The Star-Democrat from Easton, Maryland • Page 6

By TOM STUCKEY Associated Press Writer ANNAPOLIS (AP) A commission headed by Lt. Gov. Michael Steele issued 30 recommendations Wednesday that would make major changes in the way Maryland educates public school students, including a new system for paying teachers, a revised pension system for school employees and greater use of public charter schools. has a wonderful school system, but the bar is being raised on an international state School Superintendent Nancy Grasmick said. we embrace some of these innovations, the crisis we currently face will be even more she said.

Gov. Robert Ehrlich, who appointed the commission, said some changes could be made administratively and some will require legislation, but promised that will see tangible byproducts of this The report from the Commission on Quality Education in Maryland quickly drew criticism from the Maryland State Teachers Association and from some Democrats. is really a disappointing recitation of recommendations that have not, on their face, identified any workable or effective Patricia A. Foerster, president of the teachers association, said. of them are a clear distraction and would undermine the progress we have made so The commission findings were kept secret until the report was released, and Foerster said she would need more time to review it fully.

think there are some recommendations that have she said. The first recommendation, and perhaps the most controversial, calls for a new pay system that would scrap the current uniform salary scales negotiated between local school boards and teachers unions, replacing them with a system that would pay more money to teachers who are more effective, have greater knowledge of their subjects and work in difficult schools. The Steele commission also proposed creating a new pension system to replace the current system, but is short on details on how it would work. Charter schools public schools which are operated independently of county school boards are in their infancy in Maryland. The commission recommended expanding charter schools, saying they offer more choices to parents and have potential of improved learning outcomes for The commission said conventional schools also should have more autonomy from school boards, with principals given more power to make personnel and management decisions, including such routine decisions as contacting someone to repair a broken door or window.

needs to cut the red tape currently choking the schoolhouse and driving up the cost of simple the report said. MARYLAND THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15,2005 A6 THE STAR DEMOCRAT STATE BRIEFS AUCTION AUCTION AUCTION AUCTION AUCTION AUCTION AUCTION AUCTION AUCTION AUCTION AUCTION AUCTION AUCTION AUCTION AUCTION BRING THIS AD FOR DOOR PRIZE AUCTION PUBLIC AUCTION Duly instructed to proceed in accordance with the laws and regulations of the Uniform Commercial Code and the U.S.Customs Importation Regulation Car 465. AUCTION OF AIR CARGO U.S.CUSTOMS CLEARED ALL DUTIES PAID AT PORT OF ENTRY VALUABLE PERSIAN RUGS 34 Bales consist of 133 pieces from 2x3 up to colors to Sarough; and runner-up to 2.6x40. Auction at HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS EASTON 8561 OCEAN GATEWAY RT.50 8 PM Terms and Conditions of AUCTION: All import and freight paid. No or outstanding charges.

No released only for immediate and removal. Each bale will be unwrapped and pieces tagged individually for public inspection. Each place will be auction liquidated singly piece by piece to the highest bidder. In accordance with U.S.government laws each carpet labeled with country of origin, fiber certified genuine handmade. Do not miss this auction! 301-330-5522 Auction 8 pm Showing 7 pm THE COLLECTION WILL BE AUCTIONED PIECE BY PIECE NO BUYER PREMIUM YOU ARE INVITED! Evangelist Freddy Clark will be at the Fountain of Life Church on Sept.

21, Sept. 22 and Sept. 23. Services will begin at 7:30 pm. Fountain of Life Church is located at 9678 Cordova Easton, MD.

For over forty years, Evangelist Freddy Clark has covered the North American continent by way of tent and auditoriums with Healing-Deliverance-Revival campaigns. Brother Clark has a unique Sign-Gifts ministry where the individual prayer of faith is conducted by revelation, for it is usually revealed to him, who and what to pray for, before ministering to the candidate. Multitudes have testified to permanent genuine healings and miracles as a result of the operations of the Gifts of the Spirit. Everyone is invited to attend these services, especially those in need of a miracle from God. For more information you may call the church at 410-822-0104.

Rip tide blamed in O.C. drowning OCEAN CITY (AP) Rip tide was blamed for the drowning death Sunday of a Pennsylvania woman. Angela M. Snyder, 25, of Harrisburg, was swimming with two friends near the 33rd Street beach when she was caught in a current and pulled into deeper water, said Capt. Butch Arbin of the beach patrol.

Arbin said that one of friends called for help and that Snyder was found by a surfer who went in to look for her. was someone surfing nearby who had gone over to help look for the girl. As the surfer was coming in, he stumbled on the body and dragged her Arbin said. Rescuers could not revive her. More than 100,000 expected for bike week BERLIN (AP) More than 100,000 visitors were expected for Delmarva Bike Week starting Thursday.

Police were bracing for big crowds and planned to send officers out on motorcycles themselves. The event has grown each of its five years, said Lt. Douglas Dod of the Maryland State Police in Berlin. looks like the Fourth of July he told The Daily Times Command posts were staffed by Berlin, Ocean City, Pocomoke City, Snow Hill and state troopers, he said. A separate division command was to be stationed in Ocean City.

An accident in 2004 on St. Neck Road off Route 90 was the first known motorcyclist traffic fatality at Delmarva Bike Week, Dod said. Cecil farmers hope for Ophelia rain ELKTON (AP) Cecil County farmers hoped for rain from Hurricane Ophelia after an unusually dry summer. The county is about 12 percent below normal rainfall for the summer so far, the National Weather Service reported. Neal McCleary, a farmer in Elkton, said suffering from the dry conditions.

planted new alfalfa and bound to get burned McCleary told The Cecil Whig expensive Bundt cakes recalled The following recall has been announced: About 86 bundt cakes made by Dancing Deer Baking Co. of Massachusetts, because the cakes were mislabeled and contain undeclared pecans, a known allergen. The recalled Maple Pumpkin Cranberry Streusel cakes bear the Maple Cranberry Pumpkin Cake label, a use-by date from Sept. 13, 2005 to Sept. 20, 2005, and a UPS code of 674971227232.

The 20-ounce cakes were sold on the Internet site and in Arizona, California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Hampshire and Washington. There have been no reports of illness associated with the products. Customers are asked to return to the place of purchase for a refund or a replacement. For consumers who bought the product online, or have additional questions, contact the company at 888-699-3337 or visit http://www.dancingdeer.com/cus- tomerquestions. Woman loses bid to regain state post Initial firing by Schisler unlawful; but majority of commission had authority to dismiss worker ANNAPOLIS (AP) The Court of Appeals has reversed a lower order to reinstate a former employee with the Public Service Commission who claimed her firing was politically motivated.

Chrys Wilson, a Democrat, had claimed she was fired by the Republican commission chairman in April 2004, not long after he was appointed and confirmed in the post. She successfully fought her dismissal in October, was reinstated, but then fired again. The highest court agreed that the first firing was unlawful because Chairman Kenneth Schisler acted alone. But the court upheld the second dismissal because a majority of the commission voted for it. it is illegal to fire someone for political motivation, but the court give any credence to the unfounded accusations that these people were fired because they were members of the Democratic said Susan Stevens Miller, who represented the Public Service Commission.

at-will employee can be fired without cause and without a hearing, and the court upheld the Wilson has been on administrative leave since last year. The appeals court ordered suit dismissed, concluding that she had failed to exhaust the administrative remedies available to her. attorney, Cary J. Hansel, in a written statement applauded the upholding of the first termination. Wilson was fired as manager of the Office of External Relations of the Public Service Commission on April 15, 2004.

Four other employees were removed at the same time. At least three of the five workers were Democrats, which sparked speculation that the firings were politically motivated. Schisler is a former Republican state delegate from Talbot County who was appointed chairman of the commission by Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.

in July 2003. Md. expected to escape brunt of hurricane By KRISTEN WYATT Associated Press Writer BALTIMORE (AP) Residents on coast and lower Chesapeake Bay kept a wary eye as Hurricane Ophelia churned up the Atlantic Coast Wednesday, but forecasters said Maryland would likely see only rain showers from the storm. The National Weather Service downgraded its rain forecast for lower Eastern Shore Wednesday. About an inch of rain was first forecast, but by noon meteorologist Keith Lynch said a half-inch or less could fall in some places.

this point it looks like you may just get some showers, if he said. More worrisome than rain to bay- area officials was the possibility of a water surge in case counter-clockwise motion off the coast forces water up the bay. In low- lying Cambridge, where most buildings are less than 6 feet above sea level, officials breathing easy despite a forecast that called for less than 2 inches of rain over two days. David Pritchett, the director of public works in Cambridge, recalled Tropical Storm Isabel in 2003, which flooded the town. thought we were out of the woods that time, too.

We expect anything this time, but not going to be complacent he said. In Crisfield farther south, Public Works Superintendent Harold Frock said all his employees were on standby until the storm passes. on a wait-and-see he said. Others seem alarmed by slow track up the Atlantic Coast. It was expected to dump up to a foot of rain on the North Carolina coast, but veer into the ocean before hitting Maryland.

In Salisbury, a Giant Food grocery store ordered extra bread and water before the storm, but a manager said Wednesday that crowds were light. not doing an overwhelming said manager Robert Gordy. way less than it is when calling for The Maryland Emergency Management Agency has held daily briefings on Ophelia since Monday. The storm has for days wobbled off the coast of the southeast U.S. and had top winds of 80 mph Wednesday morning.

think the effect will be said MEMA spokesman Jeff Welsh. But he added that authorities would stay on guard until Ophelia moves back out to sea. not going to stop watching this storm until he said. Paulison takes hurricane experience to new role as FEMA head By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) R. David Paulison was just six weeks into his new job as fire chief in Miami-Dade County when Hurricane Andrew struck, practically leveling the town of Homestead, leaving tens of thousands of people homeless and causing billions of dollars in damage.

Praised for his response to that disaster, Paulison now brings hands-on experience and his training in fighting fires and emergency management to his new job as interim director of the disaster response agency, post-Hurricane Katrina. Paulison took over the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Tuesday, a day after President Bush named him to replace Mike Brown, who quit in the face of unrelenting criticism over the sluggish response to Katrina after she battered Gulf Coast areas of three states Aug. 29. Paulison pledged to focus on victims. had a hurricane of unimaginable proportions, and going to deal with he said Tuesday, avoiding, for now, discussion of the apparent missteps of the last two weeks.

going to get those people out of shelters and going to move and get them the help that they A 30-year firefighter with a background in emergency management who rose through the ranks to become fire chief in 1992, Paulison will remain head of the U.S. Fire Administration, the Emmitsburg, fire prevention and safety agency he has led since December 2001. It is a division of FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security. Supporters say background will make a difference for FEMA. need someone who understands what the resource needs are on the ground, particularly in those first critical hours and said Harold Schaitberger, general president of the International Association of Fire Fighters and a longtime Paulison acquaintance.

Miami Mayor Manny Diaz said the local search and rescue team probably the envy of the He said representatives from other countries often visit to see how it works. Diaz credited Paulison, whom he described as a and go-to times like this, you need a guy been on the ground Diaz said. Paulison, 58, began as a firefighter in 1971 with the North Miami Beach Fire Department, which was absorbed by the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department. Besides his work on Hurricane Andrew, Paulison also led the department through the 1996 crash of ValuJet Flight 592 in the Florida Everglades. A certified paramedic, Paulison moved to Washington in late 2001.

After FEMA became part of the Homeland Security Department in 2003, he led emergency preparedness force until last year. Paulison is married and has two adult daughters and a granddaughter. Panel calls for changes in public schools Naval Academy provides place of worship for Jewish midshipmen BY MICHAEL J. FEENEY Associated Press Writer ANNAPOLIS (AP) The breathtaking mix of a modern and classically designed facility made of Jerusalem stone can easily leave you in awe when entering the Navy newest addition the Commodore Uriah P. Levy Center and Jewish Chapel.

The $10 million center is the newest spiritual home for midshipmen. is not just a synagogue for Jewish midshipmen, for the entire midshipmen said Navy Rabbi Irving Elson, who noted that less than two percent of midshipmen are Jewish. chapel is a learning said Elson, who looks at the chapel as a place that will support the moral development of midshipmen. want every midshipman to know that this is their Capt. John Pasko, director of officer development, believes the location will be key in bringing half of the brigade through the center on a daily basis.

He is hopeful students will stop by to worship while coming from the dining hall on the way to their dormitories. However, the 410 occupancy chapel, that has a balcony for additional seating, will only conduct Jewish worship services. It also includes a learning center, fellowship hall, classroom and the office of the Honor Board. The outside is just as intriguing as the inside with a more traditionally inspired garden facade, an octagonal pavilion and a mosaic dome, that Elson compared to Monticello, Thomas home. Joseph A.

Boggs, of Boggs Partners Architects, designed the facility after spending time in Israel and described it as a moving place. AP PHOTO Norman Chambliss, left, and his son Yates, right, try to start a pump Wednesday to remove water from outside his home at Wrightsville Beach, N.C. as Hurricane Ophelia threatened the North Carolina coast. Maryland is expected to escape the worst of the storm..