Shutterbug wins

Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2008

Tierney won with his photograph "Resting Dragonfly," the winner of the invertebrates category. Tierney also had a top winner in the scenic category.

More than 300 photographers entered close to 1,500 photographs into this year's contest, which featured photo categories for the first time, according to a DNR press release.

Other Southern Maryland winners were Rosedale Yannayon of Hollywood, who took top honors in the mammals category; Beth Wisotzkey of Clinton, honorable mention in invertebrates for "Monarch;" and Greg Shall of Mechanicsville, honorable mention in mammals for "SSSay Cheese."

Winners received a total of $1,250 in prizes from Boaters World Marine Centers and Ritz Camera, and the winning photos will appear in the winter issue of the Maryland Natural Resource Magazine, as well as the 2009 DNR calendar.

The magazine is published by DNR.

Subscriptions are available at www.dnr.maryland.gov/naturalresource/.

Author to speak

The author of the book, "A Hope in the Unseen: An American Odyssey From the Inner City to the Ivy League," will be featured at 7 tonight at North Point High School in Waldorf.

Ron Suskind, a Pulitzer prize-winning journalist and best-selling author, will talk about his "A Hope in the Unseen." The book follows the life of Cedric Jennings, a young man from southeast Washington, D.C., from the 10th grade at Ballou High School through his first year at Brown University.

The program is part of One Maryland One Book, Maryland's first statewide, community-centered reading program.

The event is free. Suskind will answer audience questions following his presentation. Seating is limited. Doors will open at 6 p.m.

A free Readers' Theater performance of "A Hope in the Unseen" will be offered this weekend.

At 7 p.m. Oct. 24, the program will be performed at the College of Southern Maryland's Leonardtown campus. The second performance will be held at Huntingtown High School in Huntingtown at 7 p.m. Oct. 25. The final presentation will be at 3 p.m. Oct. 26 at the Port Tobacco Players Theater in La Plata.

Cast members include high school students from Calvert, Charles and St. Mary's County schools, as well as local adult participants. For more information, go to

www.onemarylandonebook.org.

Obama campaign opens county office

The Charles County Obama for President office opened recently at 605 Post Office Road, Suite 305 in Waldorf seven days a week. Hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday.

More than 2,400 Charles County residents signed up to work for Obama via the Internet, according to a press release. Volunteers do phone-banking and will also canvass, both with an emphasis on Virginia, a target for the Obama campaign, according to the release.

The office manager is Rhonda Hanson. She can be contacted at 301-266-2406.

County to sponsor senior trip

The Charles County Department of Community Services will offer a senior citizen trip to see "Miracle of Christmas" at Sight & Sound Theatres in Lancaster, Pa., Nov. 21.

Follow the journey of Mary and Joseph and witness the birth of Jesus. See the Millennium Theatre decorated for the holidays.

Trip includes an 11 a.m. buffet lunch at Hershey Farm Restaurant. Registration deadline is Nov. 1, and the fee is $120 per person. Call 301-870-3388 or 301-934-9305, Ext. 5152 or go to www.charlescounty.org/cs.

Schools accepting award nominations

The Charles County school system is accepting nominations for The Washington Post's 2009 Agnes Meyer Outstanding Teacher Award.

The annual award honors exemplary teachers who demonstrate excellence in teaching, encourage creative and quality instruction and contribute in a substantive way to the improvement of education.

Nominees must be full-time teachers in grades pre-kindergarten through 12 and have a minimum of five years teaching experience.

Nomination materials must include a minimum of four statements of support, one of which must be from a professional educator; a career summary; and a description of contributions in each of the nomination criteria categories.

Nominations are due Dec. 12. Materials should be sent to Barbara Palko, Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building, P.O. Box 2770, La Plata, MD 20646.

Youth Services Bureau receives $40,767 grant

The Maryland Mediation and Conflict Resolution Office has awarded a grant to the Tri-County Youth Services Bureau to use a new process for working with youth who are at risk of entering the juvenile justice system.

Community Conferencing is a process that helps families, neighborhoods, schools, organizations and legal and judicial systems respond to juvenile destructive behavior in constructive ways, while building connections that serve communities.

A community conference is a voluntary one-time circle meeting that includes youths, their parents and others affected by an incident. Each person has a chance to say how they were affected by the crime or the harmful behavior and how the harm can be repaired. Youth are held accountable for their actions and victims have a say in deciding what they would like to see happen to repair the harm done.

Questions and referrals to the Youth Services Bureau's Community Conferencing Project can be directed to the project coordinator, Harriett Nettles at hnettles@tcysb.org or 301-843-2960.

Tri-County Youth Services Bureau provides juvenile delinquency prevention services, counseling, youth development, truancy prevention and family support programs. Go to www.tcysb.org or e-mail info@tcysb.org.

Fundraiser to benefit jail ministry

Point of Change jail and street ministries will hold a banquet from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Nov. 8 at Grace Lutheran Church at 1200 Charles St. in La Plata.

Tickets will be $30 per person or $250 for a table of 10 if purchased in advance.

There will be limited seating.

E-mail Jail.ministry@hotmail.com or call John A. Lewis, chaplain, at 301-609-5917 to purchase tickets. Tickets also may be purchased at the Family Christian Bookstores at the St. Charles Towne Center in Waldorf. Make checks payable to Point of Change, P.O. Box 1509, La Plata, MD 20646.