• The Calvert County Office on Aging offers services and programs to senior citizens that help them maintain the best possible quality of life. There are nutrition programs, exercise classes and many social programs at the county's three senior centers that are meant to both educate and entertain. The office also serves as a Maryland Access Point, (MAP), which provides a single point of entry for referral to resources and services, benefit options and services for caregivers of older adults and adults with disabilities. 

  Tax Aide volunteer Gene Wilburn, left, helps Thelma Scruggs with her tax return preparation at the Calvert Pines Senior Center.

• The Calvert County Family Network (CCFN) is a Local Management Board under the Maryland Governor's Office for Children. Together, the state and local groups develop and coordinate care from agencies like the health department, Department of Juvenile Services, mental hygiene services, the local school system and the department of social services. The system allows agencies to collect data and monitor the wellbeing of children.
• The Public Transportation Division serves the transportation needs of the general public as well as senior citizens and persons with disabilities. The system links residents with major county shopping, medical and employment areas.

The Department of Community Resources also acts as a liaison for a number of state and local programs.

• The Calvert Alliance Against Substance Abuse (CAASA) is a coalition of people and organizations that work to fight alcohol and drug abuse in Calvert County.
• The Core Service Agency is a Calvert County Health Department program that ensures residents have access to high-quality, cost-effective mental health services.
• The Housing Authority of Calvert County oversees rental vouchers, public housing units, senior housing and loan programs for rehabilitating homes owned by low- and middle-income residents.

Volunteer Carolyn Mohler, left, and Food Service Coordinator Tracey Endrusick prepare meals for delivery in the Meals on Wheels program.

Department of Community Resources is often the first stop for citizens who need information on government assistance. Hoffman and her staff work to help citizens navigate state and local agencies for the right fit, and can act as advocates for those citizens.

The department also administers the House Keys 4 Employees program, which aims to enable eligible homebuyers to receive additional down payment and/or closing cost assistance on the purchase of a first home, National Association of Counties (NACo) Pharmacy Discount Card and NACo Dental Discount Card. 
 

Hoffman says her staff must be able to meet varied demands from all sectors of the county's population, including guiding those in crisis to the appropriate resources.

"From day-to-day interactions with our senior citizens through Eating Together programs to exercise and craft programs at the senior centers, to providing reliable transportation to dialysis patients, my staff has to be incredibly competent," Hoffman said. "To the population at large, we're like air traffic controllers for services; we guide people to where they need to be."

The focus of the department can evolve according to what the community needs most. During the foreclosure crisis, foreclosure prevention and housing assistance programs became prominent. Now, substance abuse prevention is a priority to combat a growing addiction problem.

 
The department is also responsible for ensuring that county services meet the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act. "There's a lot we do that's under the radar," Hoffman said. "But all told, it improves the quality of life for our citizens in multiple ways." 

We are finally starting to move into spring, and with the warmer weather comes a calendar full of all the wonderful things there are to see and do in Calvert County.

Check out the local events calendar.

A drainage remediation project in North Beach will alleviate flooding while helping improve runoff water quality. 

The project, run by the Calvert County Department of Public Works, started in February with engineers surveying along 5th Street between Chicago Avenue and Green Avenue. Yards in the area routinely flood following rain storms. Plans call for the roadway ditch line to be repaired and reshaped to improve drainage. 

The county is taking this opportunity to design a solution that will better filter the water to remove road runoff pollutants. Crews will convert the ditch along the southern portion of 5th Street to a grass swale engineered to collect runoff and allow it to percolate into the ground. A filter material under the grass surface will help remove road contaminants while the grass helps reduce the velocity of the flowing water. 

Following engineering and design work, construction on the drainage project will begin by this fall. For more information, email Erica Jackson, project engineer with the county Department of Public Works, or call her at 410-535-1600, ext. 2569.  

The Calvert County Health Department's Division of Environmental Health began 2014 Wet Season percolation testing March 3. The last day to submit applications for testing in this year's Wet Season is Friday, April 11.

Visit the Health Department's perc test page.

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