May 10, 2013 The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch Page 31 Snow Hill Makes Case For Opera House Funds By TRAVIS BROWN STAFF WRITER Regional Digest FROM PAGE 30 location and the hours at that location are from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturday. SNOW HILL – Representatives of the Snow Hill community reinforced their need for Worcester County support this week in revitalizing the Old Mason’s Opera House, which has been re-christened the Arts and Education Center in Snow Hill. The building has fallen on hard times, according to Mayor Charlie Dorman, and has sparked several community meetings and lots of brainstorming. The roof especially is in bad shape and the town is looking to the county this year for $200,000 to “stabilize” the structure. “We have taken ownership of the old Opera House building located at the corner of North Washington Street and West Market Street,” wrote Dorman in a letter to the commission. “This building has begun to deteriorate over the years and being in the center of town, as well as across the street from your governmental center, we feel it is prudent to rehabilitate this structure to encourage tourism and economic revitalization.” Dorman met with the commissioners earlier this spring to discuss general town maintenance, which included the opera house. However, he used this second meeting to drive home the reasons why the building is worth funding. Resident Gary King, who serves as chair for the community group dedicated to renovating the building, told the commission Tuesday that the theater serves as a lynchpin in Snow Hill and has a number of practical applications. “We see its central location as an opportunity to be able to work cooperatively with the efforts of the existing organizations to promote healthy families and a healthy community in the area of art, civic education and religious areas,” he said. Potential uses of the center were blocked into three different categories: art, political and community interest and historic interest. In the field of art, the group envisions the center hosting theater events, poetry readings, brown box theater, dinner theater, and national public radio programs. On the political and community side, there would be town meetings, community forums and informational sessions, while historic interests would focus on things like tourism, town artifacts and museum and historic artifacts. There are also talks of using the space for education outreach with a focus on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) as well as peer tutoring, life skills education and healthy eating education. “It’s certainly an issue in Snow Hill and it’s a concern to all of us,” said Wendy Myers. “Every day I see it raining I think about the rain dripping into that beautiful building.” Historical preservation plays a big part in the interest of the Snow Hill community to protect the theatre and breathe new life into it as the Arts and Education Center, she added. “What it really came down to was protecting our heritage here in Snow Hill and then, of course, strengthening families and strengthening our community,” she said. Should the county give the center $200,000 in initial financial support to stabilize the roof, Commissioner Jim Bunting wondered if enough funding would then be available to maintain the building and its programs for years especially if those programs are offered free of charge. The plan is to offer programs at the center at no charge, confirmed Dorman, but the mayor assured Bunting that considerations have been made for long-term funding through Community Federal Block, Historic Preservation and Save America’s Treasures grants. The Maryland Historical Trust might also be a source of continued funding while donations from the community are expected, according to Dorman. Including the $200,000 to stabilize the Arts and Education Center in Snow Hill, the town is requesting $500,000 in other funding putting its total grant request at $700,000 compared to last year’s $400,000. Jail Scores Award SNOW HILL – County officials announced last week the Worcester County Jail received a Recognition of Achievement Award from the Maryland Commission on Correctional Standards (MCCS) for achieving 100-percent compliance with Maryland regulations during a recent inspection. Thanks to the diligence and professionalism of Warden Garry Mumford and his staff, this year marks the 11th consecutive inspection period in which the Worcester County Jail earned this award, a distinction few other correctional facilities can boast. “The county is fortunate to have this wonderful group of employees at the Worcester County Jail who care about the quality of services provided at the jail,” Mumford said. “We all take great pride in the fair, humane and respectful treatment of all involved, from the inmates to their families and friends, to their attorneys and anyone else who may be involved. This is hard work, but we embrace it with a true commitment to do whatever it takes to meet or exceed the standards imposed on us.” Deck Inspections Urged OCEAN CITY – With the pending arrival of another summer season, the town of Ocean City this week is reminding residential and commercial property owners to carefully inspect all balconies, decks, guardrails and stairs for potential safety hazards. According to the town’s engineering and building inspection departments, poor maintenance is the number one reason for structure failure and injury, and with the weather improving, the use of outdoor decks and balconies increases significantly during the spring and summer. Proper inspections can help prevent hazards associated with a deck collapse, hazards from a fall and guardrail failures, for example. For decks and balconies, the town is urging property owners to inspect for split or rotting wood, deteriorated fasteners, screws, nails and bolts, poor end support of the balcony deck, joist or girders, excessive movement, swaying or instability, loose, missing or rusted anchors and damaged or decayed support beams. For guardrails and stairs, the town is urging property owners to inspect for missing, deteriorated or loose railings, ornamental pickets or top and bottom rails; wobbly handrails or guardrails; loose or deteriorated guardrail support posts; level and secure landings, and even nails protruding from lumber. County Tourism Requesting Social Media Coordinator By TRAVIS BROWN STAFF WRITER SNOW HILL – Social media could play a much bigger part in Worcester County tourism next year. Tourism Director Lisa Challenger approached the County Commission Tuesday with the idea of hiring a part-time social media coordinator in her department, It’s a move she said will help Worcester stay ahead of the crowd with social networking online, which is quickly beginning to eclipse more traditional methods. “Social media, although a relatively recent phenomenon, is becoming an increasingly important part of any business’s marketing and client base development platform,” wrote Challenger in a report to the commission. “What could once be accomplished by a traditional website now needs to be supplemented by a robust and responsive utilization of the tools social media offers.” Sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube and several others have boomed within the last few years and now represent a new frontier for tourism departments, explained Challenger. “People are not on our websites anymore; they’re on all of these social sites,” she said, adding that about half of Maryland counties have some kind of social media coordinator. The statistics speak volumes. According to Challenger, 94 percent of businesses with a marketing department use social media while 85 percent of businesses with a dedicated social media platform saw an increase in market exposure. Furthermore, 58 percent of businesses that have taken advantage of social media marketing for more than three years have seen increased sales. As for the media itself, Facebook has over 850 million active users per month, one million accounts are added to Twitter every day, and roughly 80 million people are using Instagram to share photos. Like Facebook, YouTube also has a huge subscriber base with more than 490 million visitors per month. One of the more popular uses of YouTube is for travel videos, the likes of which could be used to highlight Worcester, said Challenger. Social media is unique in how organic it is and how quickly things can change, she continued, which is why the tourism department would benefit from a parttime social media coordinator who would be responsible for all related county endeavors. This would not include the county website. “We’re looking to get a lot more followers on Twitter, we want to grow our fans on Facebook and we really want to grow our presence on Instagram,” said Challenger. The coordinator would be responsible for orchestrating that while working less than 30 hours per week. They would work from home, though be required to meet with Challenger weekly. The commissioners all acknowledged how prevalent social media has become in the last few years. For some people, especially in younger demographics, it represents at least 10 hours a week or more, Challenger noted. The position of coordinator is included in Challenger’s upcoming budget, which the commissioners will vote on next month. Commissioner Judy Boggs pointed out that the position seems tailored for a young adult already familiar with personal social media use. Commissioners Jim Bunting and Louise Gulyas questioned whether having the individual work from home would be productive for the county. Challenger, however, stood by the idea and explained that with home computers, smart phones and tablets a coordinator could be mobile and doing their job at any time.