The St. Mary’s County Board of Commissioners took care of budget business, received updates on programs and honored several outstanding citizens at their regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday, Oct. 27.
Several SMC Board of Education members joined in, commending Dynard Elementary School Nurse Katherine Robeson for her Md. School Nurse of the Year Award. A retirement proclamation for dedicated Dept. of Aging employee, Mary T. Toney urged Director Lori Jennings-Harris to say she considers Toney “the matriarch” of the department who “will be missed”.
The BOCC proclaimed October National Disablility Awareness Month and shook the hands of 2009 Commission for People with Disabilities award recipients. Vice Chair, Susan Erichson cast some limelight on outstanding individuals like Angela Cummings, disabled with blindness, who thanked friends and family for “helping me put ability in disability” and Cheryl Blazer who expressed her pride in supporting the James A Forrest Technical Center and accessibility for everyone. Commissioner Mattingly complimented the volunteer board on “a well coordinated program.”
The board also joined the Historic Preservation Commission in their presentation of two awards. One award honored Phillip Dorsey III for restoration efforts to the St. Peter’s Chapel in Leonardtown and one recognized the Cecil family for their preservation of Cecil’s Mill off Indian Bridge Road in Great Mills.
The board gladly approved a three-year grant that will benefit the Adult Drug Court and Walden Sierra programming that provides comprehensive substance abuse and mental health services, promoting sobriety and a lower occupancy in the detention center.
The Dept. of Human Services asked the board to approve budget amendments related to a decrease in substance abuse treatment funding and to accept an $11,000 stimulus grant award to support the Emergency Food Assistance Program. Director Bennett Connelly and Cynthia Brown also presented a three-year plan addressing the issue of homelessness in SMC. Brown shared staggering statistics about the 1800 plus homeless citizens in the county, a number which is expected to increase due to the current economic climate. The department outlined specific goals for dealing with emergency shelter services, assistance programs and affordable housing, pointing out the heavy concentration of homelessness in Lexington Park. County Administrator John Savich called the thorough plan “an excellent first step” toward addressing the problem.
The Dept. of Aging sought the commissioners’ approval to amend the budget to reflect decreased funding for fitness programs at the senior centers. Jennings-Harris said these programs have “participants feeling better physically and mentally” and that they will continue to be available. The board also approved an MOA for a p
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