Red Cross chapter offers defibrillator training

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

As chief executive officer of the American Red Cross, Southern Maryland Chapter, Zabko knows that laypeople without medical training are intimidated by the automated external defibrillators, or AEDs, that are increasingly being installed in public buildings. AEDs are designed to assist in a sudden cardiac arrest and restart a person’s heart in an emergency.

‘‘They’re getting to be like fire extinguishers now,” he said from his office Friday afternoon, of how common the devices are becoming.

But unless the public feels comfortable using the AEDs, their proliferation could be for nothing.

Help is on the way. During this first National CPR⁄AED Awareness Week, which is this week, June 1 to 7, the Southern Maryland Red Cross is encouraging everyone to learn both CPR and AED skills. ‘‘We’re going to teach you how to use an AED to save someone’s life,” Zabko said.

CPR⁄AED training is being offered this Saturday, June 7, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and then again from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the Hampton Inn in Lexington Park. The training costs $20.

‘‘The Red Cross wants the public to know that everyone has the power to save a life. At least one person in every household and on every office floor should be trained and certified in first aid and CPR⁄AED,” Zabko said in a statement. ‘‘On average, it takes emergency personnel 10 minutes to arrive on scene. For someone who is choking or has stopped breathing, that may be too late. By learning simple rescue skills, you can go from being a helpless bystander to a person with the ability to take control to help someone during an emergency.”

The Southern Maryland Chapter American Red Cross wants to help accomplish a nationwide goal of reaching 250,000 people with this training during this week.

Zabko said the idea is to familiarize people with the equipment and take away the fear factor. ‘‘They’re very simple machines,” he said. ‘‘They talk to you ... It tells you what to do.”

And Zabko noted that the danger of someone’s heart stopping is not just a risk for older people. ‘‘Trauma, like a sports injury, can cause a young person’s heart to stop,” he said. ‘‘That AED can bring it back in rhythm.”

For more information contact the Southern Maryland Chapter American Red Cross at 888-276-2767 or visit SouthernMaryland.RedCross.org.

Hollywood VFD announces carnival date changes

The Hollywood Volunteer Fire Department has announced that, effective next year, 2009, the dates for its annual carnival will change from the last weekend in July and the first weekend in August to the last two weekends in July.

The dates for the 2009 carnival will be July 16 to 19 and July 23 to 27. The dates for the 2010 carnival will be July 15 to 18 and July 22 to 26. The department has changed the dates because the school year is beginning earlier each year and the change gives the Ridge Volunteer Fire Department time to hold its carnival before the school year starts.

Leonardtown to host soap box derby

Kids have built their soap box racers and are ready for race day. The 11th Annual Southern Maryland Soap Box Derby will be held Saturday, June 7, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on ‘‘Derby Hill” (Fenwick Street in Leonardtown).

More than 25 boys and girls from the tri-county area will compete. Stock and Super Stock Division winners earn the rightĘto compete in the All-American Soap Box Derby finals in Akron, Ohio, in July.

The Southern Maryland Soap Box Derby is hosted by the Town of Leonardtown, and is sponsored by the Lexington Park Lions Club and the Cedar Point Federal Credit Union. Admission is free. For more information call 301-934-3659 or 301-475-9791.

Preschool accepting applications now

Rays of Light Christian Preschool, a ministry of Good Samaritan Lutheran Church in Lexington Park, is accepting applications for openings in the 3- and 4-year-old preschool programs. The 3-year-old class meets Tuesdays and Thursdays and the 4-year-old class meets Mondays, Wednesdays and Friday. For more information call 301-863-4740.

The Newtowne Players to offer storytelling workshops

The Newtowne Players will host ‘‘Storytelling from Our Environments” children’s workshops at Three Notch Theatre in Lexington Park this summer.

Area children are invited to join the workshop’s storytellers every other Tuesday, beginning June 17, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Registration is required as space is limited.

Parents can register their child by completing a registration form at the children’s desk of the Lexington Park, Leonardtown or Charlotte Hall libraries, or online at www.newtowneplayers.org.

There is no charge for this workshop. Due to the interactive nature of this workshop, organizers ask that parents also plan to attend. For more information call 301-737-5447 and leave a voice mail message for P.J. Baker.

Norris and Tippettwin essay contest

Hollywood residents, both parishioners at St. John Francis Regis Church and sponsored by Knights of Columbus Council #7914, took first and second place in the Maryland State Council’s Senior Citizen Essay Contest this year. Joanne Norris won first place and Janet Tippett won second. The competition’s theme was, ‘‘What person, guidelines and values inspired you to live your faith?”

Clinic to benefitfood pantries

Laura Gallagher has announced that she will donate free healing therapy to help replenish Southern Maryland food banks and pantries. For every bag of groceries donated, Gallagher will exchange one-half hour of pain⁄stress management and deep relaxation therapy. If two bags of nonperishable food items are donated, the person will receive a full hour.

This offer will be available from June 13 to July 31. An appointment is necessary by calling 301-475-2200. This offer is open to all age groups. Children younger than 18 must be accompanied by parent or guardian. The Gallagher office is open seven days a week.

For more information visit www.quantumtouch.com, www.healingtouchinternational.org or www.iarp.org.

New art scholarship created at SMCM

St. Mary’s College of Maryland announced the endowment of a new art scholarship in memory of the late Professor William Thomas ‘‘Tom” Rowe at a recent campus gathering. The Arts Alliance of St. Mary’s College hosted the afternoon event and donated its recent acquisition of Rowe’s oil painting ‘‘Vale” to the college’s permanent collection. It is exhibited in Daugherty-Palmer Commons as part of the College’s Southern Maryland Art Collection.

The idea for the art scholarship was initiated in 2004 by former SMCM Director of Alumni Relations Dirk Griffith (’79) and the Rowe family.

To fund the scholarship, limited edition prints of Rowe’s ‘‘TGIF,” a pastel painting of the Green Door — a favorite student night spot off-campus — are being sold. Sales of ‘‘TGIF” prints, donations from the community and the sale of ‘‘Vale” have funded the scholarship.

The fund will provide student scholarships in 2009.

Donations to the William Thomas Rowe Endowed Art Scholarship are also being accepted. See www.smcm.edu. Click on ‘‘Give to SMCM” on the yellow bar. Then click on ‘‘Make a gift” on the yellow bar. Note in the ‘‘Comments” section of the electronic form that the gift is designated for the William Thomas Rowe Endowed Art Scholarship.

Oyster chefs wanted

Those who have an original oyster recipe are encouraged to enter it in the 29th Annual National Oyster Cook-Off. Entries are due by Aug. 1. Nine contestants will be chosen to compete Oct. 18 in Leonardtown. Cash prizes of $300, $200 and $1,500 will be awarded to the top three finalists in each of the categories: hors d’oeuvres, soups and stews and main dish. The grand prize winner will be selected from the first place winners of each category and will receive an additional $1,000 and a silver tray. There will also be awards for best presentation of dish and people’s choice.

In addition to cash prizes, contestants receive hotel accommodations and an invitation to a welcome reception and the National Oyster Cook-off Celebration dinner. If a recipe is selected as one of the top 10 in a category, it will be printed in the annual cookbook and the recipe’s author will receive a free cookbook and a certificate.

The National Oyster Cook-off is held in conjunction with the St. Mary’s County Oyster Festival and the National Oyster Shucking Contest. The cook-off is sponsored by the Maryland Department of Agriculture’s Seafood Marketing Program, St. Mary’s County Department of Economic and Community Development and the Rotary Club of St. Mary’s in Lexington Park. Contest rules are available at www.marylandseafood.org or can be requested by calling 410-841-5820.

The 28th annual cookbook, containing 31 award-winning recipes, is now available. Send a check for $6, payable to the National Oyster Cook-off Cookbook and mail to: National Oyster Cook-off Cookbook, Department of Economic and Community Development, P.O. Box 653, Leonardtown, MD 20650.