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Garrett County school board accepts report

Cumberland Times News

OAKLAND — The Strategic Facilities Committee, established and appointed in March by the Garrett County Board of Education, detailed its final report during a public meeting Tuesday with recommendations to address enrollment, demographic data and the community’s concerns and preferences.

Some recommendations in the capital projects plan include the establishment of a joint working group composed of staff of the Board of Education and county government to further identify and coordinate the program; to add security in the form of five security vestibules that help improve control of the school environment by allowing administrators and staff to know who’s in the building at all times; to address disruptive behavior by building dedicated spaces for de-escalation that get students back in the classroom as soon as possible; to undertake projects identified by the superintendent and staff that are in need of upgrade or replacement; and to enclose open-space classrooms to reduce noise and distractions for students.

Funding for the capital program is estimated to cost $50.6 million over six years, an average of $8.4 million per year.

David Lever, facilitator of Education Facilities Planning LLC and a part of the facilities commission, provided a comparison using current replacement value.

The replacement value of county schools is approximately $232 million and the industry standard capital expenditure is 2%. When added with deferred maintenance, the total in comparison comes to $99 million, an average of $9.9 million per year.

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$100,000 grant coming to Garrett County

The Garrett County Republican

McHENRY — The Mountain Maryland Gateway to the West Heritage Area Maryland Heritage Area was notified that one of the Garrett County projects on the reserve list was awarded funding by the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority.

Garrett College Foundation was awarded a project grant for $100,000 for development of the Garrett College to Ag Hall Heritage Trail.

“In July, the Town of Oakland received funding for the Oakland Heritage Trail and the Chamber (of Commerce) was awarded a Heritage Area management grant totaling $129,631 so we were thrilled to receive additional funding from the reserve list this year,” said Kim Folk, heritage area & groups director for the chamber. “That brings the FY20 grand total of MHAA grant funding to $229,631 for the Mountain Maryland Gateway to the West Heritage Area. These grants will allow the recipients to expand awareness of Garrett County’s historical and cultural heritage.”

The Ag Hall Heritage trail will provide locals and visitors a trail from Garrett College to the Agriculture Heritage Hall at the Fairgrounds, both located on Mosser Road. This trail will connect the two largest event venues in the county, as well as adding to the counties already growing and extensive trail system. Interpretive signage will be included along the route.

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Colder temperatures projected for Maryland later in winter

The Washington Post

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — While many burrowed indoors the third week of November as extreme record-breaking cold impinged upon life across the Mid-Atlantic, the snow machines at Wisp Ski Resort were busy whirring and churning out a base layer of snow for the upcoming winter.

The third week of November is the earliest the ski resort has started making snow in the past five years, said Lori Zaloga, director of marketing for Wisp, in McHenry, Maryland.

Climate scientists are pretty sure of one thing: This winter, the weather could vary. A lot.

The slight snowfall that glided over most of Maryland and portions of northern Virginia late Tuesday into Wednesday morning was a prime example.

The strong cold front that enabled the changeover from rain to snow was the result of an amplified, S-shaped jet stream that dipped through the eastern U.S., said Stephen Baxter, winter weather lead at the national Climate Prediction Center.

While this swing in weather from mild to frosty was predicted by one type of model through the Christmas holiday, another model indicates milder weather from now until Santa hitches up the sleigh.

There is the chance for another wintry mix on Monday, although once again the varying temperatures make it hard to say whether the region will receive freezing rain, sleet, or snow from the holiday grab bag of precipitation.

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GRMC chief speaks of building ‘Culture of Excellence’

From The Garrett County Republican

GRANTSVILLE — Mark Boucout, president and CEO of Garrett Regional Medical Center and Potomac Valley Hospital, was the guest speaker at the last monthly meeting of the year for the Greater Grantsville Business Association last Wednesday.

He spoke about building a “Culture of Excellence” at GRMC.

“Managing a health care facility today is not a task for the timid,” he said. “An organization like Garrett, which is small, doesn’t have a lot of financial resources. We are not owned by WVU, so our financial resources come from within or from grants. We had to completely reinvent the culture at GRMC.”

He explained that he took a scientific approach to it to create a meaningful scenario.

“I sort of think about hospitals as a complex adaptive system,” he said. “A flock of birds is a perfect example of a complex adaptive system. The lead gander in the flock of geese that are flying in Vs never actually honks. He is actually flying a flight pattern and all the geese behind him are honking and the lead goose adjusts his flight pattern based upon the noise of the flock behind him.”

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Oakland resident bicycles 5,095 miles to Alaska

The Garrett County Republican

OAKLAND — Alan Peachey recently returned to Oakland from an extended trip to Alaska.

Such a trip is not uncommon for those who like to travel. However, his mode of transportation was anything but ordinary. He traveled 5,095 miles on a bicycle.

“I had wanted to do a long-distance bike tour for quite some time, and this is the summer I made it happen,” he said.

Peachey left Oakland on July 19. He biked for 56 days, arriving in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, a few miles from the Arctic Ocean, on Sept. 12.

He averaged 91 miles a day on his trip.

“This was never a race,” he said. “On lots of days I could have started earlier and pushed myself harder,” he said. “Ultimately, it was more of a test of mental endurance than physical. You have to have the will to keep going day after day in all kinds of terrain, temperatures, insects and headwinds.”

To read the full article click here.

Oakland boy prepares to ‘Be the Change’ for Hospice and Cindy’s Fund

From The Garrett County Republican

OAKLAND — In his young lifetime, Carter Goff has seen more loss than many adults. But he doesn’t let that get him down.

In fact, he is working to make a difference for others through his Be the Change project at Broad Ford Elementary School.

Today, Carter lives in Oakland with his mom, Cassie Marsh, and his younger sister, Brecklin Marsh. When he was 10 months old, his dad, David Goff, passed away from colon cancer after a 16-month battle.

“Carter can’t remember David, but he hears stories about him often,” Marsh said.

Carter’s stepdad, Josh Marsh, came into his life when he was about two years old, but he was killed in an automobile accident in January.

“Cindy’s Fund and Hospice are both near and dear to our family’s hearts as both organizations helped tremendously when David was sick,” Marsh said. “Cindy’s Fund provided gas cards for us to get back and forth for treatments in Philadelphia and Morgantown. Hospice helped keep David comfortable in his last few weeks of life, as he wanted nothing more than to be home and surrounded by family in his last days/weeks.”

For his Be the Change project in Erin Yoder’s fourth-grade class, Carter has chosen to help both Cindy’s Fund and Hospice of Garrett County.

He hopes that he’ll be able to help as many people as possible who are going through very difficult times in their lives and are in need of the support of either organization.

“By choosing to raise money and supplies for these two organizations, it will make me feel good to know that I’ll be helping many other local people,” he said.

Marsh noted that her family has benefited from the community’s giving over the last 10 years.

To read the full article click here.

FCC awards nearly $3 million to expand broadband access in Garrett

From The Garrett County Republican

OAKLAND — Nearly $3 million from the Federal Communications Commission will be used over the next decade to expand broadband access to more than 2,450 homes and businesses in Garrett County, Rep. David Trone and U.S. Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Von Hollen recently announced.

“The $2.9 million in FCC funding was not awarded directly to the county,” explained Nataniel Watkins, the chief information officer at the Garrett County Department of Technology and Communications. “It was awarded to Declaration Networks Group. They run the NeuBeam internet service.”

Garrett County government began partnering with the Virginia-based company about four years ago to provide the service, which utilizes television white space to cover areas without broadband.

To read the full article click here.

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