News Staff

Discussing revenues, expenditures, unfunded mandates and upcoming county projects, the Queen Anne’s County Finance Department provided an overview of the Fiscal Year 2027 economic outlook to the county commissioners Nov. 18. The Bay Times and Record Observer reports Queen Anne’s County Public Schools continues to be the county’s largest budget commitment. With local demand and state Blueprint for Maryland’s Future mandates, Board of Education funding continues to grow and is expected to approach $90 million next year. Personnel costs, including salaries and benefits, are also projected to rise by more than $6 million across the three-year forecast.

The Town of Rock Hall Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on Thursday, December 11, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. The hearing will be at St. John’s Catholic Church Hall, 5621 South Main Street, Rock Hall, Maryland. The purpose is to collect public input on proposed Zoning Text Amendments and an updated Critical Area District Map. Maryland Updates reports the proposed changes include updates to district maps, non-tidal wetland determinations, growth allocation districts, and enforcement procedures. The amendments aim to align the town’s regulations with Maryland’s Natural Resources Article 8-1809(g). They also include periodic updates to the Critical Area Program and add Modified Buffer Areas to the district map.

A Chestertown man has been arrested in connection with a theft that occurred at a Royal Farms in Felton late last week. Eastern Shore Undercover reports on November 20 at approximately 8:24 a.m., the Felton Police Department responded to a theft complaint at the Royal Farms located in the 11,000 block of South DuPont Highway. Store surveillance footage showed a male suspect taking an iPhone that had been left on the counter and placing it inside his hoodie. The video also captured the suspect selecting several consumable goods and proceeding to a self-checkout counter, where he did not scan the items or render payment before exiting the store. Through investigative measures, police identified the suspect as Donald Joseph King III, 38, of Chestertown, Maryland. An arrest warrant was subsequently issued.

Collecting for its rainy day fund after years of deficit, Queen Anne’s County Public Schools reported an unassigned fund balance of $1.3 million as of Nov. 5 in its Fiscal Year 2025 financial statements. The Bay Times and Record Observer reports independent auditor Audrey McKenrick of UHY LLP presented the FY25 audited financial statements to the Board of Education, offering a clean, unmodified opinion with no issues for the year that ended June 30, 2025. The district’s total fund balance was about $5.7 million, an increase of roughly $3.6 million from the prior year, McKenrick said. The district’s unassigned fund balance rose from a $650,000 deficit last year to a positive $1.3 million this year.

First responders were called to the 3000 block of Barclay Road in Marydel shortly after 2 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 22, in Queen Anne’s County, where a passerby reported seeing flames coming from the 60-foot by 600-foot chicken house. The Daily Voice Lexington Park reports about 50 members of the Sudlersville Volunteer Fire Company worked for nearly an hour and a half to bring the fire under control. No one was hurt, and no chickens were inside at the time, investigators said. The fire started inside the structure. The cause remains under investigation. Damage estimated at about $300,000.

The Kent County Commissioners’ earlier decision to transition inmates out of the Kent County Detention Center will be revisited after county officials gather updated financial and operational data. MyEasternShoreMD.com reports on Aug. 19, the commissioners voted 2–1 to move toward housing all inmates in neighboring counties beginning next fiscal year. Commissioners John Price and Albert Nickerson supported the motion; Commission President Ron Fithian opposed it. As part of that transition plan, the sheriff’s office budgeted to house 10 to 12 inmates in another jurisdiction this fiscal year to evaluate how the model works. The sheriff’s office began transporting inmates in late July, and since then has housed nine to 12 inmates at the Queen Anne’s County Detention Center. An agreement with Talbot County is expected to be finalized, after which a small group of inmates will also be placed there.

After a passionate public comment period, the Greensboro Town Council declined to change water billing for residents from quarterly to monthly. According to the Star Democrat, residents will still have the option to pay their bills either quarterly or monthly. However, the town will no longer offer payment plans for those on quarterly billing starting Dec. 15. During the town’s meeting Thursday, Mayor David Spencer said he could not remember the last time the council had denied a measure.

A former Easton Town Council president has thrown his hat in the ring for the Talbot County Council. The Star Democrat reports 37 year old Frank Gunsallus announced his intention to run for County Council on social media Nov. 13. Gunsallus previously served a term as Town Council president and ran for reelection to the town body this spring but was beaten. Now, Gunsallus is shifting to a County Council bid.

A Delaware man entered a guilty plea earlier this month in connection to a theft scheme against an Easton couple.
The Star Democrat reports 81 year old Allen Andres of Hartly, Delaware, pleaded guilty on Nov. 4 to conspiracy to commit financial exploitation of an adult over 68 in the amount of $25,000 to $100,000. Twenty-seven other charges against Andres, including theft, forgery and impersonating a police officer, were dropped by prosecutors. Talbot County Circuit Court Judge Phil Cronan handed down a fully suspended 18-month sentence.
Andres was ordered to pay two victims, both Easton residents, a total of $29,000. He also was issued a no-contact order with the victims.

The Chestertown Environmental Committee is exploring several new wildlife and conservation initiatives as it pursues a $10,000 Sustainable Maryland grant that would support habitat restoration, bird-friendly projects and community education. The funding would strengthen efforts already underway to improve natural spaces throughout town. If the grant is awarded, the committee plans to create a “Slice of Life” pollinator garden at Town Hall — a small habitat featuring native plants and flowers designed to support bees, butterflies and other pollinators.