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ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS MIX ART, SCIENCE & STURGEON

Did you know there’s an enormous, ancient, endangered fish swimming throughout the Chesapeake Bay? If not, the third- and fourth-grade students at Choptank Elementary School have a lot to tell you!

Over the winter, students gathered with school staff and community partners to install a mural celebrating this fish—the Atlantic sturgeon—as the culmination of a yearlong project led by ShoreRivers as part of its Sturgeon Discovery Program.

Crystal Owens, the third-grade science and social studies teacher at Choptank Elementary, was the brains behind this project, combining the needs of the school beautification committee with a desire to amplify student voice.

“My hope is that our students and community are more aware of the amazing wildlife we have living right next to us,” Owens said. “Through our partnership with Shore Rivers, students are learning to educate their community and promote healthy living environments for animals and people alike.”

Nationally-renowned local artist Shelton Hawkins led the design and installation of the mural, compiling students’ own works of art into a large, flowing piece that now decorates the school hallways and gives everyone who walks by a lesson on what the Atlantic sturgeon looks like.

“I think it’s really cool that we took the students’ actual drawings and put them together inside our own little fish river … [I] loved the way it turned out,” Hawkins, who has primarily installed murals on basketball courts. “Seeing the kids’ [smiling] faces was the best part.”

The ShoreRivers Sturgeon Discovery program is a Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience that is a part of every third-grade class in Dorchester and Talbot counties. The program was designed to support students in investigating local environmental issues like water quality, pollution and runoff, and endangered species, all through the lens of the Atlantic sturgeon. Healthy, fishable, swimmable waterways will not be possible without the next generation of clean water enthusiasts, so ShoreRivers strives to encourage in students an appreciation for our environment and a dedication to making a difference.

“Even third graders can do their part to foster healthy habitats and show support for our local waterways and the Chesapeake Bay,” said Owens of the stewardship her students demonstrate.

This project was made possible with funding from the Dorchester Center for the Arts and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Bay Watershed Education and Training program. Special thanks go to Principal Laretha Payton, Crystal Owens, Shelton Hawkins, Devon Beck, Sam Peterson, and the faculty of Choptank Elementary School for their dedication to student learning, voice, and stewardship.

CBMM’s Rising Tide program celebrates St. Michaels scow launch

With a collective push, a group of middle school students from the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum’s Rising Tide after-school program trundled the St. Michaels sailing scow they’ve spent the spring constructing onto the water for the first time on Monday evening.

The 12-foot wooden boat, dubbed Pickle by a consensus vote of the builders, launched into Fogg’s Cove to spirited cheers from the assembled group of family, friends and program supporters.

“It’s fun because you get to see all the stuff that you worked on, and then it’s finally done,” said seventh-grader Sofia Mercado, after taking her turn to get a short ride in the boat. “It’s fun to make something and see it turn out well.”

Monday’s launch event, including an awards presentation and pickle juice toast, was a well-deserved celebration of months of hard work on the project.

Meeting on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, a total of 19 middle school students logged a combined 630 hours toward the project this spring, following Shipwright Apprentice Megan Mitchell’s project plan with support from CBMM education staff and volunteers.

The scow build capped a busy and productive school year for Rising Tide, a free, donor-funded after-school program that has been teaching students in grades 6-9 basic boatbuilding and woodworking skills in a welcoming, relaxed environment since 2015.

“It’s been an incredible experience to see the Rising Tide participants take ownership of this project over the last few months,” CBMM Education Programs Manager Kendall Wallace said. “I hope this project will help to reinforce the ideas that anything is possible if you’re willing to try, and that patience and commitment can result in something to be incredibly proud of.

“I’m constantly inspired by the work they’ve put into this boat, which they can forever point to and say, ‘I built that.’”

Beginning in January, the Rising Tide students contributed to nearly every step in the process to bring the boat to life in the program workshop.

The project started by studying original plans in CBMM’s collection, drafted in 1929 for the Miles River Yacht Club by George Krill, to draw information about the boat’s shape and size and making a building plan for the molds to set the vessel’s structure.

Once construction commenced, the task list included assisting with milling lumber, scarfing planks, and transferring patterns from the lofting to the building stock. They were involved with the gluing up and shaping the mast and boom, crafting and installing all of the components, and painting the vessel, as well.

Each day brought new lessons for the students, ranging from wood species selection to proper use of block planes to the fine art of varnishing. One memorable February afternoon brought a field trip to the newly renovated Norman & Ellen Plummer Center for Museum Collections to examine a sail in the CBMM collection that was originally built for a St. Michaels scow.

The result was Pickle, which sparkled in the evening sun on Monday with its bright-white hull and green trim. It was the first boat built by the program since launching a pair of Chesapeake crab skiffs, Mary and Susan, in 2018.

Eighth-grader Mac Hudson said his favorite parts were learning the history of the boat and using a hand plane to shape it, while his brother Oskar, a sixth grader, liked getting to visit CBMM’s working Shipyard and the teamwork necessary to get the boat completed.

“We all worked together,” Mac Hudson said. “It’s cool that we got to help make it, and now it’s an actual boat that we can take on the water.”

For Mitchell, the build served as a capstone project of sorts in her final year of CBMM’s Shipwright Apprentice Program. She agreed to take on the project in December and quickly found it a mix of fun and challenging.

“We’ve learned a lot from the project about what is necessary to complete a project like this with a build philosophy that the kids are helping in a meaningful way,” Mitchell said. “That’s so important. We want them to be involved. If they’re just occasionally rubbing sandpaper on the boat, that’s not meaningful and that’s not building skills for them.”

Beyond the chance to teach her craft to the next generation, Mitchell found it meaningful to take a step back in time to complete a classic design with a distinctly local history. 

True to its name, the scow is a St. Michaels original, serving as the racing class of the Miles River Yacht Club in the 1920s and ’30s. One of the few surviving examples is in CBMM’s collection and will be featured in the new watercraft heritage exhibition in the new Welcome Center.

This is likely the first one to be built in town in decades.

“It has been very a cool project to be a part of,” Mitchell said. “The Chesapeake produces a lot of very strange styles of boat that are easily replaced by mass-produced, more-generalized designs, but sometimes having this specific design for this very specific place is an extremely valuable thing.”

“It’s one of the things I love most about CBMM and its programs. Here, we don’t shy away from that specificity.”

Monday’s launch marked the end of spring programming but certainly not the workshop fun for the students involved. Many of them will take part in CBMM’s Summer Camp in the coming weeks, and Rising Tide will resume in the fall with a new, yet-to-be-determined project to tackle.

Wallace is eager to make sure it’s something that will allow the students to build on the hands-on skills that they’ve practiced this spring and the camaraderie the group developed along the way.

“I don’t want you to forget the less technical skills that we practiced every day,” Wallace told the assembled group Monday. “We worked as a team, we practiced patience and understanding, we faced our mistakes when we made them, and we figured out how to do something that I don’t think any of us had ever done before.”

For more information on CBMM’s Rising Tide program, visit cbmm.org/youtheducation or email risingtide@cbmm.org.

Group of the Month- Tides of Grace

It was Christmas Time during the pandemic and local Leanne Rhodes was trying to get rid of some of her son’s unused toys. She put up an ad online saying they were free, and a woman came to pick them up. As Leanne was helping the woman load her car, she broke down crying. She told Leanne that she and her husband had lost their jobs because of the pandemic, and that the only way to give their son Christmas was by giving them rewrapped donated gifts.

 This encounter inspired Leanne to get together with some friends and put together a toy drive to help families in need. That year they had over 100 people come out. They did it again the next year and had 200 people. This most recent year they had 400 people come out. The success of this yearly drive innspired Leanne to create a full fledged non-profit, which she named “Tides of Grace” to give needed items and services to the community on a monthly basis. Every month they pick a different item or service like prom dresses or shoes and collect the items to give back to the community.

The items they giveaway aren’t just for low income families, but anyone who could use a little help. Leanne herself recently was in a position of need: four years ago when her son was born he was diagnosed with stage four cancer. “I wasn’t low-income,” Leanne explained to me, “but I was paralyzed with emotions, I didn’t have the brain capacity to do lots of things…somebody offered to take family pictures for Christmas for us and it was a huge stress off our shoulders.” In June, Tides of Grace will have a wedding photographer to take pictures of expecting mothers while giving away items for new parents.

In April, Leanne was invited to attend a Power of 100 meeting. The date of the event was her daughter’s 17th birthday. “I originally wasn’t going to go,” Leanne explained to me, “but I just felt this whisper in my heart and I decided I was going to go. I didn’t know the reason but I knew I was supposed to be there.” Leanne didn’t go expecting to receive Power of 100’s grant, thinking she would just network with local women. “My non-profit was so new…I felt like a tadpole in a big pond,” Leanne joked. Upon receiving the grant Leanne was  awestruck, “I’m not one to cry but I cried my eyes out…I had been worried about paying for storage and this was such a blessing.”

Leanne says the XXX grant they received has been a huge help. She used part of the money to pay rent on the space where they store the donations they receive.She used the rest of the money to buy a trailer to transport the items, which before would require as many as ten cars to get from place to place.

On Tides of Grace’s Facebook page you can see what items they’re giving away by month. They accept donations for the items a month before. In June they are doing items for new parents, in July they are doing free haircuts and in August they’re giving away book bags and school items. They take donations Monday through Friday at 121 East Main Street in downtown Stevensville. If you are interested in volunteering  you can contact them at tidesofgraceinc@gmail.com. Finally, you can donate to them directly by clicking on the zeffy link on their Facebook page. 

History Makers- Mary Margaret Revell Goodwin 

Mary Margaret had always been rebellious. Without shame she told me that she was a problem child. “From the beginning, no one could stop me from getting into trouble and causing mischief. I was always doing things that I wasn’t supposed to – sometimes things that were dangerous – but that’s just who I was.” Mary Margaret, ever the trouble maker, was kicked out of two private Catholic schools before reaching adulthood. In her younger years she heard about a woman who swam across the entirety of Lake Tahoe. She dreamed of one day completing one of these long distance swims herself.

     As a child in the 1930’s, Mary Margaret contracted polio along with her sister and cousin. The polio spread to her cousin’s lungs, and he passed away. Mary Margaret survived, but developed long term pain in her legs and problems bending her knee. Eventually, she got permission from her doctor to improve her leg strength through swimming. Living in Los Angeles at the time, Mary Margaret got permission from the manager of the famous Roosevelt Hotel to do leg exercises in their pool to improve her leg.

     Mary Margaret spent hours a day in the pool. At first she just walked in the water, putting pressure on her damaged leg. Soon, she was swimming laps in the pool for hours on end. Just as important as saving her leg, Mary Margaret realized she was capable of swimming for long periods of time, even hours, without stopping. Recognizing she had this skill brought Mary Margaret one step closer to becoming a long distance athlete.

     Within a year Mary Margaret would attempt her first long distance swim. This first trial was from Malibu to Santa Monica, a dozen-plus mile swim, which she says was a “piece of cake.”  Next she set her sights on something a little more difficult, The Catalina Channel, a 25 mile stretch of water separating Catalina Island from mainland California. The location is an important site for long distance endurance swimming and is now one of three parts of the long distance “Triple Crown of Open Waters” swimming challenge. On top of its long length, the 25 mile stretch is filled with strong currents.

     Mary Margaret was supposed to complete the long swim following a guide boat. An hour into the swim, she realized that she was not following the guide boat, but a different boat off the coast. Mary Margaret’s goal quickly changed from “Swim the Channel” to “find the shore.” Eventually, she swam to the shore and stumbled into a field filled with weeds and tumbleweeds. She walked until she found a farmhouse and knocked on the door in the middle of the night. At that point Mary Margaret was a missing person, and there was a search on for her.

     Getting lost at sea didn’t stop Mary Margaret’s desire for adventure. Soon after, she traveled to Europe to complete swims there. She did famous long distance swims like the Strait of Gibraltar and the Bosphorus Strait, the latter of which is considered to be the birthplace of long distance swimming. Having completed these feats, Mary Margaret would retire from swimming to work in the Pentagon.

     A few decades later, Mary Margaret felt called back to long distance sports; this time she would become a runner. She retired from her job and got to training. She wanted to receive a sponsorship to run internationally, and to get the sponsor she started in the U.S. She ran from Los Angeles to Lake Meade, a 200 plus mile run, or nearly ten marathons in a row.

     For her first big international run, Mary Margaret wanted to run the entirety of Japan. She was able to secure a sponsorship with Lee Iacocca, an automobile CEO. She ran the entire country from north to south in a little over 60 days. She was the first woman and the first American to run the entirety of the country. Soon after, she would run the Himalayas. Located between India and Nepal, the Himalayas were incredibly remote, and at night she was covered in complete darkness. To make matters worse, temperatures on the run ranged from freezing cold to over 100 degrees fahrenheit. She would be the first American female to complete the difficult run.

     A history maker herself, Mary Margaret would later become a historian when she settled down in our Centreville. She says her love of local history began with an interest in old local buildings and architecture. A few years back, she was named County Historian for Queen Anne’s County. It’s truly incredible how much history Mary Margaret made around the world.

Read our in-depth piece on Mary Margaret Revell Goodwin’s accomplishments online here: https://issuu.com/theshoreupdate/docs/making_history

Best Liquor Store- The Winery

We’re still celebrating all the local businesses you voted the best! This month we’re highlighting The Winery on Kent Island, which you voted Best Liquor Store and Best Boss. We talked to owner Jennifer DiDonato to learn a more about their new drinks, their delivery service and more! 

One of the unique things you all do is tastings. How do you choose what you use for tastings? Do you have any coming up?

We do beer tastings every Thursday from 4-7pm and wine tastings every Friday from 4-7pm. Typically we choose new products to taste or something that goes along with the season or a holiday. Occasionally we will taste new spirits. We have a GREAT Elijah Craig 10 year Winery Barrel Pick tasting coming up on Friday, June 9th from 4-7pm. We also will have a custom engraver there that night engraving the Elijah Craig bottles. They make a wonderful Father’s Day gift!


Any new products that you recently started stocking?

We’ve got many new additions to our 90+ Wine Section. So many, in fact, that we recently expanded this section in our store. Every wine in this section has been rated at least 90 Points by a wine expert. Each bottle is labeled with the rating and a detailed description of the wine. It’s really a GREAT place for customers to expand their knowledge of wine. 

Do you have a personal favorite of the products you offer?

Well, I always tease that I have the best “research & development” job ever. I get to taste almost all of our new products! Right now I’m hooked on Cava’s (Spanish sparkling wines) because I just recently visited Spain, but I’m also a fan of the new High Noon Tequila Seltzers that recently came in. They will probably be my summer go-to. 

Deliveries are a really unique service that you offer; how does it work? What inspired you to do deliveries?

We have been delivering for quite a few years for large parties, weddings, graduations, etc. But our delivery service really started taking off during and after COVID. Many customers really seem to enjoy being able to place their order online and then either pick it up curbside or have us deliver it to their home. You can find out the details and place an order on our website: www.thewineryki.com

Are there any women who inspire you? 

Women who are able to balance being a wife, a mother, and working or especially owning their own business inspire me. Maintaining that balance is extremely challenging, and I am in awe of those who do it so well. I myself work at getting better at it every day.

I am also inspired by women who are active in volunteering and charity organizations. I am proud to serve on the board of Bosom Buddies Charities with some fantastic women that I am fortunate to call my friends. There are so many wonderful organizations in our county, and I would encourage your readers to get involved. It’s truly so rewarding to give-back to the community. 

What led you to joining the Power of 100: Chesapeake Women Who Care?

I was invited to join Power of 100 by a dear friend of mine who is one of those women who continues to inspire me every day. I have enjoyed networking at the meetings and learning about some very worthy causes. It’s a very simple way to make a BIG IMPACT locally. Again, I encourage your readers to join the group.


If you would like to learn more about The Winery you can go to their website here: https://thewineryki.com/. There you can see new arrivals, schedule a delivery and more! 

Father’s Day weekend brings Antique & Classic Boat Festival and Coastal Arts Fair back to CBMM

ST. MICHAELS, Md., May 16, 2023 – Wooden and fiberglass classics, vintage racers, and other antique boats return to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum from June 16-18 for the 35th Antique & Classic Boat Festival and Coastal Arts Fair.

Hosted by the Chesapeake Bay Chapter of the Antique & Classic Boat Society, this Father’s Day weekend tradition is one of the largest classic boat shows in the Mid-Atlantic region and annually brings a sense of nostalgia to the Miles River and CBMM’s waterfront campus.

The festival runs from 10am-5pm on Friday and Saturday and 10am-3pm on Sunday. For advance tickets and more information, visit cbmm.org/antiqueandclassic.

In addition to the wide range of vessels on display representing a multitude of makers and eras, the Antique & Classic Boat Festival is accompanied by a juried Coastal Arts Fair showcasing vendors whose products, services, and art represent boats, the water, and coastal life.

Driven by the Antique & Classic Boat Society – Chesapeake Bay Chapter’s mission of continuing the legacy of these venerable vessels through preservation, restoration and education, the festival will feature a lineup of 10 seminars on Friday and Saturday highlighting experts, historians, and authors. Other festival highlights include a Field of Dreams for those looking to buy, boat rides, a nautical flea market, and a children’s scavenger hunt, as well as a DJ spinning classic tunes.

This three-day celebration of the past, present, and future of antique and classic boating invites guests to take a step back in time.

Builders represented at the festival typically include Chris-Craft, Lyman, Gar Wood, Elco, Thompson, Trumpy, Owens, Egg Harbor, and other great classic marques. Owners of boats in all phases of restoration in the following classes are expected to participate, as part of a varied collection featuring historic (up to 1918), antique (1919-1942), classic (1943-1975), late classic (1976-1997), and contemporary (any wooden boat built within the last 25 years) examples.

This year’s festival highlights the theme of “Show Us Your First Love,” inviting boat owners to display their boats and share stories about what first launched them on their lifelong love of classic and antique boats.

Two-day admission to the Antique & Classic Boat Festival is $19 for adults; $16 for seniors (65+), college students with ID, and retired military with ID; $7 for active military with ID, CBMM members, and children 6–17; and free for children 5 and younger.

In addition to advanced sales online for Friday/Saturday and Saturday/Sunday, tickets will be available at CBMM throughout the festival. No single-day tickets will be sold to this rain or shine event.

Additional free event parking for Saturday’s festivities will be available at St. Michaels Middle/High School, with a complimentary shuttle service to and from CBMM.

For safety reasons, non-service dogs need to be kept home during CBMM festivals, including the Antique & Classic Boat Festival and Coastal Arts Fair. Carry-on alcohol from dock or land is prohibited.

Character Counts! Volunteers Make a Positive Impact on QAC Youth

For twenty-three years in Queen Anne’s County, the Character Counts! Initiative has worked to increase character education by offering resources, training, and information about the Six Pillars of Character: Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring and Citizenship. The initiative has consistently shown increases in student attendance, academic achievement, positive behavior choices, and a more positive sense of self and future. 

All school year, volunteer character coaches have been visiting local classrooms to share lessons on the Commissioner proclaimed, “Pillar of the Month”. This year, the program had 69 coaches that volunteered in 110 classrooms. In recent years the program focused on elementary students. However, this year a pilot program found great success at Stevensville Middle School.

Training to become a coach will happen this August and September. Volunteers only need to commit to less than an hour a month, which works out to two 15-minute lessons a month. If you would like to participate, visit https://www.growinguppositive.org/contact-us to learn more.

As the school year winds down, please join us in thanking our coaches for making a positive impact on the youth in Queen Anne’s County!

Kelsie Hart

Jarnell Foster

Kerry Harris  

Patti Ruocco  

Amanda Fasig

Terri Paddy    

Jennifer Vann

John Daniel    

Rick Caporin 

Jody Simmons

Carla Pullen   

Debra Hopkins           

Robyn Affron

Shawna Payne            

Christina Funk

Andrea Jarrard

Carrie Comegys         

Rhonda Knotts           

Lance Richardson      

Fred Sherriff  

Linda Culp     

Leigh Darrell (Dillon)

Erin Baker     

Melissa Rochester     

Erin Schweinsburg    

Kelly Huber   

Catherine Gustafson  

Chris Perkins 

Abbie Smith  

Patricia Kenneally     

Lyn Smith      

Marci Robertson        

Kristin Meise 

Emily Hubis               

April Marrazzo          

Anna Ratel     

Brittany Augustyniak

Courtney Mourlas     

Rebecca (Becca) Verbos

Jessica Alvarez          

Jena Anthony 

Susan Klepper

Lara Schroeder          

Rick Caporin 

Mike Clark     

Sam Stanton  

Fred McNeil  

Lona Sue Todd          

Hannah Parks 

Mollie Flounlacker    

Ashley Luecking       

Jay Kenty       

Chad Yancey 

Jodi Peria       

Arielle Huettner         

Amber Bowles           

Brett Wishart 

Jeannie Monroe         

Carolyn Walls

Martha Anthony        

Lisa Walls     

Lauren Ostrowski      

Amy Guercio 

Brianna (Bree) Lentell

Leslie O’Flahavan      

Sara Campbell

Jay Walls       

Denise Jones  

Courtney Sabol          

Connie Dean  

Queen Anne’s County Annual Fireworks set for July 4th

Queen Anne’s County Annual Fireworks is scheduled for July 4, 2023. The fireworks will be set off from the same location as years past so they can be viewed from the Kent Narrows and surrounding area. Due to the site improvements being done at the Chesapeake Heritage and Visitors Center the celebration has moved to the parking area of the “old outlets” 59 Piney Narrows Road.

When: Tuesday, July 4, 2023, with a rain date of Wednesday, July 5, 2023 

Time: Parking/ Event area opens at 5:00 pm, Fireworks at 9:20 pm

Food: Food trucks will be available with food to purchase.

Entertainment: There will be a DJ on site to provide music to those that would like to celebrate with us at 59 Piney Narrows Road.

Parking/ Event location: Free parking at the “old outlets” 59 Piney Narrows Road in Chester at 5:30pm *handicap parking is available

Closures: As a reminder the Chesapeake Heritage and Visitors Center and Ferry Point Park are currently closed for site improvements.

Piney Narrows Road will be blocked just past the old outlets by 5:00 pm on July 4th.  Residents from Piney Narrows and their guests will be allowed through. All others will need to park at the “Old Outlets” parking lot. For questions email: bmalasky@qac.org

The Queen Anne’s County Office of the Sheriff will have multiple detours in place, for more information visit their website at queenannessheriff.org.

For the latest information on our Annual Fireworks, visit qac.org and search Annual Fireworks or follow us on social media @QACGOV or @QACParksNRec for traffic information follow @QACSO

SWIMMABLE SHORERIVERS PROGRAM RETURNS, EXPANDS ACCESS TO RESULTS

ShoreRivers is pleased to announce that not only will its Swimmable ShoreRivers bacteria testing program begin Thursday, May 25, but that weekly results from this annual program will be available this year in both English and Spanish.

Every summer, ShoreRivers deploys a team of community scientists to monitor bacteria levels at popular swimming and boating sites to provide important human health risk information to the public. Their samples are then processed, according to standard scientific protocols, in ShoreRivers in-house labs. The program follows the Environmental Protection Agency’s standard protocols for collecting and analyzing samples and makes public the results of that testing to let people know about current bacteria levels as they make their plans for recreating in our waterways. Results are posted every Friday, between Memorial Day and Labor Day, at shorerivers.org/swim and on both the organization’s and its individual Riverkeepers’ social media pages.

A second page, shorerivers.org/swimmable-shorerivers-espanol, has been set up to share this program with the Spanish-speaking community, and 14 signs can be found at public sites around the Eastern Shore that explain the goals of the Swimmable ShoreRivers program and show users where to find weekly results in both English and Spanish. These signs were made possible thanks to funding from the Cornell Douglas Foundation, and ShoreRivers’ Riverkeepers will continue working throughout the season with local county officials to install more. Want to see one at your favorite local landing? Reach out to your Riverkeeper about adding a site, and talk to your county officials about installing one of these free and informative signs.

Weekly results are also shared on theswimguide.org, where descriptions of testing sites have also been added in both languages.

“At ShoreRivers, we believe that access to clean water is an essential right for all of our communities,” said Chester Riverkeeper Annie Richards. “It was important to us to be able to offer informational access to more of our community, and we hope to continue expanding this access in the future.”

This public service provided by ShoreRivers truly is a community effort: this summer, 61 SwimTesters will monitor 46 sites on the Choptank, Miles, Wye, Chester, and Sassafras rivers; Eastern Bay; and the Bayside Creeks. Special thanks go to our generous site sponsors, who include towns, marinas, homeowner’s associations, and families.

Bacteria levels in our rivers and tributaries vary based on location, land use, and weather—making systematic, scientific analysis of local water quality vital. Major rain events are almost always connected to spikes in bacteria levels, and outgoing tides have a higher probability of carrying bacteria pollution. Potential chronic sources of bacteria include failing septic systems, overflows or leaks from wastewater treatment plants, waste from animal farms, or manure fertilizer.

Also returning for the 2023 season is ShoreRivers’ Pumpout Boat, which begins running during Memorial Day weekend. The Pumpout Boat is a free service offered on the Miles and Wye rivers, that docks at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels and operates from May to mid-October. With your help, this boat will help prevent more than 20,000 gallons of concentrated marine waste from entering our waters annually. To schedule a pump-out, contact Captain Jim Freeman at 410-829-4352, on VHF Channel 9, email POBCaptJim@gmail.com, or by using the form at shorerivers.org/programs/pumpout-boat.

Gunston Seniors Honored in National Merit Scholarship Program

Centreville, MD – The Gunston School is pleased to announce that three members of the graduating class of 2023 have earned recognition from the National Merit Scholarship Program. Nicholas (Nick) Abell of Crownsville, Md., and Damian René of Easton, Md., received commendations, an acknowledgement given to students who participate in the program and demonstrate exceptional academic ability, recognizing their outstanding performance.

Additionally, Zacharia (Zach) Mozher of Middletown, Del., was named a National Merit finalist, a prestigious designation that places him among the top 15,000 students in the country, representing less than one percent of high school seniors.

The National Merit Scholarship Program is an annual competition that honors academically gifted students across the United States. It recognizes students who have demonstrated exceptional performance on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) and have exhibited remarkable potential for future success.

Nick is headed to Furman University to study mathematics, Zach is headed to Princeton University to study medicine, and Damian René is headed to Swarthmore College to study computer science and cognitive science.

Founded in 1911, The Gunston School is an independent, nonprofit, nonsectarian, coeducational, college preparatory high school located in Centreville, Maryland. Visit gunston.org for more information. 

Chesapeake Music Brings Jazz Artist Mary Halvorson to the Eastern Shore  

Chesapeake Music is thrilled to present international performing guitarist and composer Mary Halvorsonwinner ofmultiple DownBeat magazine critics poll awards and MacArthur Foundation “genius grant” fellow. Halvorson will be appearing with her Amaryllis sextet on Friday, July 7, 2023, at the Ebenezer Theatre in downtown Easton, Maryland. The concert begins at 8 p.m. and tickets are available at ChesapeakeMusic.org.

Halvorson has released over a dozen albums as a bandleader, and 60 plus as a collaborator or sidewoman. She has worked with such diverse musicians as Tim Berne, Anthony Braxton, Taylor Ho Bynum, John Dieterich, Trevor Dunn, Bill Frisell, Ingrid Laubrock, Jason Moran, Joe Morris, Tom Rainey, Jessica Pavone, Tomeka Reid, Marc Ribot, and John Zorn.

“We are fortunate to be able to bring one of New York City’s most in-demand guitarists, Mary Halvorson, and her sextet to Easton,” says Don Buxton, Executive Director of Chesapeake Music. 

“This is truly a unique opportunity.”  

Halvorson’s most recent albums, released in May 2022, showcase her string quartet writing, interpreted by The Mivos Quartet (Belladonna), alongside her new sextet (Amaryllis),which she is bringing to Easton. The sextet features Adam O’Farrill, described by the New York Times as “among the leading trumpeters in jazz;” Jacob Garchik on trombone who, among other things, has contributed over 115 arrangements and transcriptions for the Kronos Quartet; Patricia Brennan on vibraphone, described by The New York City Jazz Recordas “one of the instrument’s newer leaders:” Nick Dunston on bass, described by the New York Times as an “indispensable player on the New York avant-garde [scene];” and last but not least Tomas Fujiwara on drums. Fujiwara has been described by Nate Chinen of the New York Times as having “a way of spreading out the center of a pulse while setting up a rigorous scaffolding of restraint…A conception of the drum set as a full-canvas instrument, almost orchestral in its scope.”  

Come listen to whom Steve Dollar of the Wall Street Journal called “one of the most exciting and original guitarists in jazz—or otherwise,” and whom Francis Davis of the Village Voicedescribed as “one of today’s most formidable bandleaders.”

Based in Easton, Maryland, Chesapeake Music is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to bring renowned jazz and classical musicians to delight, engage and surprise today’s audiences, and educate, inspire and develop tomorrow’s. They’ve been doing it for more than 35 years! To learn more about Chesapeake Music, visit their website at https://chesapeakemusic.org/.

Caption: Mary Halvorson Amaryllis.jpg (photo credit – Ernest Stuart)

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