m. on WMAR Channel 2, and at 7:30 p.m. on WJLA Channel 7, according to Casey McFann.

Jennifer McCann lives in Astoria, N.Y., and is a novelist who also works as a recruiter for the Peace Corps.

Casey McFann said last week that her daughter is embargoed from publicly revealing how she did on the show.

Jellyfish photo wins state recognition

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources announced this week that winners in its 2009 magazine photo contest include an honorable mention to Beverly Wyckoff Jackson of California for her photograph of a jellyfish. "The jellyfish did all the work," Jackson wrote Tuesday, adding that "The jellyfish is not available for interviews."

Event to feature scarecrow making

The festivities of fall will be celebrated in downtown Leonardtown on the afternoon of Saturday, Oct. 24, including a chance to make scarecrows on the town square from 1 to 3 p.m. with help from the Southern Maryland Artisan Center.

From 3-4 p.m., children accompanied by a parent or guardian can dress up in their Halloween costumes and walk around the Leonardtown Square to go trick-or-treating at participating downtown merchants. Bring a bag for the candy and treats.

For more information, call Town Hall at 301-475-9791.

In addition, the Leonardtown Church of the Nazarene, the church on the square, is having a Fall Festival & Fun Fair from 1-5 p.m. that day, featuring crafts, food, candy, and music and carnival games. All proceeds will support the church's youth programs. Free hot chocolate will be offered outside. Call 301-351-9242.

COSMIC concert coming Oct. 30

The Chamber Orchestra of Southern Maryland, led for a 7th season by Maestro Vladimir Lande, will open its 2009-2010 concert season at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 30, at the Southern Maryland Higher Education Center in California. The concert, titled "Heartstrings," will feature Mahler's Symphony No. 1 and Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto, Op. 35, featuring violinist Jose Cuerto.

The group of local musicians performing classical music will also take the stage at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 1, at Huntingtown High School in Huntingtown.

Tickets available online or through local businesses listed at www.cosmicmusic.org.

Applications for Christmas in April assistance available

Christmas in April t. Mary's County is continuing to distribute its free 2010 Applications for Assistance to low-income, elderly, or disabled homeowners who live full time in their St. Mary's home and need home repairs. An application can be obtained by calling 301-863-2905.

Christmas in April St. Mary's County is a local chapter of Rebuilding Together, a national volunteer organization that rehabilitates the homes of low-income homeowners, particularly the elderly and disabled, so that they may live in warmth, safety and independence.

HSMC pigs crave leftover pumpkins

Visitors this fall to Historic St. Mary's City are invited to pack a pumpkin for the pigs, and the squash presented at the Visitor Center will entitle the bearer to $1 off one admission to the museum.

The plantation pigs love pumpkins, which would otherwise end up in the trash after serving ornamental purposes.

Retired jack-o'-lanterns are most welcome. The carved grins and grimaces amuse the staff and the pigs — Rosemary, Maizie, Pumpkin and Scarlet.

The offer is limited to one pumpkin per person, per visit, through the 2009 season. For more information, go online to www.stamaryscity.org or call 240-895-4990.

Fire marshal offers home safety tips

Maryland's state fire marshal's office recently offered home safety advice as part of a "Stay Fire Smart! Don't Get Burned" campaign to decrease the likelihood of household injuries.

Safety tips include keeping hot foods and liquids away from the edges of tables and counters, having a three-foot "kid-free" zone around the stove, keeping matches and lighters away from children and considering having anti-scald devices on tub facets.

Check the water before placing a child into a tub, teach children that hot things can hurt them and be careful when using things that get hot such as curling irons, lamps and heaters.

For more information see www.firemarshal.state.md.us.

jwharton@somdnews.com