Northern girls
fend off
Huntingtown
Community, Page B-1
Sports, Page B-6
Established 1971
Friday, March 6, 2015
Attempted murder
charges for couple
stem from beating
Police say suspects went to buy
drugs from victim, charges to be
amended following man’s death
Staff writer
A husband-and-wife pair’s charges will be amended to reflect the
death of their victim, whom they
allegedly admitted to attacking in
front of his Prince Frederick home
Tuesday afternoon, according to a
Calvert County Sheriff’s Office press
release.
Rodney Vincent Mackall, 52,
75¢
nn Considers
installing cameras
at 11 sites
Staff writer
died Wednesday afternoon after his
alleged assailants allegedly left him
unconscious on the side of Sixes
Road, the release states.
Nicole Danielle Dalrymple, 28,
of St. Leonard and Gary Sylvester
Mason, 35, of Port Republic were
arrested March 3 and originally
charged with attempted first-degree
murder relating to the alleged attack
Calvert County, Maryland
County to draft ordinance for
speed cameras in school zones
By SARAH FLEISCHMAN
nn
By ANDREA FRAZIER
n
FR IDA Y
Band formed of
Pax River employees
launch new CD
The county commissioners
directed staff this week to proceed with drafting an ordinance
regarding speed cameras in school
zones, a measure that would result
in safer school zones and extra
revenue for the county.
Sheriff Mike Evans (R) said the
Calvert County Sheriff’s Office
examined the possibility of speed
cameras in school zones at the
request of the Calvert County
Board of County Commissioners.
According to state law, a local ordinance must be passed before cam-
eras are utilized on county roads.
On state roads, a study must be
done, which would cost $5,000 or
more and would take six months
to complete, said Lt. David Payne
of the sheriff’s office.
The cameras would record
when a vehicle is traveling 12 mph
above the posted speed limits from
6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through
See CAMERAS, Page A-9
Are they getting it done
in Annapolis?
See CHARGES, Page A-5
Commissioners voice
support, opposition
to state legislation
nn Speak
out against
$12 million county
income tax deduction
By SARAH FLEISCHMAN
Staff writer
In addition to the legislative
requests made by the county for this
year’s legislative session, the Calvert County Board of County Commissioners has voiced its support
and opposition to a number of bills
that would affect the county if they
become law.
Previously, four out of five commissioners sent a letter in support
of a property tax exemption bill
for businesses that would result in
a $500,000 loss of revenue for the
county annually from fiscal years
2016 to 2018, and by $2.1 million
annually beginning in fiscal 2019.
The commissioners sent letters in
opposition to:
• House Bill 1123, which would
change the county income tax rate
to 2.3 percent on all Maryland taxable income for individuals. Currently, the Calvert income tax rate is
2.8 percent. Tim Hayden, the county’s director of the Department of
Finance and Budget, said this bill,
if it becomes law, would result in a
loss of $12 million in revenue for the
county each year, assuming taxable
income stays the same.
• Senate Bill 147, which would
repeal the notice requirement under
the Local Government Tort Claims
Act that prohibits a claimant from
instituting a tort claim unless it is
within 180 days after the incident.
The bill would extend this period
to three years, which would result
in a “significant increase” to county
expenditures, according to the letter
sent to legislators;
• House Bill 113, which would
raise the limits on liability of a local
government for claims under the
Local Government Tort Claims
Act from $200,000 to $500,000 per
individual claim and from $500,000
See LAWS, Page A-9
Staff photo by REID SILVERMAN
Del. Sally Y. Jameson (D-Charles) makes a point during an Annapolis conference in January as Del. Anthony J. O’Donnell
(R-St. Mary’s, Calvert) listens.
nn Though
cooperation is
buzzword, gap in spectrum
between blue and red is broad
By JEREMY BAUER-WOLF
Staff writer
In the early days of the 2015 Maryland legislative session, the State House was awash in a glow of
bipartisan harmony. Democratic leadership could
be seen slapping Gov. Larry Hogan on the back.
The new Republican governor, despite a contentious
campaign in the fall, even appeared with his election
rival, former Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown (D), and both
pledged cooperation for the good of the state.
It took only one speech for the good feelings to
evaporate.
Hogan delivered the State of the State address on
Feb. 4, laying out his agenda, but also vilifying the
state’s economy and the path of the Martin O’Malley
administration. Democrats were offended and, in a
partisan salvo, held up the confirmation of Hogan’s
cabinet appointees and declared the governor’s initiatives would be stalled.
Though the combative feelings of the first weeks
of February have somewhat eased, lawmakers still
See ASSEMBLY, Page A-3
Students exhibit artistic prowess during monthlong initiative
nn Youth
Art Month
kicks off Sunday
By SARA NEWMAN
Staff writer
Staff photo by DARWIN WEIGEL
Huntingtown High School junior Kaitlyn Welsh’s “A Genie Among Men” is part of the “Portraits of
the Chesapeake” youth art show at the Calvert Marine Museum in Solomons.
A national, yearly initiative
gives art students the stage presence they deserve, when student
art is publicly displayed throughout March.
Youth Art Month is administered nationally by the Council for Art Education and the
National Art Education Association, and has been part of Calvert County’s Public Schools’ art
program for 15 years. The initiative is designed to emphasize
the value of art education for all
children and encourage support
for quality school art programs.
“They don’t get a concert or
performance,” Calvert County
Public Schools Supervisor of
Cultural Arts Jessica Valadie said
of the monthlong exhibitions for
art students.
Unlike performance opportunities for students involved in
music or theater, in which there
are concerts, plays and musicals
performed throughout the year,
art students require other opportunities to showcase their work
and abilities.
“This is their chance to shine,”
Valadie said. “And sometimes
those students are having difficulty in other areas of their academic life and this is the moment
they have to [show what they can
do].”
This year, Calvert County
Public Schools’ art students are
See ART, Page A-7
Spring forward
Clocks
go ahead
an hour
midnight
Sunday
Inside
CommunityB-1
Editorial
A-8
ObituariesA-7
Sports
B-6
Vol. 43, No. 19
3 sections
Copyright 2015
Southern Maryland Newspapers