By Greg Bassett

Monday, May 12, 1975 --

• More than 500 people turned out at Salisbury State College on Saturday to view 46 exhibits from Peninsula high schools and to meet a NASA astronaut. The first-ever Delmarva Science and Engineering Talent Search featured Apollo 9 crew member Russell L. “Rusty” Schweickart, who handed out awards at the end of the program. Schweickart, well-known for his space walk on what was a Lunar Module test flight in Earth orbit, showed a 20-minute film to the audience that dealt with upcoming orbiting manned space station missions.
• The Wicomico County Humane Society handed out awards to three people who took the time to rescue a cat from a burning building on Market Street. Salisbury firefighters Gerald Brinston and Winston Mason were able to corral the terrified cat, which allowed Mrs. Laird Todd to drive the animal to a Salisbury veterinarian. The cat was treated for smoke inhalation and was released 10 days later to the Humane Society, where it was made available for adoption.
• The city of Salisbury has been awarded a $522,000 building permit to construct a new dam for the extension of College Avenue on the east side of the city. The new dam will be part of a four-lane causeway located about 900 feet downstream of the present Schumaker Dam. The building permit was the largest project on the city’s books for April, with Peninsula General Hospital’s $254,142 permit for the foundation of the medical center’s $26.2 million expansion coming in second.
• It’s pretty much been a tradition in Salisbury that the two high schools – Wicomico and James M. Bennett – split their home and home series between each other. It’s been the case in football for the most part, occasionally in basketball, but not until Friday had Bennett defeated Wi-Hi twice during the regular season. At Memorial Park, the Clippers clinched the mythical city championship and in the process won the District Class A title with an 8-5 win over the Indians. Dave Mills of JMB was the hitting star of the game, going 2-for-4 with four RBI.
• Saturday’s March of Dimes Walk-A-Thon in Salisbury drew some 625 walkers who walked 20 miles and raised nearly $20,000. The fund-raising total was combined with a similar walk in Federalsburg that drew about 150 walkers. The Salisbury Jaycees said they provided 1,500 hotdogs and 2,000 gallons of iced beverages to the walkers.
• NBC News Washington correspondent Douglas Kiker was the commencement speaker at Sunday’s Salisbury State College graduation, held at the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center. A record crowd of 3,500 people watched 540 graduates receive their degrees. Two honorary degrees were awarded by SSC President Norman C. Crawford Jr.: Salisbury native Bertha S. Adkins received a doctor of laws degree; author John S. Barth of Cambridge was the recipient of a doctorate of letters.
• “Night School” was again in session tonight at Salisbury City Hall as the council hosted another delegation of junior high school students. The most recent group was from Wicomico Junior High School and included 9th-graders from Civics classes taught by LeVerne Davis and Thomas S. Smith classes: Pamela Mears, Ginger Kinnamon, Dawn Messick, Kim Duffel, Ann Adrion, Beverly Alexander, Kathy Noehl, Mark Vollmer, Linda Smith, Cindy Bratten and Jenny Seidel.
• Urologist Dr. Raymond Yow of Salisbury is the lone member from the Eastern Shore named to the 11-person board that will oversee the state’s new medical malpractice insurance company. Gov. Marvin Mandel named the board members today. It is made up primarily of doctors and insurance industry representatives.