Charles News

Maryland Park Service Graduates 20 New State Park Rangers

Maryland Park Service Graduates 20 New State Park Rangers

The Maryland Park Service recently graduated 20 new State Park Rangers, having held their graduation ceremony on February 24, 2023, at Elk Neck State Park and NorthBay Adventure Camp, following four weeks of training. Since the Maryland Park Service’s modern ranger school program was established in 2009, this is the 13th class of new State...
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Firefighters in Charles County Respond to Five Fires in Under 12 Hour Period

Firefighters in Charles County Respond to Five Fires in Under 12 Hour Period

On Tuesday, March 15, 2023, at approximately 11:10 a.m., firefighters responded to the 15900 block of Prince Frederick Road, for the large vehicle fire. Crews arrived on scene to find an RV fully engulfed with extension into the woods. Incident command requested a brush fire task force which brought additional firefighters from Charles and...
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Apartment Fire in Waldorf Deemed Accidental Due to Improperly Discarded Smoking Materials

Apartment Fire in Waldorf Deemed Accidental Due to Improperly Discarded Smoking Materials

On Tuesday, March 14, 2023, at 6:56 a.m., firefighters responded to 6008 New Forest Court in Waldorf, for the reported apartment fire. Crews arrived on the scene to find a 2-story apartment complex with fire on the exterior balcony. Firefighters extinguished the fire in under 10 minutes. The owner/occupants were identified as Modou Sey & Laura...
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Maryland State Police to Increase Patrols As St. Patrick’s Day Nears

Maryland State Police to Increase Patrols As St. Patrick’s Day Nears

With St. Patrick’s Day coming up on Friday, Maryland State Police are urging those who plan to celebrate with alcohol to drink responsibly and avoid impaired, distracted and aggressive driving. With an expected increase of impaired drivers throughout the state this week, troopers at all 23 Maryland State Police barracks will conduct saturation patrols,...
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School Resource Officer Investigating Multiple Fights and Disorderly Conduct at St. Charles High School

School Resource Officer Investigating Multiple Fights and Disorderly Conduct at St. Charles High School

On the morning of March 10, 2023, a group of three students at St. Charles High School, ages 14, 15, and 16, attacked a 15-year-old student. During this altercation, a teacher was struck. Another student, age 15, intervened and began fighting the group of three. Additional students heard about the altercations and left their...
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Two Bonus Match 5 Fans Win Four $50,000 Top Prizes, Tickets Sold in Landover and Waldorf

Two Bonus Match 5 Fans Win Four $50,000 Top Prizes, Tickets Sold in Landover and Waldorf

Lucky sets of numbers gave a Hyattsville retiree and an Upper Marlboro man a total of four $50,000 top prizes in two separate Bonus Match 5 drawings in March. The Hyattsville man landed his second and third $50,000 Bonus Match 5 prizes this year in the March 9 drawing! He visited Landover Sunoco in...
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St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office Seeking Whereabouts of Jermaine Cornelius Dorsey – Wanted for Escape

St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office Seeking Whereabouts of Jermaine Cornelius Dorsey – Wanted for Escape

The St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office continues seeking the whereabouts of Jermaine Cornelius Dorsey, age 41, who is wanted for Second-Degree Escape. Dorsey failed to maintain a charge on his GPS ankle monitor and left his residence in Waldorf where he was sentenced to home detention. Dorsey was originally charged with Driving/Attempting to Drive...
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Maryland Comptroller Lierman Releases Statement on Updated Revenue Estimates

Maryland Comptroller Lierman Releases Statement on Updated Revenue Estimates

Comptroller Brooke Lierman led her first meeting of the Board of Revenue Estimates and released the following statement regarding the Board of Revenue Estimates’ vote on the revenue forecast for Fiscal Years 2023 and 2024: “Earlier this afternoon, the Board of Revenue Estimates voted to decrease Maryland’s revenue projection by .3% percent for Fiscal...
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Leadership Southern Maryland Accepting Applications for Executive Program

Leadership Southern Maryland Accepting Applications for Executive Program

Leadership Southern Maryland (LSM) is accepting applications for its Executive Program Class of 2024, which will run from September 2023 through May 2024. The program is open to mid- and upper-level senior executives living or working in Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary’s counties, who have demonstrated commitment to community engagement. The LSM Executive Program...
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Graduation Rates for Charles County Public School Students Continue to Exceed Statewide Average

Graduation Rates for Charles County Public School Students Continue to Exceed Statewide Average

Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) graduation rates for the Class of 2022 indicate that nearly 93% of students graduated on time. Graduation rate data was released this week by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE). The 92.6% graduation rate for the CCPS Class of 2022 is more than 5% higher than the statewide...
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Maryland Forest Service Names 2023 Arbor Day Poster Contest Winners

Maryland Forest Service Names 2023 Arbor Day Poster Contest Winners

The judging is complete for the 2023 Arbor Day poster contest, sponsored by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Maryland First Lady Dawn Flythe Moore joined Maryland Department of Natural Resources Secretary Josh Kurtz and a panel of forestry experts to review submissions and award three Maryland schools with tree plantings this spring. “This...
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Police in Charles County Respond to Reckless Driving Complaints and Make 67 Traffic Stops

Police in Charles County Respond to Reckless Driving Complaints and Make 67 Traffic Stops

On March 4, 2023, the Charles County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) received numerous complaints of vehicles operating in a reckless manner on Crain Highway between La Plata and the Harry W. Nice Memorial/Senator Thomas “Mac” Middleton Bridge. The complaints ranged from vehicles traveling at high rates of speed, passing on the shoulders, and vehicles blocking...
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Mattawoman Middle School 8th Grader is County Spelling Bee Champ, Heads to National Competition

Mattawoman Middle School 8th Grader is County Spelling Bee Champ, Heads to National Competition

The word that clinched the 2023 Charles County Spelling Bee for a Mattawoman Middle School eighth grader was “valedictorian.” Correctly spelling the word that defines a student with the highest academic achievements of a graduating class seems a fitting word for Alec Gallahan to nail. He advances to the Scripps National Spelling Bee held...
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White Plains Woman Suffers Serious Injuries in Crash That Kills Two Prince George’s County Residents

White Plains Woman Suffers Serious Injuries in Crash That Kills Two Prince George’s County Residents

On March 12, 2023, at approximately 12:15 a.m., officers responded to the area of southbound Crain Highway at westbound Maryland Route 32 for a crash involving a tow truck and a sedan. The investigation revealed a 2013 Freightliner tow truck was traveling southbound on Crain Highway near westbound Maryland Route 32 when it rear-ended...
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Police Investigating Threats Made by 12-Year-Old General Smallwood Middle School Student

Police Investigating Threats Made by 12-Year-Old General Smallwood Middle School Student

On the morning of March 10, 2023, Charles County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) received an anonymous tip that a 12-year-old student at General Smallwood Middle School made verbal statements as well as on a social media platform to shoot multiple students during the school day. The School Resource Officer was notified and initiated an investigation....
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Charles County Commissioners Meeting Update – March 7, 2023

Charles County Commissioners Meeting Update – March 7, 2023

On Tuesday, March 7, Commissioners approved Charles County’s annual transportation priority letter to the Maryland Department of Transportation. Staff provided a presentation on transportation priorities, including support for Southern Maryland Rapid Transit, improvements to the US 301 Waldorf corridor, pedestrian safety enhancements at US 301/Smallwood Drive and MD 228/Western Parkway, projects to improve the Hughesville area, and Governor...
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Join Coders and Inventors to Transform Problems into Solutions at the CSM Velocity Center’s Climate Change Hackathon March 30-31

Join Coders and Inventors to Transform Problems into Solutions at the CSM Velocity Center’s Climate Change Hackathon March 30-31

Registration is now open for College of Southern Maryland (CSM) Velocity X Climate Innovation Hackathon where participating teams will solve real world challenges by inventing, designing and testing solutions to solve the impact of climate change. Held at the Velocity Center in Indian Head, coders and inventors are invited to join community partners for...
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Police Recover Suspected Marijuana Edibles from St. Charles High School Student

Police Recover Suspected Marijuana Edibles from St. Charles High School Student

On March 8, administrators at St. Charles High School recovered a bag of edibles containing suspected marijuana from a 15-year-old student. The School Resource Officer was notified and began an investigation. The State’s Attorney’s Office is being consulted regarding charges and the student faces disciplinary action by CCPS. Parents are asked to talk with...
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Firefighters from St. Mary’s, Charles and Prince George’s County Respond to Fire in Charlotte Hall That Sends Victim to Burn Center

Firefighters from St. Mary’s, Charles and Prince George’s County Respond to Fire in Charlotte Hall That Sends Victim to Burn Center

On Thursday, March 9, 2023, at approximately 1:30 p.m., firefighters from Mechanicsville, Leonardtown, Hollywood and Charles County responded to 29650 Whalen Road in Charlotte Hall, for the reported structure on fire. Crews arrived on the scene to find a large shed with a vehicle inside fully engulfed in flames with extensions to a nearby...
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Police Investigating Accidental Shooting in Waldorf, Victim Flown to Trauma Center

Police Investigating Accidental Shooting in Waldorf, Victim Flown to Trauma Center

On Thursday, March 9, 2023, at approximately 10:18 a.m., police, fire and rescue personnel responded to the Harbor Freight parking lot located at 3286 Crain Highway in Waldorf, for the reported shooting. Dispatchers advised the 911 caller stated he accidentally shot himself in the leg. Crews arrived on the scene find an adult male victim...
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Police Investigating Sexual Assault by 12-Year-Old Student at Piccowaxen Middle School

Police Investigating Sexual Assault by 12-Year-Old Student at Piccowaxen Middle School

On March 3, a 12-year-old student at Piccowaxen Middle School entered a classroom that he did not belong in, sat next to another student and tried to grab her hand, which she did not allow. When the teacher dismissed the class, the male inappropriately touched the victim, and then followed her towards her locker....
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Daylight Saving Time “Spring Forward” Begins Sunday, March 12, 2023

Daylight Saving Time “Spring Forward” Begins Sunday, March 12, 2023

As the season changes, consumers should replace their batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) urges consumers to ensure they have working alarms throughout their home and to take steps to prevent fires such as cleaning clothes dryer vents. Make these annual habits to help save lives!...
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Police Investigating Suspect Overdose at La Plata High School

Police Investigating Suspect Overdose at La Plata High School

On the morning of March 8, the nurse at La Plata High School requested the School Resource Officer’s assistance with a student that was hyperventilating and exhibiting abnormal behavior. The officer was able to calm the student down, and the student notified the officer that she had used a vape pen containing what was...
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Maryland State Police Arrest Man On Child Pornography Charges In Charles County

Maryland State Police Arrest Man On Child Pornography Charges In Charles County

Troopers arrested a Charles County man on Tuesday, March 8, 2023, after a Maryland State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force investigation developed evidence of possession of and distribution of child pornography. The suspect is identified as David Allen Payne, 57, of Waldorf. Payne is charged with five counts of possession of child...
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Teacher at Grace Lutheran Church in La Plata Charged with Child Sexual Abuse

Teacher at Grace Lutheran Church in La Plata Charged with Child Sexual Abuse

On March 4, 2023, Charles County Sheriff’s detectives arrested and charged David Warren Henson, Jr., 53, of Waldorf, with sexual abuse of a minor and child pornography after it was reported that he sexually abused an adolescent female over a period of two years. Henson has been employed as a teacher at Grace Lutheran...
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