Category:garrett county
Garrett officials, DNR to work together on Deep Creek plan
From Staff Reports Cumberland Times-News
MCHENRY — The Garrett County commissioners and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources agreed Wednesday night to work together to create a Deep Creek Lake Watershed Management Plan that will guide environmental and economic decisions at the popular recreation spot.
The announcement came during a state-of-the-lake meeting at Garrett College.
“The plan should address the quality of Deep Creek Lake’s environment and its use for swimming, fishing, boating, scenic viewing and other recreational activities,” the county commissioners stated in a press release issued earlier in the day.
The state agency will pick up 60 percent of a $50,000 contract for a consultant who will structure the planning process. The Hughes Center for Agro-Ecology at the University of Maryland will choose the consultant.
The planning process is to be completed by Oct. 31, 2014.
A steering committee of seven to nine will represent state and local governments, agriculture, forestry, residents, businesses, recreation and power generation. Those members are to be announced at the Aug. 13 meeting of the county commissioners.
Friendsville Days 2013 Slated For Next Weekend
The 33rd Annual Friendsville Days will be held on Friday and Saturday, July 26 and 27, at Friendsville Community Park. The hometown will host activities for all ages with admission free for all. Those attending are encouraged to bring a chair and stay all day.
This year’s theme is “Friendsville Elementary: Yesterday’s Memories, Tomorrow’s Promise,” with the focus geared toward past and present teachers and principals and honoring them as grand marshals. Plans are being made to have a “meet-and-greet” tent to be able to share memories with their favorite teachers.
The event kicks off on Friday, with a free, picnic-style meal provided by Friendsville Days Inc. at 6 p.m. at the park. Other vendors will be open selling food, beverages, and novelty items that evening and all day Saturday.
The Friendsville Community Watch will provide free inflatable rides for the youth through teens from 7 to 9 p.m. A Christian puppet show will begin at 7 p.m. at the playground pavilion, and the James Everett Band will provide country and southern rock music from 7 to 10 p.m.
A parade through the streets of Friendsville will kick off Saturday’s events beginning at noon. Opening ceremonies and awarding of parade prizes will be held following the parade at the Friendsville Community Park. The national anthem will be sung by Miss Maryland 2013, Christina Denny, and there will be a 21-gun salute with the raising of the American flag. American Pie will hit the stage at 1:30 p.m. and will be performing top hits of the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s, and is one of Pittsburgh’s favorite oldies band.
A talent show of Garrett County talent will begin at 4 p.m. Sidney Thomas will also perform vocal selections beginning at 5:30 p.m. Two performances of the Christian puppet show will be held at 2 and 5 p.m. at the playground pavilion. Door prizes and raffles will be held throughout the day. The Crazy Cowboys will take the stage from 7 to 10 p.m. performing country music hits, while a dance floor will be provided. Fireworks will top off the evening at 10:15 p.m.
Saturday will also feature a car, truck, and motorcycle show from 2 to 6 p.m. at the Little League parking lot. For more information, persons may contact Pat Riep-Dice at 301-746-4280.
Other events offered that day will include bingo, games and rides for all ages, a three-on-three basketball tournament at 10 a.m., a horse shoe pitching tournament at 2 p.m., a dunking booth, a sand volleyball tourney, puppet shows, and inflatables for all ages. A variety of food products will be available for purchase, including chicken wings, lamb-burgers, pulled pork, and the usual “fair-type” food, including french fries and Ben’s Tai food.
The door prize booth will host numerous items donated from local merchants and the popular Chinese auction will be held once again. There will be two free cash drawings to be drawn at undisclosed times on Saturday before 9 p.m. Youth age 16 years and older are eligible to sign up at the door prize booth and winners must be present to collect their prizes. Only one entry per person is permitted. Other rules apply and will be posted at the door prize booth.
The event will be held rain or shine. For more information on any of these events, please contact Lucretia Sines at 301-746-5933 or the town hall at 301-746-5919.
Commissioners Hold Hearing On Wisp Mountain Road Conveyance
The Garrett County commissioners held a public hearing Tuesday afternoon to consider a petition by DC Development LLC to convey Wisp Mountain Road into the county’s public road system. Company partner/former Wisp Resort owner Karen Myers reviewed the proposal for the commissioners and public.
She said the 1.4 mile private road was constructed to county specifications in 1999 and serves a development of about 350 residences. Myers provided the commissioners with a metes-and-bounds description.
“It has been maintained by the Wisp Resort Master Association for a number of years,” Myers said about the road.
The association comprises home owners in the Deep Creek Highland, Kendall Camp, Lodestone, Marsh Hill Road, North Camp, and Sandy Shores developments. In January 2012, the association requested financial help from the county in maintaining Wisp Mountain Road. The commissioners rejected the proposal because it is privately owned.
If accepted into the public system, Wisp Mountain would be a connector road from Shingle Camp Road to Wisp Adventure Road and the Adventure Sports Center International (ASCI), which is located atop Marsh Mountain.
“Do you just want to alleviate yourself of the maintenance of it?” Commissioner Gregan Crawford asked Myers about the road.
She explained that DC Development is currently in Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
“We’re in the process of liquidating all of the assets, and that road, we think, is a viable connector and it makes sense for it to be an official public road,” Myers said.
She added that most people traveling Wisp Mountain think that it is a public road.
Oakland area resident Eric Robison noted that giving the road to the county would alleviate ASCI’s “land-lock” problem. Currently, the county only has a deeded right of way to the county-owned center.
Robison indicated the only problem he sees with the proposed conveyance is that significant modifications will have to be made to the road in order for it to meet new county stormwater specifications.
“Other than that, it looks like a really good deal, and we should thank Karen for the effort,” he said.
Swanton area resident Dick Bolt, however, wondered what it would cost the county to take over the road.
“I would think the county would be interested in that as well,” he said.
Myers indicated she did not have specific information about Wisp Mountain, as the Wisp Resort Master Association maintains and plows several other roads in that area as well, including Overlook Pass.
“The bulk of the maintenance expense has been on that (Overlook Pass Road),” she said.
Commissioner Jim Raley indicated it was the county’s due diligence to get information about the cost of maintaining Wisp Mountain Road, not DC Development’s responsibility.
County attorney Mike Getty concurred. He noted that the public hearing concept regarding a conveyance is dictated by a state code.
“It simply says that anyone has the right to petition the county to take a road, but in doing so, has to give public notice of their intent to do that,” Getty said.
DC Development announced their intention in a public notice that was published in three issues of The Republican in May.
USDA Providing Easement Funding For Storm Damage
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is providing up to $124.8 million in Emergency Watershed Protection Program-Floodplain Easement (EWP-FPE) funding to help prevent damages from significant storm events in Maryland and other states affected by Hurricane Sandy.
Land eligibility requires that flood damage was the result of Hurricane Sandy. Acceptable evidence includes insurance claims, newspaper or publication clippings, or any other documentation that links flood damage to Hurricane Sandy.
NRCS is accepting applications for EWP-FPE until September 2. All counties in Maryland, except for Carroll and Montgomery counties, were declared disaster areas by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) because of damages from Hurricane Sandy. Land in these counties would be eligible for funding consideration.
Floodplains store water, helping to protect lands downstream from future flood damage. When the health and integrity of the lands deteriorate, so do the environmental, economic, and social benefits they provide, according to the NRCS.
“To help states recover from Hurricane Sandy, NRCS is working with landowners to provide permanent protection for floodplains,” said NRCS Maryland acting state conservationist Deena Wheby. “Restoring these ecosystems ensures that our lands are resilient to future threats and impacts.”
Under this program, NRCS purchases the permanent easements on eligible lands and restores the area to natural conditions. A healthy floodplain enhances fish and wildlife habitat, water quality, flood water retention, and ground water recharge.
The program complements traditional disaster recovery funding and allows NRCS to purchase a permanent easement on lands within floodplains that sustained damage from Hurricane Sandy.
Funds are only available in counties affected by Hurricane Sandy and where a major disaster was declared pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Private lands and those owned by local and state governments are eligible if they are located in a floodplain, not subject to tidal influence or action from storm waves, and meet one of the following requirements:
•Damaged by flooding as a result of Hurricane Sandy;
•Would contribute to the restoration of flood storage and flow, provide for control of erosion, or improve the practical management of the floodplain easement; or
•Could be inundated or adversely impacted as a result of a dam breach.
State Endangered Northern Goshawk Returns to Maryland
Northern Goshawk
Wildlife biologists with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) have discovered Northern Goshawks successfully breeding in the State for the first time since 2006. This encouraging news follows the senseless killing of a nesting female goshawk in 2011, whose chicks also died as a result of her death. The shooter was never found.
Following up on a lead provided by two Garrett County residents last month, DNR biologists found an active goshawk nest with two healthy chicks and confirmed last week that the young birds had successfully fledged. DNR suspects that the pair ─ the only known Northern Goshawks in western Maryland ─ consists of the male from the 2011 nest and a new mate.
Northern Goshawks are a shy but spectacular hawk of wild, mature forests. They are sensitive to disturbance and human activity, so their presence is indicative that some western Maryland forests are reaching the mature conditions required for breeding habitat…
Southern/Northern Garrett High School - great national rankings
Great reviews for both Northern & Southern Garrett High schools:
Overview
At Southern Garrett High School, students have the opportunity to take Advanced Placement® course work and exams. The AP® participation rate at Southern Garrett High School is 16 percent. The student body makeup is 50 percent male and 50 percent female, and the total minority enrollment is 1 percent. Southern Garrett High School is 1 of 2 high schools in the Garrett County Public Schools.
http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/maryland/districts/garrett-county-public-schools/southern-garrett-high-school-9111
Overview
Northern Garrett High School is ranked 57th within Maryland. Students have the opportunity to take Advanced Placement® course work and exams. The AP® participation rate at Northern Garrett High School is 29 percent. The student body makeup is 53 percent male and 47 percent female, and the total minority enrollment is 2 percent. Northern Garrett High School is 1 of 2 high schools in the Garrett County Public Schools.
http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/maryland/districts/garrett-county-public-schools/northern-garrett-high-school-9110
Grand Opening of the B&O Railroad Station Museum
The grand opening of the 1884 Oakland B&O Railroad Station Museum will take place this Saturday, July 20, beginning at 1:00 at the station located at 117 East Liberty Street. Oakland Mayor Peggy Jamison will MC the event and representatives from the offices of Governor O’Malley, Senator Cardin, Senator Mikulski, and Congressman Delaney will join the Mayor and our County Commissioner on the box car stage. Others to be seated on the stage include Senator George Edwards and Delegate Wendell Beitzel who were responsible for the Maryland Bond Bill that was so important to the project.
Lonnie Naylor will be introduced by Jamison and it was his late parents, Howard and Audrey Naylor, trust money that was the seed money for these renovations and restoration. Through the Naylor’s careful planning and benevolence their money came back to help Appalachia for educational purposes. Their monetary gifts have been used in many projects at the Garrett County Historical Society, Garrett College, Allegany College, Davis & Elkins College, West Virginia Wesleyan, and Frostburg University. Past Oakland Mayor Asa McCain and Chairman of the Oakland B&O Museum will also speak on Saturday. It was his vision in the 1990’s as mayor to acquire the station from CSX. That began a fund raising effort that brought in private local money and donations from outside the area. Various grants were applied for and obtained and the total cost of this restoration was over $1,000,000.
North America's 10 Best River Trips - Youghiogheny River in top 10
From white-knuckle rapids to relaxing canyon floats, put these 10 river trips on your bucket list
Area’s concerns curtail elk reintroduction plan
Michael A. Sawyers Cumberland Times-News
CUMBERLAND — Unable to secure enough support from residents of Garrett and Allegany counties, a group evaluating the reintroduction of Rocky Mountain elk there announced Wednesday the idea is being scuttled.
“Concerns ranging from vehicle collisions and crop damage to the potential for disease outweighed all other considerations,” wrote William Miles, Maryland Legislative Sportsmen’s Foundation, in an email to the Maryland District 1 legislative delegation.
“Efforts to mitigate such concerns through experiences shared by other states with elk simply did not resonate,” Miles said.
The idea was jointly announced in August 2011 by the MLSF, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
“From the onset, the partnership made clear that any decision for reintroduction would be predicated upon acceptance by the citizenry,” Miles wrote. “Heartened by the results of a supportive public opinion survey coupled with projected revenues that could be realized in the region from visitor spending, the partnership thought it might be possible to secure local support. However, this did not prove to be the case.”
Early opposition came from the Garrett County commissioners and the Maryland Farm Bureau.
A meeting was conducted in Cumberland in November 2012 to obtain additional public input.
“I think they made a smart move shutting it down,” said Jerry Zembower, president of the Allegany-Garrett Sportsmen’s Association.
“Garrett County was dead-set against it so the only place left was Allegany County. The largest tract of land in Allegany is the Green Ridge State Forest and that is where chronic wasting disease was found.”
Zembower said it would make no sense to release perfectly healthy elk into an area where a disease has been discovered to which they are susceptible.
“AGSA never did take a vote on the reintroduction, but our clubs were telling us they opposed it,” Zembower said.
Miles pointed out that no public money was used to evaluate the potential reintroduction. The elk foundation paid the bills.
Contact Michael A. Sawyers at msawyers@times-news.com.
2013 Maryland Bear Hunting Permit Lottery
Hunters can apply 24/7 at the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) COMPASS Online Licensing and Registration Service. To apply online, visit: https://compass.dnr.maryland.gov/dnrcompassportal.
To apply for the Black Bear Hunting Permit Lottery, you must either log in to your existing COMPASS account or create a new COMPASS account. Once logged in, choose ‘Purchase New License’ and select ‘2013 Black Bear Lottery’. Applicants not wishing to participate in the 2013 Black Bear Hunt may purchase a ‘Preference Point only’ that will then be applied to next year’s lottery drawing. For more information about the Preference Point system, visit: http://www.dnr.state.md.us/huntersguide/BearHunt_PreferencePoints.asp.
Hunters may also apply via telephone at 1-855-855-3906 between 7am and 7pm, or by visiting a DNR Service Center, or at one of over 250 Sport License Agents located across the state.
Only one application per person will be accepted. Duplicate applications will result in disqualification and forfeiture of all fees.
