The Star-Democrat from Easton, Maryland • Page 7

THE STAR DEMOCRAT Thursday, February 12, 2004, Page 7A OF OXFORD QUALITY CONSIGNMENT AND COLLECTIBLES 410.226.0551 104 S. Morris St. Oxford (Across from the Oxford Market) Open This Weekend Only In February Feb. 13 through Feb. 16 Fri.

Sat. 11-5 Sun. 12-4 Mon. 11-4 MONTHLY SALE LATE MODEL CLEAN LOW MILEAGE PRE-LEASED REPOSSESSED TRAVEL TRAILERS AND BOATS VEHICLES AVAILABLE FOR INSPECTION BID 900 First State Boulevard First State Industrial 17 9 am 5 pm 18 9 am 3 pm For a complete list of vehicles for 302.636.6204 or 410-820-5202 Rt. 50 at Route 565 2 mi.

S. of Easton Sat. 10-5 The Perfect Keepsake Gift Engraved messages from Salisbury Pewter for your special someone. Free Wrapping Photo by ROXANE DOSTER WATTS The General Perry Benson Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution recently hosted a tea and awards ceremony at the Talbot County Free Library in Easton to honor students of Saints Peter Paul School for their winning essays entitled Louisiana Purchase-Thomas Pictured are: seated, sixth graders, first place Benjamin Phillips and third place Karen Wearden. Seventh graders, first place Chelsea Ira, second place Abigail Zimmerman, and third place Elizabeth Webb.

Standing are: Suzanne Foote Smith, of Easton, Regent, General Perry Benson Chapter of the NSDAR; SSPP teacher Suzanne Galenek; eighth grade students, first place Mariah Wakefield, second place Thomas Delaney, and third place Lauren Evans; and Joan Belleville Bennett of Oxford, chairman, American History Month, General Perry Benson Chapter, NSDAR. Missing from photo is the sixth grade second place winner Emlyn Mackenzie. First-place essays will advance to state competition and their authors will receive savings bond and bronze medal. Second and third-place winners received certificates of achievement. Md.

lawmakers propose ban on same-sex unions By ADRIENNE SAUNDERS Capital News Service ANNAPOLIS On the heels of a ruling by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court supporting same-sex marriage, Maryland Delegate Emmett Burns introduced legislation Thursday to assure his state would not recognize gay marriages valid elsewhere. The debate over same-sex marriages reached a peak when President Bush responded to the Massachusetts ruling by endorsing a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. Maryland lawmakers are one step ahead Delegate Charles Boutin, R-Harford, introduced a similar amendment to the Maryland Constitution earlier this session. amendment would limit the definition of marriage in Maryland to a marriage between a man and a while bill invalidates same-sex marriages performed in other states or countries. Burns, D-Baltimore County, said he opposes same-sex unions and marriages because they are the Discrimination against homosexuals is not the same as discrimination aimed at African- Americans, Burns said, because homosexuality is matter of equate my plight with yours not the Burns, who is black, said.

is one more instance of tearing down the social, political, moral, educational fiber of our Delegate Samuel Rosenberg, D-Baltimore, said Burns is in the minority by opposing anti- discrimination legislation. should respect the decisions of other Rosenberg said. is not a threat to the sanctity and well- being of marriage in the state of amendment would need to pass by a three-fifths vote in both chambers and receive a majority vote by referendum in the next general election before it would become law. Boutin designed the bill to go to referendum so that the people of Maryland could decide and to make it harder for the Legislature to change the law. Gay rights activists said legislation like what Burns and Boutin are proposing writes discrimination into law.

times these types of proposals are really overheated said Michael Adams, an attorney for Lambda Legal, a national gay and lesbian legal services organization. Negative reaction by the religious community is also often unfounded, Adams said. Whatever the courts rule does not force a religious community to change its own practices or rules, Adams said. Some churches have offered same-sex blessings to parishioners, though the unions are not recognized by the state. Two of the three Maryland dioceses of the Episcopal Church have an unwritten policy of allowing individual churches to offer same-sex blessings, said Rev.

Michael Hopkins, rector at St. Episcopal Church in Glenn Dale. By mid-year, Hopkins said, the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, which includes St. Montgomery, Prince and Charles counties, will put that policy in writing. bill mirrors the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which limits the definition of marriage in federal law to include only marriage between a man and a woman.

Ohio is the most recent of 38 states to pass statewide versions of the federal legislation. Essay writers honored Lawmaker wants canines allowed in restaurants By CARL HAMILTON Staff Writer ELKTON If Baltimore County Delegate Dan Morhaim gets his way, restaurant hostesses may have to ask patrons, section or dog-free Morhaim introduced House Bill 112, which calls for relaxation of existing health codes so pet owners can dine with their dogs in Maryland restaurants. According to Morhaim, a Democrat who is starting his third term in the General Assembly, economics is at the root of his proposed law. Restaurant owners would experience a rise in business because, Morhaim said, pet owners are more likely to dine out if their dogs could share in the dining experience. As far as most restaurant owners in and around Cecil County are concerned, however, the Annapolis lawmaker is barking up the wrong tree.

one of the dumbest damn things ever heard. totally said John Wesley, owner of Restaurant near Fair Hill. damn well let any dogs in my restaurant. 100 percent against this. he thinking, letting dogs in the same place where paying customers are trying to dine in The Cecil Whig polled representatives of more than 20 area restaurants Tuesday and all but one opposed the proposed legislation.

The exception, Jeff Pike, manager of restaurant in Elkton, was non-committal. rather remain neutral on he said. Several of the opponents said they can appreciate the puppy-love aspect, noting they have pet dogs of their own. But they agreed that a restaurant the place for a dog. you want to eat near a dog shaking its hair all over the place and doing whatever asked Larry Metz, owner of the Wellwood Yacht Club in Charlestown.

(bill) will open up a whole big can of The idea of allowing dogs into their establishments clearly repulsed a few restaurant representatives, with one of them blurting, after hearing the poll question. Rob Matthews, owner of Restaurant Cocktail Lounge in Elkton, is one of those staunch opponents of the bill. have no interest in letting dogs come in here and cocking their legs all over my Matthews said. In addition to posing health and safety problems, the presence of dogs in a restaurant would ruin the dining ambiance and quite possibly appetites, according to Matthews. want to be eating my meal, and look up and see a Great Dane at the next table licking his Matthews said.

belong in Matthews questioned intentions, suggesting that this is merely a from a politician who wants his name in the paper. all the important issues out there, this is the most relevant thing he could come up with? Why he work on making health care more Matthews criticized. As it turns out, however, Morhaim has tackled some of those bigger issues in the past eight years. And he did so in relative obscurity, according to him. written bills addressing health insurance and the environment, and even gotten some of them Morhaim said Tuesday during a telephone interview from his Annapolis office.

But those issues quirky enough, or they lacked the human interest angle desired by the media, he added. of that ever got covered. So I draft a bill to let dogs into restaurants, and now my phone is ringing off the he remarked. Morhaim is quite serious about this bill, which is co-sponsored by Republican Delegate Charles R. Boutin, who represents Harford County and a portion of Cecil County.

According to Morhaim, the proposed law follows a trend in which some hotel owners accommodate customers with pets, having realized that good for business. you get more people spending money in the restaurants, good for the Morhaim explained. The genesis came when Morhaim, a physician and dog owner, noticed how commonplace pets were in pubs and restaurants while vacationing in Europe last summer with his wife. It appeared to be a problem-free situation, one that seemed to bolster commerce, Morhaim said. think people here would get used to the idea, once they get over their Morhaim said.

The law only makes it possible for restaurant owners to allow dogs in their establishments it make it mandatory. is totally and completely and utterly at the discretion of the restaurant Morhaim emphasized. Along those lines, each restaurant owner could set rules for admitting canine customers into their establishments, according to Morhaim. The list of possibilities includes setting up designated doggie dining sections and establishing size, weight and breed restrictions, he said. Or, he added, entrance could be granted on a case-by-case basis.

the marketplace figure it Morhaim said. could allow it certain times of day, certain days of the week, or just in specified areas. up to (The proposed law change the rights of disabled people to bring certified service dogs, or into restaurants.) Morhaim said he see any health risks in allowing dogs into restaurants. But Clif Hamilton does. Hamilton is the community protection program supervisor for the Cecil County Health Department and, in that capacity, he inspects restaurants for health code violations.

code is on the books mainly because of the disease they (dogs) might bring into a Hamilton said. He listed the following health and safety concerns, too: Diners allergic to pet hair and dander, dogs their on restaurant floors and furniture, dogs sniffing food at other tables and dogs attacking nearby customers and other dogs. dogs just as trained and as obedient as other Hamilton commented. 48.3% of transfers from community colleges graduate within four years By EUGENE W. GOLL Education News Service ANNAPOLIS Just under half of the students transferring from one of 16 community colleges to a public four- year institution in the state graduated within four years.

The success rate varies among institutions, however. The rate that students graduate after transferring is noted in the report of Community College Transfer Students at Maryland Public Four-year Colleges and The staff of the Maryland Higher Education Commission released it at a meeting of the education policy committee. A summary of the report prepared for the committee states, the students who transferred during the 1998-1999 academic year, 48.3 percent earned a degree from their transfer institution within four Minority students had a four- year success rate of 41.9 percent. Academic year 1998-1999 is the latest one giving community college transfer students a period of four years, considered a benchmark to earn a degree. The report indicates that 6,716 students switched to a public four-year institution in Maryland that year.

It only tracks transfers to them and does not differentiate between full-time students and those attending part time, who normally take longer to graduate. The report says, varied greatly among community colleges regarding the percent of their transfer students who earned a degree within four years of The graduation rate for the community college transferees after four years with the highest rate is the 60-69 percent bracket; the lowest is at 30-39 percent. Four-year graduation rates of transferees from Chesapeake and Hagerstown community colleges exceeded 70 percent. At the other end of the scale in the 30-39 percent category were the Community College of Baltimore County and Garrett Community College with the remaining 10 colleges in the 50-59 percent group A second category involves the four-year institutions. They range from 70 percent or more to 20-29 percent with the success the transferees achieve after entering them.

Students transferring had a 70 percent or better four-year graduation success rate at St. College and the University of Maryland at Baltimore. Salisbury University was the only institution in the 60-69 percent bracket. Frostburg State and Towson Universities placed in the 50-59 percent category along with the University of Baltimore and the University of Maryland College Park. Coppin State College, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and the University of Maryland University College (with mostly part-time students) placed in the 20-29 percent category, the lowest.

Morgan State University was in the 30-39 percent range, while Bowie State University and the University of Maryland Baltimore succeeded in graduating 40-49 percent of the transferees. With a 2.70 GPA (out of 4.0) after their first year, students transferring from a public two- year college to a public four- year campus had the second highest grade point average on record. Reacting to the higher GPA and better graduation rates, committee member Joann A. Boughman said, doing something Kent Island High student charged for prank STEVENSVILLE A 15-year- old Kent Island High School student was criminally charged and referred to juvenile services for playing a prank on his teacher on Tuesday, Feb. 3, police said.

The student broke off a piece of graphite from a pencil and put it in his water bottle straw and also contaminated the yogurt cup by mixing chalk dust into it, police said. The teacher was unaware of the prank and ate the yogurt. The student has been charged with second-degree assault and reckless endangerment, police said. CHESAPEAKE CLASSIFIEDS 410-770-4000.