Category: deep creek lake

Mitch Fost of Grantsville, 25, demonstrates his skill in the challenging sport of bull riding during Saturday’s annual rodeo held at the Garrett County Fairgounds in McHenry. A large crowd was on hand to watch the various competitions, with participants coming from a wide range. Fost, a member of the U.S. Army Reserves, also competed in the rodeo in 2011 and would have returned last year were he not in the middle of a one-year tour of duty in Afghanistan, from which he returned in February. Photo by Lisa Broadwater. More here.

Elaine Blaisdell Cumberland Times-News

OAKLAND — The Garrett County Planning Commission voted Wednesday to recommend that county commissioners endorse a petition by William Meagher, owner of Lakeside Commercial Properties LLC, to amend the Deep Creek Watershed Zoning Ordinance to allow him to offer boat rentals without the services associated with it.

The motion to modify Meagher’s petition specifies that it’s contiguous with only boat rentals in the town center and the use would only be permitted on properties that have a minimum of 200 feet of lake frontage. The motion passed with three in favor, one recusal and one abstention. Bill Weissgerber, an alternate with the planning commission, abstained from voting and voiced concerns about safety.

“I’m not going to vote on it right now because I want to think more on it based on what I heard today,” said Weissgerber.

Weissgerber said he agreed with the opinion of Jonathan “Smiley” Kessler, owner of Smiley’s Sports Bar and Grill at the lake.

“This discussion is asking zoning to do something that it really isn’t equipped to do and that is deal with market economy,” said Kessler. “Market economy will determine how many marinas are needed, how many can be successful.”

Three owners of local marinas also voiced concerns about safety.

“We don’t need this kind of operation in Deep Creek Lake. It’s in an unsafe location, it’s too congested there, those watercrafts don’t even have reverse,” said Phil St. Moritz, owner and president of Bill’s Marine Service LLC, who initiated the original legal action to close down Meagher’s mini-marina. “I’m more concerned with the integrity of the lake. No way is it safe. I think under no circumstances should this mini-marina be allowed to open again.”

Gary Pfirrmann, owner of Deep Creek Lake Boat Rentals and Sales, said he almost got hit twice near Lakeside Creamery and Carol Jacobs, president of the Aquatic Center Inc. said one of her employees totaled his car in front of the business.

“I don’t think the planning commission or the county commissioners can base an ordinance on safety. If you want to you can talk to the state fire marshal or the State Highway Administration,” said Tony Doerr, vice chairman, who also noted that he was concerned about safety in the area of Lakeside Creamery.

Pfirrmann noted that all marinas should be on the same level playing field and that the five marinas in the area were required to have the same acreage and parking.

“We had to jump through hoops and for 18 years I jumped through hoops,” said Pfirrmann.

Meagher commented on the safety aspect of the mini-marina.

“We have operated within last year and have had all of our vehicles parked in the lot,” said Meagher. “Part of this zoning text amendment is to allow for parking.”

The owners of the local marinas also asked that the planning commission vote against Meagher’s petition to amend the ordinance.

Bob Nickle, general manager of Bill’s Marine Service, said that by allowing the amendment the planning commission was creating spot zoning.

“The whole idea of a zoning ordinance is it’s there to protect the public and the citizens of Garrett County as a whole,” said Nickle. “If we keep whittling away and making small changes here and small changes there, what merit, what validity does this zoning ordinance hold?”

The commissioners will have a public hearing before they make a final decision on the planning commission’s recommendation, according to Troy Ellington, president of the planning commission.

Meagher complied after he was recently ordered to cease operations of the mini-marina.

During a hearing in June in Garrett County Circuit Court, Judge Jim Sherbin found that a previous zoning amendment that allowed 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.

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

The appearance of a rainbow right at the conclusion of the second annual William George Weissgerber Benefit Golf Tournament was but one of many extraordinary events that occurred over the course of the two-day tourney this past weekend, held at both the Lodestone and Oakland club courses. A number of other activities, raffles, and events were held in conjunction with the tournament, with all proceeds benefiting Landon’s Library, the Andrew S. Woods Memorial Scholarship Fund, and Samantha’s Funding for the Arts. The event grossed an incredible $117,000, with an estimated net amount of $90,000 to be divided among the three programs. Pictured above are the parents of the three in whose memories the programs were founded. From left are June and Charlie McCloskey, parents of Samantha Gibson; Debbie and Tom Woods, parents of Andrew; and Crystal and Brian Boal, parents of Landon Boal. See story for details.

by Don Sincell

Despite rain and threats of rain, the second annual William G. Weissgerber Benefit Golf Tournament held this past Friday and Saturday at the Lodestone and Oakland golf courses was a resounding success, as the tourney and various other fundraisers held in conjunction grossed an estimated $117,000 for three local non-profit programs.

According to organizers, it is anticipated that the profit from the event will exceed $90,000, to be split among Landon’s Library, the Andrew S. Woods Memorial Athletic Scholarship Fund, and Samantha’s Funding for the Arts.

Brian and Crystal Roberson-Boal, Tom and Debbie Woods, and Charlie and June McCloskey – respective parents of Landon Boal, Andrew Woods, and Samantha Gibson – spearheaded the effort; however, they were quick to state that the project would not have been nearly as successful without major support from numerous other individuals, organizations, and businesses.

“Never in our wildest dreams would we have thought that this tournament and the other events would have raised that kind of money,” Tom Woods said. “It’s just a real testament to the kind of people who live here in our community.”

“This tournament started with Bill Weissgerber coming to me two years ago with the idea that we could go a golf tournament and raise a few thousand dollars for Landon’s Library,” said Brian Boal. “He thought it might raise $2,500, but we shattered that prediction, as it generated about 10 times that. The community support has been just tremendous.

“It was truly an incredible weekend, and it seemed very evident that three kids ‘on the other side’ were present,” said Boal, who added that some of his fellow alumni from West Virginia University traveled from as far away as Michigan and Texas to participate in the event.

According to Woods and Boal, there were many examples of what appeared to be “divine intervention” throughout the two-day fund-raiser.

“There was one thing after another that made us really believe we were getting ‘help from above,'” Woods said.

He said that on Friday morning it was “raining buckets” at the Lodestone course at the Wisp in McHenry – that is, until about 15 minutes before tee-time of the event.

“It stopped raining, and it didn’t start again until just as the final foursome was completing the last hole,” he said.

Hundreds of 50-50 raffle tickets were sold at Friday’s round, and after stirring all of the tickets in a large bucket, Woods reached deep into the pile, only to pull out his own ticket. So he simply returned his winnings to the cause.

Another 50-50 raffle was held the following day at the Oakland Golf Club course, and the winner of that one was Bill German, another local parent who lost an infant daughter and in whose memory he and his wife Brittany had started a fund to provide blankets for newborns at Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown. So the $525 he won will go directly into that charity.

Yet another odd occurrence was the story surrounding the winner of the helicopter golf ball drop.

More here.