Calvert County Recycles - 
if you live in Calvert County, the following items can be recycled

Recycling is a very important part of the Calvert County waste management program. While many people still don't recycle, the benefits should be reviewed:

1. conserves natural resources; consider that if we didn't recycle newspaper we would have to cut more trees to produce new newspapers,
   
2. conserves landfill space; landfills would fill up proportionately to the amount of materials we don't recycle - if we didn't recycle anything, most landfills would be full 10-30% faster than had we all recycled,
   
3. saves us money; yes, actually it does - a new landfill costs millions of dollars to develop and build - money that could better be spent on schools, roads, and public safety
   
4. it makes cents - yes - more people are employed with recycling businesses and many people sell recyclable materials.
   

So, if you live in Calvert County, the following items can be recycled:

• Glass: Clear, brown, green, yellow, red or blue drinking, food, and beverage bottles. If it didn't have food or beverage it, it probably can't be recycled. Don't take the labels off, but please remove the lids. Rinse out the container and recycle. We can't accept plate glass, light bulbs, mirrors, dishes, pottery, ceramics, windshields or other non-food containers.
  
  
• Cans:   All food and beverage cans, steel, tin, empty paint, aerosol or aluminum can be recycled. Rinse them out and flatten if you can. And don't worry about the labels either.
  
  
• Plastic:  All plastic food containers and bottles with #'s 1 thru 7. Please rinse out and flatten (for space). We don't accept plastic toys, dolls, plastic wrap, large buckets; pans or pails, or plastic bags. Plastic bags can be returned to the store in which you received them to be recycled.
  
  
• Single Stream Recycling:  We accept all dry and stacked NEWSPAPER, with or with out the Sunday insert. Please DON’T include the plastic bag you may have stacked the paper in. All MAGAZINES and all “slick” printed material, sales, mail order catalogues and other high quality printed catalogs. Every piece of MAIL you receive can be recycled. Any SCHOOL PAPERS as well as some containers from your kitchen – including pasta, cereal, and food boxes. You can also recycle paperback and hardback books. TELEPHONE BOOKS are also acceptable. Cardboard: corrugated, if it has interior ridges, waffles, or is thick, it's corrugated and we love to recycle it. We are now accepting Asian boxes too.
  
  
• Textiles/Clothes:   Any old clothing you have, with or without holes, buttons or zippers can be recycled. While the good clothing is sorted out for resale, the really bad stuff (please don't be shy) is then used for rags and other products. Don't forget sheets, curtains, blankets, socks, shoes, belts, cloth table cloths, napkins, shower curtains, towels, or just about anything that's a fabric. Be sure that the items are clean and dry. If you're unsure, please ask an attendant.
  
  
• Motor Oil:  Motor Oil Filters: Antifreeze: If you do your own oil changes, chances are that you have a used filter so when you bring your oil to the recycling center, bring along the filter too. Filters should be drained and recycled in the marked container at all sites..
  
  
• Household Hazardous Waste:  This program is available to residents only -NO COMMERCIAL HAULERS/BUSINESSES. Commercial businesses must make other arrangements for disposal. County residents may drop off their HHW at the Appeal Landfill for free. These products usually have the words "DANGER, POISON OR WARNING" on the labels, and should be kept out of the regular garbage. Some of these items found around the house are; pesticides/insecticides, paint thinners/removers, drain cleaner, gas or fuels, pool chemicals, solvents, etc.

   

• E-cycling:  Computers, monitors, printers keyboards, mouse, copiers, VCR's, DVD players, two-way radios at the Mt. Hope, Huntingtown, Barstow, Ball road and Appeal Landfill sites.

   

• Fluorescent & Incandescent Lamps & Ballasts:   All tube fluorescent lights and ballast along with incandescent lights can be recycled at Mt. Hope, Huntingtown, Barstow, Ball Road and Appeal Landfill sites.

• Metal: Lawnmowers/tractors, refrigerators, a/c units, dryers, washers, freezers, stoves, dishwashers, metal cabinets, desks, and chairs.  All of these items can be recycled.  If the item is at least 80% metal, it can be put into the metal recycling boxes.  Appeal Landfill has recessed metal boxes, Mt. Hope, Huntingtown, Plum Pt., Barstow, and Ball Rd. all have metal recycling boxes.  Citizens must put all metal into the boxes provided at the compactor sites.  NO appliances with freon are accepted at the compactor sites, these items must come to the Appeal Landfill for proper draining and disposal.

• And Other Stuff:  Propane tanks from residential BBQ grills (no commercial) can be brought to any site to be recycled. Inkjet/Laser cartridges from printers and fax machines. Cell phones can be recycled at all sites. Rechargeable batteries along with car, boat, and motorcycle batteries can be recycled, alkaline batteries are not acceptable.

Lisa Collins (Bay Parkway) was walking the beach last week (Dec. 2007) and found a "Princess" balloon floating in the water.  A note was attached stating the balloon was released at a little girls birthday party in Somerset, Pennsylvania.  Lisa plans on writing her back and sending her some mementos from the beach.   12/2/07

click photo to view enlargement

Lisa & Rick, 
Sydney and I want to THANK YOU for the lovely letter and picture. I was incredibly shocked when  I opened it and realized that one of the balloons traveled from Somerset, PA to the Chesapeake Bay!  It was VERY exciting. Your letter will be included in her first year scrapbook. Thank you so much for taking the time to correspond. Growing up, our grade school used to release balloons the beginning of the school year and we'd wait patiently all year long to see who would get a reply. We had so many balloons left over from her first birthday, that I decided to release them with a card. I'm so glad now that I did. Maybe we'll make it an annual tradition! 
 My name is Lori Fisher and I'm Sydney's Mother. She was my first born at a ripe age of 35! I'm currently pregnant with my second child (due July 24th). Unfortunately, my "significant other" walked out on us around Christmas and it's been a very difficult month!  Your letter couldn't have arrived at a better time. Again, thank you for your kindness.  Attached is a picture of Sydney and I at her first Birthday party.... 
Regards,  Lori Fisher & Sydney Beals

                                                                                                                                                             1/22/08

As some of you know, I have been inquiring about the Sharps Island Lighthouse not functioning the entire summer since back in May of '07 and wondering why.

I contacted 'Friends of Lighthouses' with a reply from that organization telling me that many people have contacted the organization about the light not working and no one seemed to know the status.

Well, I contacted the Coast Guard Navigation

Center and below is the response I received from them.  It would be sad to not have the Sharps Island Lighthouse working again since I have looked out across the Chesapeake Bay my entire life and seen it shine!   The lighthouse is known as the 'Leaning Tower of Lighthouses'.   The only lighthouse that has a permanent tilt to it.   Maybe we can adopt it!  :-)

Mr. Meyer,

Thank you for contacting the Coast Guard Navigation Center.  We have contacted the USCG Aids to Navigation Team in MD and they informed us that they sent out a casualty report and subsequent Broadcast Notice to Mariners in 2005 for the Sharps Island Lighthouse.  The structure is very badly deteriorated and they have no way to access it and perform routine maintenance on this light.  There are no immediate plans for the light to become operational again.

We hope this addresses your inquiry.  In order to better serve the public, please inform us if this answer was helpful.

Sincerely,
USCG Navigation Information Service
7323 Telegraph Road
Alexandria, Virginia 22315
Tel:  (703) 313-5900
Fax: (703) 313-5920
http://www.navcen.uscg.gov

11/29/07

NECA Meeting

We would like to thank Jay Degges, an owner of the Neeld property, for attending and speaking at the November 2007 NECA meeting.  Over 30 residents attended this very informative meeting and many topics were discussed.  More details from the meeting will be posted soon.

11/3/07

Sheriff's Department Police Report:   Drug Arrest in Neeld Estate
May 1, 2007, 10:20 p.m.
Dfc. Richard S. Wilson responded to the end of Bay Parkway in the Neeld Estates subdivision to investigate a call of trespassers in a house under construction.  Another responding officer, Sgt. Brian McCourt, located a vehicle occupied by two males parked in a driveway.  Officer Wilson approached the vehicle and observed suspected marijuana on the console. One of the men advised the vehicle and contents were his.  He was charged with possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.
  

Your help is needed to keep Neeld Estate a safe place to live. 
Please report suspicious activity in our community. 

"Santa" made an early delivery to the Neeld Estate community.  We were gifted with a beautiful Santa suit from John Mishler. Thanks John... we appreciate your generosity and your dedication each Christmas to our community.                                                                                                        6/2/07

July 2004 - Calvert Marine Museum Fossil Club Newsletter - 
Article and pictures about Neeld Estate and "Identifind Day"
can be found on page 11. Very nice newsletter.
(Newsletter is in PDF format)

DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING AND ZONING CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE GUIDE PERMIT REQUIREMENTS FOR CONSTRUCTION IN THE FLOODPLAIN        REVISED MAY 2006

ttp://www.co.cal.md.us/residents/building/planning/howtoguide/floodplainregs/default.asp

Mosquito Info

(7/11/05)

 The wharf at Plum Point was a bustling commercial center that included a warehouse, Plum Point Store, a post office, a passenger terminal building, and a cannery. The first general store was actually two Civil War-era buildings---a warehouse and a slave dwelling. After 1893, the store was expanded on the east side and a large porch was built across the front of the structure. One account reports, "the store was the hub of the community, a gathering place for both blacks and whites, and everyone who knew it holds their own special memories."

The store was an important gathering place for more than just trade. There is an interesting story from the Civil War era---two Confederate soldiers were in the Plum Point store when they were alerted to the presence of Union soldiers. The Confederate men quickly went up into the attic and changed their clothes. The men hid their swords under the floorboards of the attic.  Their swords were found there decades later.