Talbot County

CHESTERTOWN - The parents of Richard Wayne "Richie" Spicknall III and Destiny Array Spicknall spoke in a packed Kent County courtroom yesterday - one to remember the slain youngsters and try to move on, the other to acknowledge that not even a lifetime in prison can change what he did. Clutching baby blankets that had belonged to her children, Lisa Marie Spicknall spoke quietly, tearfully, yet remained composed as she recalled favorite memories and...

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.

When movie tough guy Robert Mitchum died July 2, news stories announcing his death listed his birthplace as Bridgeport, Conn.However, according to a 1948 story in The Sun, Mitchum, the son of a railroader, was born in the Cecil County town of Rising Sun:"Hollywood, Sept 1 (AP) -- Robert Mitchum, screen player, and two actresses left jail under $1,000 bond each today after their arrest earlier in a narcotic raid on a Laurel canyon home."Mitchum along with actress Lila Leeds, 20; dancer Vickie Evans, 25, and Robert Ford, a real estate man, were booked on suspicion of violating state and Federal narcotics laws after police said they broke in on a marijuana smoking party in the girls' home.

The Class 4A-3A boys lacrosse championship between defending champion South River and Westminster was suspended Wednesday night due to lightning at UMBC. The game was slated to pick up where it left off on Thursday, with the South River leading, 8-7, and just over a minute remaining in the first half. The first sight of lightning prompted an automatic 30-minute delay. Just as the players returned to the field and play was expected to continue, lightning was again seen in the area, forcing the suspension.

Restaurant weeks come and go. Already this year, Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Howard County and Annapolis have mounted successful winter dining promotions. Frederick is wrapping up its winter restaurant week Sunday. Talbot County is up next. Some two dozen restaurants, clustered mostly in Easton, Oxford and St. Michaels, will be offering fixed-price, two-course lunch ($20.11) and three-course dinner menus ($30.11) March 20-27. Participating restaurants include a few I've written about lately — the Robert Morris Inn and Brasserie Brightwell — and others I've been wanting to go down and try. What distinguishes this year's Talbot County's restaurant week is its glamorous March 27 closing event at the Tidewater Inn . "An Evening with Julie and Julia" will feature a pair of best-selling food writers, Julie Powell and Amanda Hesser.

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.

Federal wildlife officials are offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to the conviction of the person who killed a pair of bald eagles in Talbot County last Monday. The carcasses were found by a resident near the intersection of Kitty's Corner and State Road 328, just south of Tuckahoe Creek. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials believe the eagles were the victims of secondary poisoning after feeding on a dead fox. Bald eagles are no longer listed under the Endangered Species Act, but they are federally protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Maximum fines under these acts are $100,000 and $15,000 respectively, with possible imprisonment up to one year.

I firmly believe in the "zero tolerance" program of the Talbot County school system ("Zero common sense," May 11). However, I think they have not gone far enough to ensure the safety of our future generations. A pencil or pen can be a very dangerous weapon when put into the wrong hands. Sharpened, a lead pencil can be lethal! In addition, if we have any Boy Scouts getting their hands on these things, we could have desk fires happening right in the middle of class. Do not underestimate what rubbing two wooden sticks together can do. Let's not even think about the possibilities.

EASTON -- A state trooper arrested in March on conspiracy charges avoided a court trial yesterday by agreeing to resign from the Maryland State Police.In exchange, criminal counts against him were placed on the Talbot County District Court's stet, or inactive, docket.Tfc. George Arthur Lloyd, 26, was charged with conspiring to help two inmates who wanted to escape from the Talbot County Detention Center.He was charged with attempting to obtain and smuggle into the jail a cutting instrument.

Ruth R. Startt, a retired Talbot County register of wills and Easton civic activist, died Sunday at Talbot Hospice House. She was 94, and family members said she died of infirmities related to old age. An Easton native and 1928 graduate of Easton High School, she earned a bachelor's degree from St. Joseph's College in Emmitsburg in 1933. She taught school for a year before being appointed as a deputy register of wills in 1934. She held that position until 1952, when she was appointed register of wills to complete a term.

Tyler Hughes always liked to go fast. At age 3, he was powering a little go-kart around an asphalt track in a neighbor's backyard on the Eastern Shore. At 5 years old, he was whipping quarter-midget racecars around dirt tracks in Maryland and Delaware. At age 10, he was racing 600cc modified lite dwarf cars around Seaford, Del., picking up seven wins as the youngest rookie driver. Now, the 16-year-old from Cordova in Talbot County has been named NASCAR's 2012 Virginia Rookie of the Year in the Whelen All-American Series, a points championship for local NASCAR-sanctioned racetracks.

Mary D. Tilghman, who spent the past two decades preserving Talbot County's historic Wye House plantation, which has been occupied by her family since 1659, died there Friday of heart failure. She was 93. "She was quite a lady and the great steward of Wye House. It is a seven-part Georgian-period house that was built in 1782 and is an extraordinary one," said Walter G. Schamu, a partner in the firm of Schamu, Machowski, Grego Architects, who designed several projects at the house.

Federal wildlife officials are offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to the conviction of the person who killed a pair of bald eagles in Talbot County last Monday. The carcasses were found by a resident near the intersection of Kitty's Corner and State Road 328, just south of Tuckahoe Creek. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials believe the eagles were the victims of secondary poisoning after feeding on a dead fox. Bald eagles are no longer listed under the Endangered Species Act, but they are federally protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Maximum fines under these acts are $100,000 and $15,000 respectively, with possible imprisonment up to one year.

The State Board of Education was right to reject Anne Arundel County Executive John Leopold's attempt to evade the spirit of a law that prevents local jurisdictions from slacking off in their support for public schools. Protest though he might that he had done nothing wrong, Mr. Leopold's budget for the current fiscal year provided less money to support classroom education than in the year before, and had his effort been allowed to stand, that difference - amounting to about $12 million a year - would have been cemented into perpetuity.

Maryland House and Garden Pilgrimage The 2012 Maryland House and Garden Pilgrimage includes visits to more than 50 private homes, gardens, farms, churches and historic sites across five Maryland jurisdictions: Bolton Hill (Saturday, April 28); St. Mary's County (Saturday, May 5); Talbot County (Saturday, May 12); Howard County (Saturday, May 19); and Anne Arundel County (Sunday, May 20). Tickets are $30 in advance or $35 the day of the tour. Lunches are offered on the county tours for an additional charge.

EASTON – Shortly before sunrise, Edwin F. Hale Sr. scatters decoys on the water, preparing for a day of waterfowl hunting on his Talbot County farm. The day dawns cloudy, a good sign because ducks and geese fly low under clouds, Hale says, as he and two hunting buddies settle into a duck blind camouflaged with pine branches along Hunting Creek. At first all is quiet, with no waterfowl to be seen. But Hale, as always, is hopeful. "Then a switch will be turned on and they come in," says Hale, 65, wearing jeans, a camouflage jacket and boots, and carrying duck and geese call horns.

If you're used to show houses as simply glittering theater, the practicality of the rooms in the 1995 Decorator Show House of the Historical Society of Talbot County will surprise you. The Beeches, a turn-of-the-century mansion on Peachblossom Creek between Easton and Oxford, is full of decorating ideas you could use in your own home.But don't let the word "practicality" turn you off. The rooms on the whole are imaginative and appealing (even though there are some clunkers, as there are in any show house)

An Eastern Shore woman died and her passenger was in serious condition yesterday after their car ran off a two-lane road in Talbot County, state police in Easton said. The driver, Sandra Alison Harris, 29, of Denton, died at the scene yesterday after her 1989 Dodge Dynasty ran off Route 328 east of Black Dog Alley about 2: 30 a.m. Her car struck a utility pole and a tree, coming to a stop about 75 feet from the road. The passenger, Marcia Leigh Fuchs, 22, also of Denton, was flown to Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore.

I firmly believe in the "zero tolerance" program of the Talbot County school system ("Zero common sense," May 11). However, I think they have not gone far enough to ensure the safety of our future generations. A pencil or pen can be a very dangerous weapon when put into the wrong hands. Sharpened, a lead pencil can be lethal! In addition, if we have any Boy Scouts getting their hands on these things, we could have desk fires happening right in the middle of class. Do not underestimate what rubbing two wooden sticks together can do. Let's not even think about the possibilities.

Remember John Tyner? He was the young man whose smartphone captured an "enhanced" pat-down at the San Diego Airport — a search immortalized when he warned, "Don't touch my junk. " This simple quote captured how many of us felt about the government getting too much into our business. After this episode, I never imagined publicly using the Department of Homeland Security as an example of government common sense. Unfortunately, recent actions by the Talbot Public County Schools — the suspension of two lacrosse players (and arrest of one of them)