Post offices to host Passport Fair Day Saturday

To help travelers prepare for their international travel, USPS passport acceptance stations and branches in the Southern Maryland area will be conducting passport fairs on Saturday, March 24. Passport applications will be processed during the post offices’ normal business hours. Walk-ins are welcome. The participating Charles County offices include:

• Hughesville Post Office, 15485 Prince Frederick Road, Hughesville, MD 20637;

• Indian Head Post Office, 4050 Indian Head Highway, Indian Head, MD 20640; and

• Waldorf Post Office, 150 Post Office Road, Waldorf, MD 20602;

Starting April 2, the mandated passport execution fee changes from $25 to $35. This fee applies to passport applications submitted to authorized agents, including U.S. post offices.

Go to travel.state.gov for more information.

Maryland Fight for $15 Campaign to meet Saturday in Waldorf

The Maryland Fight For $15 Campaign will hold its fourth community meeting at 4 p.m. Saturday, March 24, at the Body of Christ Church in Waldorf, 12379 Kaine Place. The campaign will be joined by former Charles County Commissioner Reuben Collins and current Charles County NAACP President Janice Wilson. The Maryland Fight For $15 is working to raise the Maryland minimum wage so that 573,000 Maryland workers

Tri-County Animal Shelter to be closed March 31

The Tri-County Animal Shelter, 6707 Animal Shelter Road, Hughesville, will be closed to the public Saturday, March 31, for facility maintenance. The shelter will reopen to the public for adoptions on Monday, April 2, at noon.

Dept. of Health to resume limited perc testing

The Charles County Department of Health will begin wet season perc testing in lower terrace areas only. These lower terrace areas include the lower areas of Newburg and Marshall Hall. The department will be contacting the applicants that already have submitted applications in those areas. The department’s Environmental Health Division staff conducts perc tests which are needed for the approval and construction of residential and commercial septic systems.The Code of Maryland Regulations requires that perc testing occur during the wet season to protect groundwater quality.

Perc tests will be scheduled for a limited time only. Perc testing in other areas of the County will remain closed. The department will continue to re-evaluate conditions to determine if additional testing can be conducted in other areas of the county. The department will be using a 5 feet buffer for all deep perc tests and a 3 feet buffer for sandmound testing. The buffer could be updated if conditions change.

For more information, contact the Charles County Department of Health’s Environmental Health Division at 301-609-6751.

True crime story named One Maryland One Book

Maryland Humanities announced the selection of “Bloodsworth: The True Story of the First Death Row Inmate Exonerated by DNA” by Maryland native Tim Junkin for the 2018 One Maryland One Book program. The book was chosen by a committee of librarians, educators, authors and bibliophiles in February from more than 209 titles suggested last fall by readers across the state under the theme, “Justice.”

Charged with the rape and murder of a 9-year-old girl in 1984, Kirk Bloodsworth was tried, convicted and sentenced to die in Maryland’s gas chamber. Maintaining his innocence, he read everything on criminal law available in the prison library and persuaded a new lawyer to petition for the then-innovative DNA testing. After nine years in one of the harshest prisons in America, Bloodsworth became the first death row inmate exonerated by DNA evidence. He was pardoned by the governor of Maryland and has gone on to become a tireless spokesman against capital punishment. Bloodsworth’s story speaks for hundreds of others who were wrongly convicted and have since been released, and for the thousands still in prison waiting for DNA testing.

Author Tim Junkin is an attorney with 30 years of experience as a trial lawyer and advocate of civil rights, an award-winning writer, and a teacher. He spent much of his boyhood in Talbot County, graduating from Easton High School. Today he lives on the Wye River on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Junkin is the author of “The Waterman,” “Good Counsel” and “Bloodsworth.” He also founded Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy which became ShoreRivers, a Maryland river protection nonprofit, and has received several environmental awards. He graduated from the University of Maryland in 1973 and completed his law studies at Georgetown University Law Center in 1977. He has taught at American University, Georgetown University Law Center, Harvard University Law School and the Bethesda Writer’s Center.

Through its Maryland Center for the Book program, Maryland Humanities created One Maryland One Book (OMOB) to bring together diverse people in communities across the state through the shared experience of reading the same book. Readers are invited to participate in book-centered discussions and related programs at public libraries, high schools, colleges, museums, bookstores, and community and senior centers around the state.

OMOB programs, including an author tour, take place each year in the fall. A calendar of free public events will be available online at www.mdhumanities.org/programs/one-maryland-one-book/ beginning this summer.

Tenth annual Touch A Truck to bring kids around EMS vehicles, trucks

The Center for Children, in conjunction with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, is gearing up for its 10th Annual Touch A Truck to be held at Regency Furniture Stadium on Saturday, May 12, from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Admission is $8 for adults, $5 for children and children younger than 1 are free.

Touch A Truck is an interactive event that provides families with the opportunity to touch, learn, and explore trucks, construction vehicles, cars, public safety equipment and meet those who protect, serve, and build our Southern Maryland community. Following the event attendees can enjoy the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs baseball team taking on the Somerset Patriots.

Companies are encouraged to bring a company vehicle, showcase your products or services, create brand awareness, provide hands-on demonstrations, or distribute information. If you want to explore the various ways you can show your support as a sponsor, exhibitor or vendor, contact Lorin Johnson at ljohnson@center-for-children. org or 301-609-9887, ext. 129.