Month: June 2020

AROUND THE PARK by Sharon Lee Tegler

There was no shortage of shoppers when Partners In Care Maryland opened its doors on June 1. Regular customers were elated and new customers were curious to see what the organization’s upscale resale boutique at 8151 Ritchie Highway had to offer.

To say there was pent up demand for the boutique to reopen following the COVID-19 shutdown is putting it mildly. PIC Executive Director Mandy Arnold said would-be shoppers regularly stopped outside the doors to inquire when that would happen. Others stopped to ask when Partners In Care’s other services for seniors would resume.

“Our office staff worked all but three weeks of the time we were closed down by the governor’s “Stay at Home” orders,” Arnold said. “We’ve been working the whole time on ways to safely relaunch the boutique (our main source of funding) and the PIC transportation programs vital to many seniors. We’re very pleased we’re back and operating most of our services with minimal COVID-related limitations.”

Special care was taken in preparing the boutique to reopen in accordance with recommended guidelines. However, the store retains its usual charm. The talented PIC volunteer group nicknamed “The Designing Women” went all out with a clever “red, white and blue” clothing and accessory theme in honor of the 4th of July.

Volunteers and staff arranged aisle after aisle of eye-catching displays of items ranging from clothing, china, tableware, linens and antiques to children’s toys, books and tchotchkes – all while making sure the merchandise is sanitized and neat as a pin.

Arnold described several measures taken to safeguard customers’ health including hand sanitizing stations and markings six feet apart at checkout counters. All PIC volunteers wear masks made by members.

For now, temporary COVID hours have been set from noon to 5 pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Since only 12 people, including staff, are allowed in the store at any one time, customers rotate through.”

It was necessary to limit the store’s hours because not all of PIC’s member volunteers have come back. Many are seniors and, thus, vulnerable to the illness so they’re putting off their return.

Donations of clothes or other items from the public are now being accepted…..but by appointment only. To schedule an appointment, call 410-544-0568. Festival at Pasadena is generously allowing Partners In Care to use an empty retail space next door to accept and safely store the donations.

Once accepted, donations are held for a proscribed period of time and then go through a sanitizing process before being brought into the store. They’re then worked into the boutique’s inventory – often in clever ways. For example, The Designing Women’s came up with the idea to display classic handbags in an antique china cupboard.

Quite a few of the seniors dependent on PIC’s all important “Ride” services breathed a sigh of relief on learning limited transportation is now available for essential medical appointments or trips to grocery stores. The two-month disruption of the “rides” provided by volunteers or mobility vans was traumatic for older members who found it hard to make other arrangements.

For now, people accepting rides must wear masks. They are asked five basic questions including if they’ve experienced fever, have been near anyone ill with the virus, etc.

PIC’s popular Seniors Helping Seniors handyman services are being resumed – but for outside work only at present. The organization’s Veterans Helping Veterans Program launch party had to be postponed to a yet-to-be-determined date.

Benevolent Baskets gifts “Gratitude Bags” to essential workers

Benevolent Baskets founders Karen Lerario and Lesley Geisel wanted to express their thanks to those from from Severna Park, Millersville, Annapolis and elsewhere who donated to support the organization’s gifting of “Gratitude Bags” to essential workers who’ve carried on through the COVID-19 pandemic. The bags were loaded with snacks and beverages, sweet and savory…and even some healthy treats. 

Benevolent Baskets’ volunteers had so much fun surprising and blessing staff at fire/EMT stations, detention centers, hospitals, train stations and doctors offices in Baltimore City and Anne Arundel County.

Reminder that Anne Arundel Co. Public Libraries are offering curbside pickup

The Severna Park Community Library and most other Anne Arundel County Public Library branches are offering telephone service at 410-222-6290 and curbside pickup for books from 10 am through 4 pm Monday through Saturday. Library returns may be made by placing materials in the Book Drop.

Young, talented designer and author Erica Szymanski is petitioning the US Food & Drug Administration requesting that companies be required to list the ingredients in “natural flavorings”….. many of which can trigger allergic reactions. Thus far, she’s received more than 600 signatures for her petition.

Midway through the summer of 2019, Szymanski felt she was having a banner year in spite of challenges. She graduated from Severna Park High School while simultaneously earning her Anne Arundel Community College Entrepreneur Certificate with 18 credits in accounting, marketing and promotion.

She also formed Erica Morgan Books as an adjunct to her already existing company Erica Morgan Designs and had her children’s book, “A Shark’s Tooth Fairy Tale” published by Mascot Books. In the fall, she expected to enter the University of Virginia majoring in business.

Abruptly, Szymanski’s life was turned upside down as she was sidelined by a “trifecta” of illnesses ithat included an allergy/immune disorder called Mast Cell Activation Sydrome (MCAS), Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS)..

Believed to be hereditary, Mast Cell Activation syndrome occurs when the mast cells in an individual’s immune system trigger mutations of allergic reactions and cause symptoms like hives, breathing difficulties, low blood pressure or gastrointestinal problems.

Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome is a connective tissue disorder that causes hyper mobility in joints and is closely linked to Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome.

“When someone normally stands up, their heat rate will be elevated ,” Szymanski said. “However, POTS is a condition where, when a person moves from a lying down to a standing up position, too little blood returns to the heart. The condition can cause the person to be lightheaded or faint.”

Each syndrome is difficult to diagnose, taking an average of five years. Szymanski believes her earliest symptoms appeared when she was in middle school. By junior year at SPHS, she was diagnosed with Postural Tachycardia Syndrome. By senior year, her Mast Cell Activation Syndrome came into play in a major way causing frequent illnesses. With her usual fortitude, however, she carried on dancing and even appeared in the high school’s popular Rock ‘N Roll Revival.

There are no cures for any of the three syndromes aside from managing symptoms, Like all POTS patients, Szymanski was advised to increase her intake of water and salt and take physical therapy. She also exercises on a recumbent bicycle to strengthen the leg muscles that pump blood to her heart.

As an MCAS patient, avoiding allergens is key because the condition is extremely challenging. Sufferer’s allergies can change without warning. The only way to determine which foods, medications or products are causing an allergic reaction is to keep a written food log.

Szymanksi was never allergic to mint for example. Then, one morning when brushing her teeth with a mint flavored toothpaste, she suffered a severe reaction. Within days, it was determined she’d become allergic to mint.

Achieving a balanced diet is incredibly hard and means she eats mostly unprocessed organic fruits, vegetables and chicken. If she eats processed foods, they’re minimally processed canned or frozen fruits or vegetables with three or fewer ingredients. She avoids products with natural flavors.

Szymanski’s trifecta of chronic illnesses flared shortly after graduation and the talented student was forced to take a medical gap year from university in order to stabilize her health.

Regardless, she is successfully carrying on with her entrepreneurial career through Erica Morgan Designs and Erica Morgan Books. Since published in December, 2019, “A Shark’s Tooth Fairy Tale” has been picked up online by Target, Wallmart, Barnes & Noble and Amazon. The book also received a five-star rating from Reader’s Favorite. She’s done a number of book signings, visited schools, and created an online “StoryTime” for children.

Erica Morgan Books is currently helping another author publish her own book.

Erica Morgan Designs has continued marketing Szymanski’s unique decals, stickers and magnets through a network of 40 retailers in eight states. They are listed at https://www.ericamorgandesigns.com/stockists.html.

Her products are also sold in Annapolis at Whimsicality, Lilac Bijoux and HERE a pop-up shop as well as in Severna Park at Side Street Framers. She’s now doing more freelance design work including a sign and tickets for Craig Conover, a star of the reality TV show “Southern Charm“.

Through Erica Morgan Designs, she’s carried on her many charitable activities including designing, sewing and donating masks for police officers and medical workers throughout the COVID-19 crisis.

Szymanski considers creating herFDA petition one of the most important things she’s done because unlisted ingredients in natural flavorings can literally threaten the health and lives of allergy sufferers.

“I was frustrated because my allergens were not among the top eight allergens required to be listed on food labels according to the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Act of 2004..” she said. “Allergens not in the top eight (but prevalent among the general population) like sesame and corn, are not required to be disclosed meaning it’s impossible to know what you’re getting. Both ingredients can be hidden under ‘natural flavorings’ – flavorings that may not even be natural but chemical in nature.”

St. Martin’s 8th-graders’ graduation altered but heartfelt

On June 2, St. Martin’s-in-the-Field Episcopal School held a heartfelt commencement celebration for its 8^th graders according to Development and Marketing Director Christine Hickey. Like other educational institutions closed because of COVIC-19, St. Martin’s wanted to do something special.

Hickey said graduates paraded through the campus in cars with their families receiving flowers, “Class of 2020” face masks and a personalized poster board from their teachers.  St. Martin’s held a ceremony viewed by car in back of the school where Head of School Jamey Hein celebrated the grads with a speech, graduation certificates,  awards and gifts.

Two students, Elizabeth Younkin and Nick Allen, received awards for continuously exhibiting traits of  Confidence, Compassion and Character during their time at St. Martin’s. 

Students and their families listened from afar to graduation speeches and awards. Some like Cody Fanzo had ringside seats.

The ceremony was touching and a true testament to what a small school can do even in challenging times.

Trevor Mennell and classmates carpooled in style with their families to receive their St. Martin’s-in-the-Field Episcopal School graduation certificates.

Severna Park Community Library began curbside service

All Anne Arundel County Public Libraries began telephone service with contactless curbside pick-up on Monday, June 8th. For details, visit https://aacpl.net/ or call 419-222-7371.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

Even before Governor Hogan announced the resumption of outdoor dining on May 29, The Big Bean staff was working round-the-clock getting ready for what owners Greg and Christie Coster hoped would be a June 1st reopening.

Their plans came to fruition Sunday, May 31 and Monday, June 1 as happy customers flocked to the Severna Park coffee shop’s outdoor patio beside the B&A Trail.

Like similar businesses, The Big Bean adapted during the COVID-19 shutdown by instituting hands-off curbside delivery for online orders of coffee drinks, coffee beans, breakfast cookies, and snacks.

“Thanks to wonderful community support through our online sales, we stayed afloat and hired back our staff,” Christie said. “We deep-cleaned, repainted and sanitized the shop and installed a register by the patio door. Outside, Greg spaced 55 chairs and 12 patio tables six feet apart. Customers can also enter the shop through the front entrance for takeout if they’re wearing masks. Servers will wear masks too. ”

The reopening was so successful the staff worked hard to keep up with demand Greg said. Among the patrons on Sunday were Big Bean regulars Sharon and Dan Flagler who were once again enjoying super sized coffee drinks.

“We’ve known Christie and Greg for a long time and original owner Deb Hoffman before them,” Dan said. “We admire how they’re operating from 7 am to 4 pm in a reasonable manner with safety in mind. It’s good to be here .”

Other local businesses reopening, or about to reopen, include Franklin’s Toys, Brian Boru, Park Tavern, La Posta, Vida Taco Bar, Shooters and Garry’s Grill.

At Garry’s Grill, manger Korey Earles was balanced on a ladder. He was hanging a sign over the outdoor dining area owner Eddie Conway created featuring properly distanced tables, plants and festive lighting.

Earles proclaimed the weekend’s reopening quite a success as staff members and patrons caught up with each other. Greeting customers who wholeheartedly supported the restaurant by ordering takeout and groceries through the pandemic was gratifying he said.

Tuesday, June 2 just happened to be the 12th Anniversary of the day Conway bought the restaurant from former owner Garry Anderson. Things were hopping as he happily visited tables accepting longtime patrons’ congratulations . Henceforth, Garry’s Grill will be open daily from 11 am to 8 pm Sunday through Wednesday and 11 am to 9 pm Thursday through Saturday. Breakfast is available starting at 8 am on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Picnic tables with pretty umbrellas graced the sidewalk and side lawn at La Posta Pizzeria and Italian Kitchen on B&A Blvd. where pasta, woodfire pizza and vino were being served to outdoor diners by reservation only at 443-905-2840. Judging from the full parking lot, Severna Park patrons were pleased to be back.

Between tables located on the front sidewalk, iron railed terrace and a patch of parking lot, there was ample room at Park Tavern for socially distanced outdoor dining. Managing partner Greg Keating said customers were great in supporting the restaurant during the shutdown. However, the staff was thrilled to be moving forward.

“Seeing our customers again is such a happy feeling,” Keating said.

Franklin’s Toys among first small retailers to open

Toys that one can see and touch were once again at shopper’s fingertips as Franklin’s Toys reopened June 1. The store is observing all state guidelines and regulations with masks required of staff and customers and social distancing. The popular Park Plaza store will be open Mondays through Saturdays from 10 am to 6 pm. (Franklin’s Annapolis location will be open too. )

SPHS Grad Bags

Pastor Dave Brown of Severna Park Baptist Church felt the COVID pandemic caused a lot of heartache for the community including students who missed out on a lot. He wanted to do something especially kind and caring for Severna Park High School graduating seniors, some of whom attend his church. With schools closed and gatherings prohibited, the seniors were forced to give up rituals they hold dear including proms and graduation. Many SPHS seniors who were Rock ‘N Roll Revival XXXI cast members were dismayed when their show was cancelled just before opening night.

With an assist from Brooke Atkinson of the Christian youth group Campus Life, Pastor Brown asked the neighboring congregations of Severna Park Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Severna Park United Methodist Church and Trinity Bible Church to help put together gift bags for SPHS graduates to express love and encouragement and show them how much they mean to us.

Pooling their efforts, the churches found some very nice items for the Grad Bags

“We purchased $10 gift certificates from Chick-fil-A and added generously donated gift cards from Donut Shack and Steak and Shake,” Pastor Brown said. “We included personalized items like journals and Severna Park High lanyards plus personal letters of congratulation for each senior written by members of the four congregations.”

The churches coordinated the SPHS Grad Bag giveaways and timed them to take place June 1, 2 and 3 at Severna Park Baptist Church……mirroring the times seniors were invited to pick up their diplomas at Severna Park High.

Atkinson, a representative for Campus Life, is working to set up a branch at Severna Park High. She said she was surprised the Grad Bags were picked up so quickly by appreciative graduates – 30 Grad Bags the first day.