March for Babies moving to Leonardtown

THIS ‘N' THAT

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

The "We're Looking for Trouble" 5K run/walk was held April 4 in Charlotte Hall to benefit the Community Mediation Center of St. Mary's. The 14th Run and Fun Walk for Hospice, a 5K or 10 K run and 5K walk, will be held April 18 to benefit Hospice of St. Mary's (see www.runforhospice.org for more).

In addition, the local version of what claims to be the oldest fundraising walk in the country will be held in Leonardtown for the first time this year.

Originally called Walk-America, the first walk to benefit March of Dimes was held in 1970 in Ohio and Texas, according to Jennifer Abell, director of March of Dimes Southern Maryland.

For years, the local version of the walk for Calvert and St. Mary's counties has been held in Solomons Island. This year, the three-mile walk, now called March for Babies, will be held Sunday, April 19, in Leonardtown.

"We've moved it to Leonardtown because the majority of sponsors and participants are from St. Mary's," Abell said Monday afternoon.

Abell expects between 400 and 500 participants at the event.

The March for Babies is held all over the country and is the biggest fundraiser for March of Dimes each year. There will be 19 walks in the Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia area alone.

"We look for the day when all babies can be born healthy," Abell said. "Right now, the most urgent infant health problem is premature birth. We're committed to reducing the number — over half a million babies every year — by funding research to find answers to premature birth and providing comfort and information to families affected by it."

Issues related to premature birth include low birth weight, developmental issues, cerebral palsy, mental retardation, blindness and chronic lung problems, among many others, Abell said.

Those who want to participate in this year's walk can register at marchforbabies.org or just show up the day of the event, where registration starts at 7:30 a.m. and the walk begins at 9 a.m. "There is no minimum donation" to participate, Abell said.

The Charles County March for Babies will be held April 16 in La Plata. For more information about either walk, call 301-934-2235.

Potassium iodide pills to be distributed

St. Mary's County Health Department will redistribute potassium iodide tablets to residents within the 10-mile zone of the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant on Thursday, April 9, from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Leonardtown High School lobby and auxiliary gym. The pills are intended to protect the thyroid gland from radiation.

Residents will need to show proof of residence, complete a form identifying the number of individuals in the household and sign for the tablets. There is no fee for the. Businesses, schools, and day cares within the evacuation zone will be contacted in May for group distribution. Tablets are being distributed with an information sheet and instructions on how to take the medication if a nuclear event should occur and if one was instructed by local authorities to proceed with consumption of potassium iodide. Tablets previously distributed to residents will be collected.

The area within the 10-mile radius includes Queen Tree Landing, Sandgates, Riverwood Farms, Hollywood Shores, Wildewood, Winterseat, St. Mary's Beach, Sotterley Manor, Fenwick Manor, Gillens Grove, Land-O-Lakes, Holly Gaf Acres, Drumcliff, Hillville, St. Cuthbert Wharf, Clarke's Landing, Scotch Point, Myrtle Point, Mill Cove, Mill Cove Manor, Kingston Manor, Holly Haven, Town Creek, Town Point, Esperanza Farms, Town Creek Manor, Town Creek Farm, Cal Acres, North Town Creek Manor, Woodland Acres, Wildewood (from Cottonwood parkway on the north to Wildewood Parkway on the west), Middle Earth, Red Hill and Peacock Manor.

Health department nurses will be available to answer questions. Residents can also contact the health department's health services division at 301-475-4316 regarding specific questions about the potassium iodide redistribution effort. 

Newtowne Players celebrate anniversary

The Newtowne Players are celebrating the fourth anniversary of the opening of Three Notch Theatre. The premiere production of "Cheaters" opened April 1, 2005, in the newly renovated Three Notch Theatre. The lease for the theater was approved in November 2004 by the St. Mary's County commissioners to utilize the former Lexington Park Memorial Library as a community theater.

"Cheaters" was the first of many productions in the former library. The Newtowne Players was formed in February 2002 by Wendy Heidrich, who still serves as the organization's artistic director.

The theater is located at 21744 South Coral Drive in Lexington Park. The Newtowne Players is a nonprofit community theater run by volunteers. For more information or to reserve tickets, call 301-737-5447, or visit www.newtowneplayers.org.

Auxiliary plans trip to Atlantic City

The Mechanicsville Volunteer Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary will sponsor a bus trip to the Showboat Casino in Atlantic City on Monday, April 27. The bus will leave from the fire department's parking lot at 6 a.m. and will return around 8:30 p.m. Cost is $45 per person in advance, but each person will receive $30 in free slot play, plus a coupon book upon arrival at the casino. Morning coffee and doughnuts and evening sodas, cookies and a movie will be provided on the bus.

To reserve a seat or for additional information, call Valerie at 301-481-0148. Advance reservation and payment is required.

Woodson honored for Black History Month

On Feb. 19, Chopticon High School held a presentation honoring the work of Carter G. Woodson, who is considered the father of Black History Month. Woodson's legacy was founded on the values of diversity and fostering equal rights and social justice.

Joyce High, social studies teacher at Chopticon High School, introduced Mayor James E. Mills as the keynote speaker. Mills is serving as the first African-American mayor of Scotland Neck, N.C. High also detailed how Woodson initiated the celebration and discussion of black history.

Other presenters included Markisha Allen and Nicole Lourette, students at Chopticon, who sang a song and recited a poem to remind the audience about the efforts and deeds of people who led the crusade against discrimination.

Father Andrew White going West this month

Father Andrew White School is presenting a Western roundup, which will be held at the school in Leonardtown on April 25, starting at 7 p.m. The evening will include heavy hors d'oeuvres, country music and line dancing.

Visitors are invited to see the school's version of an authentic "Wild West" town, bend an elbow in their saloon and get thrown in the hoosegow (jail).

There will be live and silent auctions for Orioles tickets, a signed Wizards basketball, Wii and Wii Fit, Disney theme park tickets and a hotel stay at Marriott, "Be the Guest Dolphin Trainer" and six VIP tickets to the National Aquarium, "Bonefish" metal wall art by Joe Moraski, four tickets to Indy car racing in Richmond and autographed picture of Daytona 500 winner and more. For updates on items, visit fatherandrewwhite.org.

Purchase tickets to the event in the school's front office. For more, contact Kathy Bell at bellk@md.metrocast.net or Jodi Pilkerton at stinkyjake@md.metrocast.net.

Fantasy Night tickets on sale

Tickets are on sale for the Mechanicsville Optimist Club's 24th Annual Fantasy Night on Saturday, May 16, at 6:30 p.m. at the Mechanicsville Volunteer Fire Department social hall. There will be 25 prizes totaling $7,400 in cash. Only 200 tickets will be sold. For ticket information contact Dennis Reed at 301-884-3628 or Paul Colonna at 301-884-4906. The evening will include a buffet dinner, open bar and a dance with music provided by Roadhouse. Visit www.mechanicsvilleoptimist.org.

Small Business Roundtable to meet

A training and networking conference for small businesses interested in doing business with Naval Air Systems Command will be held April 16 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the J.T. Daugherty Conference Center in Lexington Park. The conference is hosted by the Small Business Roundtable, a volunteer organization that advocates participation of small business concerns in naval aviation. Although the event's focus is on Small Business Administration-certified Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone) business, it is free and open to any business or government employee. Attendees must register in advance; there is a $15 lunch fee. To register visit www.imagine-one.com/html/hubzoneEvent.htm.

Scholarship available from Optimists

The 7th District Optimist Scholarship Committee is looking for applicants. The committee offers two $1,000 scholarships each year — one to a young man and the other to a young woman.

Applicants must be a senior at Chopticon, Leonardtown or St. Mary's Ryken high schools. Applications must be postmarked by April 14 and are available from the schools' guidance counselors. For more information call Sam Brown, scholarship committee chairman, at 301-769-3027.

Boating course begins April 15

America's Boating Course will be presented by the Patuxent River Sail and Power Squadron starting Wednesday, April 15, at 7 p.m. at Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, Nice Hall, on Williams Street in Solomons. To register, call 301 475-3883.

This eight-session course is designed to educate recreational boaters, be it power, sail or oar power. Participants can take the exam after five sessions and return for three sessions of charting and digital charting with the optional Introduction to Navigation section.

The Boating Safety Education Law requires that any person born on or after July 1, 1972, must have in their possession a certificate of boating safety education while operating a numbered or documented vessel on Maryland waters. Completion of the course is accepted by most insurance companies for a reduction in rate. This is a course that families can take together and includes the personal watercraft endorsement.

For more information call 301-475-3883 or visit www.usps.org/localusps/patuxent.

scraton@somdnews.com