News Staff

Elmerson Campos built a construction business and life in Easton for over 24 years. Now, he’s being held in a California detention center — and a federal judge says Immigration and Customs Enforcement must justify keeping him there. The Star Democrat reports Elmerson Campos, 45, was arrested by ICE on Feb. 5 in town, according to family and friends. Family said his truck was found later that day at the Go! Wash car wash on Dover Road.
Campos was initially taken to the Salisbury ICE field office, transferred to Baltimore, then Arizona and is now in California, according to a family member.

State records obtained by the Kent County News reveal that two residents of Kent Center, Inc. died amid serious care failures at the Chestertown disability services provider — disclosures that help explain why Maryland health officials moved to suspend the organization’s license in late January, even as its executive director has publicly characterized the shutdown only as a “transition.” The Maryland Department of Health’s Office of Health Care Quality issued an Order of Summary Suspension against Kent Center on Jan. 29, 2026, halting the organization’s residential programs, day habilitation services, and pre-vocational services. The suspension has displaced an estimated 60 residents and program participants and triggered layoffs of nearly 200 employees.

Savannah Winston, current Preston mayor and commission president, is seeking a seat on the Caroline County Commissioners.The Caroline Review reports Winston said her decision to run for county commissioner is to expand experience and serve the area on a larger scale. Winston, who will run as a Democrat, has served on the Preston town commission since 2020. She won a special election that year and was reelected in 2023. She’s s the first woman and African American to serve as the president of the Preston commission.
Winston said she is running on the platform of building bridges and strengthening communities.

Flagship Premium Cinemas, which has operated the movie theater at Washington Square in Chestertown since 2021, is headed for closure. According to the Chestertown Report, Chestertown Mayor Meghan Efland made the announcement at the Feb. 17 Council meeting.

The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) has recently announced a series of planned awards and investments in Kent County, totaling more than $2M in total funding that will benefit Kent County and its residents, businesses, and communities. Among the recipients, $100,000 to Main Street Rock Hall for site development and construction of a community multi-use area on a vacant lot
$150,000 to the Town of Betterton, to provide extensive renovations to the Betterton American Legion Building, including a new roof, windows, ceilings, floors, and a kitchen update and $500,000 to Washington College toward the construction of its Innovation Plant, to name just a few.

Kent County voters will elect three county commissioners this year, but the deadline to file as a candidate is fast approaching. According to the Kent County News, candidates seeking to run as a Republican or Democrat must file by Feb. 24 in order to appear on the ballot. Primary elections will be held in June, with the general election scheduled for November. All three seats on the Kent County Board of County Commissioners are up for election. President Ronald H. Fithian and Commissioners Albert H. Nickerson and John F. Price currently serve on the three-member governing body.

The composition of the Board of Kent County Commissioners will be the topic of what is being described as a “community conversation” hosted by the Democratic Club of Kent County on Thursday, Feb. 19 at Procolino’s Pizza. The public is invited. Currently there are three county commissioners, all elected at-large. The Feb. 19 program will explore a proposal to increase the number of commissioners to five and to elect them by district rather than at-large.

The Town of Centreville MD is launching a new market study to identify the opportunities and challenges that affect Centreville’s economic vitality and to provide a strategic vision for the future. Join them for the Main Street Market Study Kickoff on February 17, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Zoom. Details can be found at qac.org.

A house explosion on Valentine’s Day in Kent County killed a 68-year-old homeowner and destroyed a Chestertown residence, while five family members escaped, according to the Maryland Office of the State Fire Marshal. FOX 45 News reports the Office of the State Fire Marshal said it is continuing to investigate the explosion and fire that happened at 6904 Pentridge Court in Chestertown. Firefighters were told one occupant was still inside and that five other family members had escaped safely. Deputy state fire marshals worked throughout the night and found the homeowner, Charles William Heaps, 68, beneath multiple layers of debris.

Officials have identified the driver who died after his tractor-trailer went into the water under the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel early Sunday. 13NewsNow reports Ronnie Andrews, 61, of Robersonville, N.C., died in the crash, according to a press release from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. His body was recovered Sunday evening by Crofton Diving of Portsmouth. The crash happened around 6:40 a.m., authorities said. The truck went overboard from the southbound lanes near the North Channel Bridge, just south of Fisherman’s Island. A single lane of traffic is currently open near the scene of the accident in the southbound lanes. The lane closure will remain until guardrail and curb damage can be repaired, which may take several days.