The Public Be Damned

 
Despite having a new $2.5 million public meeting room and hall, the board has stopped public hearings on new parks or holding monthly public forums as requested by Commissioner Larry Jarboe. ST. MARY’S TODAY photo

The act of securing land for a public park should be cause for celebration. After many months of public lobbying, the purchase of the Myrtle Point waterfront public park was placed upon the County Commissioners agenda for discussion and vote. Many people came to witness this historic event. The audience on Room 14 of the old Leonard Hall building applauded and cheered as the all Republican Board unanimously supported the motion to purchase two miles of shoreline for the people of St. Mary’s County.

The additional open land beside Lancaster Park was not so greatly heralded. It was part of the Flattops purchase that required extensive negotiations to secure land that supported a blighted ex-naval housing project. At least, from this commissioner’s view, we could expand the playing fields at Lancaster Park in the southern parcel and rejuvenate Lexington Park with private purchase of the northern parcel.

When the request to secure the former Beavans Property for playing fields was quietly slipped into the County Administrator’s agenda, there was virtually no public input. There had been no public meetings with dozens of people clamoring for this park. There was no discussion of the public benefits versus the huge cost of developing playing fields where native woodlands and swampland presently exist.

There was no public discussion of the proximity to the Hackerman Deal property where the State of Maryland has dedicated over eight hundred acres of land to Eastern Narrow Mouthed Toad habitat.

No one from the public arrived to question the limited septic percability or the perception of a governmental bailout for the developer who wanted to unload this parcel on the taxpayers of St. Mary’s County.

Although I did my best to represent these questions for the public interest, Commissioner Dan Raley’s motion to proceed with the acquisition of the Beavans Property seconded by Commissioner Kenny Dement passed on a 3 to 1 vote with Commissioner Tommy Mattingly abstaining. I voted against the motion.

The two swamp areas of this property that host the habitat of the endangered toad will multiply into far deeper morasses as the application proceeds through DNR review and the State of Maryland’s Board of Public Works approval process. Clearing enough land for 15 playing fields in forest interior dwelling birds habitat and swampland will become a major obstacle in addition to the cost to do so.

With so much available parkland in the California/Lexington Park area, why must the taxpayers pay for such a difficult to develop piece of land?

In the past, St. Mary’s County Commissioner Boards held monthly public forums to encourage you to come out to tell us about your concerns with your local government. Though I have repeatedly asked our Board to place a monthly public forum back on the agenda, these requests have not been fulfilled. Sadly, we now have a large new public meeting room and there is no place in our meeting schedule for you to personally bring your issues to us in an open and publicized manner.

On Sunday, Sept. 7 at 5:30 p.m., I will be at the Northern Senior Center in Charlotte Hall to meet with you to bring your concerns to our Board. Later that evening, there is a country music jam session that is held there on the first Sunday of the month. You can both talk to your local County Commissioner and enjoy Southern Maryland musicians playing in harmony.

I hope you can come.

The Edge of Armageddon

Though I was less than ten years old when it happened, I still remember the quiet tension in our own family when the Cuban Missile Crisis occurred in 1962. The threat of nuclear war with Russia was enough for even a boy to think about what it might be like to live or die in a world devastated by a nuclear holocaust.

As President Bush sends U.S. troops on a relief mission into the country of Georgia while Russian troops are still in occupation and Israel readies to annihilate the Iranian nuclear reactor, we are again poised upon the edge of Armageddon.

Beyond simple quiet prayer, there is little any of us can do individually to change these world events. This is a good time to make simple preparations to confront the changes we may see from a world in conflict.

Obviously, it is a good idea to stock up on non-perishable food goods. Also, fill up your heating fuel tank as well as installing a wood or biomass stove for back up heat. Though most St. Mary’s County citizens keep a gun for hunting and protection, this is a good time to stock up the ammo supply as well.

Regardless of the international situation, simple precautions like these can be beneficial in many emergency circumstances.

This week, we waved the flag for our latest casualty in the War on Terror, Sgt. Ryan Baumann. Through his sacrifice and the thousands of young men and women in our armed forces overseas who have given their lives, most of us have seen minimal disruption in our lives here in the United States.

This could change any moment should a post 911 event occur again on our shores. Should it include nuclear material or chemical or biological warfare, you may have to stay at home to be safe.

It is better to be prepared.

Clueless in Congress

As the only elected official to vote against a blanket resolution of resounding support for the third reactor at the Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant across the Patuxent River, I have questioned, "What does St. Mary’s County gain from this?"

We receive no power from the reactors who pump energy into the Baltimore metropolitan area. We generate no tax dollars, but hold as much liability as the potential radioactive plume area from an accident covers our County. Calvert County gets the cash cow and all we get is a truckload of evacuation route signs.

In addition to the threat of long-term health hazard, the thousands of building contractors moving into Southern Maryland to complete construction may be diverted into St. Mary’s County as Calvert County nears filling up it’s growth cap. This week, the St. Mary’s County Commissioners decided to cap St. Mary’s annual growth at less than two percent though this has to come back to us for final legislative approval.

Rather than moving hundreds of families across the overcrowded Thomas Johnson Bridge to impact our schools and tax dollars, I have recommended that the Calvert Cliffs facility adopt the "Live Where You Work" Smart Growth policy and locate worker housing on the two thousand acre property. The success of the Oak Ridge community in the WWII Manhatten Project can be summed up in two words, Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Last week, the St. Mary’s County Commissioners also forwarded legislation to allow St. Mary’s homeowners to erect residential wind turbines to power our homes with free energy. There is a growing movement in our County for energy independence. Unlike the Calvert County citizenry, many St. Mary’s County citizens wish to generate their own energy using free or renewable resources.

As we respond locally to changing energy markets, how do we feel when a majority of our Federal elected officials prefers to take a vacation rather than enacting real energy solutions?

It is a sad day in our Country when Hollywood celebrity Paris Hilton enunciates a national energy policy far superior to the rhetoric endorsed by our Democratic Senators and Representatives in Congress.

The cost of energy will come down as many energy sources are allowed to compete in a free market economy. Tapping our own resources and opening up the Federally suppressed energy technologies will cut the price of fossil fuel in half as people choose the free energy technologies as a better investment.

The Democrats in Congress promised another Manhatten Project. All we got was high priced fuel.

An Invitation to Learn

Now that Congress has gone on vacation without voting to approve offshore drilling, the Chinese can continue to pump from the Gulf of Mexico oil deposits that we could be using in this Country. No wonder they can afford to subsidize the tax rebate checks that are supposed to be boosting our economy.

Why would the Democrats oppose using our own resources when another country is drawing them down? The Arctic National Wildlife Reserve issue is also easy to solve. Just tap the Gull Island deposit in Alaska that is larger than the Saudi oil reserves. Why stick a straw into the smaller ANWR deposit? Sen. John McCain knows that.

At the same time, it is time to open up the suppressed energy technologies that both the Federal Government and the oil companies have conspired to keep from the public. Although the Japanese have developed a car slated for mass production that uses water for fuel, this technology has been invented by Americans and placed upon a black shelf.

Ironically, a car produced in India runs on air pressure, but our Department of Transportation will not allow it to be sold here for highway use (unless it has three wheels).

These are simple solutions that the Democrats could bring to the table that would allow more competition in the energy market. Free competition can bring down prices in the monopolized transportation market. Why not allow all energy technologies compete on an equal playing field? Would the Democrats support such a measure? Not in this Country.

With full control of Congress over the past two years, the Democrats have encouraged gasoline and diesel prices to double. No Senator or Congressman has brought new technology to the legislative process that can reduce our fuel costs.

It was a great honor to host the first Jarboe’s Mill alternative energy event last month. I have received many phone calls of gratitude for the open sourced information that was shown by inventors who wish to make our Country energy independent.

Each weekend since, I have hosted learning groups to help people find affordable alternatives to high priced fossil fuel products. You are welcome to come and learn with us. My cell phone number is 240-577-1240.

Sadly, Congress has abandoned the U.S. and us. We have no choice but to help ourselves.

Why is O’Malley Administration Encouraging

‘Buy Local’ but Shutting Down

Local Farmer’s Markets?

One of my favorite quotes from the Hogan’s Heroes TV series occurred whenever Sgt. Shultz witnessed something that was strange in the POW quarters. He would say, "I see nothing!"

A similar principle has been applied to the enlistment of homo-sexuals in the United States military services. Whether or not you agree or disagree, the "Don’t ask. Don’t tell" policy is a somewhat benign way to deal with a most difficult issue.

In our own County, past Health Department Directors Walter Raum, Dr. Bill Marek, and Dr. Ebenezer Israel used the "Let it be." approach when dealing with the sale of homemade baked goods, jams, jellies, and pickles at local farmers markets as well as school, Church, and non-profit bake sales.

After all, there are plenty of drunk drivers, rabid animals, disease bearing ticks and mosquitoes that are causing real health risks. Why raise a ruckus over food that has never caused a problem? That would be like going after America, mom, and apple pie.

So why is our St. Mary’s County Health Department now going after America, mom, and apple pie in their quest to impose strict State statutes on sales at our local farmers markets?

I asked present St. Mary’s Health Department Director Dr. William Icenhower during our Board of Health meeting when this policy change had taken place and he confirmed that it is a State Department of Hygiene and Mental Health initiative taking place within Governor Martin O’Malley’s administration.

Now that the Democrats have the Governor’s Mansion, majority representation in the Maryland legislature, and a majority of the St. Mary’s County Commissioner Board, they feel empowered to push the regulations to the limit on many of the most quiet, non-offensive people who inhabit this world. In their oppressive minds, a farm wife selling her homemade pickles or a Church volunteer baking a pumpkin pie need strict oversight and inspection of their home kitchen facilities.

It is bad enough that our Federal agencies economically devastated hundreds of tomato farmers over real Salmonella cases that were not caused by tomatoes. Now, our Maryland Blue State DHMH bureaucrats are out to clean up health problems that have not occurred. Baked goods, jams, jellies, and pickle products that are labeled homemade are not expected by consumers to be inspected by the health agencies. Otherwise, they would not be sold as homemade.

If the State health department wants to find a real illegal problem that is impacting the health and quality of life for law abiding Americans, there are twelve million illegal aliens to seek out and quarantine.

The St. Mary’s County Health Department is holding a public meeting at the Charlotte Hall Library Meeting Room on Wednesday, July 30 from 6:00-7:30 P.M. to provide information about safe food handling for the summer market season. This is a good time for us to question why the O’Malley administration is so intent on changing health policy that has served us well for generations.

Come early to get a seat.

Now that I have a working radio in my car, I enjoy listening to the diverse opinions offered by the National Public Radio programs. Last week, I heard a health specialist explain the reason why so many more people today suffer from allergies. Our immune systems have been weakened due to improved hygiene.

Yes, the recommended hand washing with germ killing soaps, chlorinated water, frequent use of antibiotics, and other measures designed to protect public health is actually giving our immune systems so little to do that they are now adjusting to attack the foods we eat. The government’s idea of good health is killing us.

Now, that we have become a Democratically controlled "Blue State" on both County and State levels. The health departments and Department of Agriculture are preparing to mount a campaign against the old fashioned baked and pickled goods produced by the Amish and Mennonite communities that can be found in our farmers’ markets in Southern Maryland. Also, natural chicken eggs are verboten in this Third Reich blitzkrieg that is being organized against our local farming community.

Though there is not a single documented case of health problem in Southern Maryland, the scenario that someone might be hurt consuming goods made with shallow well water or limited refrigeration is enough to shut down a whole sector of our economy that is noted for a healthy lifestyle. How did mankind survive for millions of years without chlorinated water and electric refrigeration?

Rather than focusing on real problems like the eradication of deer ticks that cause Lyme Disease or lobbying for stronger prosecution of drunk and drugged drivers who are actually killing people, our Democratically appointed bureaucrats are determined to wage war against the peace loving people who keep our land working without receiving millions of dollars in subsidy from agricultural preservation programs.

In the past, there has been a Republican majority on the County boards upon which I have served so there was no overwhelming threat to our Southern Maryland farming community. Now, with the Democrats firmly in control, there is a very real likelihood that the Amish and Mennonite communities will be driven from their working farms by economic sanctions enforced by the State and local health departments.

In their place will be new developments that promote P.G. County style development. This is the real agenda. The list of developer funded campaign contributions to Southern Maryland Democratic politicians provides overwhelming evidence.

As the lone nay vote on the St. Mary’s Board of County Commissioners against higher property taxes and increased bureaucracy, I need your help to build a grassroots effort to return the power to the people of Southern Maryland where it belongs.

Next weekend, I am hosting an alternative energy and health expo on the historic Jarboe’s Mill property beside the farmers’ flea market in Charlotte Hall. This is a free event that you are welcome to come or demo unique fuel saving inventions that will improve your quality of life and generate savings for your economic benefit.

There is an agenda posted in this edition of ST. MARYS TODAY. I hope you will clip it out and share it with your network of friends and family before posting it on the refrigerator as a gentle reminder of this important event.

Southern Maryland can be a place where natural farm products and clean renewable energy sustain a healthy local population. Or, we can be absorbed by the one party politics and governmental domination that P.G County is noted for.

Like the lone Dutch Boy, I cannot hold my finger in the dyke much longer. I need your help. See you June 28-29 if you still care about what’s left in your wallet.

A few weeks ago, the St. Mary’s Board of County Commissioners reviewed changes to the plumbing code. Adoption of the newer 2006 National plumbing and gas codes was a logical request. However, the additional testing of homeowners who wish to do their own plumbing was a real problem for this commissioner.

Following the public hearing process that received support from some local plumbers to make homeowners test to do plumbing work in their own homes, the issue came to be settled at our table this week.

All of the commissioners supported upgrading the code to modern specs. None of us wanted to require homeowners to test to do their own work. There are very few jurisdictions across our Country that are so anti-property rights. Even two-thirds of Maryland Counties have no such onerous requirement.

Commissioners Mattingly and Raley wanted people to register their personal plumbing work in their kitchens, basements, and bathrooms with Land Use and Growth Management

Using the analogy that was presented by Code Inspector Adam Knight during the public hearing, a homeowner who installed a bidet for his wife would have to drive to Leonardtown and register that installation with the County. This action would also help alleviate the use of non-licensed plumbers who are working illegally in St. Mary’s County.

Commissioners Russell and Dement agreed with me that the County does not need to inspect or register your personal plumbing work. If people choose to hire non-certified plumbers to work illegally, they are responsible for their own lack of judgment. Requiring people to register their personal plumbing as a form of protectionism for local plumbers will not work. A non-certified plumber will not certify his work if he is doing it illegally.

In St. Mary’s County today, you are still welcome to do your own home plumbing repairs in your own residence without having to spend many dollars in fuel to drive to Leonardtown to announce to the world that you are installing a bidet in your bathroom.

For the time being, there are no inspectors going to sniff around your toilet or register your personal plumbing.

As important as the people who volunteer to serve on our fire departments and rescue squads are the people who support these organizations. The Ladies Auxiliary of the Southern Maryland Fireman’s Association held their annual dinner last Saturday night in the Seventh District to install their new officers.

Barbara Sue Nelson from the Seventh District will take over the president’s gavel from Bonnie Quade, another resident of the Seventh District, who is the only woman who has served two non-consecutive terms in this organization. However, five other women have served two consecutive terms including Barbara McWilliams who also lives in the Seventh District.

Though Johnnie Rivers may have sung about the virtues of the "Seventh Son", these daughters of the Seventh District deserve special recognition and thanks for their regional efforts.

As a long-term member of Tri-County Council having served a single term as president, I am well aware of the need to work together on regional issues for the combined benefit of Southern Maryland.

The decision of the Charles County Commissioners to move the regional baseball stadium from Hughesville to the Waldorf area may have been a parochially motivated decision, but the move away from a central area in the Southern Maryland region may have well reduced attendance from Calvert and St. Mary’s Counties.

Now, the Charles County Commissioners are looking to rezone heavy industry into this quiet town that is presently reminiscent of a Rod Serling episode.

The bigger picture should include a larger vision of Hughesville. The planned employment residential center across from the Harley motorcycle dealership that is called Hughesville Station should include a regional park n’ ride facility that ties the train tracks with commuter busing to provide a transportation center as well.

With MARC train service serving commuter needs and tourism opportunities, heavy truck traffic at the Calvert side town entrance might not serve most value for the long term economic viability of the town.

The possible vindictive desire of the invincible Charles County Commissioners to tweak the activists who lobbied against the stadium by rezoning heavy industry beyond Comprehensive Plan review could provide a windfall for St. Mary’s County as Southern Marylanders and visitors seek out the Mother County for peace and solace. Why make the town suffer when the Charles County Commissioners made the official decision to move the stadium?

Ultimately, we will see if Governor O’Malley and his fellow elected cohorts will fulfill their promise made upon the working railroad tracks in Charles County to bring passenger train service to Southern Maryland.

Time will tell if a passenger train or gravel trucks are a greater priority for these politicians who govern the town of Hughesville.