Vision 2020 Anti-Poverty Program Celebrates Success with Program Participants
On Thursday, April 2 Charles County Government celebrated the success of the first group of families to complete their two-year commitment of the Vision 2020 Program. These 10 families faced many adversities and challenges throughout their journey in the program but were not deterred from reaching their goals.
The families established supportive relationships with the program social worker, and were provided the tools necessary to build a stable foundation from which to grow. The families accomplished goals in all five program focus areas: education, employment, health, housing, and transportation. Successes included: high school graduations, college acceptance, military enlistment, vehicle purchases, stable housing, health coverage, and improved school attendance and performance.
Commissioner Debra M. Davis, Esq. (District 2) said, “It is rewarding to see a program so important to our community reach this major milestone. It is because of these families’ hard work and determination that we can celebrate. While the stories are not all successes, there were no failures. Each family was afforded the benefit of holistic case management guidance for two years.”
It is with great pride that we celebrate the success of our families as they continue on their life journey. This could only be done though our partner agencies: Charles County Board of Education; Charles County Department of Social Services; CORE Service Agency; Lifestyles of Maryland; Health Partners; United Way; Children's Aid Society; WCCCA; Senior Services of Charles County; Southern Maryland Counseling and Coaching, LLC.; Open Gate Ministries; Point of Change; and Center for Children. If you are an agencies or business that would like to consider sponsoring a family, contact Jessica Magorian at MagoriaJ
[at] charlescountymd.gov or 301-934-0100.
The Charles County Vision 2020 Program is designed to address this cycle of poverty in our community and to significantly reduce the number of Charles County residents living in poverty by the year 2020.
Visit www.CharlesCountyMD.gov/CS/CCVision2020 for more information about the Vision 2020 Program or contact the Department of Community Services at 301-934-0100. Citizens with special needs may contact the Maryland Relay Service at 711, or Relay Service TDD: 800-735-2258.
Lincoln 150 Commemoration Coming to Dr. Mudd House
Visit Charles County on Saturday, April 18 and Sunday, April 19 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination and the events that followed at the Dr. Samuel Mudd House (3725 Doctor Samuel Mudd Road, Waldorf). Learn about historic events surrounding the Civil War and Lincoln’s assassin’s escape through speakers, re-enactments, a theatre production, and a Civil War display.
Featured authors:
-- Terry Alford, “Fortune’s Fool: The Life of John Wilkes Booth”
-- Patrick Burke, “Ghost Soldiers of Gettysburg”
-- Dianne Cross, “Long Overdue Story: From a Slave to a Solider to Freedom”
-- Kim Holien, “Conspirator’s Trial”
-- Bruce Mowday, “Pickett’s Charge: The Untold Story”
-- Robert Summers, “The Assassin’s Doctor: The Life and Letters of Dr. Samuel A. Mudd”
-- Betty Waring, “The Waring Saga”
Featured speakers:
-- Richard Bryd, “The 12th Corps”
-- Buddy and Sharon Miller, “Spies of The Civil War”
Experience the personalities the Civil War era through live re-enactments of several historic individuals and events. Featured re-enactments:
-- Civil War Navy
-- General Doubleday
-- General Ewell
-- General Lee and Mrs. Lee
-- General Longstreet
-- General Sherman
-- The arrest of Dr. Samuel Mudd
Events will be held at multiple sites and feature programs commemorating Lincoln’s assassination from Friday, April 17 to Sunday, April 19. Featured events include An Evening of Civil War Music & Words, A Global View of the Escape, Conspiracy- The Talk of Port Tobacco, and Villains, Rebels & Rogues. Admission costs, dates, and times vary by location. For more information and a detailed schedule of the events, visit
www.CharlesCountyMD.gov/Lincoln150.
Annual Bike to Work/Wellness Day to be Held May 15
The Charles County Commissioners and the Tri-County Council for Southern Maryland (TCCSMD) are pleased to announce that the annual Charles County Bike-to-Work/Wellness Day event will be held on Friday, May 15, from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Indian Head Pavilion in Indian Head. Register today at
www.biketoworkmetrodc.org for a chance to win prizes.
This year’s participating agencies include: the Town of Indian Head; Charles County Government; Charles County Sheriff's Office; Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head Division; Charles County Department of Health; Charles County Department of Public Works, Parks & Grounds Division; Spring Dell Center, Inc.; Charles County Public Schools; and a number of vendors.
Bicycle commuting is an effective means to improve air quality, reduce traffic congestion, and conserve energy. Bicycle commuting benefits both employees and employers through better employee health and fitness and reduced commuting and parking costs. Increasing numbers of employers have installed bicycle parking and shower facilities to help encourage employees to commute by bicycle.
National Bike-to-Work Week, an initiative held in May of each year, is sponsored by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (WashCOG) and the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board’s Commuter Connections Program. In partnership with WashCOG and the Commuter Connections Program, TCCSMD sponsors the local "wellness" event called Bike-to-Work/Wellness Day.
For more information, contact George Clark, transportation manager for TCCSMD, at 301-274-1922 or GClark
[at] tccsmd.org. Citizens with special needs may contact the Maryland Relay Service at 711, or Relay Service TDD: 800-735-2258.
Spring Marks the Start of Tornado Season
Now that tornado season is here, the Charles County Department of Emergency Services encourages residents to be prepared. Tornadoes are violent by nature and capable of completely destroying well-made structures, uprooting trees and hurling objects like deadly missiles. A tornado appears as a rotating, funnel-shaped cloud that extends from a thunderstorm to the ground with whirling winds that can reach 300 miles per hour.
Prepare a Home Tornado Plan
-- Pick a place where family members could gather if a tornado is headed your way. It could be your basement or, if there is no basement, a center hallway, bathroom, or closet on the lowest floor. Keep this place uncluttered.
-- If you are in a high-rise building, you may not have enough time to go to the lowest floor. Pick a place in a hallway in the center of the building.
Watch vs. Warning: What’s the Difference?
-- Tornado Watch— Tornadoes are possible in and near the watch area. Review and discuss your emergency plans, and check supplies and your safe room. Be ready to act quickly if a warning is issued or you suspect a tornado is approaching. Acting early helps to save lives!
-- Tornado Warning— A tornado has been sighted or indicated by weather radar. Tornado warnings indicate imminent danger to life and property. Go immediately under ground to a basement, storm cellar or an interior room (closet, hallway or bathroom). In the open outdoors: If possible, seek shelter in a sturdy building. If not, lie flat and face-down on low ground, protecting the back of your head with your arms. Get as far away from trees and cars as you can; they may be blown onto you in a tornado. Flying debris is the greatest danger in tornadoes.
Signs of a Tornado:
-- Strong, persistent rotation in the cloud base.
-- Whirling dust or debris on the ground under a cloud base tornadoes sometimes have no funnel!
-- Hail or heavy rain followed by either dead calm or a fast, intense wind shift. Many tornadoes are wrapped in heavy precipitation and can't be seen.
-- Day or night Loud, continuous roar or rumble, which doesn't fade in a few seconds like thunder.
-- Night Small, bright, blue-green to white flashes at ground level near a thunderstorm (as opposed to silvery lightning up in the clouds). These mean power lines are being snapped by very strong wind, maybe a tornado.
Persistent lowering from the cloud base, illuminated or silhouetted by lightning—especially if it is on the ground or there is a blue-green-white power flash underneath.
After a Tornado:
Keep your family together and wait for emergency personnel to arrive. Carefully render aid to those who are injured. Stay away from power lines and puddles with wires in them; they may still be carrying electricity! Watch your step to avoid broken glass, nails, and other sharp objects. Stay out of any heavily damaged houses or buildings; they could collapse at any time. Do not use matches or lighters, in case of leaking natural gas pipes or fuel tanks nearby. Remain calm and alert, and listen for information and instructions from emergency crews or local officials.
For additional information, safety tips and public outreach resources, visit the following website:
www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/safety.html and
www.redcross.org.
Severe weather notices are posted online at
www.CharlesCountyMD.gov, on CCGTV cable television (Verizon channel 10 and Comcast channel 95), on Facebook and on Twitter. Sign up for the Citizen Notification Service (CNS) at
www.CharlesCountyMD.gov/CNS to receive inclement weather notifications by email or text message. For updated information on power outages, view the SMECO outage map at
stormcenter.smeco.coop. Call 877-747-6326 to report a power outage. Call 9-1-1 in the event of an emergency.