The Odenton Town Plan Oversight Committee was formed in January 1996 by the Anne Arundel County executive.
The committee is made up of 11 members representing both business and citizen interests, all appointed by the executive.
Recent Sun coverage about the county's purchase of land for the future West County Regional Library in Odenton has portrayed the purchase as a paycheck to Jay Winer for his support of then-County Executive John G. Gary in the November 1998 election. In the opinion of members of the Odenton Town Plan Oversight Committee, that portrayal is not true.
Members of the Oversight Committee want to set the record straight by sharing some publicly recorded facts.
At the first meeting of the committee in January 1996, the minutes reflect that members developed a list of goals and tasks. At that meeting, the need for a regional library to replace the small, inadequate Odenton branch library was listed along with many needs.
It has remained a "hot issue." The meetings have always been open to the public and, the minutes also reflect the concern, frustration and effort to acquire a regional library in Odenton.
Throughout 1996, there was much discussion by Crofton and Odenton residents concerning the appropriate location for a regional library.
Articles in both the Annapolis Capital and The Sun followed and reported on the issue, but also covered the potential solution by Mr. Gary.
An editorial in the The Sun on Jan. 10, 1997 ("John Gary's two-volume set"), hailed the solution as making sense. It went on to say "the county would build a 20,000- to 25,000-square-foot facility in Crofton in fiscal year 1998. During the following fiscal year, a 40,000-square-foot library would open in what is now a bowling alley in Odenton." The editorial explained the virtues of libraries for use by both children and adults, and that they would improve "the quality-of-life and the sense of community in western Anne Arundel." We agree.
This plan was recommended by the library administrator and board of trustees of the Anne Arundel County Public Library to the county executive for inclusion in the fiscal year 1998 budget. In general, members of the Oversight Committee endorsed the concept of the regional library to the executive for inclusion in the fiscal year 1998 budget.
However, just as the final draft of the budget was being completed, Mr. Gary informed all parties that while he still endorsed the plan, the budget for fiscal year 1998 would not support the operational cost of the West County regional library in the skating rink (old bowling alley) in Odenton. Members of the Oversight Committee were disappointed, but immediately pursued potential alternative locations in the area.
With the help of the county administration, the committee, the library board and the councilman representing Councilmanic District 4, an alternate plan was developed.
Planning included locating a parcel of land in the area that would best meet the needs of the growing population.
Several parcels were considered. One that met the Anne Arundel County Library site selection criteria was located at the southwest corner of the intersection of routes 175 and 170. Thus, committee members strongly recommended that the county purchase the property for the West County Regional Library even though they were aware that Mr. Winer's company had the property listed for sale.
During the fiscal year 1999 budget deliberations in May 1998, the County Council approved funding for land acquisitions which included purchasing property for the regional library. Funding was allocated to provide for construction of the building in fiscal years 2002 to 2004. Coincidentally, the property was purchased during an election year.
The facts are:
Proper planning dictates Odenton needs a regional library.
The property meets all of the Anne Arundel County library site selection criteria.
The chosen location is within the Odenton Town Plan area, one of the county's Smart Growth areas.
While Mr. Winer benefited monetarily for listing and selling the property, he has worked in Odenton all his life. He has donated thousands of volunteer hours to community service.
Mr. Winer is not at fault. He did everything the Oversight Committee members feel he should have and more. Yet he is being professionally and personally victimized.
Mr. Winer is honest, dedicated and trustworthy. At a time when every organization needs strong, dedicated leaders, there seems to be a rush to judgment and criticism.
Why would anyone, especially owners, ever want to volunteer their time and effort to community service? We should be thankful for their efforts.
Therefore, with united support and encouragement, the members of the Oversight Committee ask that Mr. Winer continue serving as chairman. We on the committee fully support him and want to thank him publicly for helping us acquire the land for a regional library to meet the needs of the rapidly increasing population area.
The letter was signed by members of the Odenton Town Plan Oversight Committee: Glen Akers, Joseph L. Bracone, Katharina D. DeHaas, Marcia J. Hall, Geoff Johnson, Matthew McManness, Norman G. Myers, Sara A. Shoemaker, Mark S. Wallis and Katherine P. Wellford.
Healthy Start nurses on an unhealthy pace
I keep thinking about the "I Love Lucy" episode in which Lucy is working on an assembly line preparing chocolates. The conveyor belt begins to move faster and faster and Lucy, barely able to keep up, starts stuffing chocolates in her mouth and pockets. In the end, it's a losing proposition and the candies begin to fall on the floor.
Anne Arundel County is beginning to act like the conveyor belt operator in the state's Healthy Start home-visit program for pregnant women and new moms. This is a terrific program intended to decrease infant mortality and morbidity and provide newborns a chance for a healthy start in life. But Anne Arundel is jeopardizing the quality of the program's services by unilaterally imposing unattainable home visit quotas for the Healthy Start registered nurses.
Anne Arundel wants the RNs to hurry up, don't worry about the details, just get in their car, get to someone's home, then quickly move on to the next house. Just meet the quota.
Healthy Start nurses aren't assembly line workers. If a chocolate falls off the assembly line, that's one thing.
If Healthy Start nurses can't keep up with an unreasonable home visit quota, it's a matter of life and death -- literally -- for their often fragile, at-risk clients. Five full-time permanent Healthy Start nurses care for more than 6,000 participating Anne Arundel women and children. For the sake of meeting an unreasonable home-visit quota, it becomes impossible to do the essential but extremely time-consuming telephone work that precedes and follows a visit: scheduling the appointment (which could take several calls), helping obtain medical assistance cards, contacting doctors, etc.
The RNs say the telephone work makes or breaks the care the women and babies receive. Something would have to give -- the important referral work done by phone, and/or the time spent with patients. This is absurd. If the patient isn't home for the scheduled appointment, as is often the case, the visit can't be counted toward the nurse's quota.
What's going on here? It appears that it's all coming down to dollars.
Anne Arundel is more concerned about its reimbursement check from the state for a certain number of completed home visits than it is about providing quality health care.
Rushed health care is bad health care. Quotas are jeopardizing both the health of this at-risk population and the nurses' professional license under the Nurse Practice Act and Code of Conduct for Registered Nurses.
Healthy Start nurses believe that quotas threaten the health of the county's youngest citizens. Harford County completely eliminated quotas for its Healthy Start nurses, realizing it wasn't an effective way to deliver quality health care to its citizens.
Anne Arundel should show the same respect for its residents.
Carolyn Cornett, Glen Burnie
The writer is president of the Maryland Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals.
End the abuse of greyhounds
The Sun's story about two greyhounds that died en route to Philadelphia from a dog track in Florida really caught my attention.
Despite the efforts of some 150-plus adoption groups nationwide, an estimated 20,000 to 25,000 young, healthy greyhounds are killed each year by the dog-racing industry in the United States alone.
Those few greyhounds lucky enough to make it to an adoption group are quickly replaced at the tracks by younger, faster dogs. In only a short time, those dogs also will be disposed of -- one way or another -- when, like their predecessors, they too fail to make the grade.
At the track, most racing greyhounds are confined to crates 18-20 hours per day, with brief "turn-outs" three to four times daily. The kennels in which they live are often infested with fleas and ticks.
Racing greyhounds are subject to numerous injuries, some of them life-threatening, virtually every time they race.
We are fortunate that dog racing does not exist in Maryland. Anyone interested in finding out what can be done to put an end to this cruel and unnecessary "sport" in the 16 states where it is still tolerated should call the Greyhound Protection League at 1-800-GHOUNDS or visit its web site at www.greyhounds.org.
Nancy Elliott, Pasadena
Pub Date: 6/27/99