Cancer survivors, caregivers to be honored at Relay For Life

Local cancer survivors and their caregivers will take the celebratory first lap at the annual American Cancer Society Relay For Life of Charles County event Friday, June 10, at the Charles County Fairgrounds in La Plata. A survivor reception, sponsored by the University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center, will be held at 4 p.m. in Commercial Building A and the survivors lap will begin at 6:15 p.m. Anyone who has ever been diagnosed with cancer may participate and encouraged to bring a guest. As the survivors walk, other participants will cheer them on in a demonstration of support and celebration. The five-year survival rate for all cancers has risen to 68 percent, and there are an estimated 14.5 million survivors in America.

The Relay For Life of Charles County is a community event where teams and individuals set up campsites and take turns walking or running around a track or path. Last year, 4 million people participated in more than 6,000 events worldwide. The money raised supports groundbreaking cancer research, education and risk reduction efforts, and free information and critical ser vices for people with cancer who need them.

Cancer survivors or caregivers

Maryland’s newest heritage trail just a hoofbeat away

Since the first settlers set foot here in the early 1600s, horses have been a part of Southern Maryland. “Hoofbeats Through History: The Southern Maryland Historic Horse Trail,” the region’s new heritage trail, is a network of destinations highlighting the important role horses have played in the area’s culture and heritage.

The project encompasses sites where the cavalry camped during the Civil War, stops along an early stage coach route and a path of the Pony Express, plus plantations and manor houses dating back to colonial days, when horses pulled carriages and plowed fields. Several sites exemplify Southern Maryland’s role in the thoroughbred racing industry, and others showcase Maryland’s state sport (jousting) and the long tradition of the fox chase. At several destinations, visitors can even examine centuries-old equine-related artifacts unearthed in the area.

The trail website, www. somdhorsetrails.smadc.com, includes descriptions, stories, photos, hours and directions for the key sites, online galleries of documents and articles, and an interactive map. In addition to the history component, the website lists the area’s Horse Discovery Centers: carefully selected, licensed stables that welcome people of all ages and experience levels into their barns to learn about horses in a friendly, knowledgeable environment. The website also lists horseback riding trails and a summary of active working horse farms, stables and equine-related events that encourage visitors to enjoy some modern-day horse fun.

“The Southern Maryland Historic Horse Trail supports SMADC’s ongoing mission to promote the horse industry in Southern Maryland, as well as all farms throughout the region,” said Susan McQuilkin, marketing executive with the Southern Maryland Agricultural Development Commission, in a press release. SMADC played a key role in creating the Southern Maryland trail, with funding from the Maryland Horse Industry Board (MHIB). The Southern Maryland Trail is the second regional trail to be completed as part of MHIB’s larger Maryland Historic Horse Trail, a network of heritage trails across the state. Photos, anecdotes and other historic information collected for this regional trail will become part of a state-wide archive of equine history.

McQuilkin contacted potential sites and interviewed locals in horse-related fields while collecting data for the trail, according to the release.

“It’s been so fascinating to see these interesting anecdotes and stories unfold, and to realize how much horse history we have here,” said McQuilkin, who is also an enthusiastic horsewoman. “We expect that anyone with even a passing interest in horses will enjoy seeing Southern Maryland from this perspective, and I think many people who haven’t had much experience with horses may be moved to go to one of our Horse Discovery Centers or current stables and actually interact with horses, whether to ride or watch a demonstration or show.”

“We expect this newest Historic Horse Trail will draw visitors from across the state and beyond,” said Ross Peddicord, executive director of the MHIB, a program of the Maryland Department of Agriculture, in the release. “Maryland has this great horse history, going way back to the 1600s, and it was all just slipping away, disappearing. The Historic Horse Trail is an attempt to document that history and make it easy for visitors to access it and enjoy it, and maybe introduce them to the active horse culture we have today.”

While the Southern Maryland Historic Horse Trail website is the key tool for navigating the trail, SMADC’s next edition of “For Your Horse: The Southern Maryland Equine Guide,” due out in late summer, will feature a summarized version of the trail, plus a directory of regional horse stables and other equine-related resources.

Bay commission celebrates Bay Awareness Week

Chesapeake Bay Commission members launched a series of events this week in celebration of the first Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week.

This first Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week is being celebrated June 4-12 in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

CBC Chairman Sen. Thomas “Mac” Middleton (D-Charles) and Commission Executive Director Ann Swanson appeared on Maryland Public Television’s public affairs program “Direct Connection” on June 6.

Maryland Delegation members Del. Tawanna Gaines (D-Prince George’s) and Del. Barbara Frush (D-Prince George’s) will familiarize the Prince George’s Kiwanis Club with the role of the Chesapeake Bay Commission while on a boat tour of their local waters led by the Anacostia Watershed Society.

Middleton, Gaines and Frush will head to Southern Maryland later in the week to join commission member Bernie Fowler at his iconic Patuxent River Wade-In to measure water clarity, an important indicator of bay health. The 29th annual Wade-In will be held at 1 p.m. June 12 at Jefferson Patterson Park in St. Leonard.

CBC member Sen. Emmett W. Hanger Jr. (R) of Virginia will join Shenandoah Valley agriculture leaders at 2 p.m. June 8 to celebrate Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week by showcasing a farm operation taking action to restore the bay. The farm recently installed stream fencing along tributaries of Long Meadow under the commonwealth’s successful livestock stream exclusion program.

To be a part of the first Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week, events can be found at www.chesapeakebay.net/takeaction/events.