The President's Comments appears on the front page of each issue of the Sea Breeze.

October 2008

The weather has been very nice as summer comes to an end, except when it’s been raining cats and dogs.  The days are still warm, but the mornings are getting a bit chilly.  Soon the leaves will be turning colors and, unfortunately, falling.

At our September 11th General Meeting, we had several guests.  There had been several articles in The Capital about how the City of Annapolis was going to do a $9M bond issue to finance Key School construction projects.  This raised a lot of questions about why the City would fund a school in the County.  Some people were concerned that somehow The Key School property would be annexed into Annapolis City.  Sam Shropshire, a member of the Annapolis City Council, Ken Peil, Key School Director of Finance and Operations, and Marcella Yedid, Head of School, were on hand to explain the situation and answer questions.  They explained that there was no ulterior motive.  It was just that having the bond issue handled by the City would save the School about $100,000.  Many of the questions from the audience were about increases in the student population, which would obviously affect our community.  They were assured that there are no plans to increase the population.  However, the Annapolis City Council ultimately voted not to issue the bonds, so the School  will  be looking to the County to help with the bond issue.  I want to thank Sam, Ken, and Marcella for taking time to attend our meeting and address community concerns.

There was also a terrific presentation by Jeanne Bellis, a Recycling Outreach Specialist from the Anne Arundel County Recycling Program.  Jeanne explained that recycling is a lot easier than most people think.  All types of paper can be recycled, although things like used paper towels just turn to pulp and cannot be used.  You can put everything into the same recycling bin.  You don’t need to separate anything.  Cardboard boxes don’t need to be broken down.  Cans, bottles, and jars don’t need to be cleaned first and you can include the lids too.  You don’t have to decide if a certain plastic is recyclable.  Just put any plastic bottles or jars in the bin.  Plastic supermarket bags should not be put out with the recycling.  Take those back to the supermarket and put them in the special recycling bins.  The challenge is to put out as much recycling as you do trash.  In other words, half of your waste should be recycled.  For more information, visit www.RecycleMoreOften.com. 

Earlier this year, we announced a Volunteer Recognition Program.  We planned to award special “Community Volunteer” tee shirts, tote bags, and gift certificates for increasing levels of effort.  This was to be capped off with a special edition of the Sea Breeze and a Volunteer Recognition Dinner.  Unfortunately, our plan was a bit too ambitious.  We did get the tee shirts made and they have been given to about 25 volunteers.  I’m sure there are more volunteers who have put in more than eight hours this year who should get the tee shirts, but we never got their names.  The other plans never got off the ground because we didn’t have enough volunteer time available to get it done.  We will try to be more organized next year.  If you would like to help with the Volunteer Recognition effort, please let me know.

Speaking of volunteers, it’s election time!  HSIA has elections every year.  In alternate years, we have elections for officers and directors.  Each serve two year terms.  This year, we will be electing officers.  The positions are President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer.  If you are interested in running for one of these offices, please contact Ted Shepherd at nominations@hillsmereshores.net.  Contact him as soon as possible if you are interested so we can get your name on the ballot and a short bio in the November Sea Breeze.

Thanks to Kate Penn and the Beach Committee for the great job they did with the new revetment and wetland area on the east corner of the beach (near the small playground).  The new native grasses are growing and it looks really nice.  The Beach Committee has more projects in the planning stages.  The next phase involves changes and improvements to the parking area and entrance.  You’ll be hearing more about these in the near future.

I had hoped that I wouldn’t have to write about any crime activity in this issue.  However, there have been two serious incidents in the last month.  The first was a home invasion on Cedar Lane where a male broke down the door at 3:30 in the morning and found two elderly women (83 and 89 year old sisters) sitting in the kitchen.  He demanded money and started rummaging through a purse.  One of the women took a metal gripper (the type used to get a box off a shelf) and wacked him in the head.  He fled with the purse.  The women were not injured.  The second was an apparent robbery at Mansion and Hillsmere Drive, next to Key School, on October 2 at approximately 1:00 pm.  A 27 year old man was robbed at knife point.  His phone and wallet were taken.  He was not seriously injured.  Because the incident occurred next to The Key School campus, the School was locked-down while the police searched for the perpetrator.  Both of these events were very serious.  The common thread is the likelihood that the perpetrators were both drug addicts (they were not the same person).  So how can we help to make our community safer?  First, you should always report suspicious activity to the police by calling 911.  Second, we need to make sure drug activity does not occur in our neighborhood.  I have received tips from residents, via email, several times about suspected drug activity.  I always turn these over to the police and they always take them seriously.  You can email me via the “Talk to Us” button on the web site or by leaving a message on the 24 hour voice mail at 410-263-4456.

Well, that’s enough for this issue.  Get out and enjoy the fall weather.  By the time you read this, we will have had the last of our beach socials and happy hours.  They have been a great success.  Thanks to the Beach Committee, especially Noel Gasparin, for the hard work organizing these terrific community parties.  They were a great way to get out and meet your neighbors.  It’s just another testimonial to how wonderful this community really is.

-Bill Shuman
President, Hillsmere Shores Improvement Association