Author: Jay Ferguson

Who I Am My name is Jay Ferguson, and I am a lifelong resident of the Deep Creek Lake area. I am also co-owner of the real estate side of Taylor Made. I have been in the real estate business for 21+ years now and I LOVE what I do! I have to say, my career really took off when I co-founded the real estate side of Taylor Made in 2014. Its been an amazing experience, building a real estate company from the ground up and achieving so much so quickly! In August 2016, we purchased Long & Foster Real Estate Deep Creek, where I had started my career in 2000. In 2018, we on-boarded virtually every agent from Coldwell Banker Deep Creek Realty as they closed up shop and the real estate family grew even more! We now have over 40 sales agents and have expanded to West Virginia and Pennsylvania, as well. Taylor Made is the #1 vacation rental company at Deep Creek with over 475 vacation rental homes, and over one hundred thousand yearly visitors. Its amazing what we have accomplished using the principles of honesty, teamwork and customer service! Personally, my wife Jessica and I enjoy traveling and especially spending time in the outdoors, hiking and exploring the many diverse areas that Garrett County is naturally blessed with. We have raised two wonderful children here, Kayleah (22) and Noah (13). In the summer, we love spending time on the water with friends & family and enjoying the lake life! We are both active in our church, our community & local school activities, and we fill our schedule with plenty of volunteer efforts. I currently serve on the board of directors for Habitat for Humanity. I am proud to say that I was named Deep Creek Time’s Favorite ‘Community Champion’ in 2019. I was also named Garrett County Realtor of the Year in 2018-19, as well. I really enjoy promoting my hometown. I am very proud of the resort area that has developed over my lifetime and look forward to growing the area even more! Deep Creek Lake has been described as ‘The Lake Tahoe of the east', and I think that speaks volumes about the potential to own property here! Deep Creek Lake isn't really a town or city by itself; it's comprised of three towns: Oakland, Swanton & McHenry, Maryland. I am very passionate about my hometown and am impressed with how many people know about it as we travel around the country. Deep Creek Lake is an amazing place to visit and even better place to live! During the pandemic in 2020, our market exploded and more and more people left their primary residence in the city to live here permanently. With distance learning in schools and tele-commuting becoming the ‘norm’, many more people were drawn to the area to ‘live where they love to play’. Why You Want Me Working for You: In addition to being an owner, I am consistently one of the top-producing agents in the entire area and the Associate Broker of record for Taylor-Made Deep Creek Vacations & Sales. I have 21+ years of experience and I am a problem solver. There aren’t many situations that I have not encountered and I have a strategy for almost every scenario that you may encounter. I have extensively trained in all areas of real estate & emerging technologies, and also have trained as an appraiser, as well as served as a full-time Broker. I have a strong knowledge of the industry, as well as many trusted local contacts & affiliations that allow me to perform at a very high level and deliver results. I have a great deal of respect for my peers in this industry and have strong working relationships that I would love to put to work for you. Call me to discuss your situation - I know I can be of great service to you & others you care about! Honesty. Integrity. Results.

McHenry selected as site of national race

Amateur event expected to draw 60 to 80 teams from 30 states

From Staff Reports

Cumberland Times-News

MCHENRY — The U.S. Adventure Racing Association has selected McHenry as the site for its 2014 U.S. National Championships of Adventure Racing, which consists of a grueling 100-mile/30-hour race, according to an announcement made by Deep Creek 2014.

“Hosting the 2014 U.S. National Championships of Adventure Racing is another amazing coup for Garrett County and right in our vision of becoming the U.S. epicenter of adventure sports,” said Deep Creek 2014 Executive Director Todd Copley. “No other destination in the world can boast that they are hosting both a world championship and a national championship in the same year — it’s unprecedented.”

This prestigious race, which began in 2000 and has grown into the premier amateur adventure racing event in the U.S., will be held in October. Teams from all over the country will compete in more than 40 regional qualifying events throughout the year with the goal of qualifying for the USARA Adventure Race National Championship. These regional champions will assemble to run, paddle, mountain bike and navigate using map and compass in a race that will begin at the Wisp Resort and Adventure Sports Center International and will then make its way deep into the heart of the wilderness.

The national championship will draw 60 to 80 teams from more than 30 different states. The event generates more than 150,000 visits to the USARA Nationals website during the 30-hour period of the race. Garrett County will be featured on banners at 40 qualifying events and will receive extensive coverage in Adventure World Magazine during the year leading up to the event.

More info.

Miami man, Maryland woman win Palm Beach Marathon on warm day in West Palm Beach

Updated: 12:01 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 8, 2013 | Posted: 5:30 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 8, 2013

By Hal Habib

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

WEST PALM BEACH —

A Miami man and a western Maryland woman won the 10th running of the Palm Beach Marathon on Sunday morning.

Bryan Sharkey, 26, of Miami crossed the finish line first with an unofficial time of 2 hours, 43 minutes, 46 seconds.

Jennifer Sober, 40, of Deep Creek Lake, Md., was first in the women’s field with a time of 3:24:09.

The race — which took runners 26.2 miles from West Palm Beach to Lantana and back — took place on a humid day with temperatures in the mid-70s and and periods of light rain.

Sober said the weather was the warmest of any of the 17 marathons she has run. Because of the heat, she decided to start out slow to conserve energy and to speed up later.

“It was my first strategic marathon,” Sober said.

More here.

Road salt is killing Garrett County

12:30 p.m. EST, December 7, 2013

The Maryland State Highway Administration is destroying Mountain Maryland. During the winter of 2012, the agency applied 48,352 tons of salt on 600 lane-miles of highway in Garrett County. That is more than 80 tons per lane-mile of highway.

During the same winter, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan received 305 inches of snowfall — 50 percent more than Garrett County — yet used only 24 tons of salt per lane-mile. Other locations, such as Minnesota and Maine, used only 10 to12 tons per lane mile during the same season.

I fully understand the need to keep our roadways safe during winter weather, but the third “snowiest” place in the U.S. used less than a third the salt Maryland did while receiving far more snow. Something is wrong with that.

Over the past 10 years, the SHA has contaminated hundreds of wells, deforested countless acres of timber and been directly responsible for the untimely demise of many motorists’ vehicles. It is time it was held accountable for the damage it has caused. It’s also time for SHA administrators to be held to the same environmental standards imposed on Maryland businesses and residents.

Officials propose wind farm at Deep Creek Lake

Zoning change needed for project to occur

Elaine Blaisdell

Cumberland Times-News

OAKLAND — Messenger Limited Partnership has requested the Garrett County Planning Commission to amend the Deep Creek watershed zoning ordinance to allow a wind farm in the rural resource zoning district.

Wind turbines are prohibited in all zones of the watershed and the amendment would permit them in the rural resource zone only with the condition that the turbines would be 20,000 feet from the high waterline of Deep Creek Lake, according to Bob Paye, an attorney at Geppert, McMullen, Paye & Getty, P.C.

Paye suggested during a planning commission meeting Wednesday that the panel approve the request despite the fact that wind power has become a controversial topic. He asked for a favorable recommendation based “on the grounds this change would be consistent and compatible with basically all of the laws and principles and purposes that are in place, including your zoning ordinance and your comprehensive plan.”

The proposed wind project would be located in the northern edge of the zoning district, four miles north of Deep Creek Lake State Park and would have between 100 to 133 shrouded 100-kilowatt Ogin wind turbines, according to Lars Dorr, director of business development with Ogin Energy in Waltham, Mass. Ogin, which was previously FloDesign, manufactures wind turbines that are significantly shorter in stature at 200 feet, according to Dorr. They are smaller and less impactful, according to Paye. The wind turbines have a shroud around them, which makes them unique from the contemporary wind turbine, said Doerr.

More here.

Delegation plans public meetings

Matthew Bieniek

Cumberland Times-News

CUMBERLAND — Members of the legislature representing Allegany and Garrett counties in the General Assembly say their yearly meetings to hear constituent issues and concerns are important as they plan for the 2014 session in Annapolis. That session is expected to run from Jan. 8 to April 7, according to the legislative calendar.

“It’s important because it gives you the opportunity to meet face-to-face with your constituents. That’s the best form of communication,” said Sen. George Edwards. A fellow member of the delegation agreed.

“This is an obligation as representatives of the people … that’s our job. And I enjoy meeting with the public,” said Delegate Kevin Kelly. Edwards said it gives legislators an opportunity to hear what’s on people’s minds. Occasionally, representatives don’t know all of the concerns of citizens, Edwards said. Taxes are usually a recurring theme, and the delegation agrees with many citizens. Taxes are too high, delegation members said. Edwards and Kelly also said concerns about gun control laws passed during the 2013 session may be an issue.

The District 1 delegation includes Edwards and Kelly and Delegates Wendell Beitzel and LeRoy Myers Jr.

Beitzel said the meetings with citizens and county commissioners help legislators clarify their agenda for the upcoming session.

“The people can let us hear their views on issues likely to come up. They can also tell us what we should be opposing,” Beitzel said.

Meetings for public participation are planned in Allegany and Garrett counties. The Allegany County meeting is set for Dec. 9 at 7 p.m at the Allegany College of Maryland auditorium. The Garrett County public meeting is set for Dec. 19 at the Garrett College Continuing Education Building at 7 p.m. The Garrett County meeting will be attended by Edwards and Beitzel, who represent Garrett County.

More here.

Garrett County cannot provide funding necessary to prevent school closings

Elaine Blaisdell

Cumberland Times-News

FINZEL — An accountant confirmed that Garrett County doesn’t have $2.2 million to help the school system when County Commissioner Jim Raley met with concerned citizens at the Finzel Fire Hall on Thursday about the proposed closing of Route 40 Elementary and two other schools.

The county doesn’t have $2.2 million this year and won’t have it in the future, according to Jeff Conner of Fike, Conner & Associates CPAs, who looked at the county’s financials.

“We are going to have to dip into our coffers. We do have some rainy day funds but it’s only going to buy us a couple years,” said Conner.

One citizen asked how commission chairman Robert Gatto came up with $2.2 million that he motioned to give to the board of education to close the funding gap during a commission meeting Tuesday and asked if that money was part of the county’s maintenance of effort.

More info here.

County asked to take over roads near Wisp

Bankruptcy may force closure

Elaine Blaisdell

Cumberland Times-News

OAKLAND — The Garrett County commissioners have agreed to set up a meeting as soon as possible with D.C. Development, the former owner of Wisp Resort, and EPT Ski Properties, current owner, to discuss ownership of Wisp Mountain Road and Overlook Pass.

The roads will be abandoned once D.C. Development bankruptcy proceedings are complete. Klaus Schmidt, a board member of Kendall Camp Property Owner’s Association, asked the county to take over ownership of the roads and asked that the association be given a seat at the meeting.

County commission chairman Robert Gatto indicated that he would bring up the issue before the county’s Traffic Advisory Committee.

“We will work to expedite a response and to facilitate a resolution,” said Commissioner Gregan Crawford.

More here.

Educators, citizens offer ideas to close funding gap

Elaine Blaisdell Cumberland Times-News

OAKLAND — Educators and citizens in attendance at the county commission meeting Tuesday suggested a variety of solutions to help close some of the $2.2 million funding gap that the Garrett County Board of Education is facing.

Mike Robison, a concerned citizen, suggested that the commissioners commit to $2.2 million for the next three years until the wealth formula changes.

“I believe in my heart that the $2.2 million will stop it (school closures) and I believe if not then we can hold the board accountable to that. If it (wealth formula) doesn’t change, then we close schools,” said Robison. “I’d like you to stand up and say either we have the money or don’t have the money.”

Robison said that he would like the commissioners to commit to doing whatever it takes to keep the schools open.

Both Superintendent of Schools Janet Wilson and board president Cynthia Downton agreed that closing schools isn’t pleasant but that it needs to be done. Last year, Dennett Road and Kitzmiller elementary schools closed as a cost-cutting measure.

More here.

Garrett officials hope state comes through with money to help keep schools open

Friendsville, Route 40, Crellin at risk of closure

Elaine Blaisdell Cumberland Times-News

OAKLAND — Garrett County Commission Chairman Robert Gatto, who serves as an ex-officio member on the board of education, made a motion at Tuesday’s commission meeting to designate $2.2 million to the board for fiscal 2015 with the amount to be reduced if funding is secured from the state. The motion died for lack of a second.

Gatto made the motion after numerous educators and residents pleaded that the commission provide a funding number.

“I came here tonight thinking we were going to get a number,” said board president Cynthia Downton.

Commissioner Jim Raley indicated that he would like to provide the board with a funding number Dec. 17.

“I’m concerned that we are going to walk out of this room tonight without some form of solution. I can tell you the board of commissioners is not prepared to give some kind of a number because I’m not sure what that number needs to be,” said Raley.

More here.

Garrett County may close 3 schools

Crellin, Friendsville, Route 40 elementaries fall victim to budget deficit

From Staff Reports Cumberland Times-News

OAKLAND — Garrett County Public Schools is proceeding with the school closure process for Crellin, Friendsville and Route 40 elementary schools, according to a news release provided by Janet Wilson, superintendent of county schools.

The school system is facing an estimated $2.2 million deficit for the 2014–2015 school year, resulting in the decision to proceed with the school closure process.

At last week’s board of education meeting, the board released information concerning the elementary school facility needs assessment and master plan study for its public schools.

The $61,680 study recommended closing two schools in the northern end of the county and one school in the southern end and reconfiguring all grades in the northern schools and adjusting school boundary lines.

More here.

Author: Jay Ferguson

McHenry selected as site of national race

Amateur event expected to draw 60 to 80 teams from 30 states

Miami man, Maryland woman win Palm Beach Marathon on warm day in West Palm Beach

Road salt is killing Garrett County

Officials propose wind farm at Deep Creek Lake

Zoning change needed for project to occur

Delegation plans public meetings

Garrett County cannot provide funding necessary to prevent school closings

County asked to take over roads near Wisp

Bankruptcy may force closure

Educators, citizens offer ideas to close funding gap

Garrett officials hope state comes through with money to help keep schools open

Friendsville, Route 40, Crellin at risk of closure

Garrett County may close 3 schools

Crellin, Friendsville, Route 40 elementaries fall victim to budget deficit

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