Golden Girl does it again!

These events always sneak in under the radar so I take it as my responsibility to let you know the 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships kicked off yesterday in Glasgow, Scotland.

Baltimore County’s own Jessica Long wasted no time in making her mark on the tournament, claiming a gold medal in the 100-meter butterfly (S8 classification). The swimmer's first gold of this meet is Long’s 24th world championships medal and her 20th gold.

For those unfamiliar with Long, she was born in Russia and reared in Middle River after being adopted from a Russian orphanage. She was born with malformed lower legs and feet. After coming to America, it was determined that Jessica’s future would be best served by amputating the lower portions of her legs so she could be fitted with prosthetic limbs.

She’s been competing at the international level of disability swimming since she was 12. She won three gold medals as an unknown entity at the Paralympic Games in Greece in 2004 and is now almost the senior stateswoman of the U.S. Paralympic swim team.

And along the way, Baltimore County has become a hotbed of disabled swimming, with Brad Snyder (who was blinded while serving with the military in Afghanistan) and Rebecca Myers building their own reputations as swimmers to be reckoned with. McDonogh High School graduate Ian Silverman was also an accomplished swimmer in the program until the International Paralympic Committee recently classified him out of the disabled swim categories. Silverman suffers from a “mild form” of cerebral palsy that affects his legs. The IPC regularly checks on the classifications of its athletes, according to an article in Swimming Magazine, and told Silverman in March that the governing body no longer considered him disabled, according to its standards.

On Monday, Long was just one of three Americans to stand atop the medal stand. Cortney Jordan claimed the first U.S. medal when she finished first in the 100-meter freestyle (S7 classification). She finished ahead of Russia’s Ani Palian and Great Britain’s Susannah Rodgers to win her fifth world title, according to an article on the USOC website.

                                                    Jessica Long (center) claimed her first gold medal of the IPC 

                                                    Swimming World Championships in Glasgow on Monday when

                                                    she won the 100-meter butterfly.  Screen shot posted on 

                                                    Long's Facebook page.

Snyder won his first world title when he finished first in the 100-meter freestyle (S11). His time of 56.78 seconds was just 11-hundredths of a second off the world record set in 1968 by U.S. swimmer John Morgan, according to the USOC article by Brianna Tammaro.

Also on day 1 of the meet, four Americans, including Rebecca Myers, just missed the medal ceremony by finishing fourth in their races.

Competition continues through July 19. The meet can be viewed via live stream at USParalympics.org. Race results and the complete meet schedule can be found on the IPC website.

Just shaking my head — again

It’s on days like today that my heart breaks for folks who were born and raised in Dundalk and have faced a lifetime of selective highlighting — and bashing —of the community they love and protect. They're almost always on the defensive, preparing to counteract the jokes, generalizations and accusations made about their hometown.

And though I didn't grow up in Dundalk nor have I ever lived in Dundalk proper, I find myself becoming just as sensitive as I constantly defend a community against those who choose to put it down with thoughtless statements and jokes.

In spite of the portrait painted by many media outlets, Greater Dundalk is just like any other community across this state and indeed the nation. Community residents work hard, play hard and always have a few extra bucks or hours of sweat equity to donate to a favorite cause. Sure, there’s crime and drugs and any number of negative societal problems, but I dare you to come up with a ZIP code that doesn’t have such problems.

But Greater Dundalk also has an awful lot going for it, including its historical significance, its miles and miles and miles of waterfront (including more waterfront parks and beaches than most communities have), its dedicated community organizations, churches and schools, and its reputation for being some of the most generous people when it comes to supporting a cause. 

But when it comes to media coverage, it seems like the domestic violence, shootings and stabbings, drug busts and arsons always get media billing but the positives almost always get ignored. 

And today, it happened again.

Dundalk’s largest single celebration, its 4th of July three-day party, kicked off yesterday when the 40th annual Heritage Fair opened at noon at Heritage Park in downtown Dundalk. The fair, begun in 1976 to help commemorate the nation’s bicentennial, is a typical summer festival with all the usual trappings: food and beverage stands, musical entertainment on three stages, community displays, carnival rides and other attractions (pig races!), and a variety of demonstrations, from Scouts pitching tents to chainsaw artists doing their thing.

Rarely does a media outlet other than The Dundalk Eagle write about these happenings. Much more important — and wealthier — communities like Towson, Catonsville and Annapolis have Independence Day events so that’s usually where “big” media goes.

So today, I was shocked to see that The Baltimore Sun bothered to send a reporter to the fair. Until I read the headline of the article: Confederate flag debated at Dundalk Heritage Fair. (I’d provide a link but I don’t want to drive traffic to the article).

The entire 600-plus-word story was about the flag being sold, with other recent hot media topics mixed in to the conversation — the church shootings in South Carolina, the Baltimore city decision to review the status of Confederate memorials and a network’s decision to stop airing reruns of “The Dukes of Hazzard” because the Confederate flag is painted on the roof of the “General Lee” car made famous by the show.

I repeat, the entire article was devoted to this topic.

The reporter who wrote the article had to walk right by (and ignore) all the wonderful, eclectic, fun things the fair has to offer.

No where did I read about the wonderful displays and information provided by the great folks at the Dundalk-Patapsco Neck Historical Society and Museum. Nor did I read about the many alumni who each year staff the Dundalk High School Alumni Association booth.

The descriptions of squealing, happy kids who rode their first carnival ride or won a little stuffed animal in a midway game? Not there.

The lifelong friends, now scattered across the country, who make it a point to return to Dundalk each year for the 4th of July? No mention.

The committee of local residents that labors all year long to stage the three-day affair with its accompanying parade and fireworks? Might as well not exist.

Volunteers who take a week of valuable and hard-earned vacation time each summer to dig holes and install fencing to enclose the fair area? Not a word.

Neighborhood volunteers staffing pizza and soda and hot dog stands to raise money for a rec council, Scout troop or church? Zilch.

The varied list of entertainment scheduled for the weekend, ranging from the General John Stricker Middle School steel drum band to the nationally known band America? Nada.

The chainsaw artist, the camping display set up by the Scouts, the general sense of community pride hanging in the fair air? Not worthy of mention.

I could go on (and on and on), but you get the picture.

As a journalist, I understand the need to go after the sexy, the controversial, the sensational, the clickable, the debatable. I also understand how editors don’t necessarily like “warm and fuzzy,” good news stories. They much prefer the controversial and wiil often browbeat reporters to find exactly that. I’ve had that argument with editors, and I’ve had my byline on articles that I wouldn’t have chosen to write.

But as a community resident, I resent the use of a celebratory event to advance a story that does nothing to bring people together and everything to drive them apart.

The fair brings people —all people — together and celebrates a community that is just a tiny piece of the nation we celebrate this weekend. We celebrate the independence of that nation and its entire history — we don’t surgically excise pieces we don’t like and we don’t concentrate on one small piece to the detriment of the whole.

The fair is intended to be a fun party for the entire family and shouldn’t be used to drive a political agenda or sell newspapers.

See you at Heritage Park!

Almost everything you want to know about Dundalk's 4th of July party!

                                                     Image from Heart by Heart website

It seems like it was just yesterday that we were all huddled under blankets, lamenting one of the coldest winters in recent memory. Summer seemed a long, long, long way away on the best day and on the worst winter night, we thought we’d never see another warm, sunny day.

But in the blink of an eye, here it is, July 2. And for those of us familiar with the southeast side of town, that can only mean one thing — it’s time for Greater Dundalk’s annual Independence Day celebration.

The festivities kick off tomorrow (Friday, July 3) at noon when the three-day Heritage Fair opens. Started in 1976, the Heritage Fair was created to celebrate the nation’s bicentennial. It was meant to be a one-time event, but public demand resulted in the fair becoming a yearly gathering.

The three-day festival, organized by the Dundalk Heritage Association, includes all the usual fair fare, including two stages of entertainment; a karaoke stage in the beer garden; food, beverage and dessert stands; carnival rides; and a crafters’ tent. 

                                                      Image from Crack the Sky website

The three main musical acts this year are Heart by Heart (which includes two original members of the group Heart) on Friday night, America on Saturday night and Crack the Sky on Sunday night. The Mahoney Brothers, a tribute band known for its Beatles act (and fair favorite), will play Sunday fem 4:30 to 7 p.m.

                                                                  Image from Heart by Heart website

Among crowd favorites are the pig races. And even with big name entertainment, I try hard not to miss the General John Stricker Middle School steel drum band. The students play on the Shipway stage from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday.

A complete entrainment schedule is available at the Heritage Association’s website.

Dundalk’s annual Independence Day parade kicks off Saturday morning at 8:15 a.m. It forms at the Logan Village Shopping Center on Dundalk Avenue, marches up Dundalk Avenue and winds through Old Dundalk before ending at the judge’s stand near Dundalk Elementary School.

Go early to get a prime parking space and then cheer on the runners in the Dundalk Heritage 6K road race. The race starts at CCBC Dundalk at 7 a.m, follows the parade route and ends at Dundalk Middle School on Dunmanway, according to the Dundalk Renaissance Corp. website.

                                                             Image from the Dundalk Renaissance Corp. website

And finally, the town’s fireworks display will begin around 9 or 9:15 p.m. on Saturday. The pyrotechnical display is shot off from the grounds of Grange Elementary/North Point Government Center. Folks can gather on the campus grounds, and the fireworks can be viewed from many local shopping center parking lots and the CCBC Dundalk campus.

Admission to the fair is $7 a day for adults (includes all entertainment); children under 12 are admitted free of charge.

A volunteer bucket brigade marches along the parade route to collect donations to help fund next year’s parade and fireworks display..

Unfortunately, many local weather forecasters are calling for a wet weekend; let’s hope this stalled weather system finds someplace else to go and soon!

                                                                                            Above photos by Marge Neal