Students in Kent County Public Schools are returning to classrooms soon and open houses have been scheduled to welcome them and their families back. The 2023-24 school year officially begins after Labor Day, with KCPS' traditional staggered start for grades.

Governor Wes Moore toured the Benedictine campus in Ridgely on Thursday on his way to the 2023 Maryland Association of Counties summer conference. The tour was conducted by Benedictine Executive Director Scott Evans and Education Director Julie Hickey. Joined by Maryland Department of Disabilities Secretary Carol Beatty, the tour also included members of the Benedictine leadership team, board members, Benedictine’s students, adults, family members and staff. Congressman Andy Harris’ office Community Liaison Mike Arntz; Delegate Jeff Ghrist; Senator Johnny Mautz; and Ridgely Town Commissioner Anthony Casey also joined the group.

From the creators of “Jersey Boys,” Book writers Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, along with Drama Desk Award-winning Composer and Lyricist Andrew Lippa, “The Addams Family - A New Musical” is based on the morbidly witty Addams Family cartoon. Created by Charles Addams, the Addams stories typically find patriarch Gomez and his beloved wife Morticia guiding their clan through the perils of living singularly in a world of uninteresting “normal” people. 

Mid Shore Behavioral Health, Inc. (MSBH), in collaboration with Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot County health departments announces the fourth annual “The Mid-Shore is Going Purple Together” event on Saturday, September 16th from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Worton Park in Kent County. Going Purple Together (GPT) serves as a space for the community to come together supporting recovery from substance misuse.

University of Maryland Shore Regional Health (UM SRH) has welcomed Mary Grace Hensell, MHS, BSN, RN, CNOR, as Director of Perioperative Services, and Tisha Thompson, DNP, RN, NE-BC, as Regional Director of Emergency Services. In their new roles, Hensell and Thompson are responsible for perioperative services and emergency departments and services, respectively, in Cambridge, Chestertown, Easton and Queenstown. 

The Benedictine Foundation’s Chrome City Fundraiser, which took place on Sunday, July 30th, raised over $100,000 to support the children and adults living with developmental disabilities that Benedictine serves.

In October 2022, For All Seasons launched an innovative method to eliminate its waitlist and allow individuals and families to begin mental health services in a timely way. For All Seasons’ “Open Access” program allows individuals to select a time window and a location, complete their intake and meet with a therapist on the same day. Open Access is the first mental health delivery model of its kind on the Eastern Shore.

Choptank Community Health System is recognizing National Health Center Week this Aug. 6-12 with the theme for the National Association of Community Health Center’s initiative set as “Community Health Centers: The Roadmap to a Stronger America.”

The 2023 Playmakers kids have been working very hard on their production of "The Hobbit," a dramatization authorized by J.R.R. Tolkien and adapted by Patricia Gray. The production runs for one weekend only on Friday and Saturday, August 4 and 5, at 7:00 PM, and Sunday, August 6 at 2:00 PM. The performances are free and open to the public, with a suggested donation of $5.00 or more to the Garfield Center to help sustain their yearly Playmakers program.

The Blood Bank of Delmarva (BBD) has declared a severe blood shortage and is asking people across the region to donate blood to help replenish blood supplies. The UM Chester River Health Foundation (CRHF), a Kent County based affiliate of University of Maryland Shore Regional Health, is answering the call by holding a blood drive on Friday, August 25, from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at UM Shore Medical Center at Chestertown Conference Center.