The County Times
Wednesday, December 9, 2010
8
ews Christmas Wishes Come True For Hundreds of Children By Sean Rice Editor For the third consecutive year, Lexington Park Elementary School hosted its “Cherish The Children” event last Saturday morning – providing free holiday gifts for hundreds of children and their families. Cherish The Children, started by Principal Susie Fowler, gives neighborhood families in need an opportunity to fill their Christmas wish lists with free clothes and toys – many of which are brand new. “The really nice thing is the community, both here in Lexington Park and throughout St. Mary’s County, and friends of friends. We’ve collected over $4,000 in cash this year,” Fowler said during the event at the school. “And probably another couple thousand dollars worth of brand new items that we’re giving away.” At 9 a.m. Saturday the event began, with about 35 people waiting on line for the doors to open. Families entered the school cafeteria to find dozens of table of items available. A free raffle system is used to distribute the brand new toys. This year, about 15 members of Cornerstone Presbyterian Church joined school volunteers to staff the event. The church, which also provided cash and new toys, manned the giftwrapping station. “One of the great things about this effort is that there are lots of people in the community who want to help, and lots of the people in the community who need help, and connecting
them is sometimes kind of hard,” Fowler said. “What this does is it provides a vehicle for making that connection,” she said. “So folks know that if they are donating to Lexington Park Elementary, that we have literally 300 children living at or below the poverty line whose families need help.” Among the new items raffled off were 30 new bikes, dollhouses, wagons, a kitchen set and other items. All told, more than 75 families took advantage of the event, and a list of businesses and churches helped. Closer to Christmas, the school will be doing gift dinner baskets for about 20 families, which includes a complete meal for a family that just needs to be taken home and cooked.
Delonte Bowman, 6th grader at Spring Ridge Middle School waits as his presents are wrapped by Holly McAteer, volunteer with Cornerstone Presbyterian Church.
Fowler said school officials will select the families to receive the dinner baskets based on knowledge about which families have the greatest needs. “If the community continues to respond we will be able to continuously to grow this each year,” Fowler said. “It’s just wonderful.” seanrice@countytimes.net
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Funds Available for Employee Training The Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation Division of Workforce Development is offering a program to support existing Maryland businesses in the retention and growth of their workforce. The state has been awarded $1 million of incentive grant funds under the Workforce Investment Act earmarked for training incumbent workers.
The employer-based training projects are targeted for small businesses and specific demand occupations requiring a $1 for $1 match from the employer. For more information and eligibility contact George Clark, Business Service Representative for St. Mary’s County, Tri-County Council for Southern Maryland, at 240-412-3602 or email gclark@tccsmd.org
Commissioners Mull MetCom Ethics Issue By Guy Leonard Staff Writer The new Board of County Commissioners will take up whether to support state legislation that would put more controls over the operations of the Metropolitan Commission (MetCom), the county’s water and sewer authority, with one of the most sensitive issues being whether the agency should be brought under the county’s ethics code. MetCom board members did not speak on the issue at Tuesday night’s public forum, the first for the newly elected commissioners, but have opposed the push to have them abide by county ethics rules. One reason for their position, they have said, is that it could cause the director, Jacquelyn Meiser, who also acts as general counsel and holds a private law practice, to vacate her position. The county ethics law prevents county officials from representing private citizens before a county agency. The commissioner board will also decide to support legislation at the state level that would separate the director and general coun-
sel positions at MetCom. Commissioner President Francis Jack Russell said that the commissioner board would likely come to decision on the legislative packet by Dec. 21, but he said he personally supported putting MetCom under the county ethics ordinance. Earlier that day, both he and Commissioner Lawrence D. Jarboe questioned MetCom over their asking county government to back MetCom borrowing plans, though they resisted the county’s ethics rules. “If they’re working in St. Mary’s County they should follow the St. Mary’s County ethics rules,” Russell said in a Wednesday interview. “I don’t see where they’re any different than any of us.” Ben Burroughs, a Mechanicsville shopping center owner and businessman, said that the county should be cautious in pressing MetCom leadership over changing their operating plans because Meiser’s leadership has been effective. “She’s doing a fine job, she’s a great asset,” Burroughs said. guyleonard@countytimes.net