Sunday, June 9, 1974

• The Rev. Charles H. Mack was reappointed for the 26th consecutive year to St. James AME Zion Church. In a newspaper column in which he discussed his community service, the Rev. Mack thanked the citizens of Salisbury for being “a pillar of strength in the progress of the work of St. James Church."
• Some 14,000 students in Wicomico County public schools began their summer vacations on Friday. They won’t return to school until the day after Labor Day, Sept. 3.
• The first patient ever to have open-heart surgery at an Eastern Shore hospital was released just 10 after the procedure was performed at Peninsula General Hospital. Virginia Smullen, 48, of Homer Street, had a blocked heart valve repaired. The surgical team was led by Dr. Richard Hughes, who was assisted by Dr. Nevins Todd. Smullen was kept alive for 57 minutes by a heart-lung machine.
• Winners of the annual Citizenship Essay Contest held at Beaver Run Elementary School are Teresa Malcom, first; Brent Truitt, second; and Karen White, third. Plaques and prizes were awarded by Edward Pinto of the Ruritan Club.
• Steve McQueen was staring in “Papillion” at the Bowl Drive-In; Mel Brooks’ “Blazing Saddles” was playing at the Salisbury Mall Cinema; Robert Redford and “Jeremiah Johnson,” was playing at the Boulevard.
• Jean Gail Cooper, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. H. Douglas Cooper of Tony Tank Manor, married Dr. Robert William Poole, son of Dr. and Mrs. Frank E. Poole of Woodland Road. The ceremony was held in Asbury United Methodist Church, with a reception following at Green Hill Golf & Yacht Club.
• James B. Goetz, president of General Television Inc. of Salisbury, asked City Council President W. Paul Martin and the city of Salisbury to allow it to increase cable TV rates to $8 a month, with a $2 fee for an additional outlet.
• Wicomico County is facing a steep cutback in the amount of money available for a summer jobs program. Randolph Brooks of the county schools administration said there is only funding for 55 students. Previous summers saw the hiring of between 178 and 200 students.