Tokens of love for the Todd family were placed outside the family home on Antioch Avenue in Princess Anne after they were found deceased April 6. An all-electric home, a portable generator's exhaust is what killed them after it used was because the electric meter not assigned to the property had been removed by the power company.

PRINCESS ANNE — The death of eight members of the Todd family due to accidental carbon monoxide poisoning last month would have never happened had the electricity connection to the house not been compromised. The meter had been removed by Delmarva Power when it was found not to be the one assigned to the property.

As a result Rodney Todd resorted to a portable generator for heat, and the exhaust from it running inside the closed house overwhelmed him and his seven children. After a co-worker of Mr. Todd raised concern about his absence, the family was found by police April 6 as if still asleep.

Long-time activist and child advocate Kirkland Hall was unsettled by the reports of what happened, and watching the eight bodies being taken from the Antioch Avenue home that the Todd’s rented left him unsettled that more was not being being done . He moved forward with his own investigation, and found the landlord had immediately engaged an attorney.

Together with Elder Craig Mathies, a District 1 Somerset County Commissioner, they met with Delmarva Power officials including a vice president to inquire about policies regarding stolen meters that are later located.

In an email message Dr. Hall wrote that “I immediately asked the representatives of DP&L do they have law enforcement powers even though it was their property.  They answered no!”

On Monday night, May 4, at 7 during the Princess Anne Commissioners’ meeting, and again 2 p.m. Tuesday, May 5 during the County Commissioners’ meeting, Dr. Hall will make a report of his findings and recommendations. He has drafted letters to Maryland’s Attorney General, state legislators in addition to law enforcement endorsing proactive steps

The public is invited to attend the presentations to hear the full

Kirkland J. Hall

update. At the Princess Anne meeting, remarks will also be made about the proposed ordinance to require CO detectors in all homes or to find some other way to go above the state law, which code compliance now follows.