Friday, April 5, 1985 --

• Salisbury Police Chief Colbourne Dykes was facing criticism for his instruction to have Easter church services interrupted so church-goers could be warned that their cars were about to be towed from spots reserved for police cruisers. An overflow holiday crowd at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Downtown Salisbury prompted church-goers to claim spots along West Church Street where officers would normally park. The Rev. Harry Riddle Johnson said he was told to read the tag numbers of the four or five illegally parked cars to the congregation “just before the reading of the gospel on Easter Sunday.” He said the announcement was ordered “at a very solemn time in the Easter Service” and added that he regarded Dykes’ decision as “very insensitive.” Mayor W. Paul Martin said he was contacted about the matter and agreed Dykes’ action “may have been inopportune,” but refused to criticize his police chief. Dykes said later that 19 cars in all were found to be illegally parked in the vicinity of the church and the police station, which is next door. The chief also declared “we’d probably have had a lot less repercussions” if he had just had the vehicles -- which police ticketed -- were towed.
• Richard Henson of Salisbury-based Henson Airlines handed over the keys of a brand new 37-passenger DeHavilland Dash 8 airliner to Chief Pilot Lew Deweese after the airline entrepreneur personally flew the plane from Toronto on Thursday. Cheers erupted from a crowd of employees watching on the ground when the 75-year-old Henson performed a fly-by of the Salisbury Wicomico Airport and then placed the twin-engine turbo-prop into a near vertical climb. Henson said he was able to get the Dash 8 up to 350 mph; it will routinely operate at speeds of around 300 mph. Henson said he will spend a total of about $45 million to add eight of the planes to his fleet.
• A seemingly reluctant General Assembly has sent to Gov. Harry Hughes a bill that would allow Eastern Shore service clubs to once again maintain slots machines for fundraising purposes. The measure, championed by Wicomico Delegate Joseph J. Long, was debated on the House and Senate floors for nearly two hours. Sen. John Cade of Anne Arundel and Sen. Frederick C. Malkus of Dorchester engaged in a 45-minute Senate debate, while Long and Anne Arundel’s John G. Gary spared in a long debate in the House.
• Plans are under way for a May 5 House Tour sponsored by the Wicomico Garden Club. Among the tour stops are: The Dutch Colonial home located on the Wicomico River near Cotton Patch Wharf owned by Mr. & Mrs. Victor Laws, the home of Dr. & Mrs. Harry O. Korff overlooking Tony Tank and the Tony Tank brick home of Mr. & Mrs. Michael Abercrombie. The chairwoman of the tour is Mrs. G.K. Gunnarsson; Mrs. Wade Insley III is president of the Garden Club.
• The Wicomico Women’s Club marked its 64th anniversary at a luncheon held at the Holiday Inn in Salisbury. Special guests at the event included Mrs. Glenn Benedict, Mrs. John Howard Burbage, Mrs. James O’Gorman and Mrs. J. Marshall Stewart. The Hong Kong-born Mrs. Melvin Ang of Salisbury was the guest speaker and made a presentation concerning paper folding, paper cutting and Chinese culture. Mrs. Carl L. Anderton is the Club President; Mrs. C.C. Richardson served as Chairwoman of the Anniversary Celebration.