Patuxent River Watershed Cleanup Scheduled April 4
Raise awareness of the Patuxent River
The Patuxent River Watershed Cleanup for Charles County is scheduled for Saturday, April 4. Help improve the Patuxent River, by volunteering to remove litter from the river’s watershed. This is an excellent opportunity for students and scouts to earn community service hours. Charles County is currently seeking to establish new cleanup sites within the Patuxent River Watershed.
The Patuxent River is the longest river running entirely through Maryland. Its watershed extends into seven counties (Montgomery, Prince George’s, Howard, Anne Arundel, Charles, Calvert and St. Mary’s). The Patuxent River Watershed Cleanup is made possible with the support of the Charles County Board of Commissioners, Patuxent River Commission, and the Patuxent Riverkeeper.
For details, please call the Charles County Department of Public Works, Environmental Resources Division, at 301-932-3599.
Forum Works toward ‘Shaping A Stronger Charles County Together’ April 25
Free Program Features Panelists, Breakout Sessions
The Diversity Institute at the College of Southern Maryland presents the 2015 Unity in Our Community Diversity Forum, focusing on “Shaping a Stronger Charles County Together,” from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., April 25 at the College of Southern Maryland, La Plata Campus, Center for Business and Industry, 8730 Mitchell Road, La Plata.
Residents of the Charles County community are encouraged to attend the free forum to begin the process of crafting a community action plan that will be coordinated by the Diversity Institute at CSM.
The day’s emcee will be WJLA News Reporter Roz Plater. Panelists during the opening session and the subsequent breakout sessions, led by community members, are designed to help create strategies to help build a stronger Charles County.
The panel discussion will set the background, provide context about the changing demographics of Charles County and offer insight into opportunities that may be leveraged as a result of these changes.
Following the panel discussion, attendees will be involved in facilitated small-group breakout sessions so as to be part of shaping the goals and priorities associated with the future efforts of the Diversity Institute to promote inclusion, respect and unity in our community. The breakout sessions will be divided into six sector areas including social services, public safety, education, local businesses, non-profit and civic groups, and local government in an effort to address challenges faced by these sectors.
"This is an exciting time for Charles County as we work together to shape an environment that will help promote inclusion, respect, and unity in our community, ” said Makeba Clay, associate vice president of CSM’s Institutional Equity and Diversity Office. “The forum is a unique opportunity to engage our local citizenry in public dialogue around our individual and collective identities in an increasingly diverse community. We encourage community members of all ages to attend this event where we will work together to explore creative solutions on how to build a healthier community that celebrates and embraces diversity as a core value.”
Planning partners with the Diversity Institute and CSM include the Charles County Commissioners, Charles County Public Library, Charles County Public Schools, Charles County Commission for Women and Lifestyles of Maryland, Inc. Support for the forum is being provided by Chick-fil-A.
Pre-registration is requested for this free event at
www.csmd.edu/DiversityInstitute/.
Registration on the day begins at 8:30 a.m. with the program starting at 9 a.m. For information, visit
www.csmd.edu/DiversityInstitute/ or contact Robbie Morganfield, coordinator of the Diversity Institute at rmorganfield
[at] csmd.edu
Rating Agencies Affirm County's High Ratings for Bond Refunding
The Charles County Commissioners are pleased to announce that Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Investors Services affirmed high ratings for the county's refunding of general obligation bonds. Moody's Investors Service assigned an "Aa1" rating, Fitch Ratings assigned an "AAA" rating, and Standard & Poor's Ratings Services assigned an "AAA" for Charles County's general obligation bonds
Moody's Investors Service's March 19 report stated the rationale for the refunding rating is, “The county's adequate financial position, characterized by comprehensive fiscal policies and planning; satisfactory fund balance levels, and an affordable debt position. The rating also factors in the ongoing expansion of the county's economic and employment base, prospects for continued growth in the science and technology sector and above-average socioeconomic factors.”
In a report dated March 19, Fitch Ratings identified the county's healthy debt profile as “low debt burden, affordable capital needs, sound debt affordability policies and a rapid amortization rate.”
Commissioner President Peter Murphy said, “It is gratifying to see that the fiscal strength of Charles County is acknowledged. This is good news that benefits our citizens.”
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services report dated March 19 said, “In our view, overall budgetary performance remains adequate with the county benefiting from what we regard as conservative, formal, and well-adhered-to fiscal policies. The county has a history of maintaining operationally balanced operations and using reserves above targeted levels for one-time purposes.”
Cardiac Arrest Call Ends With a Life Saved
On Tuesday March 10 at 1030 a.m., units from Cobb Island VFD and EMS were dispatched to the 17000 block of
Cobb Island Road for the unconscious patient not breathing. Engine 61 and
Paramedic Ambulance 68 marked up with a total of 10 personnel. Company 6 units
arrived on the scene within minutes of being dispatched to find a patient in
cardiac arrest and not breathing. The crew from Engine 61 and Paramedic
Ambulance 68 worked vigorously to revive the patient through Advance Life
Support (ALS) intervention and high quality Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
with the help from the LUCAS2 device.
The units were met on the scene by Paramedic Ambulance 148 to provide additional
ALS resources. After approximately 15 minutes of effective CPR and ALS
intervention the crews were able to successfully resuscitate the patient. The
patient was transported to a nearby hospital.
Company 6 units were able to perform high quality effective CPR with the help
from our LUCAS2 device. This device was purchased for our department with the
help from the Cobb Island VFD and EMS Auxiliary, and the funds that the
Community has donated to the department. Thank you to our Auxiliary and the
Community for this helpful device.