Saturday, September 27, 2014

Every Sunday On The Pocomoke Public Eye..


<1800<1850<Time<1900<1950<Machine<2000<<

It's reader-friendly viewing of newspaper archive and historical archive material, primarily of local interest. 

This week we share items from 1921, circa 1928, 1907, 1961, 1889, and 1892.

Check back tomorrow, 9/28, right here!

Friday, September 26, 2014

Md. Marijuana Law to Change Oct. 1

Md.- Maryland's marijuana law is about to undergo some changes. Effective Oct.1, a small portion of marijuana will be decriminalized.

Maryland legislators passed a bill, during the last legislative session, that decriminalizes 10 grams or less of marijuana. Gov. Martin O'Malley signed the bill into law, which takes effect next week.

Barbara Lewis of Salisbury is not pleased about it.

"I don't approve of it, I don't like it,” Lewis said. “I don't think it should be decriminalized."

Lewis said she has never tried it, but good things do not come to mind when she thinks about it.

"I think it would have a lot of negative side effects when driving; It's just like drinking,” she said. “It causes too many problems that you can't concentrate; you can't focus."

Marijuana, in the amount of 10 grams or less, will no longer be considered a criminal offense. It will become a civil offense with fines of up to $100 for a first offense, $250 for a second violation and $500 for a third offense.

Anyone under the age of 21, but older than 18, will have to face a judge and could possibly be ordered to participate in a drug treatment program.

Angela Losiewski of Salisbury is not a pot smoker, but supports the law and people who use a little bit of marijuana.

 "For the people that just smoke a little bit of pot every now and then, I don't see anything wrong with it," Losiewski said.

Derell Johnson of Salisbury supports the new law as well.

"If you can drink liquor, it should be okay to smoke weed," Johnson said.

Again, the law takes effect Oct. 1 in Maryland.

VIA: WBOC 16

MAR-VA Theater

If I Stay has been confirmed for October 17 & 18 at 7 PM!


URGENT!!!!!!!! The Pocomoke Police Department needs the Communities help

URGENT!!!!!!!! The Pocomoke Police Department needs the Communities help identifying the person in the attached photo. If you are able to identify the subject in the photo, please contact Det. Bailey at the Pocomoke Police Department 410-957-1600, you may remain anonymous. Take special attention to the jacket, shoes and shorts!!!!! Share this on your wall!!!!!

 

SU: Motorists Watch Out for Bicyclists Saturday

 SALISBURY, Md. - Salisbury University says heavy bicycle traffic is anticipated near the SU campus for the morning of Saturday, September 27 for the 26th Sea Gull Century Bike Ride.

The university says heavy bike traffic is expected from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., especially in the area of Route 13 along campus, Milford Street and South Division Street. SU says South Division Street between College Avenue and Milford Street will only be open to Sea Gull Century parking traffic during that time.

More than 6,000 cyclists are expected to participate, according to the university. SU says three routes will take riders through Wicomico, Somerset and Worcester counties: the traditional 100-mile Assateague century, 100-mile Snow Hill century and 64-mile Princess Anne metric.

Riders will pass directly through the towns of Princess Anne, Pocomoke City, Snow Hill and Berlin, according to the university. They will congregate at rest and water stops including Washington High School, Nassawango Golf Course, Cypress Park, Byrd Park, Whiton Crossing, Assateague Island State Park and the Powellville VFW.

SU says Bateman Street will be closed to all vehicles throughout the day. Traffic restrictions prohibiting southbound traffic from East College Avenue on South Division Street should also be expected throughout the afternoon. In addition, the university says motorists may want to avoid Milford and Wayne streets, and the round-about in Fruitland.

The university says Maryland State Police and local police will control the intersection of Route 12/Snow Hill Road at Route 354/Nassawango Road, and the intersections of Route 113 at Germantown Road and Route 376. Bicycle traffic is also expected on Mount Hermon Road in the afternoon.

SU says Century coordinators encourage cyclists and motorists to exercise extra caution during this time. The university says post-ride festivities are near SU's Perdue and Henson halls. Bicycle traffic will be heavy near campus from 3-6 p.m. The university says all riders should be off the roads by dark. 
VIA: WBOC 16

Pocomoke Ghost Walk 9/27 at 7:30 pm


SITES ON THE POCOMOKE GHOST WALK include The Pocomoke Forest, the Armory, Costen House, Littleton Clarke House (now the River Gem B&B), the Mar-Va Theater and a walk through St. Mary’s Graveyard.
READ FULL DESCRIPTION OF THE WALK ON THE POCOMOKE GHOST WALK PAGE
COST: $15 per adult, $9 for kids 8 to 12 years old.
ADVANCED REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED
Scroll down to the bottom of this page to purchase tickets.

TIPS / GRATUITIES – Though it is not expected, our ghost walk guides certainly appreciate tips from guests who have had enjoyed their ghost walk.
TIME & WEATHER: Ghost Walk begins on time. We walk in all kinds of weather except that which threatens public safety.  Be sure to list your CELL PHONE number in the registration so we can contact you in the unlikely event the tour is cancelled.
  • Bring your umbrella if it looks like rain
  • Wear comfortable shoes
  • Bring a flashlight.
  • Bring Camera
CANCELLATIONS AND REFUNDS: Full refund will be given if cancellation is made 48 hours prior to the tour’s start. If cancellation is NOT made within 48 hours of the tour, no refunds will be given. However, all registrations are transferable, so feel free to allow a friend or family member to attend in your place. Just give them your order voucher and let us know who is coming in your place

Entire freshman class using iPads at Pocomoke High


Technology is beginning to take the place of textbooks for freshmen at Pocomoke High School.

Every ninth-grader at the Pocomoke City school has been given an iPad Mini to use through the rest of their high school career. Although they’re still learning the ins and outs of the new gadgets and haven’t used them outside the classroom yet, by early October students will have access to them 24/7.

“I want my kids to be prepared for the next level,” Pocomoke High School Principal Annette Wallace said. “I don’t think we can wait.”

Wallace says she remembers struggling 15 years ago when she was in college to grasp the technology being used then. She wants Pocomoke High graduates heading to college to be able to use the array of technology available.

“It’s changed the dynamics of our whole world,” she said.

Wallace said when she learned that Jerry Wilson, superintendent of Worcester County’s public schools, wanted every freshman in the county to have an iPad or similar device by 2016, she asked if Pocomoke could be the site of a pilot program.

After researching the options and speaking to educators at schools that had already made the move to mobile devices, staff members at Pocomoke High decided to purchase 100 iPad Minis. In addition to being less expensive than the traditional iPad, the smaller version was favored by students as they could use their thumbs to type just as they did with smartphones.

“I was in a classroom today and they were note-taking with their thumbs,” Wallace said.
The smaller screen of the miniature device is also less breakable.

“The size makes it less likely to get busted in a book bag,” she said, adding that all of the school’s mobile devices were kept in cases.
While many of the ninth-graders were already familiar with how to use an iPad, Wallace said teachers took a lot of time going over digital responsibility with the students. In addition to being reminded to take care of the expensive devices, students were also instructed on how to use them appropriately, specifically with regard to social media.

“Social networking is here and it’s not going away,” Wallace said. “We have to teach kids how to harness that and use it in a positive way.”

In each classroom, a poster decorated with a stoplight reminds students that if they’re given the green light they have free access to the devices during class. A red indicator means iPads should be turned off, while yellow directs students to check with the teacher first.

Teacher Jess McInerney says the structured expectations the school has developed have shown students how to use the iPads respectfully.

“This is a tool that can be used wisely,” she said.

The devices provide educators with another way to reach students and also provide students with technology they might not have access to otherwise.

“We need to break free of teachers being the only receptacles of knowledge,” she said.
Wallace said that with the iPads, students had access to useful educational apps, were able to connect to each classroom’s SmartBoard and were able to air-drop assignments to their teachers.

“Technology has changed the way we learn,” Wallace said.

The approximately $50,000 cost of outfitting the freshman class and the school’s teachers with iPad Minis was funded through a combination of fundraising by the school and an endowment from a Pocomoke High School alumna.

cxsharpe@dmg.gannett.com
410-213-9442, ext. 19
On Twitter @SharpeCharlene
NEW APPLICATIONS
Examples of what freshmen at Pocomoke High School are using iPads for:
Homework
Research
Art
Presentations

Pocomoke Mosquito Pool Positive For Eastern Equine Encephalitis

47 ABC - Delmarva's Choice

A local county has found an area of standing water has tested positive for a mosquito virus. The Worcester County Health Department says the State of Maryland has found that a mosquito pool in southern Worcester County, has tested positive for Eastern Equine Encephalitis.

According to health department staff, the pools are reportedly monitored by state environment staff, and it is the first positive pool reported this year. The pool is reportedly located in Hickory Point Swamp near Pocomoke City, and is in a low-lying area that has standing water for most of the year.
"It's in the middle of a swamp area where there wouldn't be a lot of people in that location, but you have to remember mosquitoes travel for miles," says Kathleen Rose-Derr, Nursing Program Manager with the Worcester County Health Department.
The EEE virus is common during summer and fall, and is transmitted by mosquitoes, and spread to humans, and animals including birds, and horses. Mosquitoes can breed in as little as a quarter of an inch of water, so experts believe recent rains may have attracted more to the area.

The Worcester County Health Department provides the following tips to help prevent contact with mosquitoes and reduce risk of infection:

· Stay indoors at dawn and dusk.

· Wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants when outdoors.

· Use an EPA-registered insect repellent and follow package instructions.

· Get rid of mosquito breeding sites.

· Remove all discarded tires from property.

· Dispose of water-holding containers.

· Change the water in pet dishes and replace the water in bird baths weekly.

· Drill holes in tire swings so water drains out.

· Keep children's wading pools empty and on their sides when they are not in use.

"Get rid of any cups in your yard, anything that can collect water, even bottle caps," says Rose-Derr.

People who suffer from milder illnesses typically recover on their own without even knowing they have it, but that those symptoms could last for several weeks. In severe cases, some people need to be hospitalized, and get treatment. Symptoms of Eastern Equine Encephalitis include fever, headache, irritability, restlessness, drowsiness, vomiting, diarrhea, cyanosis, convulsions, and coma. Anyone with these symptoms, should contact a health care provider to be tested for EEE.

For more tips and information about Eastern Equine Encephalitis, please visit the Worcester County Health Department's website.

Delmarva Discovery Center Fall Festival



Delmarva Discovery Center
Fall Festival
Saturday, October 11, 2014
11 am – 4 pm

Free Admission

Demonstrations
Hands on Activities
Animal Programs
Face Painting
Paint Your Own Decoy

2 Market Street Pocomoke City, MD  21851
www.delmarvadiscoverycenter.org

Thursday, September 25, 2014

TIME MACHINE ... This Sunday's Preview

1921.. "Monster" shark caught in Eastern Shore waters; circa 1928.. Worcester County's "Del-Mar-Va Songster" Dale Wimbrow gains acclaim as composer, writer, and recording artist;  1907.. What's the leading topic of conversation in Marion?; 1961.. Nine Pocomoke students place high in state scholastic honors; 1889..  Prolonged storm ravages Worcester County; 1882.. "Sheep Country" in Accomac County's future?

Although you may not find all of these items in a history book, they are a part of our local history and you can read more about it this Sunday right here at The Pocomoke Public Eye!   

Do you have a local memory to share with PPE readers.. such as a big snow storm, a favorite school teacher, a local happening, something of interest your parents or grandparents told you about?  It can be just a line or two, or more if you wish.   Send to tkforppe@yahoo.com and watch for it on a future TIME MACHINE posting!

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Mommy and Me Preschool Program

Mommy and Me Preschool Program
Beginning September 23, 2014

Join us for this popular program designed specifically for children ages 3-5.
$5 for one adult and one child.  Each additional child $2.
Free with membership. 

ONE great program now TWO days a week!
Tuesday & Wednesday
10:30 am - 11:00 am

Let’s Learn About Insects & Teeny Tiny Animals
September 23 & 24 - Crickets
September 30 & October 1 - Worms

Let’s Learn About Hibernation
October 7 & 8 - Hibernating Snakes & Turtles

Let’s Learn About Color
October 14 & 15 - Color Wheel
October 21 & 22 - Color & Color

Let’s Learn About Bats
October 28 & 29 - Happy Halloween!

Delmarva Discovery Center - 2 Market Street - Pocomoke, MD  21851



Joanne Moore
Director of Operations
Delmarva Discovery Center
 

Delmarva Discovery Center Daily Programs

Daily Programs
Beginning October 1, 2014

First Sunday of the Month
Dive Dialogue - 1:00 pm - 1:30 pm
Experience human & animal communication in the underwater world.  Learn sign language & see Scorchy & her fish friends communicate in the aquarium.

Sunday
Fish Feed - 1:30 pm - 1:45 pm
What do our fish eat?  How are they fed?  Come join us for a fish feeding at our 6,000 gallon aquarium to find out!

Tuesday & Wednesday - Beginning September 23!
Mommy and Me - 10:30 am - 11:00 am
Join us for our popular preschool program which incorporates learning, crafts, and games in a fun and social atmosphere.

Thursday
Squeaky Clean - 2:00 pm - 2:45 pm
Learn how our husbandry staff keeps our tanks clean.  Watch the cleaning of our aquarium & do your own water quality testing just like our aquarist.

Saturday
Critter Corner - 1:00 pm - 1:45 pm
Come learn about the critters that call the Center home through this interactive animal program.

Delmarva Discovery Center - 2 Market Street - Pocomoke, MD  21851
 

Delmarva Discovery Center House of Pocoween

House of Pocoween
Friday, October 24, 2014
6 pm – 8 pm

6:30 - Dive Program
7:00 - ‘Terrifying Tales’ Story Time
7:15 - ‘Creepy Critters’ Animal Program
7:45 - Costume Contests w/ Prizes
Crafts, Games...and of course Candy!

Children in costume will be admitted free!
Adults $5.00 each
Members are free

Delmarva Discovery Center - 2 Market Street - Pocomoke, MD  21851
410-957-9933    delmarvadiscoverycenter.org       www.facebook.com/delmarvadiscoverycenter

Business After Hours - Thursday, September 25th


Sunday, September 21, 2014

TIME MACHINE ... 1954, 1927, 1654, 1969, 1892, 1901

"Friendliest Town On The Eastern Shore."  Our tradition runs deep.  Excerpt from a letter to the editor from a visitor to Newtown, (former name of Pocomoke City) published in the Baltimore Sun, April 28,1847.

This place (Newtown) is a pretty snug little village, containing about 500 clever and hospitable inhabitants; is has good wide streets, quite clear of that "eye sore," known mostly over the Peninsula by the name of "deep sand"; the houses, though built of frame, are generally built substantially and with some discretion and taste; there are two neat, new, and quite handsome frame churches in it; as for the merchants of the place, suffice it to state that they are very clever and hospitable.  F. Mezick, Esq., the landlord with whom I stopped, and his very obliging and jolly assistant, are richly deserving of a passing notice, for the good treatment and the extension of the many civilities to "the stranger."


(Reader-friendly viewing of news archives/historical archives material)


March, 1954
The Cumberland News (Cumberland, Md.)

Princess Anne Has Costly Fire

PRINCESS ANNE, Md., March 25. (AP)-  Flames battled by scores of firemen swept through five businesse places and the postoffice today.

Wrecked by the blaze were two furniture stores, restaurant, theater, pool hall and postoffice.

Some other buildings were damaged. A number of other establishments were threatened by the wind-swept flames. 

More than 100 firemen from six communities were called into action to help save nearby residences and business places.

No injuries were reported.

Fire Chief William Powell, Jr. estimated the loss at $150,000. 

Postmaster J. Earl Morris said he saved all the first class mail and packages.

Morris, who owned all but the two furniture stores, estimated it would cost him $100,000 to rebuild. The movie theater is over the postoffice.

Furniture dealer James B. Green estimated his losses at $75,000. J.W. Donohoe, another furniture dealer, put his losses at $30,000.

1927 (Reprinted in January, 1977)
The Daily Times (Salisbury)

Fifty Years Ago: An unfinished palace, planned upon more gorgeous and palatial lines than any Russian prince ever built, has stood unfinished and empty for eight years on Burleigh Hill, almost in the center of Berlin, Md. The estate has been on the market for several years and the asking price is $40,000. Berliners call it "Etzenger's Folly." Etzenger, believed to be a Russian nobleman, came to Berlin after the Great War and began the building. While living at Berlin's Atlantic Hotel he was investigated by the U.S. Government. Work on the building ceased abrubtly; Etzenger left town and reports of his death in New York City were recieved in Berlin.

Footnote: Anyone have any information on what became of this structure?

October, 1654

Maryland State Archives

Assembly Proceedings, October 1654

Killing of Wolves

It is Enacted and Declared that every one who shall kill a wolfe and bring the head thereof to any of the Commissionrs shall be allowed one hundred pounds of Tobacco from the County where the wolf shall be killed & that such Commissioners to whom the wolfes head shall be brought shall Cutt out the Tongue of the said head to prevent that deceit of twice or oftner payment for the same head.

March, 1969
The Sunday Times (Salisbury)

(Excerpts)

Shakespear's Globe Theater Re-created By Pocomoke Youths

By Mel Toadvine of the Times Staff

POCOMOKE CITY-  Two students at Pocomoke High School have built a replica of the famous Globe Theater of London, the spot where William Shakespear put on many of his plays.

The two boys, Richard Gladding and David Dryden, both 10th graders, built the model for their English class. Their teacher, Mrs. Martha Nutter, says the model theater contains every detail of the original. 

The boys said it took them about two months to construct the theater, working in their spare time after school hours at a cost of about $10.  They used balsa wood, plyboard, dowel sticks and cardboard.

The boys have given the model to the school so it may be used in future classes as a reference.

Needless to say, Mrs. Nutter says the boys will get a big fat "A" on their report cards.

November, 1892
Peninsula Enterprise (Accomac Court House, Va.)

F. H. Dryden, real estate agent, has sold to William T. Groten, of Wachapreague, a very valuable farm, near Pocomoke City, for $1,300.

August, 1901 (Time Machine archive)
The Semi-Weekly Landmark (Statesville, N.C.)

Knocked Preacher Down For Kissing His Bride.

Chincoteague, Va., Special, 25th, to Philadelphia Record.

When the minister kissed his bride, Joseph McDuff, the groom, last night knocked down Rev. James Porter, rendering him partially unconscious.

McDuff and Miss Agnes Talley, both of whom reside on Chincoteague Island, drove to the parsonage, and after the ceremony the minister as usual kissed the bride. The next instant McDuff's fist shot out and caught the minister square in the jaw, laying him limp in the corner of the room.

Friends seized the angry groom and explained to him that it was the custom of ministers. McDuff was mollified, and as a peace offering drew forth two $10 notes which he tendered to the dazed and surprised clergyman.



Do you have a local memory to share with PPE readers.. such as a big snow storm, a favorite school teacher, a local happening, something of interest your parents or grandparents told you about?  It can be just a line or two, or more if you wish. Send to tkforppe@yahoo.com and watch for it on a future TIME MACHINE posting!



"Somewhere over
the rainbow
Bluebirds Fly.."

Flying on for JMMB.
Her Pocomoke Public
Eye postings (April,
2008 to June, 2014)
kept us informed.