Mediation center finds new home

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

From 5 to 7 p.m., wine, cheese ‘‘and other tasty tidbits” will welcome guests to the center’s new office in the county government’s Phillips House at 28 Duke Street in Prince Frederick. Previously, the center, which is in its third year, operated in spaces lent by churches and other groups, according to Susan Rork, the center’s executive director.

The center, which provides free conflict-resolution mediation to community members, is important ‘‘because otherwise, people who are unable to pay, we’ll offer it to anyone, communities, individuals. In other words, there are a lot of people who can’t even afford to pay for things like this, so it’s definitely a service to the community,” Rork said.

Advance in urbanpollution control could benefit Chesapeake

In the struggle to keep harmful nutrients out of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, urban runoff has been one of the least tractable problems. But the findings of a University of Maryland-led research team will help scientists measure the effectiveness of urban restoration measures by letting them quantify the amount of nitrogen removed from urban streams, according to an April 30 press release.

‘‘A team of researchers led by University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science researcher Dr. Sujay Kaushal has been among the first able to quantify the amount of excess nitrogen removed from an urban stream during environmental restoration projects. This breakthrough will allow environmental managers to accurately assess the pollution reducing benefits of stormwater management and urban stream restoration, and could lead to new nitrogen reduction opportunities as public works managers make repairs to our nation’s aging urban infrastructure,” the release said.

In the long-term study, researchers injected ‘‘tracer” chemicals into restored and unrestored sections of urban streams to measure how quickly microbes in the stream banks absorbed nitrogen-containing compounds, allowing them to determine nitrogen reductions in real environments, according to the release.

‘‘The research showed that stream restoration techniques that ‘reconnected’ the banks to the stream doubled nitrogen removal rates by microbes, and reduced nitrogen levels in ground water by 40 percent, contributing to significantly lower nitrogen levels in the stream compared to unrestored conditions. Getting water out of the stream channel into [nitrogen-removing] ‘hot spots’ in floodplain wetlands helped improve water quality,” the release said.

The article, ‘‘Effects of Stream Restoration on Denitrification in an Urbanizing Watershed,” appears in the April edition of Ecological Applications, a journal of the Ecological Society of America. This work was supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Research and Development and the National Science Foundation’s Long-Term Ecological Research program.

Solomons Optimist Club Oratorical Contest winners announced

March 31, at the Solomons Volunteer Rescue Squad and Fire Department, the Optimist Club of Solomons held its annual oratorical contest open to all students younger than 16.

The topic this year, ‘‘Why Me; Why Not?” was judged on four criteria: poise, speech content, delivery and presentation, and overall effectiveness, according to a release.

This year’s winners are: first place, Rachel Murree of Our Lady Star of the Sea on Solomons Island, and second place, Brianna Smith of Mill Creek Middle School in Lusby for the girls’ category. For boys, first place went to Kevin Jackson and second place to Jason McCauley, both of Mill Creek Middle School.

All four students received a medallion in honor of their achievements, according to the release.

Some students eligible for college tuition help

Students whose desired majors are not offered at local public colleges or universities may be eligible for in-state tuition at more than 150 other Southern public colleges, according to a release.

‘‘Last year, Maryland residents majoring in programs such as mining engineering at Virginia Tech, interior design at the University of Georgia and marine science at Coastal Carolina University saved an average of $10,715 annually in tuition costs,” according to a release. Participating schools are all members of the Academic Common Market, a tuition-savings agreement among the 16 member states of the Southern Regional Education Board: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. Public colleges in these states that elect to participate in the Common Market select the programs of study they will offer. Both bachelor and graduate-level programs are offered. First professional degree programs — such as pharmacy, law, dentistry and medicine — are not included.

Spring fun at theRailway Museum

On Sunday, May 18, beginning at 12:30 p.m., the Chesapeake Beach Railway Museum will hold its annual Spring Family Fun Day at both Kellam’s Ball Field at the museum itself.

All activities are free.

Activities at the museum ‘‘will include wooden train and coloring crafts, a museum treasure hunt and a dance performance by Abigail Francisco School of Classical Ballet,” according to a release, while ball field activities ‘‘include carnival-style rides and games to delight the family, along with Cookie ‘D’ Clown’s face painting.” Raffle tickets for a Harry Potter-Hogwarts Express Lionel Train Set, Chesapeake Beach Water Park tickets and tickets to Abigail Francisco School of Classical Ballet’s Spring Dance Recital will also be available at the field.

One raffle ticket is free to every person, or five tickets will be given to anyone buying a museum membership.

At 3:30 p.m., ball field events will end to allow guests to watch a ballet performance at the museum.

Nominate a friend

The county Department of Planning and Zoning is accepting nominations for its 20th annual Calvert County Historic Preservation Awards presentation, according to a release.

‘‘Have you ever noticed an old house or barn being restored on your morning drive to work? Does someone in your community carefully record its history? Have you ever thought, ‘Whoever fixed up that place did a great job, they deserve some recognition!’ Now is the time to make sure that people who have worked to preserve Calvert County history and historic properties get the credit they deserve,” the release said.

Awards are given in three categories: project awards, service awards and award for preservation education.

Previous winners include Billy Yoe, Harold Smith, and David and Jane Estabrook for the restoration of the Yoe Barn on Broomes Island Road and the Osprey Property Group for archaeology at Chapline Place; the Prince George’s Federal Savings Bank for its adaptive reuse of Bowen’s Garage in Huntingtown; Joseph Showalter and Paul Berry for their devotion to preserving Calvert County heritage and to Randi Vogt for her foresight that led to adoption of measures to preserve farmland and protect historical and archaeological sites.

Projects must have been completed by January 1; nominations are due Wednesday, June 4.

Nomination forms are available at the Department of Planning and Zoning in the County Services Plaza on Main Street in Prince Frederick and at county libraries. Forms can also be downloaded from the Calvert County Web site, www.co.cal.md.us; click on the link in the scrolling window titled ‘‘Stay Informed.”

For more information or to request a nomination form, contact Kirsti Uunila, Historic Preservation Planner at 410-535-1600, Ext. 2504 or send e-mail to UnilaK@co.cal.md.us.

Genealogy workshopin St. Mary’s County

For Calvert countians willing to cross the Thomas Johnson (Solomons) bridge, the St. Mary’s Genealogical Society will host a beginners’ genealogy workshop at the Garvey Senior Center off Hollywood Road in the St. Mary’s County Governmental Center Complex in Leonardtown.

The workshop, ‘‘Getting Started in Genealogy” will begin at 7 p.m. on Monday, May 19 and be given by Michael Dixon.

The St. Mary’s County Genealogical Society is an organization of local residents from all over the country who share a common interest in family history research. The society normally meets at 7 p.m. on the fourth Monday of each month, September through June, at the Garvey Senior Center.

Those interested in learning more are encouraged to call Sarah Fitzgerald at 301-994-1036, or Bill Mitchell at 301-862-2211.