Talbot County

Ralph Allison Simmons, a retired civil engineer who had been active in civic endeavors in Talbot County, died Thursday of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease, at Fairhaven retirement community in Sykesville, his home for the past five years. He was 75 and formerly lived in St. Michaels. Before his retirement in 1975, he had been assistant director for computer sciences at the Commerce Department's National Bureau of Standards in Gaithersburg. He had also been a Pennsylvania Railroad civil engineer and worked in defense intelligence.

EASTON -- A Talbot County judge yesterday ordered businesswoman Carol F. Daffin to post a $20,000 bond or be jailed pending trial on felony charges, including allegations that she supplied crack cocaine to a member of one of the county's most prominent medical and business families.Ms. Daffin, a 41-year-old Easton resident and divorced mother of three, was arrested late Friday after police searched her home and dental supply business and seized about 37 grams -- 1.3 ounces -- of crack cocaine and $107,490 in cash.

OXFORD -- A prolonged battle over the legality of a small bridge returns to court today, six years after plans to develop a privately owned island sparked a bitter dispute among wealthy waterfront landowners here.The tiny bridge leads from the Talbot County mainland to Sol's Island, a five-acre wooded tract surrounded by Boone Creek, near the Choptank River.But the debate over the wooden bridge has led to a complicated and expensive law suit alleging, among other claims, that high officials secretly plotted to allow the bridge to be built.

HELEN BALDWIN RICHARDSON; beloved wife of Norbert J. Richardson, Sr., widow of William H. "Buzz" Baldwin, died Monday, January 8, 2007, at Talbot Hospice House, Easton, MD. Mrs. Richardson is survived by her husband, two daughters, four grandchildren, a great-granddaughter, a nephew and three step-children. She lived most of her life on the Western Shore in Baltimore and Howard County, where she spent 20 years helping to establish the Glenelg Country School. In 1974 she and Buzz moved to Waverly House where they worked on restoring the house and gardens.

L. Clark Ewing, a longtime Eastern Shore attorney who argued cases before the Supreme Court in the late 1940s, died of heart failure Sunday at home in Easton. He was 82.Born in the Willoughby area of Queen Anne's County, he graduated from the Johns Hopkins University and earned his law degree from George Washington Law School. During World War II, he served with the Army in Europe.After the war, Mr. Ewing was admitted to several bar associations, including Maryland and the District of Columbia.

A second elderly woman has died of injuries suffered during a bizarre double carjacking and crash on the Eastern Shore on Sept. 9. Margery Friel, 92, of Queenstown died Tuesday at Maryland Shock Trauma Center, according to a hospital spokesman. Anna M. Walbert, 85, of Easton died at Shock Trauma on Sept. 11. Edward J. Williams, 34, of Pasadena has been charged with carjacking and kidnapping. Representatives of the Talbot County district attorney's office did not return phone calls seeking comment on whether additional charges would be brought.

J. McKenny Willis Jr., a prominent Eastern Shore farmer and businessman died of heart failure Wednesday at the William Hill Manor Retirement Community in Easton. He was 100. Mr. Willis founded one of the state's first poultry operations that had a hatchery and a processing plant. He was born and raised in Oxford, where his family had lived since 1778. "He left school in the eighth grade after his father became ill. His father owned six farms, and he took over management of them," said son-in-law Richard G. Macgill, who lives in Ruxton.

Chris Blue passed for 172 yards and three touchdowns as visiting Easton of Talbot County (7-0) defeated Northeast (3-4) last night, 33-7.Easton put the game away by scoring 20 second-quarter points. Sean McGee scored from 3 yards out and caught a 30-yard scoring pass from Blue. J.P. Morgan raced 26 yards for another Easton score.Dave Dolch scored Northeast's only touchdown on a 2-yard run in the third quarter.

Phil Donahue is bringing his talk show to the Eastern Shore tomorrow morning with a live broadcast from Easton. The subject will be the recent controversy in Talbot County concerning the distribution of condoms in schools.The show, which can be see on Channel 2 (WMAR) at 9 o'clock, will take place at Easton's Avalon Theater. It is part of what Donahue is billing as "Heartland: A Week in the Life of America," which will also include shows from towns in Maine, Illinois, Texas, Alaska and Arizona.

IT APPEARS that 109 years after his death, Frederick Douglass is still a controversial figure in his native Talbot County. Plans to erect a statue of him in Easton, the county seat, have been stymied. Members of the County Council oppose putting a Douglass memorial on the courthouse green. Why? Because they believe the site should be reserved to honor war dead. This is curious reasoning. The Eastern Shore county has no written policy about memorials, and many in Easton were apparently unaware of any unwritten policy.