News Staff

Another holiday heist in our area. Now, the Queen Anne’s County Sheriff’s Office is looking to identify four people linked to a pair of recent thefts at the Queenstown Outlets. Most recently a woman was caught on camera stuffing three Coach purses in a bag, and walking out of the store without paying. The stolen purses are valued at nearly $1500. Less than two weeks before that, on November 25, a trio of women were seen on video stealing $2,000 worth of merchandise from the Nike Factory Store.

On Wednesday, December 18, water service will be temporarily shut off to several communities and areas to allow for the replacement of a leaking water valve. The interruption will begin at 11:00 p.m. on December 18th and is expected to last until 4:00 a.m. December 19th. The affected areas include: South of Rt. 301/50:
Ellendale, Bay Bridge Cove, Kent Manor Inn, Valero convenience store, and all properties along Pier 1 Road.
North of Rt. 301/50: All properties on the 100 and 200 blocks of Love Point Road and 114 St. Clare Place.

The Town of Rock Hall received an early gift, the promise of clean water, by the Kent County Commissioners, reaching an unanimous decision at their regularly scheduled meeting, Nov, 19. Rock Hall Mayor James Cook, was happy if he received support letters for two Legislative Bond Initiatives (LBI) to the State of Maryland, to go towards fixing their infrastructure issues. The first LBI for $375,000 and the second for $394,000.
What they left with was a promise of highly effective green sand filters backed by the County on the condition Rock Hall exhausts all other funding options to keep them.

Governors from Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania gathered with various other officials Tuesday in what the Chesapeake Bay Program says may be the most important meeting for the Program since the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement was originally signed a decade ago. WBOC reports the Chesapeake Executive Council, which includes Governors Wes Moore, Glenn Youngkin, and Josh Shapiro, announced their plans to revise the Watershed Agreement on December 10th. The announcement follows the Chesapeake Bay Program acknowledging many of the goals of the original Watershed Agreement would not be met by the 2025 target date. A draft report was previously issued to adjust the goals of the agreement beyond 2025.

The annual Sensory Holiday Celebration is being held from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 18 in the media center of Kent County Middle School. The Evening Enterprise reports it’s the seventh edition of the holiday party for students and their siblings who receive special education or related services or have a 504 plan.
There will be games, crafts and food, plus a visit from Santa, who will be available for photographs.
Registration closes on Friday, Dec. 13.

Washington College’s Academy of Lifelong Learning’s (WC-ALL) invites the public to preview its spring semester courses ahead of the opening of the registration portal. 2025 will kick off with a bevy of classes that cover nearly every interest. The public is invited to Hynson Lounge in Hodson Hall to attend the Spring Showcase happening on Monday, Dec. 16 to meet instructors and hear more about the more than 40 courses being offered in the new year. Doors open at 3 p.m.

A Strategic Planning Gathering is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 11 at 7 p.m. at The Mainstay in Rock Hall. Organizers call it an opportunity to come together, share ideas, and lay the groundwork for the next chapter in The Mainstay’s journey. They says they’re adopting an alll-hands-on-deck approach. Whether it’s through financial support, volunteering your time and expertise, or simply spreading the word about the work they do, every action makes a difference.”

Tuesday, it’s the Queen Anne’s County Holiday Open House and Last County Commissioner Meeting. The Holiday Open House runs 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm in the Vincit Building. The County Commissioners host this event for employees to stop in at their convenience and meet with County Commissioners and fellow employees. This event is open to the public. The regular County Commissioner meeting will begin at 5:30 PM at 107 N Liberty Street in Centreville. This will be the last meeting for 2024.

With a number of large projects on the horizon, the county finance department provided a head-start to the budget process with an overview to the Queen Anne’s County Commissioners. The Bay Times and Record Observer reports Jeff Rank, director of budget and finance presented data from a Capital Budget Work Session including a preview of major capital projects currently in the planning stages for the upcoming five years.
The total capital project expenditures programmed for the current year and planned for the next five years is about $285 million, according to Rank.

The State Fire Marshal has ruled that Tuesday’s structure fire in the 300-block of Union Church Road was accidental. The cause was determined to be failure of heat tape that had been applied to a water line in the crawl space. The Evening Enterprise reports the fire, which originated in the crawl space, was brought under control in five minutes, according to a news release from the fire marshal’s office. No injuries were reported.