garrett county – Page 73 – Jay's Real Estate Blog

Report shows coal production was up in 2008

Coal association director takes issue with results

Michael A. Sawyers
Cumberland Times-News

CUMBERLAND — Surface mines accounted for 76 percent of the coal produced in Maryland in 2008, according to the 87th Annual Report of the Maryland Bureau of Mines, a document the agency is required to publish to comply with state law.

Allegany County operations accounted for 1,217,805 tons of coal mined from the surface. Another 1,112,086 tons were produced in Garrett County.

Deep mines, all in Garrett County, pumped out 718,652 tons.

The coal production in Maryland’s two westernmost counties was up 619,961 tons from 2007, when 2,428,583 tons were mined.

The problem with the bureau’s report, according to Adrienne Ottaviani, executive director of the Maryland Coal Association, is that it is already a year old.

“Those are 2008 numbers and things have changed a lot since then,” Ottaviani said Wednesday.

Coal production is down and jobs have been lost, Ottaviani claims, blaming federal regulators within the Environmental Protection Agency and the Office of Surface Mining.

“Permits are being held up based upon a multitude of different issues, including the construction of high walls and ground control plans,” she said.

“Between the federal government believing that there is really such a thing as global warming and thinking coal is the culprit, this is not really the season for coal,” Ottaviani said. “They are doing everything they can to stop coal as an energy source. Companies can’t continue to produce coal (as profitably) under the regulations they have.”

Green sources of energy, Ottaviani said, are wonderful, but will never be able to replace the $50,000 to $60,000 per year jobs and fringe benefits generated by coal mining.

Ottaviani said there were 1,300 direct jobs in the Maryland coal mining industry in 2008, but that number has dwindled.

“One problem happened when AES Warrior Run had internal mechanical problems and wasn’t buying and burning our coal for a while. Companies had to lay people off. Fortunately, AES got that worked out and is buying local coal again.”

Ottaviani said AES is the shining example of how coal can be burned with low emissions. “They have the lowest emission level in the state and one of the lowest in the country,” she said. “I have been trying for years to get other power plants to retrofit or consider new construction to achieve those same emission rates.”

The annual report from the state mining agency points out as well that the bureau’s Acid Mine Drainage Section in 2008 spent $32,345 to modify the lime-dosing apparatus at the abandoned McDonald Mine where acid drainage continues to pollute lower Georges Creek.

Another $394,500 was spent on the Aaron Run project, a tributary to the lower Savage River that is being restored with the hope that it will once again be the home to native brook trout.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Long & Foster Real Estate for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Garrett County in need of more 2010 census takers

Commissioners want residents to take advantage of jobs

Megan Miller
Cumberland Times-News

CUMBERLAND — Uncle Sam needs you — to work for the U.S. Census Bureau in 2010.

That’s according to the bureau’s Frederick office, which covers parts of Western Maryland including Allegany and Garrett counties. The office is stepping up its employee recruitment efforts in the two counties, said Patty Cox, a Frederick Census Bureau employee.

“We have recruiters in Allegany and Garrett, but it’s been more challenging to reach people there because it’s such a large area to cover,” Cox said.

In late February or early March the Census Bureau will be hiring temporary employees in the two counties to work as census takers. Beginning in April 2010, the census takers will go into local communities to collect data from households that do not return a census form by mail.

The issue came up briefly during Tuesday’s public meeting of the Garrett County commissioners. The commissioners released a prepared statement about the importance of the decennial census and local census jobs.

“It would be in the best interest of all citizens of the county to take advantage of not only the census count of 2010, but the jobs which will be available in the early spring,” the statement read in part. “Aside from the importance to the county of an accurate census count, these are good-paying opportunities for our citizens.”

Census taker jobs through the Frederick office start at a pay rate of $15.50 per hour. Census takers are also paid for mileage.

About 3.1 million applicants will be needed to fill census-taker jobs nationwide. Census takers work about 20 to 40 hours per week, usually in the evenings and on weekends, according to the Census Bureau Web site. The jobs are temporary and will last through the data-gathering phase of the 2010 census.

The Census Bureau has been recruiting workers since fall 2008 for the earliest stages of census preparation, but fall 2009 saw the beginning of its full-scale recruitment effort for census takers.

Cox said the bureau attempts to hire local people as census takers whenever possible to go out into communities and collect data. All prospective census takers are required to take an exam. That testing is going on now at the One-Stop Career Center in both Allegany and Garrett counties.

Every household should expect to receive a census form in the mail in March 2010. If the completed form isn’t returned by mail, the Census Bureau will mail a reminder to the same address. If the completed form still isn’t returned, a census taker will visit the address to collect the information in person.

The 2010 census form will look a bit different from those used in previous years. All households will receive a short form survey consisting of 10 questions, some of which are repeated to gather information about every person living at that address.

The Census Bureau did away with its long-form questionnaire altogether. Instead, detailed population information is gathered using the American Community Survey, which is sent to a small portion of the U.S. population — about 3 million households — each year.

People interested in applying to work as census takers can contact the Allegany or Garrett County One-Stop Career Center, call the toll-free U.S. Census Bureau jobs line at (866) 861-2010, or go online to 2010censusjobs.gov.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Long & Foster Real Estate for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Cuts create unsafe conditions, reps say

Detention, juvenile centers operating with smaller staffs

Kevin Spradlin
Cumberland Times-News

CUMBERLAND — Representatives of the association responsible for negotiating for six of nine elements of Maryland government workers engaged in “a lively conversation” with all four members of the District 1 legislative delegation on Monday.

Sue Esty, assistant director of the Maryland chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), and Steve Berger, the organization’s Western Maryland representative, gathered with three correctional officers and Ed Shoemake, a resident advisor at Mountain Meadow Youth Center in Grantsville. They stressed during a 90-minute meeting with Sen. George Edwards and delegates Kevin Kelly, LeRoy Myers and Wendell Beitzel that state employees shouldn’t shoulder the load of resolving the state’s budget problems.

There have been enough furloughs and layoffs of state workers. It’s had “serious and tragic consequences for many of AFSCME’s 30,000 members across the state, Esty said.

One female correctional officer said North Branch Correctional Institution has eliminated overtime on her shift and has “collapsed posts” — reducing the number of required officers per shift at certain stations — on certain days of the week. She said the change has created “an unsafe environment for her and her colleagues.

The Times-News has opted not to identify the three correctional officers. Esty said all three feared the possibility of disciplinary action at work.

Berger said NBCI and Western Correctional Institution both are maximum-security facilities but are operated like medium-security facilities in that inmates have access to a gym, an outdoor recreation area and they eat meals with each other.

One male correctional officer said despite budget constraints within the state Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, which oversees all state prisons, programs for inmates have not been reduced.

“There’s a G.E.D. program for inmates with life sentences,” he said.

Shoemake, at Meadow Mountain Youth Center, said policy requires at least one staff person for every six children at the Garrett County facility. In reality, it frequently operates with a radio of 10 children for each of its four employees. Shoemake said he suffered injuries after being involved in an altercation with a child who stood 6-feet, 8-inches tall and weighed 360 pounds.

“I didn’t have staff to back me up, Shoemake said. “You cannot staff that facility with that amount of people” in a facility that never closes.

“Not only am I at risk, but the public’s becoming at risk,” he said.

Esty and Berger offered eight revenue-producing possibilities — including six taxes on alcohol, gasoline, Internet purchases and services such as auto repair that met with something less than enthusiasm from the delegation. The two also suggested using $325 million from the state’s Rainy Day Fund and removing the sunset provision of the “millionaire’s tax” which, they claimed, could generate an additional $100 million.

Kelly said Allegany County is the second poorest county in Maryland and resented efforts to increase taxes on an already burdened constituency.

“Do you support new revenue?” Esty asked Kelly.

Kelly said that every one of Esty’s proposals were a tax on the people.

“I can not think of any (taxes I support) right now,” Kelly said.

Esty argued that the “economy has changed” and the proposed solutions each are “things that are responding to the economy.”

By taxing the services in a service-based society, she said, it could even lead to a lower tax rate.

Edwards countered that the solution can’t simply be to “tax people.” He said the delegation could consider refusing to endorse any new tax ideas without first changing the attitude in Annapolis.

Edwards said a primary goal should be to get lawmakers to consider cutting programs before considering any new taxes. He also said state colleges might have to raise tuition costs instead of freezing rates for a sixth consecutive year.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Long & Foster Real Estate for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Population decreasing in Allegany, Garrett

TINA IRGANG
CNHI News Service

WASHINGTON — Until a few years ago, things were looking up for Western Maryland. A sound national economy and a desire for country living brought workers from Baltimore and Washington to the fringes of the state, causing the demand for domestic and commercial real estate to skyrocket.

But since the beginning of the recession, this trend has reversed. As a lack of job security and the high costs of commuting drive workers closer to urban centers, Western Maryland hopes to strengthen its local economy by embracing green jobs.

Frederick has been the most successful of the western counties in this regard. Its population has grown by 49 percent since 1990.

Frederick’s success is also a product of its proximity to Washington, D.C.

“When D.C.’s doing well, it brings Frederick up with it,” said Anthony Stair, associate professor of economics at Frostburg State University. “You see the growth extend outward. I think it’s also hit Hagerstown a little bit, but it hasn’t gotten to Cumberland yet.”

Between 2006 and 2008, Frederick households had a median income of nearly $80,000, far above the Maryland average of $70,000.

Garrett and Allegany households earned $45,000 and $37,000, respectively. In addition, the Census Bureau reports, about 13 percent of Allegany and Garrett County residents lived below the poverty line.

Development through local green industries could prove a solution to the woes of other western counties, said Andy Moser, assistant secretary at the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. The problem, he said, is that the area is caught in transition.

“Western Maryland was home to a lot of manufacturing,” Moser said. “A lot of these manufacturers have pretty much moved out of that area.” The westernmost counties remain at a disadvantage simply “because they’re farther removed from population centers and major employers.”

But the area’s rural character could also be an asset: Allegany’s and Garrett’s open country lends itself to green technology, such as wind energy.

Moser is optimistic that Western Maryland’s former employers “will be replaced in the future by other ones, but we just haven’t seen it yet.”

So far, it seems the western counties lack incentives to make their residents stay. Garrett County saw a 6 percent population growth during the 1990s, which turned into a net loss after 2000. Allegany County has lost more than 3 percent of its population since 2000.

David Nedved, an economic development representative with the Allegany County government, thinks green technology could be a viable strategy for pulling people and jobs into his county, saying the government has discussed establishing a wind turbine plant in the area.

He also said he hopes Allegany’s low cost of living will continue to lure people away from the urban centers as economic recovery trickles down.

“We are seeing people moving into this area from the more urban areas down state,” Nedved said. “The trouble is we’re in the middle of this huge recession.” In Garrett County, natural resources are key to a local economy based heavily on the hospitality industry, according to Frank Shap, a development specialist with the county.

Over the years, Garrett’s economy was bolstered by second-home owners and retirees attracted by the county’s natural beauty, but the recession has diminished this source of income, said Michael Bello, owner of a photography business in McHenry. “Home building and everything right now is down in Garrett County, like it is everywhere,” Bello said. “That certainly affects everybody’s business. Even the visitors, while they’re still coming, are not spending as much while they’re here.”

As a result, Garrett has worked to diversify its economic portfolio to include specialty manufacturing and green technology. Down the road, Shap hopes, the county’s experience with natural resource extraction will attract the biofuel industry.

Meanwhile, Garrett is investing in its future, Shap said, by providing incentives for the next generation of local workers to stay. Among other things, the county created a special scholarship program at Garrett College that covers tuition and fees for recent Garrett County high school graduates.

“We cannot rely on hospitality alone,” Shap said. “Work force skill development is very important for us to keep our economic growth.”

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Long & Foster Real Estate for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Budget cuts, taxes concerns for Garrett County residents

Kevin Spradlin
Cumberland Times-News

MCHENRY — Don’t mind Joyce Bishoff if she is a bit perplexed.

During a November tourism conference in Ocean City, the interim president of the Garrett County Chamber of Commerce heard Gov. Martin O’Malley state that tourism is the only industry in the state that is showing a return on government’s investment.

Why, then, Bishoff asked Sen. George Edwards and Delegate Wendell Beitzel, would the state Office of Tourism slash Garrett County’s appropriation by 40 percent?

Bishoff said state tourism officials have signaled to her that the remaining 60 percent soon could be unavailable.

“This is causing some severe pains through the tourism industry,” Bishoff asked on Wednesday during the legislative delegation’s pre-legisative session at Garrett College. The two-hour event was coordinated by the local League of Women Voters chapter. Twelve speakers at the meeting discussed a wide range of topics, including tourism, wind turbines, natural gas, emergency services and funding for public education.

Bishoff said a request to the delegation by the Garrett County commissioners to introduce legislation that could lead to an increase in the accommodation tax, which would impact all hotels and beds-and-breakfasts in the county. The commissioners want the ability to increase the tax to up to 8 percent from the current 5 percent rate.

“We will continue our dialogue with the county commissioners as to our reservations,” Bishoff said. “We’re very concerned about raising any taxes. With so many areas of our economy in crisis, I think we need to do what we can do to encourage people to come here and spend their dollars from the city.”

James R. “Smokey” Stanton, chairman of the Garrett County Democratic Central Committee, asked the legislators to reject the commissioners’ request.

Stanton, who is expected to run for the District 1A delegation seat currently occupied by Beitzel, called it “a bad bill” and that area businesses depend on tourism. If rates were to go up, consumers would have a choice of other places such as Ocean City. Stanton said if such a bill is introduced, funds raised from that legislation should not be earmarked for a specific purpose.

“I would suggest that is a really bad idea,” Stanton said.

Representatives of Garrett County vacation rental agencies expressed their displeasure at the proposed legislation during the commissioners’ public meeting with the delegation in Oakland on Nov. 17. Wendy Yoder, county director of finance, said an increase of 1 percent could generate about $300,000 in new revenue.

Edwards said either bill would only permit the county commissioners to consider passing such a rate increase. It would not require them to do so “if they didn’t want to,” Edwards said. Most of the issues discussed during the public forum regarded state and local budgets. Beitzel said some economists have said the current crisis is the worst financial meltdown since the Great Depression. But one key Garrett County industry — coal mining — is at risk despite its economic benefits, Beitzel said.

“I know there’s been a big effort to stop mountaintop removal of coal,” Beitzel said. “We don’t do that in Western Maryland (but) it turns out it may actually apply to all mountaintop mining. Coal has become a dirty, four-letter word, and we really need to fight and defend that industry here in Western Maryland.”

James M. Raley, member of the Garrett County Board of Education, said at the board’s meeting Tuesday, members learned that the board is looking at a decrease in funding from either the state or the county — or possibly both.

Next year, Raley said, the board is looking at a $2 million deficit, and there’s concern that there will be a push in Annapolis to shift the burden of funding teachers’ pensions to county governments. Currently, it is a state responsibility.

“That just compounds (the county’s) problem in regards to funding public education,” Raley said.

Garrett County Commissioner Fred Holliday shared Raley’s concern.

“There is no way we could eat it,” Holliday said. “We’d have to raise taxes. Then the commissioners are the bad guys.”

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Long & Foster Real Estate for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Open Space acquisitions will protect forest land

Board of Public Works also approves local parks,

From Staff Reports
Cumberland Times-News

CUMBERLAND — More than 300 acres in Western Maryland will be protected as a result of Program Open Space property acquisitions and a donation from The Nature Conservancy.

The Maryland Board of Public Works approved the purchase of 299 acres in Allegany and Garrett counties and accepted the nine-acre donation of wooded land with rock outcrops as an addition to Potomac State Forest in Garrett County.

“The Nature Conservancy is delighted, through this donation, to contribute to the state of Maryland’s efforts to protect our outdoor heritage here in Western Maryland,” said Donnelle Keech, Allegany forest project director for The Nature Conservancy of Maryland. “Giving people the firsthand opportunity to enjoy our Maryland forests now is one of the best ways to make sure our children have the same chance in the future.”

The Program Open Space purchase of 244 acres in the Savage River State Forest area southwest of Frostburg for $365,625 contains rare mountain peat land, unusual red spruce forest and sensitive wetlands with numerous state-listed threatened species, according to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

The Allegany County acquisition of 30 acres of forestland and trails for $75,000 is an addition to Green Ridge State Forest that will encompass the forest hiking trail named in honor of retired forest manager Francis Zumbrun, which has received a national trail designation.

“Today’s acquisitions are important as we move toward a sustainable future,” said Gov. Martin O’Malley.

“By approving the nearly 300 acres in Western Maryland and with the help of The Nature Conservancy, we are preserving vital forests and trees, which will continue to help clean our water, air and natural resources.”

The three-member Board of Public Works is comprised of O’Malley as chairman, Treasurer Nancy Kopp and Comptroller Peter Franchot.

The board also approved the following Program Open Space and Community Parks and Playgrounds projects:

• $15,000 to install handicapped-accessible playground equipment at the Barton Little League field and basketball court.

• $25,000 to install a handicapped-accessible playground at Barton Meadow Park.

• $45,000 to construct a concession building, rest room and storage building at the Frostburg Recreational Complex.

• $143,000 to construct a parking area at the Lonaconing Recreation Area and for renovations to the concession/rest room/storage building; upgrades to the baseball field; a new handicapped-accessible playground; and native tree plantings.

• $74,000 to replace an outdated concession stand, rest room/storage building and bleachers in Westernport for the Hot Stove League.

• $8,000 to install safety lighting next to the Grantsville Community Park walking trail and build a gazebo next to the town’s fishing pond and library.

• $88,000 to upgrade the concession stand, picnic area, lifeguard stands, ticket booth and playground equipment at Broadford Lake Recreation Area in Oakland.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Long & Foster Real Estate for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Oakland bypass will affect community forever

To the Editor:
Cumberland Times-News

The Maryland Highway Administration will conduct a public meeting with the Garrett County commissioners in the commissioners’ meeting room on Oct. 2 at 10 a.m.

One of the projects discussed will be the No. 1 priority given to the U.S. Route 219 Oakland bypass by the Garrett County Planning Commission. This highway project has been declared off budget by Gov. O’Malley (declared at a public meeting at Frostburg State University) and also denounced by former Gov. Parris Glendening in correspondence to the writer of this letter.

It appears the planning commission is not listening to the honest opposition to this $42 million-plus abomination that will destroy not only farmland but the downtown business community, rather listening to the developers who are trying to establish a new business district.

If for one moment you think this will be a limited access highway, think again, and drive from Uno’s restaurant on Route 219 along the lake to McHenry and determine how limited that is, and think how many rear-end accidents occur there during the summer months. This bypass will last about 10 minutes at the outset from being limited access.

We ask the planning commission to direct their priorities to state Route 495, a more direct route from the Northern Industrial Park to the Southern Industrial Park. This proposal was made in the Garrett County Comprehensive Plan of 1974 signed by Garrett County commissioners Wayne Hamilton, Don Bender and George Edwards, now Sen. Edwards. The purpose was to divert thru-traffic away from Deep Creek Lake.

We invite everyone with an interest for or against the bypass to attend this meeting and express your views. We also invite each county commissioner to make a public statement as to their individual position. This is extremely important and will affect our community forever.

DeCorsey Bolden

Chairman

Garrett Countians

for Smart Growth

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Long & Foster Real Estate for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Route 219 bypass would relieve traffic congestion

Interesting letter to the editor:

Route 219 bypass would relieve traffic congestion

To the Editor:
Cumberland Times-News

The U.S. Route 219 Bypass around Oakland should’ve been done yesterday! Traffic congestion is terrible!

New businesses are being built, and deliveries have to made, and it’s bad enough for delivery trucks to get through, besides other trucks that have a scheduled delivery to make, but none in Oakland. A few examples include trucks trying to deliver mobile homes, heavy equipment, and roof rafters. With new businesses, perhaps the older ones in town will lower their prices for the full-time residents of the area to afford. Too much is focused on the customers that are visiting at Deep Creek Lake.

Not only is it hard for people to drive through Oakland, but it’s hard for pedestrians to get across the street, and with the bypass, response times for the local fire department will probably be cut. The fire department is in the middle of town. From the map of the proposed bypass, the only real farm that will be lost is not even farmed anymore. In fact, the land that hay and other crops come off of is for sale. If the bypass doesn’t use it, perhaps another business will?

The group that is against the bypass should be called “People Against The Proposed Bypass.” That’s all they focus their attention on. They say nothing about trees around the lake being destroyed to build condominiums, and so on. I wonder if any of them utilize Interstate 68, or do they drive through Friendsville, Grantsville, Frostburg, and so on, if they don’t travel U.S. Route 220 to Cumberland ?

Bill Detrick

Oakland

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Long & Foster Real Estate for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Mortgage Loan Officer Jerry Merrick – BBT Mortgage

One of Deep Creek Lake’s finest lenders:

Mortgage Loan Officer
Jerry Merrick
Deep Creek Lake
21287 Garrett Hwy., Suite 500
Oakland, MD 21550

Office: 301-387-3219 Mobile: 301-616-0037
Fax: 301-387-5393

jmerrick@bbandt.com

-The vision at BB&T Mortgage is to be the Best Home Lender, guided by Integrity, Fairness, and a Caring Enthusiasm
-Specializing in World Standard Client Service
-Enabling our clients to achieve economic success and financial security through homeownership

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Category: garrett county

Report shows coal production was up in 2008

Garrett County in need of more 2010 census takers

Cuts create unsafe conditions, reps say

Population decreasing in Allegany, Garrett

Budget cuts, taxes concerns for Garrett County residents

Open Space acquisitions will protect forest land

Oakland bypass will affect community forever

Route 219 bypass would relieve traffic congestion

Mortgage Loan Officer Jerry Merrick – BBT Mortgage

My Location

Deep Creek Media

Stay Connected