The Delaware Sports Commission (DSC) and the University of Delaware (UD) have been awarded the bid to host the 2011 American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Men’s Division 1 National Championships. The five-day ice hockey tournament to be held from March 5-9, 2011, is expected to generate an economic impact of over 650,000 dollars including overnight accommodations, food, transportation, shopping, and miscellaneous expenses.

“Hosting large sporting events draws out-of-state visitors to Delaware which has a positive effect on the economic climate and rallies the community,” says Governor Jack Markell. “As tourism traffic increases, retail businesses and service providers will prosper in the State.”

The ACHA is a collegiate governing body comprised of five divisions and 421 teams nationwide encompassing every state except Hawaii. “With Delaware’s central location, easy accessibility, and University of Delaware’s first-class ice arenas, Delaware is ideally suited to host the ACHA Men’s Division 1 National Championships,” claims Brian Moran, ACHA Men’s Division 1 Commissioner. “We wanted to bring this tournament to the East Coast, and Delaware is the perfect fit! Since we had a successful experience when the 1999 tournament was held in Delaware, we wanted to come back.”

The University of Delaware has a history of hosting major sports events including figure skating events and hockey tournaments. More recently, the University of Delaware hosted the 2010 U.S. Figure Skating Eastern Sectional Championships. Additionally, the 2010 Collegiate Figure Skating Championships will be held at UD on April 17 and 18, 2010.

“This sports event is representative of the caliber of tournaments that the Delaware Sports Commission is actively pursuing for Delaware,” says Matt Sparks, Executive Director of the Delaware Sports Commission. “The Commission’s priority is to bring more out-of-state players to Delaware, predominantly for national and regional amateur and collegiate events. We are excited about giving fans the opportunity to see competitive hockey and are proud to partner with the ACHA and the University of Delaware with its proven success in hosting major sports events.”

The Delaware Sports Commission was established to attract large and small sporting events to Delaware to benefit the sports industry and community and to positively impact Delaware’s economy. The Delaware Sports Commission also assists with the retention and growth of existing sports events.

Additionally, Delaware was recently selected as one of the top sports-friendly destinations in the nation and has been recognized for its excellence in service, innovative approaches, and dedication to sports by Readers of SportsEvents Magazine. Delaware is considered by sports event rights holders as one of the “places to watch” in 2010 to hold sporting events.

The Delaware Sports Commission, 99 Kings Highway in Dover, Del., promotes and recruits single-day and multi-day regional and national events and supports the growth of existing sports events for Delaware. For more information, visit the official Delaware Sports Commission website at www.delawaresports.org or call (302) 672-6832.

Governor Martin O’Malley today announced Board of Public Works approval of land acquisition and recreational projects in Anne Arundel, Frederick and Worcester , Counties through Program Open Space (POS).

“This dedicated fund source continues to enable us to provide safe, accessible recreational opportunities close to home for Maryland’s working families,” said Governor O’Malley.

Today the Board of Public Works approved the following projects:

Anne Arundel County will receive $537,500 to acquire the 63-acre Boehm Property for the South River Greenway. The Greenway will provide for an extensive trail system for hiking, wildlife observation, and outdoor recreation programs conducted by the Department of Recreation and Parks and the South River Federation.

Frederick County will receive $101,000 to acquire the 16-acre Belcher Property for Pleasant Walk Park in Myersville. Acquisition of this tract will provide a direct connection between current parkland and Appalachian Trail easement properties. Purchase of this property directly supports Maryland’s Children in Nature Initiative by providing the opportunity for young people to connect with nature and grow to become informed and responsible stewards of our environment.

“While recent POS acquisition of other properties in this area hinged more heavily upon protection of vulnerable natural resources, the Belcher property with its unique proximity to the Appalachian Trail and inspiring secluded surroundings will serve to reconnect the minds and hearts of our local children and many visitors that we hope will get lost in the wonders of nature this area still holds,” said Kristin Aleshire, Myersville Town Manager.

Worcester County will receive:
• $3,450 to replace the existing park sign with one that is consistent with other County signs at Bishopville Park.
• $16,603 to repave the parking area and roadway at Bishopville Park.
• $15,000 to restore basketball courts with new surfaces, line painting, poles and backboards at Showell Park.
• $8,000 to restore basketball courts with new surfaces, line painting and backboards at John Walter Smith Park.
• $1,228 for the initial development of a new community park using land donated to the County by the local volunteer fire department.

Since 2007, Governor O’Malley and the BPW preserved more than 26,989 acres of natural areas for public recreation and watershed and wildlife protection across Maryland. Since 1969, Program Open Space has provided funding for acquisition of 347,717 acres for open space and recreation areas. Most Maryland residents live within 15 minutes of an open space or recreational area funded Program Open Space.

Please bring your horse for a beautiful ride on the beach or your walking shoes to enjoy the paved trails at Cape Henlopen State Park. All proceeds go to SDTRHR which provides equine assisted therapy to children and adults with disabilities.

Cape Henlopen State Park, Lewes, DE
Saturday, April 10th
Registration begins at 9:00 AM

PLEASE NOTE THE STATE PARK WILL BE CHARGING ENTRANCE FEES
DE License Plate: $4 Out of State License Plate: $8
If you have 2010 DE state park pass, there will no fee charged.

Directions: Go ½ mile past CAPE MAY/LEWES FERRY; Enter State Park, follow orange cones with arrows and signs to bath house parking lot. Address: 42 Cape Henlopen Drive, Lewes, DE 19958

·Minimum sponsorship amount to ride/walk is:
· $25 for 14 & up and $15 for 13 & under
· Raise $50 or More and Receive a Free Commemorative T-shirt
· Free Lunch & Delicious Desserts for Registrants
· Awesome Prizes: Highest fund raisers, tallest horse, youngest & oldest rider and more!
· Raffles for adults & kids.
· Ride is approximately 5 miles-ride at your own pace.
· Proof of Negative Coggins for horses-not required.
· Beach Pictures w/ Palstaken & purchased on site
· 2 separate raffles
· Overnight horse boarding and lodging
· Download and print your sponsor form from www.sdtrhr.com

We are also seeking business sponsors! Sponsors who donate $100, will have their name on the shirt and receive a FREE shirt; sponsors who donate $150 can have their name and logo on the shirt and receive a FREE shirt. Due for sponsorship is 4/1/10!

For More Information Contact:
SDTRHR
P.O. Box 219
Nassau, DE 19969
Phone: 302 644-1920
www.sdtrhr.com

CAMBRIDGE, MD

Gigi’s Trattoria, a casual Italian restaurant and wine bar, opened in mid-March in downtown Cambridge. With an emphasis on comfort food at reasonable prices, the restaurant offers everything from pizza, pasta, and paninis to burgers and salads, as well as a range of wines by the glass or the bottle.

Like the traditional trattorias of Italy, Gigi’s is designed as a place where neighbors, friends, and family can gather for fun and satisfying, flavorful food. The restaurant is located where Bella Luna restaurant was at 305 High Street in downtown Cambridge.

“In this economy, we thought it best to open a more affordable, more casual, everyday kind of restaurant. Gigi’s is much more down-home style with lower prices,” said Barbara Helish, chef and owner of both Gigi’s and Bella Luna. “We’re responding to what’s going on in the world. It’s the right time to do something more comforting for everyone.”

The name Gigi’s honors the man who introduced Helish to authentic Italian food. After growing up eating German food, Helish enjoyed her first taste of Italian cuisine when a family friend named Luigi prepared some meals—and sparked her lifelong passion for Italian food.

In 2003, Helish opened a deli in Royal Oak where she prepared Italian specialties. People soon began making more and more requests, so the deli evolved into Bella Luna, a popular restaurant featuring freshly made pastas, mozzarella from scratch, and a focus on local ingredients. She opened the second location in Cambridge in early 2009.

With Gigi’s, Chef Helish takes her passion for Italian food in a new direction, creating familiar favorites with her own touch. “I’m excited about Gigi’s becoming a neighborhood favorite for people in and around Cambridge looking to enjoy fresh Italian food and good wine,” Helish said.

Gigi’s is open for lunch and dinner, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. To reserve your table, call 410.221.0110. Gigi’s is located at 305 High Street in downtown Cambridge.

On February 26, 17 new rangers graduated from Maryland Park Service Ranger School, marking the fourth class of new graduates since February 2009.

“Our rangers inspire Marylanders to enjoy and learn about our natural resources in a safe and responsible manner,” said Governor Martin O’Malley. “I congratulate and thank our new rangers, who will be serving both citizens and visitors as they work to sustainably manage our treasured state parks.”

The 4-week academy was held at Janes Island State Park in Crisfield, Md., incorporating classroom instruction with practical park experience through the operation of the park. The graduates, comprised of park employees both veteran and new, completed training in various aspects of park operations. Students experienced real life scenarios and instruction involving resource management, search and rescue, campground operations, park maintenance, resource interpretation and diversity in education.

“For more than a century our rangers have been the guardians of these places, serving as mentors protecting our visitors and enriching their experience,” said Maryland Park Service Superintendent Nina Settina. “Ranger School provides employees with a strong foundation on which a long and successful career can be based.”

A Maryland park ranger devotes professional responsibility for stewardship and protection of Maryland’s natural and historic resources, incorporating education, enforcement, management and conservation when serving park visitors.

Graduates:
Angela Baldwin, Newark, Md.
Tina Bianca, Kingsville
Jeanette Bitzel, Ocean City
Jessica Conley, Queen Anne
Eric Creter, Boonsboro
Michelle Elliott, Rising Sun
Nancy Gardner, Annapolis
Kristen Gregory, Centreville
Dean Hughes, Baldwin
Karen Jarboe, Lanham
Shawn Johnson, Snow Hill
Jaime Kimble, Salisbury
Melody Nevins, Ellicott City
Roland M. Powell, Havre de Grace
Sarah Rodriguez, Frankfort, DE
Mike Travers, Annapolis
Stephen Youngkin, Jr., West River

Big Skye Ranch, by local authors Laura Ambler, of Easton, and Mala Burt, of St. Michaels, won the 2009 Grand Prize Runner-up Award at the annual international book competition of the London Book Festival, in London, U.K. Their novel also won first place in the e-book category.

In the announcement, the contest judges said Big Skye Ranch is “a forerunner of a new generation of e-books that are roping in the hard-to-reach teenage audience.” This is the first time an “e-book” has been a winner of the overall book competition. Ambler and Burt attended the awards ceremony in London.

“Big Skye Ranch uses full color graphics and provocative subject matter to bridge the reading generation gap,” the judges said.

The two authors collaborated to write the book for young teenagers under the fictitious author’s name “Laurel Jaguar,” an irreverent teenager who relates to today’s teen market.

They wrote the book as a downloadable novel, an e-book, with new technologies that provide immediate access to the teen market. The entire book can be read on smart phones for the price of a ring tone, making it inexpensive and instantly available to teens. It can also be read on e-reader devices, the Kindle, and laptop computers, all popular among younger readers.

The novel tells the stories of last chance teens who must confront psychological issues faced by many in their age group. They end up at “Big Skye Ranch,” a boot camp in the Montana wilderness. The troubled teens are empowered by peers to learn trust and embrace self-worth, important messages for today’s young readers.

The authors combined their individual skills for the book. Mala Burt is a published novelist and a clinical social worker. Laura Ambler is a screenwriter, artist and graphic designer. Both are award winning writers who are active in the writing community on the Delmarva Peninsula.

The e-book and digital medium is a world-wide growth phenomenon in publishing, especially among teens and young adults. Big Skye Ranch is also available on Amazon. For more information and a view of the cover and color graphics, see the website www.bigskyeranch.com.
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According to Jennifer Wheatley, environmental scientist with DNREC’s Shoreline and Waterway Management Section and coordinator of the event, hundreds of volunteers have already signed up, but more are needed, especially at Delaware’s most southern beaches.

“We still need volunteers to plant the dunes at Bethany, South Bethany and Fenwick Island beaches, and we are encouraging volunteers to sign up at these locations. Our sand dunes were hit especially hard last fall by three northeaster storms, and we need volunteers to help plant beach grass that was lost. Dunes are essential for protection against coastal storms, and we encourage people to join this year’s beach grass planting event.”
Volunteers are asked to either sign up online at SWC’s web site www.swc.dnrec.delaware.gov/Shoreline/Pages/BeachGrassPlanting.aspx or by email Marcia.Cagle@state.de.us mailto:Marcia.Cagle@state.de.us, or by calling 302-739-9921.

The event, now in its 21st year, helps protect Delaware shorelines by planting Cape American beach grass on sand dunes damaged by coastal storms. Last year approximately 900 people planted more than 150,000 stems of beach grass along four miles of coastline between Delaware Seashore State Park and Kitts Hummock Beach. Since the program was introduced in 1989, more than 5 million stems of beach grass have been planted by dedicated volunteers.

Sand dunes are essential for protection against damaging coastal storms. When sand dunes are destroyed, storm waves can rush inland, flood properties and put lives at risk. Stabilized dunes absorb wave energy and act as major sand storage areas which replenish sand to eroded beaches during a storm.

Beach grass helps to build and stabilize dunes by trapping windblown sand. As the grass traps the sand, it builds the dunes higher and wider, which makes it more protective of the structures behind it.

DNREC’s Shoreline and Waterway Management Section coordinates the annual beach grass planting event. The section also implements beach replenishment and erosion control projects along Atlantic Ocean and Delaware Bay communities to enhance, preserve and protect private and public beaches.
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Festivities include a sit down “tea” served by the Oz cast, 5 fun stations featuring an Oz themed activity, craft, game or prize booth manned by Oz characters, a short song and dance performance by the cast, followed by a parade down the yellow brick road. There will be many opportunities to take pictures with the cast and an opportunity for a professional picture taken by Photo Joe with your favorite Oz Characters (purchased separately). We are limiting the number of participants to 125 so preregistering is a must.

Cost is $10 per person (including adults)
Reservations required /Space is limited
Call 410-546-0661 or email kjbadger@comcast.net

March 24:
Teleconference: Cancer & End-of-Life Care
Chester River Home Care & Hospice invites you to The Hospice Foundation of America’s annual teleconference: Cancer & End-of-Life Care, on Wednesday, March 24 at 1pm. This teleconference is open to the public. Registration begins at 1pm and the teleconference begins promptly at 1:30. Discussion immediately following the program.CEUs are available. Wesley Hall at Heron Point, 501 E. Campus Avenue, Chestertown. This is a FREE event, but registration is encouraged. Space is limited! For more information and to register call Sam Ricketts, RNC, Community Educator at 410-778-1049 or 410-758-3238.

March 30:
Better Living thru Better Breathing!
Do you have chronic lung disease or COPD? Join Chester River Hospital Center on Tuesday, March 30, from 12:30-2pm and learn how to live with lung disease. Dr. William Trainor, pulmonologist, will discuss nutrition, exercise, oxygen therapy, medications and breathing techniques to help those who suffer with lung disease live a more fulfilling life! Lunch provided. Education Center at Chester River Hospital Center. This is a FREE event, but registration is required. Space is limited! For more information and to register call 410-778-7654 or email: gethealthy@chesterriverhealth.org

March 31:
Become a Health-Savvy Shopper!
March is National Nutrition Month and Chester River Hospital Center is celebrating by offering a free “Tour the Store” grocery store tour led by a certified dietician. Join Nutrition Services Supervisor, Mary King, RD, LD, CDE, as she teaches you how to become a health-savvy shopper. Learn how to focus on fruits and veggies, make calories count, add fiber to your diet, handle sweet cravings, processed vs. unprocessed, and more! Wednesday, March 31, 3:30pm-4:30pm. This is a FREE event, but registration is required. Space is limited! For more information and to register call 410-778-7654 or email: gethealthy@chesterriverhealth.org

“We are so grateful to Lorri and her staff for making us a part of this wonderful community building event. This financial support helps Talbot Hospice to sustain our mission of offering hope, compassionate support and services to all members of our community facing end-of-life issues,” said Kate Cox.

“As a fitness studio, Body Watts is aware of the integral connections between body, mind and spirit and appreciate the holistic approach that hospice offers when faced with the end of life. We are proud to support Talbot Hospice and the important role that they play within the community,” said Lorri Wilson-Clarke.

Over 100 participants at the fitness expo were encouraged to purchase raffle tickets for products provided by the vendors. These proceeds made up the donation to Talbot Hospice. The well-attended event was coordinated with the help of Lisa Gambacorta and Bertha Bryan and trainers Julie Carson, Page Murphy, Brooke Seabreeze, Laura Geller and Jill Willis.