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In 1971, young veterinary doctor Dick Streett started the Churchville Veterinary Clinic in a small building on Churchville Road in his native Harford County. Now celebrating 50 years in the same location, Streett unveiled an updated clinic last week.

“When I started the practice we were 50% large animal, 50% small animal, the original clinic was only 2,000 square feet, and it was me and a part-time employee. We had a lot of 80 to 90 hour weeks doing both large and small animal practice,” Streett said as he spoke during the July 14 ribbon cutting event to officially unveil the newest renovation to the Churchville Veterinary Clinic.

Through the 1970s and ’80s, the original building was added on to four times to keep up with demand as the practice grew. After the most recent, fifth renovation in 2020, the Churchville location is now an expansive 7,100 square feet.

Family, friends and a host of local dignitaries were on hand to present proclamations and wish the Streett family well through their next chapter. Hanging on the wall of one of the side hallways inside the newly renovated office, a few old photos of the building through the years including a framed clipping from The Aegis dated Thursday, July, 8, 1971 announcing the opening of the Churchville Veterinary Clinic and the original caduceus, the symbol of veterinary medicine, that hung outside of the first building.

From its humble beginnings, the Churchville Veterinary Clinic now takes care of the community with 12 veterinarians and 50 employees spread out over three locations: the original clinic on Route 22 in Churchville, Greenbrier Veterinary Clinic in Bel Air and Swan Creek Veterinary Clinic in Havre de Grace.

A family operation, the Streett children, Kim, Rich and Chris Streett, now adults with families and careers of their own, all worked in the clinic when they were young, starting in the kennels and working their way up. Following in his father’s footsteps with veterinary medicine, Rich Streett is now one of the veterinarians practicing at the family operation.

“My story with this office started literally at day one of my life as my father opened the practice in 1971 and I was born three years later,” Rich Streett said as he addressed those gathered for the event. “As time went on, I progressed to becoming an assistant working along with the doctors and eventually decided to attend the Virginia Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. So truly outside of vet school and one year working at a different veterinary practice, I’ve been a lifer thus far here at Churchville.”

Jamie Caudell, a 35-year employee, tried to stay out of the spotlight during the event, but Dr. Streett couldn’t let the opportunity to thank her publicly slip by and expressed a heartfelt thank you to the cheers and clapping from the small crowd gathered for the event.

“They’ve been through a lot with me,” she said glancing over to her long-time boss with a smile. “When I lost my mom, my dad … they’ve always been there for me. They treat me more like family, it’s a great atmosphere working here.”

The Streett family has also helped Caudell with various animal projects through the years, including a feral cat rescue program she started.

After 50 years, Streett is no longer the main face at the veterinary practice.

“I’m more behind the scenes now as I stopped practicing a little over a year ago, still here helping with things though and now I have seven grandchildren, they were all here today and I really wanted them to see this and someday, hopefully, maybe one day one of them will be the next generation to be here taking this on,” Streett said.

“In this line of work, our days can be hard and emotionally draining. We wouldn’t be here today without the hard work of my father, Dick Streett, fellow doctors and team members and many others,” Rich Streett said. “That hard work will continue to guide us into our future as we look forward to celebrating many more years ahead taking the best care of the pets of our great community.

CHURCHVILLE, Md. —

A Churchville woman has made it her mission to raise and protect as many monarch butterflies as she can.

Scientists added monarch butterflies to the endangered species list in July.

Donna Thompson's garden has many plants, monarch butterflies and hundreds of their eggs. Thompson told 11 News monarch butterflies may be endangered, but not in her butterfly sanctuary, where she has 600 eggs that she raises from caterpillar to chrysalis to monarch butterflies.

"I learned about the plight of them and the fact that the lack of milkweed was one of the problems, so I went online and I ordered six milkweed plants," Thompson said.

Milkweed is the plant where monarch butterflies lay their eggs, and it serves as a food source once the eggs hatch. Thompson said she noticed out of all the milkweed plants, one attracted more monarch butterflies than the rest: the non-native Gomphocarpus physocarpus

"Also known as 'balloon milkweed,' also known as 'hairy balls milkweed' because the seed pod is a big ball and it has prickly things that look like hair," Thompson said. "(In) 2021, we grew 1,700 plants. In this year, we've grown 3,500."

She's finding monarch eggs all over her garden. When she finds them, she brings them inside to a safe place where they can grow from caterpillar to chrysalis. Then, she releases the monarch butterflies.

"There's so many predators. Studies say that in the wild a female can lay 300 eggs and there's 3% to 10% survival rate in the eggs," Thomspson said. "We have a 98% success rate because we bring my eggs in and protect them so nothing can get to them."

It's a mission Thompson thinks is so important now that monarch butterflies are on the endangered species list -- and she wants more people to follow her lead.

"It just has fueled my passion even more and it has brought more attention to the cause and more people are interested in growing milkweed," Thompson said.

Thompson said she has daily visitors to her butterfly garden, people who just want to learn more about monarch butterflies and how they can save them.

If you want information on how you can help, you can visit this Facebook group.

Conservation group attempting to save monarch butterflies from extinction

BEL AIR, MD — AMC Classic Churchville 7 will reopen Thursday, Sept. 10. It is one of seven AMC movie theaters in Maryland that will open its doors this week for the first time in nearly six months.

The AMC off Churchville Road/MD 22 has been closed since March 19 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Previously, AMC Theatres expressed "substantial doubt" that the company could keep operating if pandemic-related closures continued.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan allowed for the reopening of movie theaters as of Friday, Sept. 4, as he said the state was ready to move into stage three of its recovery roadmap.

Regal Bel Air Cinema in Abingdon, Horizon Cinemas Aberdeen and Horizon Cinemas Fallston have already reopened.

AMC has 1,000 locations across the globe, with more than 11,000 screens, according to its website. The company reports most of its theaters are open, local guidelines permitting.

On Thursday, AMC theaters in Bel Air, Columbia, Lexington Park, Owings Mills, Security Square, Waldorf and White Marsh will open with new protocols in place to prevent the spread of the virus.

Under the AMC Safe & Clean policy, all guests must wear masks that cover their nose and mouth and fit snugly over cheeks and chin unless eating or drinking. These are not acceptable, officials say: neck gaiters; masks with valves, vents or holes; and open-chin bandannas. Those who do not have the appropriate face covering can buy a mask for $1.

Theaters will be at 40 percent capacity or less. New filters have been installed to purify the air, and time is built in between screenings to allow for disinfecting. Hand sanitizer will be available throughout the facility.

The AMC Classic Churchville 7 is located at 2408 Churchville Road in Bel Air.

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BALTIMORE — A family's world was turned upside down after they were hit by a drunk driver. The crash happened on MD-136 in Churchville and forever changed the life of Rylee Ham of Delta, Pennsylvania.

Rylee was heading home from her grandparents' house the night before Halloween when a Jeep traveling in the wrong direction crashed into her family's vehicle. The entire right side of her body was crushed. She broke multiple bones and suffered a massive gash on her abdomen from the seatbelt that she is still recovering from months later. The most devastating effect was a traumatic brain injury that Rylee is still trying to recover from.

Alyssa Larkin, Rylee's mother, was also injured in the crash. She broke thirteen ribs and has recovered. She now spends everyday by her daughter's side at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Rylee has a long road ahead of her but just overcame a huge hurdle - having a trach removed so she can breathe on her own. Rylee is in a wheelchair and is unable to use her body or speak. She was recently released from pediatric intensive care and is currently in rehab.

As Rylee prepares to come home, the Harford County community has stepped up to help her adjust to life after the accident. Dan McGhee of the Agape Porjects spearheaded a project to renovate Rylee's home. Home Depot donated materials and Mark Wolinski of Marked Improvements completed the work free of charge.

Rylee's family is incredibly grateful for the community's support. The kindness and generosity of strangers is helping them get through this difficult, unimaginable time.

Rylee's medical bills have surpassed $1 million. If you would like to donate to the GoFund Me page to help her family, click here.

BEL AIR, MD – Pappas Crabcakes plans to open a restaurant and sports bar in Bel Air.

The business will be where Applebee’s was on Route 22 in the Greenbrier shopping center.

Signage in the window of the vacant Applebee’s — which closed in 2021 — says Pappas Restaurant & Sports Bar is "coming soon."

Pappas signed the lease April 1, Chief Crabcake Officer Justin Windle told Bel Air Patch. The business started discussions with Greenbrier personnel in February.

The goal is to open the restaurant by December, but Windle said the timing is subject to change.

"After COVID, getting supplies, getting equipment, getting things on schedule is harder than ever," Windle said. "So a lot depends on the timeline of when we can get the equipment to arrive."

The former Applebee's will be gutted inside, and Pappas will add an outdoor climatized space for a patio or garden-type atmosphere, Windle said.

While Applebee's could seat 140 people inside, Pappas will have 180 seats including the patio, according to Windle.

"We also wanted to do a carryout," Windle said. "Carryout has proven to be an important component of a restaurant's success."

The Bel Air restaurant’s carryout will be modeled after the Cockeysville Pappas, he said.

"You need to have a carryout that’s easily accessible, that’s really well-thought-out, that’s welcoming, that’s not going [to force you to go] through the busy bar to get your food,” Windle said, adding customers want to be “in and out.”

For the last three or four years, Windle said he and his brother-in-law —CEO Steve Pappas — have been looking for opportunities to open in Harford County.

"You get to the point where you just want to do it to make people happy," Windle said, noting customers had been driving 45 minutes in some cases to get to Pappas. "It’s so exciting to hear people say, ‘We want you here.’"

When the opportunity presented itself at the Greenbrier shopping center, he said, it fell into place.

"I've always loved Bel Air so much, and the fact that my general manager who will be the managing partner lives there — it all made so much sense," Windle said.

General Manager Tim Miller lives in Bel Air.

“We’re moving forward with such experience now, we can really think carefully about how we want it to look and feel,” Windle said. “Especially with the beautiful people up there in Bel Air, [the new restaurant] could really become something special” and perhaps even a “template moving forward for any future places.”

Pappas already operates restaurants in Cockeysville, Parkville and Glen Burnie and is moving some of its shipping operations to Perry Hall.

"I’m really excited to be in your backyard,” Windle said to those in Bel Air. “We are over the moon to be in your neighborhood. We can’t wait. We are hoping to open before the holidays.”

While many Marylanders are Pappas fans, the business gained wider fame when Oprah included Pappas crabcakes on the list of her favorite things during the 2015 holiday season.

In a 2018 survey, Maryland Patch readers deemed Pappas and Box Hill Pizzeria tied for having the best crabcakes in the state.

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