Center left, Shepherdstown resident Howard Lloyd Wines accepts recognition from Shepherdstown Police Department Cpl. Casey Yonkers, center right, during the Town Council meeting on Tuesday night. Courtesy photo

SHEPHERDSTOWN — The monthly Town Council meeting began Tuesday night with a Zoom-broadcasted recognition ceremony at Town Hall in honor of Howard Lloyd Wines, of Shepherdstown. Earlier this year, the Shepherdstown Police Department was able to provide help to an elderly man and Shepherdstown resident who slipped on ice in the street and broke his hip, thanks to Wines calling 911.

“Without assistance from Mr. Wines, it is unknown how long this man would have been left in the road,” said SPD Cpl. Casey Yonkers, mentioning the man was not wearing a coat and had no cellphone on him to call for help on his own. “For his actions that morning, we are truly thankful.”

Mayor Jim Auxer personally thanked Wines for his concern for his fellow community members.

“Thank you for your service to the community, Mr. Wines!” Auxer said. “You’re a good man and you did the right thing.”

Following the recognition ceremony, Shepherdstown Rotary Club representative Peter Smith requested for the Town Council to decide whether or not the club’s annual Fourth of July Parade should be held this year. After some deliberation, the council unanimously agreed the parade should not be held this year, due to social distancing concerns. The parade was also cancelled in 2020, due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Unlike last year, however, the club’s annual Fourth of July picnic will resume being held on July 4 at Morgan’s Grove Park.

“We’ll go ahead and have the picnic,” Smith said. “We’ll not advertise it widely, we’ll advertise it around the town.”

According to Smith, music and children’s games, led by Shepherdstown resident Sandy Brown, will be returning to the event. However, the club has decided not to personally sell food at the picnic, to provide safety to attendees and prevent the club from potentially losing a large amount of money, if the picnic is poorly attended.

“Our biggest bill for the picnic is food, which is thousands of dollars,” Smith said. “We do envision a stripped-down picnic, where we will not have food service. We’ll expect people to bring their own lunches. We may try to get some food vendors in, if they’re interested.”

The Town Council also discussed the success of the town’s new email system, and agreed that decisions on what to publish in the emails should be decided by the system’s developers, Councilman Marty Amerikaner and Town Clerk Amy Boyd, with Auxer as a consultant.

A major concern raised by the SPD led to the Town Council requesting public assistance with identifying persons involved with the recent uptick in graffiti around town.

“We’re having a number of graffiti art being put on buildings in Shepherdstown,” Auxer said, mentioning those guilty for previous graffiti in Rumsey Park were apprehended, thanks to the help of the public. “We don’t want this to become something more than it already is.”

The final major news in the meeting was presented by Councilwoman and Parks and Recreation Committee Chair Cheryl Roberts. The committee will be hosting a series of monthly literature-related events, called Bookmark the Park, in each of Shepherdstown’s parks. The kickoff event will be at Rumsey Park on May 22.

“Each month we’re going to have something,” Roberts said, mentioning following months’ events will include a book club meet-up event and book swap. “It’s a way that we think we can promote the parks we have and get more usage [of them]. There’s plenty of social distancing and it’s a way to get outside.”

Bookmark the Park will be sponsored by Four Seasons Books and the Shepherdstown Public Library, according to Roberts.