Easton

William Tuerke Jr.Former Tuerkes ownerWilliam A. Tuerke Jr., retired chairman and president of Tuerkes-Beckers Inc., the leather-goods chain, died Thursday of emphysema at Memorial Hospital in Easton. He was 84.Mr. Tuerke, who retired in 1983, inherited the leather-goods retailing business from his father, who had founded it in 1899.The company now has 13 stores, including several in Maryland. Shops sell luggage, handbags and other leather items, as well as an array of specialty and gift merchandise.

Talbot Bank of Easton, Maryland said Friday it has entered into a consent order with federal and state regulators. That order from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Commissioner of Financial Regulation of Maryland requires the bank to improve its credit quality and revise some of its policies and procedures, the bank said. "No bank has been immune from the challenges created by the economic downturn," CEO Patrick M. Bilbrough said in a statement. "As we deal with those challenges, we are working closely with the FDIC and the commissioner to make sure that we handle these challenges in the correct way in a timely manner.

EASTON -- It was supposed to be a carefree summer getaway at a waterfront home on the Eastern Shore - a time for bonding with old friends while celebrating a budding romance. There would be boating, tubing and a bounty of steamed Maryland crabs. But what began as a postcard-perfect trip for a group of college friends and siblings turned tragic in the early hours of Saturday when a fire roared through the sprawling house, cutting short three of the seven young lives. Margaret Rose "Maggie" Fitzgerald, president of her 2007 high school graduating class at Saints Peter and Paul High School in Easton, and her brother Kennedy Fitzgerald, an honor student at the University of Maryland, College Park, died at their family's home, friends said yesterday.

After Winters Mill's girls lacrosse team started the season 2-4, coach Courtney Vaughn told her players that if the seniors led and the youngsters followed they would "do good things down the road. " The road for the Falcons' five leaders ended Tuesday with a third state championship in four years after an 8-7 victory over Easton in the Class 2A-1A final at UMBC Stadium. The seniors - twin midfielders Shelby and Sydney Trentzsch and defenders Maddie Bodden, Emily Horn and Delaney Norris - led their younger teammates to a big finish, winning 13 of their last 14 games with the only loss a 12-10 setback to No. 2 Century on April 30. "I told them after that game, the only team that can beat you is yourselves," Vaughn said.

Sen. Barbara Mikulski formally threatened to filibuster a bill to overhaul the U.S. Postal Service because of concerns she has about the proposed closing of Easton's mail processing center, the Maryland Democrat's office said Thursday. The bipartisan bill would allow the Postal Service to end Saturday delivery and offer buyouts to employees. It would not affect the Easton plant directly, but because the U.S. Postal Service supports the measure, Mikulski is hoping to use it as leverage.

Easton wasn't always an arts destination, with one gallery after another lining its shady, wide-sidewalked streets. For most of its history, hunters would travel to the Eastern Shore town each autumn for a weekend of waterfowl hunting during the November days when the migrating Canada geese flew overhead. Since they would often bring their wives and kids, it made sense to offer some activities for all the visitors. That's why, since 1971, the nonprofit group Waterfowl Festival Inc. has staged an annual event combining Easton's waterfowl hunting heritage with its newer role as a place to appreciate and purchase artwork.

EASTON - In an action being hailed by civil libertarians, Talbot County school officials agreed last night to scrap a drug testing policy in which 18 students were ordered to provide urine samples that were tested in front of other students in the school auditorium. Under terms of a settlement of a lawsuit filed by Easton High School students, parents and the American Civil Liberties Union, Talbot's seven-member school board also agreed to pay damages and to let parents decide whether to seek private testing for their children if officials suspect drug use. The settlement of the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Baltimore requires the school system to: Pay an undisclosed amount in damages to the students, as well as their legal fees.

South Carroll found a number of wide-open shots in Friday's Class 2A state semifinals. The Cavaliers got good looks from the corners, the wings and a number of other places. But they couldn't make the shots. After scoring 13 points in just over four minutes at the start, No. 12 South Carroll suddenly went cold. That allowed Easton to bounce back and pull away for a 69-52 victory over the Cavaliers at Comcast Center. South Carroll (24-2), trying for its first state final appearance in 22 years, suffered its second loss in the state semifinals in the past three seasons.

On June 6, 2004, RICHARD W. EASTON, age 61, loving father of Tricia H. Easton and beloved son of Margaret E. Easton. Also survived by brothers Charles A. and Donald A. Easton and many nieces and nephews. Services will be private. In lieu of flowers contributions in his memory may be made to the Stella Maris Hospice at Mercy Hospital or the American Cancer Society.

On April 4, 2005, MARGARET EDITH EASTON of Sykesville; beloved wife of the late Charles Albert Easton Jr.; devoted mother of Donald A. Easton, Charles A. Easton III and his wife Melissa and the late Richard W. Easton; loving grandmother of Teresa and Bryan Records, Susan and Dan Wright and David and Takako Easton; dear great-grandmother of Brandon Records, Matthew, Anthony, Stacey and Michael Wright, and Emily Easton; dear great-great grandmother of...

Mary J. May, a homemaker and yachtswoman, died March 31 from bone marrow disease at Heartfields at Easton, an assisted-living community. She was 91. The daughter of a mining engineer and a homemaker, the former Mary Josephine Hundley was born and raised in Chuquicamata, Chile, where she graduated from high school in 1939. She earned a bachelor's degree in 1943 in sociology from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va. In 1942, she married Frank B. May, a mechanical and civil engineer, whose work took the couple to Hawaii, Japan, England, Germany, Canada and Belgium, before they settled in Upper Saddle River, N.J. They moved to Queenstown and in 1996 settled at the Londonderry Retirement Community in Easton.

Marylanders will get a chance to make their views known at a pair of upcoming hearings on whether fishing for Atlantic menhaden ought to be curtailed to protect "the most important fish in the sea," as some have dubbed it. Hearings are scheduled from Oct. 16 through Nov. 1 from Maine to North Carolina on whether to cut commercial harvest of menhaden, and if so by how much.  The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is weighing reductions of...

Now is the time. Early fall is when the pleasures peak in Talbot and Dorchester counties. That's when these Eastern Shore towns stop being detours along the way to the shore and turn into full-fledged destinations. There are practical advantages to visiting St. Michaels, Easton and Cambridge after Labor Day. Hotel rates plunge, beach traffic is a nonissue and the kids are, as they say, back in school. There are even a few reasons to put off an Eastern Shore trip as late into fall as you can. Migrating wildfowl begin to arrive here in late October.

Two Easton High School lacrosse players should not have been suspended or arrested for having a penknife and lighter in their lacrosse bags, according to the Maryland state school board, which ordered that the boys' records be wiped clean. In a legal opinion released Tuesday, the state school board said Talbot County school officials had failed to use "appropriate discretion" in disciplining the two lacrosse players, who said they carried the items to repair their lacrosse sticks.

Sen. Barbara Mikulski formally threatened to filibuster a bill to overhaul the U.S. Postal Service because of concerns she has about the proposed closing of Easton's mail processing center, the Maryland Democrat's office said Thursday. The bipartisan bill would allow the Postal Service to end Saturday delivery and offer buyouts to employees. It would not affect the Easton plant directly, but because the U.S. Postal Service supports the measure, Mikulski is hoping to use it as leverage.

Kathie Jones loses more than patience when the mail is late. She also loses customers. As the owner of a small business that prepares bulk mail for delivery by the U.S. Postal Service, Jones hears complaints every time a church newsletter or a political ad she sends arrives late — even if the delays are not her fault. If mail is lost, she has to start projects over, sometimes eating the cost. So Jones is understandably wary about a Postal Service proposal to close the last mail-sorting hub on the Eastern Shore, located a few hundred feet from the Easton Municipal Airport.

Please save the date of Saturday, the 22 of April, 2006 for the wedding of Tanya Sheldon and Odie Easton, Jr. They will be married at the Halethorpe Relay United Methodist Church. The couple resides in White Marsh, MD.

"Mr. Beverage" is back at the Midtown. Nathan Beveridge, who owned the Midtown Yacht Club in Mount Vernon from 1998 to 2005, is back at the helm, the interim operators having been pushed overboard in November. And that's the last of the nautical references, because the Midtown Yacht Club is now Midtown BBQ & Brew. You can just call it "Midtown," Beveridge says. Many folks always did anyway. In the 1990s, Beveridge earned a following, along with, inevitably, the "Mr. Beverage" nickname, at the bygone Conservatory high atop the Peabody Court Hotel, where the views of Mount Vernon were giddy.

Introducing Chick Beer -- "a beer created by a woman, for women. " Brewed in Wisconsin, the 97-calorie beer is now launching in Baltimore, where it will be distributed by Bond Distributing. There's a local connection. The founder of Chick Beer is Shazz Lewis, who lives in Easton. Lewis, the story goes, was in her Hair o' the Dog, the Easton wine and spirits store owned by her husband when it hit her: "One day, I was looking at the beer cooler, which has more than 400 different beers in it, and I had an 'aha' moment: Why wasn't there a beer that shouted out to me?