This Christmas, Cecil County once again took its place on the national stage by providing the country with America’s Christmas Tree. As the lights are turned off and the decorations are taken down in Rockefeller Center, county residents can take comfort in knowing that in a turbulent time our county was able to provide a token of unity for everyone to gather around. Many of the visitors may not have known where the tree came from or may not have recognized the town of Elkton when they read the name, but no one could miss the beauty and elegance that the America’s Christmas Tree provided and the spirit of the holiday that it symbolized.

It may be easy to forget in recent times, but our little community has, throughout its history, routinely played a role in momentous events and occupied positions of national importance. During the Revolutionary War Cecil County was a strategic location for the Royal Navy. In 1777, 300 British ships sailed up the Elk River and off-loaded 15,000 soldiers who set up an encampment in Elkton. In the 1800’s Cecil County was a transportation hub with canals and railroads delivering the nation’s goods. Throughout the Civil War, Cecil County served as part of a passage for the Underground Railroad. The funeral train of Abraham Lincoln and Robert F. Kennedy passed through Cecil County with groups gathering along its path, most notably at the Elkton train station. The same train route was taken as a pilgrimage by President Obama on the way to his first inauguration. And of course, in the early 1900’s Cecil County was the premier wedding destination for the East Coast, resulting in quite a few celebrities finding their way to our wedding chapels.

                In addition to pivotal events, Cecil County has been home to many prominent figures. There have been professional musicians, athletes, and entertainers. As well as educators, writers, and luminaries who have all at one point or another called Cecil County home. Our county has produced governors, senators, congressmen, and even a Supreme Court Justice, David Davis. Davis was not only instrumental in getting Abraham Lincoln elected as his campaign manager, but was also single-handedly responsible for the presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes.

                It is no wonder then, that residents of Cecil County can tend to transfix their focus on national events. So much so that at times we end up overlooking what is happening in our own back yards (except when our backyards are producing the country’s Christmas tree). Our County has undergone a fundamental transformation in the last decade, and it is difficult to stay informed with the rapid changes while also trying to balance a busy work and family schedule. It has been less than a decade since we replaced our Commissioner style of government with a County Charter, upending how our local government functions.

                A new form of government brings new systems and processes and even new authority. To the average person working full-time and trying to provide the best life they can for their children, there isn’t time to research what the new administrative details will look like or even the exact limits of power their local government now has. They will continue their lives until an event takes place that alerts to a problem, and rightfully so. Local residents should expect that their elected officials act in their best interest, and anything to the contrary would be a betrayal of the public trust.

                Without engaged citizens, power can easily concentrate in the hands of a select few, and the interests of the connected displace the interest of the County. As other articles have demonstrated, this has manifested locally in the form of the Cecil Business Leaders PAC (CBL PAC). As power centralizes their actions are more easily hidden by ensuring a recurring list of individuals routinely occupy positions on committees, commissions, and administrations. This has a compounding effect as local journalism begins to relay on a small cast of characters, effectively handing over their megaphone to those in charge with power to dispense and interests to protect.

                However, even with nearly limitless funding, a grip on influence, and control of the press, officials become complacent and their words on the campaign trail contrast with their actions in office and soon become so obvious that their true motives become exposed. Nowhere has that been more obvious than with the McCarthy administration. In exposing the actions, connections and administration of Alan McCarthy, County residents had their eyes opened to the kind of corruption plaguing our County.

                Although McCarthy is out of office, his affiliates and those connected to him still hold positions of influence and power, resulting in the corruption and back room deals still taking place. However, one thing that has changed over the last few years is an awakening by the citizens to the culture of corruption that has been pervasive throughout local government. As we close the book on 2021, we encourage all of our readers to perform their due diligence on the municipal and county candidates up for election in 2022. We must demand transparency and hold our elected officials accountable. In 2022 we hope that our County can continue to make a national impact by retaking control of our own backyard.

The post What is the future of our own political backyard? appeared first on Cecil County News.

      Anyone who tries to stay current on what is happening in Cecil County likely has a variety of sources that they check for local news. Although the last few years saw the end of the Cecil Guardian and the Rising Sun Herald as print journalism declined, a variety of online sources have emerged. As the barrier for publication became eliminated by the internet, legacy media either died or moved to online platforms to compete for readership. At the same time, social media allowed individuals to publish developments faster than any news outlet could, and it began to emerge as a common venue for the exchange of public information.

As the way we consume news changed, so did the sources and the scrutiny of the information we read. With a variety of options comes varying quality, and any Cecil County resident who has searched for multiple sources knows that some outlets are more reliable than others. Take for example the Cecil Times. Even at a cursory glance your average reader could quickly dismiss it as more fact-free blogging than news. It is widely known to be the propaganda arm of the Cecil Business Leaders PAC and served as a mouthpiece for the McCarthy administration and fellow cronies. Despite having been largely written off as the ramblings of an out of touch CBL sycophant, the Cecil Times continues to produce content for all three of its readers.

Articles from the Cecil Times often go unchallenged mainly because they often go unread, but every now and then they produce an article so riddled with half-truths and lies that the contents of the article must be addressed. In a recent piece regarding the September 7^th County Council Legislative Session the Cecil Times attempted to opine on the events leading up to the newly formed Redistricting Commission. Attempted and opine being the operative words as the article failed to present hardly any materially relevant information, and because it contains more bitterness, lies, and deception than facts.

The article starts by setting the scene of the September 7^th Legislative Session where Council President Bob Meffley was using his gavel to try and silence a speaker during the public comment period. But the story doesn’t start there. In advance of the September 7^th Legislative Session the Council failed to include on the meeting agenda that the resolution for the Redistricting Commission appointments was going to be introduced, nor did they make the resolution publicly available in advance of the meeting, both of which are violations of the Open Meetings Act. Trying to silence the only person there who happened to be present to speak out about the Redistricting Commission only further implicates the Council’s motives to hide the process from public scrutiny. Neglecting to provide this context makes this scene seem one sided.

In the same paragraph the article says that this scene was:

“…nothing compared to the belligerent battle waged by Vincent Sammons, the chair of the local GOP Central Committee, who wanted to override county law to claim a seat on a Redistricting Commission… that both the County Charter and the authorizing legislation enacted by the Council in April to establish the local commission specified that any “elected” official could not be seated on the redistricting panel.”

If the title and tone of the article didn’t initially make the reader suspicious of the author’s partiality, hyperbolic word choice like “belligerent” “battle” and “override” quickly removes all doubt. Aside from a stylistic critique, the content in this excerpt is also lacking. First, the legislation restates the County Charter, so implying that Vincent Sammons is trying to “override” multiple statutes is misleading. Second, the author fails to mention the distinction between a public official and a party official. Vincent Sammons, in his capacity as the Chairman of the GOP Cecil County Central Committee was a party official, meaning he was selected by and works for his party, not the public. Other articles have thoroughly examined this distinction and the case law and statutes will not be repeated here, but suffice it to say that the evidence and legal opinions rendered overwhelmingly reject the notion that a party official would conform to the standard of an “elected” official as laid out in the charter.

After obfuscating and misleading the reader, the article then goes on to flat out lie when it says that:

“[the Republican]Central Committee had not submitted a full slate of five GOP candidates to the County Council, as required, this summer and instead had listed “to be determined” instead of actual names for several GOP seats.

                Vincent Sammons, when he was chair of the Central Committee, submitted a full slate of appointees on March 16^th. Two weeks before the April 1^st deadline, and without prompting from the County Council. Not only is this a lie, but it is especially pernicious in that it covers up that the Council is actually the one that “belligerently” violated the Charter. The author not only fails to mention that the Charter mandates that the Council appoint a Redistricting Commission by April 1^st, but instead falsely claims that the list was required to be submitted this summer. Two patently false statements. Secondly, the author claims that the list that an incomplete list was submitted, and “several” seats were left open. This is again a lie. The resolution that was posted when it was going to be initially introduced listed the District 4 and District 5 seats on the republican slate as TBD. However, this was because the Council removed Vincent Sammons name and the District 4 appointees name, not because there was not a full slate provided. Using the word “several” to describe two slots aside, this is a malicious lie since it shifts the blame that should be placed on Bob Meffley and the Council.

                Further down in the article it states that:

“Sammons wanted to hold on to his seat as the chairman of the GOP Central Committee while also serving on the Redistricting Commission and he filed a personal lawsuit on 8/30/2021 against Meffley in the county’s Circuit Court, seeking a “writ of mandamus” to let him hold onto his elected Central Committee seat while also seeking a seat on the Redistricting Commission. He claimed that because he was only elected by Republicans in a party primary, he shouldn’t be considered an “elected” official. But faced with the clear language of the Charter, Sammons suddenly resigned as chair of the GOP Central Committee on Tuesday and put his name in for a seat on the redistricting panel…”

                Again, the author’s unwillingness to research, inability to understand, or intention to deceive results in another excerpt filled with duplicity and lies. Sammons did seek judicial relief and filed a writ of mandamus to have a judgement resolve the dispute between conflicting interpretations. In other words, he asked a judge to do exactly what the judicial branch is designed to do, so it is hard to see why the author would frame this case in a pejorative manner. However, the author then goes on to claim that Sammons, presumably faced with defeat and acceptance that he was an elected official, chose to resign from the Central Committee. This is not true at all. Sammons decision to resign, as made public on social media, was taken to prevent the Council from barring him from the Redistricting Commission. He did not accept the interpretation of the Council that he was an elected official, and lawsuit against the Council is still pending. In fact, cecilcounty.news obtained documentation that shows that Bob Meffley has filed for a dismissal of the lawsuit, not Sammons. The author portrays this as a last ditch effort of Sammons, when in reality it was precipitated by the Council because they refused to wait until the legal proceedings had run their course.

                This article from the Times was selected to be examined not because it was a one-off that veered a little off track, but because it was a particularly egregious article and serves as an example of the kind of content routinely provided on their forum. It is a difficult balance between deciding to address the many lies and half-truths of the CBL propaganda blog known as the Cecil Times and allowing them to continue on unread and unnoticed. It is equally difficult to hold them accountable. To that end, we ask that you contact the Cecil Times and demand they retract and apologize for the lies and disinformation about important local events that they have promulgated. Please contact the author, Nancy Schwerzler at ceciltimes@gmail.com and let her know that as Cecil County residents we will not be silenced, and we will not be slandered out of public participation. If the times has any shred of journalistic integrity they must print a retraction and issue a public apology.

The post Demanding Journalistic Integrity in Cecil County appeared first on Cecil County News.

           The world in which we live has been irreparably changed. Such a statement may sound banal, but its simplicity should not detract from its truth. Our habits, our customs, and our community have been altered in ways that just two years prior would have defied belief. This change is irreparable, as we will never again be able to trust the institutions that were used to betray us. The opportunity to increase the reach of government was seized at every level. Compliance was mandated, questions were discouraged, and dissent was silenced. Our compassion for others was exploited to usher in unprecedented government mandates, while our voices were silenced out of fear of reprisal. While we continue to grapple with the impact that the last several months have had on our own personal lives, the sweeping transformation that we have undergone as a society cannot be overlooked and should not be understated.

            Although the changes we have seen are broad and sweeping, their effects are felt on a personal and local level. As we piece together answers and begin to confront the world we now know, it is important that our local community does not get lost in the national narrative. The expansion of governmental power at the local level, the actions of our business leaders, and the influence of various organizations on our community must all be made transparent. Absent a reliable source of information that is not beholden to public officials, local leaders, and various interest groups, it is incumbent on the local citizenry to create and maintain a free journal. This journal must be free not only in circulation, but free from advertisers, free from political agendas, free from all external influence that seeks to subvert its goal of informing the reader. Maintaining a source of information that has an allegiance only to truth is essential if we are to live in a transparent and free society. CecilCounty.News is such a source.

The lines in the sand are being redrawn. Gone are the days when individual liberty was assumed. Past is the period when our personal freedom was not confronted. Lost is the time when our right to self-determination was a principle universally accepted. We now live in an era where no aspect of our daily life is left untouched by government diktat, and where our basic freedoms are not challenged. Our rights to associate, to choose what we wear, to decide what goes in our body, are increasingly falling under the purview of government bureaucrats, with their orders being carried out by big business. Where we shop, where we worship, and what we teach our children is becoming increasingly subject to outside control. Today, freedom is defended not on a distant battlefield, but in our neighborhoods, our schools, our churches and our lives. Liberty is lost only when we abdicate our duty to expose and hold accountable those seeking to take it. In standing up for yourself you are lifting up for others, in standing against corruption you are protecting others, and in standing for the truth you help inform others. Through its renewed focus to provide reporting on the entire community, and by expanding its scope to expose not just government corruption, but to promote transparency at large, CecilCounty.News is taking those stands.

A citizen journal is only possible through the patronage and participation of the entire community. We not only encourage readers to regularly visit this site, but also to submit articles and volunteer to write about everything happening in Cecil County. Articles can be published anonymously if the contributor so chooses. No one knows better than those in the community what is happening in our own backyards, and it is vital that those who live in the community be part of its reporting.

The post The lines in the sand for liberty are being redrawn appeared first on Cecil County News.

It used to be said that no journalist worth their salt would reveal their sources, but today it is considered mandatory in order for a news article to be credible. The days of Walter Cronkite, the most trusted man in America are long past.

The era of social media is one where everyone is connected; where news and information, true or not, can reach people at great speeds and elicit a response that can either be gracious or harmful. And in too many ways, this has become a tool for predacious elements looking to promote themselves or diminish their rivals.

Such as the times are changing, journalism too must change with them in order to preserve its integrity. News is about reporting the facts and making sure people understand them, not about treating information as a commodity you push for profit, which bequeaths more power over what you say to your sponsors. A truly free press can belong to no one.

Real news must protect its values and not be for sale. Cecil County News believes in a volunteer press; real news for free, and free of corruptive influences.

Your questions posed about who writes the articles for Cecil County News have been seen and noted. Our small staff includes a writer/editor; a very talented individual who offered insight into the value of anonymity, given our tendency to report on public corruption and the backroom deals taking place between county officials and business leaders.

A good example is the case of former Councilor Diana Broomell. Though she is widely regarded with distaste and was ultimately voted out of her seat on the Cecil County Council, much of the ill sentiments toward her and the so called “Anti-Growth Agenda” narrative exist only as a result of the propaganda spewed by friends and supporters of the Cecil Business Leaders PAC. In the past, she reported extensively about public corruption and censorship of information damaging to the corrupt officials. Her other reports addressed the county’s drug epidemic, as well as the dangers of charter government. Looking back at the articles from her personal blog, it proves that old adage: hindsight is 2020.

Next to suffer this treatment is local businessman and Chairman of the Cecil County Republican Central Committee, Vincent Sammons. As an outspoken critic of the McCarthy Administration, he has been harassed by County Officials who trespassed on his property without a warrant demanding to inspect his home on suspicion of running an illegal business. This same claim, along with many more lies have been repeated by the Facebook page Cecil County Politics, which is run by Joshua Brown, a member of the Cecil Business Leaders PAC which owns the McCarthy administration.

Much of the same libelous treatment Sammons receives also comes from the liberal news blog Cecil Times. Their editor, Nancy Schwerzler, has a proclivity for using her blog to attack members of the GOP, except for members of the CBL and McCarthy’s administration. For them, she conspicuously pulls her punches and focuses her attacks on their opponents, such as the Town of Rising Sun.

For the sake of the truth, state law requires someone operating a business out of their home to have a special exemption, but only if the business in question does business inside the state. VSS Business Solutions does not have any Maryland clients and serves the technical needs of clients in Pennsylvania and Delaware, making his operation perfectly legal due to working out of state. The only demand Maryland has is that Sammons pay his taxes, which he does.

Anonymity protects staff members from any sort of public harassment and slander. In some cases, it may even guard their physical safety should they be called as witnesses if criminal investigations and charges were to follow one of our reports. If one thing is clear, it is that the one ring of business leaders who aim to rule us all will sink to any low in order to destroy anyone who runs counter to their agenda.

Readers still ponder over who we are though, and idea has been proposed to assign pen names to writers as we grow and we begin recruiting new volunteers to write articles and differentiate them, but so far, we’re not ready to put that plan into motion.

Much of our position has been explained previously in the article, Watcher of the Watchdogs, which provides a summary on the history of journalism and its punishment as an act of sedition. Statesmen may pay lip service to the merits of a free press, but often those words are hollow and the only press they truly like is the one that pushes their propaganda.

Every article we publish relies on sources of information we provide, such as publicly accessible records such as campaign finance and court documents, or from Freedom of Information Act requests to public officials. We are also willing to and have credited persons who comes to us as a source.

Reach out to us if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, or if you want to be a contributor. We will do our best to reply and address you in a timely manner.

Thank you for reading, Cecil County News

The post A New Form of News appeared first on Cecil County News.

Journalism is a craft that can be dated back to Rome before the rise of the Empire. Because of the boundless curiosity of common men, as well as the methods which rulers and administrators can abuse their positions for personal gain, there have always been a cause for brave and worthy individuals to find and report the truth.

Often in history, reporting on the government has been charged as sedition and punished. In other cases, the government has controlled the news and spread propaganda, abusing the trust placed by the everyday individual to be informed. This is an instrumental part of similar collectivist structures like communism, socialism and fascism.

In modern history, the industrialization of journalism transformed reporters from being watchdogs into little more than providers of entertainment; a commodity. Rather than by virtue of telling the truth, news became more concerned with getting a juicy scoop before the competition to boost ratings and bring in more revenues from sponsors.

The most powerful means of capturing an audience are by fear and scandal. As much as we enjoy seeing a heartwarming story on the news about an everyman rising to the occasion and saving a life, or starting a nonprofit to help those less fortunate, salacious tales and gossip tickle our darker passions and intrigue us. When times are tough or uncertain, those looking for solace take comfort in the words of like-minded men the same way the religious find it in the word of God.  

We as a society place great faith in journalism, often forgetting that the journalists are as corruptible as any statesman or businessman. Which begs the question: who checks the journalists and keeps them honest?

Of their own free will, they can become deceptive and predatory for their own profit. They can ally with the corrupt government for mutual gains and fool us into hating their enemies.

There are too few willing to do this.

The post Watchers of the Watchdogs appeared first on Cecil County News.