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18th Annual Rodeo Slated In McHenry

Jun. 27, 2013

 

The 18th annual Championship Rodeo will be held on Friday and Saturday, July 5 and 6, at the Garrett County Fairgrounds, McHenry. Musical entertainment, featuring Perry and Sean Kamp on Friday and Kenny Jones on Saturday, will begin at 6:30 p.m., followed by rodeo action at 7:30.

 

Bull riding, bronco riding, roping, barrel racing, youth mutton busting, and bullfighting clowns will be featured.

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This event is sponsored by the Garrett County Livestock Association and 92.3 The  Train. Proceeds benefit the 4-H and FFA livestock activities and improvements to the areas used by youth livestock groups at the fairgrounds.

Advance tickets cost $8 for adults and $4 for children 12 and younger. At the gate, tickets will cost $10  for adults and $5 for children. Tickets are available at Southern States in Oakland, Lakeview Auto Parts, Grantsville Ad Service, Glotfelty Enterprises, Little Sandy’s, and Fratz True Value. More here.

Deep Creek marina owner ordered to cease operations

Elaine Blaisdell Cumberland Times-News

OAKLAND — The owner of Lakeside Creamery at Deep Creek Lake has been ordered to cease operations of a mini-marina located on his property until a zoning issue is decided in Circuit Court.

During a hearing in June in Garrett County Circuit Court, Judge Jim Sherbin found that a zoning amendment that allowed Bill Meagher to run the mini-marina was of no legal effect and ordered that the decision by the county’s Board of Zoning Appeals to issue Meagher a permit be reversed.

The court issued the cease and desist order on June 26.

St. Moritz Properties LLC, Bill’s Marine Service Inc. and Silver Tree Marine LLC filed recently filed a motion to amend the order that was issued by Sherbin in June to add the following sentence at the end, “it is further ordered that Meagher/ Lakeside shall immediately cease and desist from operating the boat rental business on the property located at 20282 Garrett Highway in that it is enjoined by this order from doing so.”

Meagher rents personal watercrafts and pontoon boats.

The order was amended to make it clear that Meagher shouldn’t be operating without a permit, according to Greg Skidmore of Skidmore, Alderson and Duncan of Oakland, who is representing local marinas. Meagher has until July 3 to respond to the order that he cease and desists operations.

Meagher has operated the mini-marina for over a year on an invalid permit and even after the decision was made in June continued to operate, according to Skidmore.

“Even after the order, Meagher/Lakeside continue to defiantly operate the boat rental business without a permit and is clear violation of the Zoning ordinance and should not be permitted to do so,” Skidmore said in legal documents

On June 5, 2012, the county commissioners voted to make amendments to the Deep Creek Watershed Zoning ordinance to allow Meagher to have a marina that doesn’t offer the services associated with it.

A boat rental permit was issued by the Board of Zoning Appeals on June 11, 2012, to Meagher. St. Moritz Properties LLC, Bill’s Marine Service Inc. and Silver Tree Marine LLC appealed the issuance of the permit. The Board of Zoning Appeals denied the appeal and upheld the issuance of the permit.

Contact Elaine Blaisdell at eblaisdell@times-news.com.

Garrett defers school project

Elaine Blaisdell Cumberland Times-News

OAKLAND — During the Garrett County Commission meeting on Tuesday, commissioners voted unanimously to defer the Southern Middle School renovation project funding of $582,400 for one year.

Commissioners also agreed to continue to work with the board of education to develop a plan for fiscal 2015 for the school project.

“I think this is a sound approach,” said Commissioner Jim Raley. “We are going to get through this. It really comes down to, in my opinion, the taxpayers and citizens of Garrett County telling us what they want their school system to look like.”

Raley said it’s up to citizens whether they want to continue to maintain community schools or to consider a larger approach.

Without cuts to the budget, the project would cause an increase in taxes, according to Raley.

“Unless we are going to start cutting money out of the budget, we are not going to afford that project without a tax increase that covers the cost of that debt service,” said Raley. “I don’t often get people coming up to me saying, ‘Please raise my taxes.’”

The debt service on the project would have to be paid back and would cost about $750,000 per year, according to Raley.

“Currently, the county has no debt, so there is no money to roll into that. In order to fund that debt service, the county has to come up with that $750,000 to make that payment. The real reason for the request of the deferal (of the project) is to see if we can get the budget more in line,” he said.

Raley said he didn’t foresee any new revenues coming to the county.

There will be a $1.7 million budget shortfall in fiscal 2015 for education.

“The $1.7 million that the board is asking for is just to remain at status quo,” said Raley. “It doesn’t do anything to enhance the system or to meet some of those needs. I continue to argue that we have a stagnant population, we have a declining student population.”

In order to recover from decline in student population, Raley believes the trend needs to be reversed.

“It needs to happen no matter what our decisions are in moving forward with Southern Middle School,” he said, adding that planning needs to take place with the future in mind. “I don’t know what our county will look like 10 years from now.”

Commissioner Gregan Crawford said he would like to see an independent group develop creative ideas for the direction of the school system.

It is estimated the county will lose $2.7 million in revenue in fiscal 2015 because of the readjustment of the assessable tax base and because, Raley said.

In addition, planning will also have to occur for the shift of teacher retirement costs to county government.

“The biggest problem I see are 2015 and 2016 are going to be critical budget years,” said Raley.

Raley, who worked in the Southern Middle School building for 14 years, said he was concerned about the erosion of the building if the project didn’t move forward.

Southern Middle School was built in 1977.

Contact Elaine Blaisdell at eblaisdell@times-news.com.

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Gasoline tax, tolls increase in Maryland

Change will add about 3.5 cents to price of a gallon

Brian Witte Associated Press

ANNAPOLIS — The cost of driving in Maryland is going up today.

The state’s first gas tax increase in two decades goes into effect Monday, along with the second round of toll increases in less than two years.

In another step designed to build infrastructure, the deadline for 10 of the state’s most populated jurisdictions to implement fees for property owners for stormwater remediation to fight pollution in the Chesapeake Bay also is set for Monday.

While there will be no change to Maryland’s 23.5-cents-per-gallon excise tax, which was last raised in 1992, the state will begin applying a sales tax to a gallon of gas. Starting Monday, a 1 percent sales tax will be added to gas purchases in the first of several increases scheduled over the next few years. In another change, Maryland will begin implementing an automatic increase to gas prices that will be linked to the Consumer Price Index to adjust for inflation.

The changes will add about 3.5 cents to the price of a gallon of gas, with about 3.1 cents coming from the 1 percent increase and nearly half a cent from the indexing for inflation.

The sales tax is set to rise again by another 1 percent on Jan. 1, 2015, and another 1 percent on July 1, 2015. If federal legislation allowing states to collect a sales tax on Internet sales does not pass, the sales tax is scheduled to rise another 1 percent in January 2016.

Gov. Martin O’Malley, who unsuccessfully pushed for a gas tax increase last year, tried again this legislative session and won approval with the help of Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller and House Speaker Michael Busch.

Supporters of the increase noted that after years of neglect, the state was scheduled to run out of money for new transportation projects after 2017 without new revenue. They also pointed to traffic congestion in the suburbs of the nation’s capital and Baltimore and concerns that Maryland would fall behind Virginia, which also approved new transportation revenues this year, to maintain and build roads to compete for jobs.

“You’ve got to regularly invest in transportation to address those congestion challenges and, eventually what happens, people become mired in gridlock, and from a business perspective we need to be able to move people, goods and services to have a vibrant economy,” said Don Fry, president of the Greater Baltimore Committee, said.

On the day O’Malley signed the measure into law last month, the administration announced more than $1 billion in highway and transit projects. The Democratic governor also underscored the new jobs that would be created by the additional construction.

Opponents, however, decried the increases. Delegate Nic Kipke, the House minority leader, said the additional taxes will hurt businesses in a state where taxes were already high in general.

“Before all of these unnecessary tax increases to into effect, Maryland was already the fifth highest cost-of-living state in the nation, and I’m concerned these new costs just increase the hardship of lower and middle income people,” Kipke, R-Anne Arundel, said.

The toll increases taking effect Monday represent the second phase of such hikes approved by the Maryland Transportation Authority in 2011.

Drivers of two-axle vehicles will pay $2 more to cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, as the toll jumps to $6 from $4. Tolls for the Fort McHenry Tunnel, Baltimore Harbor Tunnel and Francis Scott Key Bridge will rise to $4 from $3 for two-axle vehicles. The toll for the Harry W. Nice Bridge will increase to $6 from $4. The cost of going through the one-way John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway at Perryville on Interstate 95 and the Thomas J. Hatem Memorial Bridge on U.S. 40 will jump to $8 from $6.

In addition to the gas tax and toll increases, the state’s 10 most populated jurisdictions are hitting a deadline Monday to set fees for stormwater remediation. However, differences in how the jurisdictions have been addressing the requirement have been considerable. For example, in Frederick County, local officials opposing the idea have set a penny annual charge. Other jurisdictions have set higher fees. Carroll County officials decided Thursday to use county money for the initiative instead of implementing a fee.

Republican opponents, who have derided the fee by calling it “the rain tax,” say they will push to repeal it next year. Kipke said Republican lawmakers have scheduled a Monday news conference to make the announcement and criticize the tax increases. Kipke said he is concerned the initiative will hurt struggling businesses, such as a mall in his county that he says will face hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees.

“There are countless stories like that where I fear this new costly fee will be the stake in the heart of employers in the state,” he said.

More here.

Adventuresports Institute at Garrett College recipient of ARC funding

$250,000 will improve educational facilities

For the Cumberland Times-News Cumberland Times-News

WASHINGTON — The Garrett County Board of Commissioners has received a $250,000 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission to improve the educational facilities of The Adventuresports Institute at Garrett College. In addition to the grant, the project will be locally funded at $279,024 and with an additional $50,000 in other federal funds.

The news was announced jointly on Friday by U.S. Sens. Ben Cardin and Barbara A. Mikulski, both Maryland Democrats.

“Tourism means jobs in Western Maryland and across our great state. This grant is about equipping young professionals with the important skills they need to showcase the splendor of Western Maryland’s natural resources,” said Cardin. “ARC’s federal-local partnership is investing together in Garrett County’s economy while raising the bar for new levels of responsible, environmental stewardship.”

“This federal funding is an important investment in Garrett County’s economic security and the vitality of Western Maryland,” said Mikulski.  “These funds will help build an industry that keeps Marylanders on the job and encourages people to visit our state. Tourism spurs all parts of the economy — from the adventure sites to the food stands. I will keep fighting for smart federal investments in Maryland communities.”

The Adventuresports Institute is a wholly-owned operation of Garrett College. It was founded as part of a strategy to establish Garrett County as an adventure sport tourism leader.

ASI works with public and private entities to train professionals and produce leaders in adventure sports and recreation industries who have a strong sense of environmental stewardship and community service. This grant comes at an opportune time as its beneficiaries will be instrumental in ensuring that the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championship in 2014 at Deep Creek Lake is a success.

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Garrett County commissioners OK transportation plan

Priority list now includes Route 135/Sand Flat Road intersection

Elaine Blaisdell Cumberland Times-News

OAKLAND — The Garrett County commissioners approved the county planning commission’s recommended priority list for nine projects, one of which is new, to the State of Maryland Consolidated Transportation 2014 Plan. The planning commission recommended that a new project, state Route 135/Sand Flat Road intersection, be added to the list for safety reasons, according to John Nelson, director of planning and land development.

“The planning commission noted a number of accidents at that intersection recently, many which resulted in serious injuries and/or fatalities,” said Nelson at Tuesday’s commission meeting. “The problem seems to be one of sight distance, speed.”

The planning commission asked that the intersection be reviewed by experts with the Traffic Safety Engineering Division of the Maryland State Highway Administration.

The remainder of the priority list is similar to last year’s list. On the list again is the U.S. Route 219 North project (North/South corridor) from Interstate 68 to Pennsylvania, which is a No. 1 priority and is part of the state’s CTP. The state doesn’t have most of the funding for the project because it is part of the Appalachian Development Highway System, according to Nelson.

“The problem still lies with the Pennsylvania (line) to Meyersdale section. Pennsylvania argues they don’t have the funding in place for that section,” said County Commissioner Jim Raley.

A letter from Gov. Martin O’Malley agrees to allocate all the Appalachian Regional Commission funds for that project to be complete in Maryland but the project is being held back because of Pennsylvania Department of Transportation planning initiatives, according to Nelson.

The section of the North/South corridor from Somerset to Meyersdale, Pa., is getting ready to go out to bid, according to Raley. The alignment of the section from Pennsylvania to Maryland to where it comes into I-68 still has to be determined by the Maryland impact study, according to Nelson.

The second project on the list is the Oakland bypass, which would relocate U.S. 219 from north of Oakland to state Route 135 (2.4 miles). Elected officials and residents ex-pressed concerns about the bypass during a Maryland Department of Transportation tour last year.

Even though both the North/South corridor and the bypass are on the CTP, there is no capital funding for them or any projects throughout the state, according to Nelson.

“We don’t foresee those projects having any additional funding associated with them,” said Nelson. “The other five remaining projects are essentially community safety enhancement projects.”

Also on the list are the state Route 546 bridge project which goes over I-68 in Finzel and the U.S. 219 resurfacing project that is currently under way from Oak Street to East Lake Street.

The planning commission noted minor changes to those projects on the priority list.

Contact Elaine Blaisdell at eblaisdell@times-news.com.