| Ten-year-old equips police dogs with vests  CHEWSVILLE Emily Bolton, 10, who attends Bethel UMC, was made an honorary state police trooper Aug. 19. She was presented with resolutions from the Maryland Senate and House of Delegates honoring her for raising the funds to equip 25 police dogs with bulletproof vests. Bolton raised $13,300 in the Hagerstown community over the course of three months.
She first thought of raising money after reading a story in Chicken Soup for the Pre-Teen Soul, the Hagerstown Herald reported. She put collection boxes in seven veterinarian offices in Washington County during March. Two weeks later she had $5,000, enough to vest Hagerstowns five police dogs. So she set her sights higher. As a result of one young lady who cared, we can do something to protect our police dog partners, said Maryland State Police Superintendent Col. David B. Mitchell. I had a lot of fun doing this project, the sixth-grader said. Saharawis teenagers spend summer here  MITCHELLVILLE Four Saharawis teenagers who had never been outside their homes in a desert refugee camp in southwestern Algeria arrived June 23 to spend the summer with church families from Mt. Oak UMC. Abderrahmane, 13, Alati, 14, Lekbira, 16, and Abadine, 14, spent eight weeks with families from the church as part of a sponsorship program. The Saharawis are caught in a long war to gain independence from the country of Western Sahara. While the men fight, about 185,000 refugee women and children live in four desert camps. Since 1975, the people have developed schools, a hospital, clinics, and a government with a constitution modeled after the U.S. Constitution. They have no monetary system, and no one gets paid for working, according to Rhonda Thomas, a spokeswoman for the church mission project. During their stay, the young people studied English, had medical, dental and vision check-ups, visited museums, picnicked and went swimming. On Aug. 4, they went to New York City. Financial support and future sponsorships are being sought. Contact Thomas at (301) 261-6541 or
Church member named Hometown Hero GAITHERSBURG WETA-TV and radio station WETA  90.9 FM named Gregory Wims, a member of Goshen UMC, as Hometown Hero during the month of August, reported the Montgomery Gazette. Wims is the owner of the Gaithersburg construction consulting firm Hammer and Nails Inc. He was recognized for his community service. Wims is volunteer president of the Victims Rights Foundation, Inc. and raises money to help crime victims, their families and their communities. The foundation recently organized a prayer vigil for nine-year-old Erica Smith and her father, who were murdered in their home in Washington, D.C. Wims is also chairman of the board of the Bethesda-Chevy Chase YMCA and serves on the boards of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Washington and the Montgomery County Rotary Club. Wims attributed his deep involvement in community service to his church. I give God all the credit. Everything is through the Lord, he said. Boats blessed at revived festival SHADY SIDE May your boat be sturdy, your crew courageous, your harvest plentiful, and may you have the safety of the Lord with you, intoned the Rev. John Coursey, pastor of Sollers UMC in Lothian, as he blessed each boat in a flotilla that began a Blessing of the Fleet. After a 27-year hiatus, the festival was revived in August at Parrish Creek, the busiest watermens creek on the Western Shore, according to the Bay Weekly of Deale. Skipjacks and other working boats paraded before a reviewing stand as more than 4,000 local residents and visitors watched and cheered. Janet S. Owens, Anne Arundel County executive, who attends Eastport UMC, officially proclaimed Aug. 10 Watermens Day. | 
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