Dublin/Darlington September 2013 Bulletin: Darlington Library Book Sale; Hosanna School Museum Discusses King Peggy: An American Secretary

From the 21034 Community E-News Editors:

News from your Darlington Volunteer Fire Company

October 7 through 13 is Fire Prevention week. We will be visiting the local schools and reminding students about fire safety.

Why not visit us on Sunday October 13 at our annual OPEN HOUSE. 900am till noon at 2600 Castleton Rd. There is an all you can eat breakfast, rides on the Fire Trucks, live auto extrication demonstration and more.

News from the Darlington Library

Book Sales Resume! The first book sale of the fall season is on Saturday, September 14 from 10am to 2pm. Browse the shelves for newly stocked books, DVDs and audio books. The children’s room offers plenty of new selections that came in over the summer months. All proceeds go directly to fund library activities. Book sales are run by the Friends of the Darlington Library, an all volunteer organization in support of your local library. New “friends” are always welcome.

Story time! The Darlington Library will be offering a story time (all ages, no registration required) on the third Saturday of each month at 10:30 a.m.! 1134 Main St., Darlington The Tuesday evening knitting group is longer meeting.

Darlington Apple Festival
PO Box 42
(410) 457-4189
Email: inquiries@darlingtonapplefest.org

As you are probably well aware, Darlington’s Apple Festival is held every year on the first Saturday of October. As a property owner directly on the main thoroughfare of the festival, you know that activity begins late Friday afternoon and continues until Saturday evening.

In an effort to keep traffic flowing as smoothly as possible on the morning of the festival, we direct traffic on Shuresville Road going towards Quaker Road and on School Road going towards Rte 161. At 8 A.M. we close Shuresville Road and redirect the traffic on School Road to run towards Quaker Road. At the close of the festival, vendors are allowed to bring vehicles back onto the festival grounds at 5:30 P.M. when we direct traffic on Shuresville Road to run towards Rte. 161.

With this said, it can be extremely difficult to police all activities by vendors and festival participants; we have had both that are extremely helpful and others that are the extreme opposite.

As committee chairperson I want to make you aware that this year’s festival will be held Saturday, October 5, from 10 A.M. to 5 P.M.

I also invite you to join the committee at our monthly meetings, which are held on the second Tuesday of every month, except August, November and December, two meetings in September, the 10th and the 24th in the Wilson Community Center, 1024 Main St., Darlington, at 7.P.M.

In advance, I would like to extend our thanks to those involved for the use of your property and for your patience on this very important day for the community. This truly is a community event put on by a volunteer committee with the assistance of the whole community. It could not happen without your help; please come join us!

Respectfully,
Elaine Calderon, Chairperson Darlington Apple Festival 2012

News from the Dublin Darlington Community Council

The next meeting of the Dublin Darlington Community Council will take place on Wednesday, September 18, 7:00PM at the Conowingo Visitor Center located next to the pool, 4948 Conowingo Road. The guest speaker will be Sharon Lipford, Deputy Director of Community Services for Harford County. Sharon will give a brief demographic overview followed by a description of the different department divisions. She says, “That sounds awfully government and boring, but it’s NOT!” Community Services exists to meet human service needs in Harford County. For example, she cited the needs of families who are caring for young children and families dealing with care of their parents. Sometimes they are caretakers for both age groups. The Community Services Department includes Transportation, Office on Aging, Local Management Board, Addiction Prevention, Disabilities, and Mediation among others. Several Boards and Commissions are also included under that umbrella.

Sharon hopes to increase awareness of the services provided by Harford County to its residents. Meetings are open to the public. This is your Community Council.

News from the Wilson Center:

A Message for Working Parents: Before and After School Care is available at the Wilson Center for students attending Darlington Elementary and Havre de Grace Middle Schools. Before care begins at 7am and after care is open until 6pm. Fees are very reasonable and scholarships are available for those who qualify. For more information, call the Center at 410-836-3555.

Calling Musicians! The Wilson Ministry Center will be celebrating its 20th anniversary with a special holiday concert on Dec. 8th at 4pm followed by an open house reception and other commemorative activities. The concert will feature two headliner musical groups, one instrumental and one vocal. In addition, we hope to showcase local talent to recognize the community aspect of the Wilson Center. If you play an instrument, sing or are a member of a vocal or instrumental group and would like to be part of our concert, please contact Marthea at 410-836-3555 to schedule an audition. If you are not a performer but enjoy lovely seasonal music, please mark your calendar and plan to join us on December 8th in the Grace Memorial Church sanctuary as we sing in the holidays!

Nominations for Harford’s Most Beautiful People Award have been extended!
Please forward applications by September 6

Each year we conduct a search for local “unsung heroes” who selflessly assist those around them. They are volunteers of any age whose acts of goodwill have previously gone unnoticed. These “beautiful people” volunteer above and beyond, donating their time and talent to make a difference in Harford County.

If you know someone who continuously contributes their time and talent to enhance the quality of life and community spirit in Harford County, please send in a nomination form so they can be honored at the Harford’s Most Beautiful People awards presentation on Thursday, October 3, 2013, 6-9 p.m., at the Bel Air Church of the Nazarene.

Just fill out the nomination form, found at the following link: http://www.harfordcountymd.gov/awards/harfordsmostbeautiful/
prepare a (one page) nomination, obtain a photo of your nominee – it can be a head shot or a photo of them involved in their activity and send it to my email address: asdoran@harfordcountymd.gov or volunteer@volunteerharford.org

Alan S. Doran
Community Development Coordinator
Harford County Department of Community Services
319 S. Main Street, Bel Air, MD 21014
410-638-3389/asdoran@harfordcountymd.gov

The 9th Annual Harford Christian School Benefit Golf Classic is set for Thursday, October 3, at Tanglewood Golf Club in Quarryville, PA. Support Christian education by participating in a great, fun tournament. Call Don Nickson at (410) 457-5101, ext. 1501.

The Deer Creek Coffeehouse announces its second season

We invite you to explore live folk music and singer/songwriter music in an intimate candlelit setting at the new Deer Creek Coffeehouse in the picturesque setting of Darlington, MD. 1022 Main Street, Darlington.

Per suggestions from our followers we’ve incorporated a few changes this year. We’ll have many smaller tables to allow two couples or more to sit together. More importantly, because of two grants we’ve received, we are reducing the suggested donation amounts to make this music of the people even more accessible. Adults – $10 Students–$5 (or, as always, pay what you can). Homemade baked goods, snacks, coffee, tea, water available for purchase.

Schedule of Performers

Saturday, 9/14/13 @ 7:30 p.m. MSG Acoustic Blues Trio www.acousticbluesmsg.com
Saturday, 10/12/13 @ 7:30p.m. Jon Vezner www.jonvezner.com
Sunday, 11/10/13 @ 4:30 p.m. Claudia Nygaard www.claudianygaard.com
Saturday, 12/14/13 @ 3:00 p.m. Milkshake www.milkshakemusic.com
Saturday, 1/11/14 @ 7:30 p.m. Craig Bickhardt www.craigbickhardt.com
Saturday, 2/8/14 @ 7:30 p.m. Anne Hills www.annehills.com
Saturday, 3/8/14 @ 7:30 p.m. Heather Pierson www.heatherpierson.com
Saturday, 4/12/14 @ 7:30 p.m. Friction Farm www.frictionfarm.com
Saturday, 5/10/14 @ 7:30 p.m. Scott Cook www.scottcook.net
Saturday, 6/7/14 @ 7;30 p.m. Bettman & Halpin www.stephaniebettman.com
(Doors open ½ hr. before showtime)

September’s Performer –MSG Acoustic Blues Trio

M.S.G. – The Acoustic Blues Trio performs traditional Piedmont blues. Their style of music has been influenced by the likes of Archie Edwards, Etta Baker, and Cephas & Wiggins. This band can raise the roof with some old-fashioned house party tunes, make you laugh with their witty originals and then make you weep with blues ballads!
Jeff King 410-378-4350
deercreekch@zoominternet.net

This program has been assisted by grants from the Maryland State Arts Council and the Harford County Government through the Harford County Cultural Arts Board. This program has also been assisted by a grant from the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland.

News from Hosanna AME Church

Annual Homecoming Services, Sunday September 15, 2013 @ 11:00 a.m. & 3:30 p.m. Theme: ” We are Family” Rev. Johnie Branch preaching at 11 a.m. Rev. Bess McAlister of Mt. Zoar AME Church preaching at 3 p.m. Saturday September 28, 2013 @ 4:00 p.m. Muscial Program featuring the Gospel Travelers

HEALTHY HARFORD DAY!
Saturday, September 28th 8am-11am
At the Bel Air Farmers’ Market (corner of Thomas Street and Hays Street.) Join us for a day of food, fitness and fun! Want to get in on the fun? To volunteer, contact info@healthyharford.org or call Bari Klein at (443) 617-2378 Vendors accepted until 8.16.2013
Learn more ways to get and stay healthy in Harford County!

Fall cleaning? Wonder what to do with all your pre-loved items?
Darlington’s wonderful Twice Blessed Thrift Shop cannot take larger items, furniture, electronics, etc. due to space considerations. Here’s a (somewhat) local alternative:

St. Mary’s Rummage Sale
Friday, September 6, 2013 10am – 2pm
Saturday, September 7, 2013 9am -1pm
1 St. Mary’s Church Road, Abingdon, MD 21009

Clothing, shoes, electronics, toys, pots and pans, kitchen items, collectables, tools, holiday and home décor, books, records, tapes, CDs, DVDs, appliances, jewelry, furniture, bedding, linens, sewing and knitting materials, pictures, lamps, gardening supplies, lawn care tools, patio furniture, crafting materials, antiques, electronics.
Call, Judi @443-655-7790 with questions, or to donate items to our rummage sale.
Benefits our church restoration projects.

Harford Lyme Advocates
a newly formed Harford County chapter of the National Capital Lyme Association Invites You to Attend Our Support Group Meetingon Lyme Disease
Open to EVERYONE interested in Lyme Disease Topics
Thursday, September 26, 2013
5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Bel Air Library – 2nd Floor
For More Information, please email us HarfordLymeAdvocates@gmail.com or Harford Lyme Advocates

Second Annual Forks and Corks Festival at Sunny Hill Farm
2128 Whiteford Rd,
Whiteford, MD 21160
September 7, 1 – 6 pm
Enjoy delicious foods made from the bountiful harvest of Sunny Hill Farm, while tasting fabulous fine wines from Fiore Winery. These food and wine pairings have been thoughtfully selected to showcase Harford County’s best harvest. Products from Broom’s Bloom Dairy, Daily Crises Farm and Paaby Family Honey will be featured as well. While here you can stroll the grounds and enjoy the scenery. Shop the farm stand and arts and crafts vendors, while listening to one of the best bands around, Head Rush. Enjoy a fun filled day on the farm! Tickets are just $10 when purchased in advance or $12 on the day of the event. Ticket includes: admission, a commorative wine glass, 6 tastings and live music! You can buy tickets at our produce stand or on line at http://www.eventbrite.com/event/5723258420. For Tickets or vendor information contact: 410-382-0856,sunnyhillfarm@verizon.net or sunnyhillfarmmd.com VENDORS WANTED – Handmade/homemade items, artists, wood workers, photographers. Just $15 a space (Includes a ticket to the wine festival).

Driver Awareness – Schools are Back in Session

Another school year is upon us and it serves to remind each of us of the additional safety concerns, we must take as drivers, to reduce the risk of injury to school children. Even though children have been outside playing all summer it has been at ball fields, parks and playgrounds. With school in session children will be walking to school, congregating at bus stops, and more visible on town and county streets and roads. Noteworthy here is that some of these time periods will occur in the early morning hours while it is still dark.

Sheriff’s deputies remind drivers to be alert at all times and of the need to not only reduce speed countywide but especially in school zones and in areas where kids walk to school. Drivers should take time to identify these high risk areas. Drivers are also reminded they are required to stop for school buses and to be alert for children who may dart into traffic after getting off the bus. Additionally, distracted driving is a serious concern and police stress that drivers should not text or operate cell phones will driving.

Police also emphasize that pedestrians have a stake in their own safety and offer the following advice. Parents should teach children how to safely cross streets by following the direction of school crossing guards and mechanical cross walk signs. Children should look both ways and cross at the crosswalks – never from between parked cars. Children should preferably wear bright clothing and parents can even consider purchasing flashing strobe lights that attach to back packs. These lights are quite visible, day or night, and often draw the driver’s attention to the pedestrian. And, while we know this is difficult, children should not be walking with ear buds as this reduces their ability to hear oncoming traffic nor should they be texting while walking where their attention is distracted further exposing them to risk.
Deputy Sheriff’s in Harford County are parents too and want everyone’s kids to come home safe each day. Working together as a community, striving to be responsible drivers and pedestrians, is the first step and goes a long way in achieving that goal.

Harford County Sheriff’s Office to Conduct Sobriety Checkpoint

The Harford County Sheriff’s Office will conduct a sobriety checkpoint this Labor Day weekend. The checkpoint, part of the continued crack down on drunk driving, will take place during the late evening hours of Saturday August 31, 2013 and continue into the early morning hours of September 1st. The Sheriff’s Office is a participant in the annual nationwide “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” drunk driving enforcement efforts. Deputies will be aggressively looking for drunk drivers during the crackdown and will arrest anyone caught driving drunk.

FIRST WEST NILE VIRUS CASES OF THE YEAR REPORTED IN MARYLAND

On August 23, 2013 the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (MD DHMH) reported its first confirmed the first three cases of symptomatic West Nile virus (WNV) infection in 2013. The Harford County Health Department recommends taking measures to prevent infection and reduce risk.

West Nile virus (WNV) is most commonly transmitted to humans by mosquitoes. You can reduce your risk of being infected with WNV by using insect repellent and wearing protective clothing to prevent mosquito bites. Also be sure to place mosquito netting over infant carriers when you are outdoors with infants..

Health Officer Susan Kelly encourages the public to help reduce the number of mosquitoes in outdoor areas where they work or play by draining any sources of standing water, even small ones, where mosquitoes can lay their eggs and breed.

For more information on the West Nile Virus virus, visit Harford County Health Department website at www.harfordcountyhealth.com, contact the Health Department at 410-612-1781, visit the Maryland Department of Health & Mental Hygiene at http://phpa.dhmh.maryland.gov/OIDEOR/CZVBD/SitePages/west-nile.aspx, or the National Centers for Disease Control website at http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/index.htm.

From our Friends at Delmarva Power

Avoid the “Green Dot” Scam: Always Check for Proper Identification

Delmarva Power reminds home and business owners to practice safety when someone claiming to represent a business contacts them either in person or by telephone. Recently, Delmarva has been alerted to a “Green Dot” scam. As such, information from law enforcement officials and other utilities has indicated that “scammers” are now targeting commercial businesses, typically ethnic restaurants. It has been reported that “scammers” are telling business owners that the location’s electric service account is delinquent and it will be shut-off for non-payment unless the business purchases a “Green Dot Money Pack” for a specific amount dictated by the “scammer” from a CVS, Rite Aid or WaWa. Victims are then given instructions to call a “scammer” telephone number with the card’s account number and pin. Once the “scammer” obtains the card’s identifying information, the value is then downloaded, swept and stolen. These transactions are untraceable.

Delmarva Power advises customers to ask for official photo identification from any person who shows up at their door. Employees from reputable companies, such as Delmarva Power, will carry official company identification cards. If proper identification cannot be produced, customers should notify police and the company with whom the individual claims to be associated.

If customers have any doubt about the validity of a person’s claim to represent Delmarva Power, they should call the company immediately at 1-800-375-7117.

Total Monthly Bills to Drop 5.4 Percent

Delmarva Power has filed two gas rate changes with the Delaware Public Service Commission that will result in an overall decrease in rates for natural gas customers this winter. The combined effect of these two changes (GCR decrease and ESR increase) will result in an overall monthly bill decrease of $8.18 or about 5.4 percent for typical residential customers who use 120 CCF of natural gas per month during the heating season. This will reduce the bill from $150.67 to $ 142.49. This represents the third straight year of gas cost reductions for Delmarva Power customers. Delmarva Power purchases gas on behalf of its customers and sets rates according to what it paid for the gas.

Delmarva Power encourages customers to visit www.delmarva.com for information on saving energy and money in their home or business. The company also offers customers Budget Billing, a fixed payment plan based on the customer’s 12-month average bill. Customers can enroll online or by calling 1-800-375-7117.

Find additional information by visiting www.delmarva.com , on Facebook at www.facebook.com/delmarvapower Our mobile app is available at www.delmarva.com/mobileapp

Hosanna School Museum

You are invited to a discussion of King Peggy: An American Secretary: Her Royal Destiny and the Inspiring Story of How She Changed and American Village on Saturday, September 14, 2- 3:30 pm. at the Hosanna School Museum, 2424 Castleton Rd. in Darlington, MD.

Enjoy the unique story of Nana Amuah-Afenyi VI, known informally as King Peggy, a secretary at the Embassy of Ghana in Washington, D.C. turned Nana (Chief) of the town of Otuam, in Ghana! Born Peggielene Bartels in Ghana, King Peggy became a naturalized citizen and has worked for the embassy since the 1970s. Following the death of her uncle, the former Chief, in 2008, she was ritually chosen to replace him. Her book, King Peggy, co- written with Eleanor Herman, is the pick for this year’s One Maryland One Book Program.

Please register at the Darlington Library 410-638-3750 (the first 11 people to register get a FREE book).
For more information: http://www.hosannaschoolmuseum.org/events/

Meet King Peggy at Harford Community College on Wednesday, September 18 at 7:30 pm
Grades 8-Adults / Registration suggested: call 410-273-5600 Chesapeake Theater, Harford Community College