Monday, September 29, 2014
Mike Fortier, Robert Lang & Associated Press
Some of the high-profile new laws approved in Maryland this year will take effect on Wednesday. Here are some of the most prominent.
Read More Here: http://wbal.com/article/110059/3/top-things-to-know-about-new-laws-taking-effect-wednesday
Monday – 9/8/2014, 5:10pm ET
CUMBERLAND, Md. (AP) — The Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services is proposing a third state prison near Cumberland.
The Cumberland Times-News (http://bit.ly/1pIqDmg ) reported Monday that Secretary Gregg Hershberger outlined the $15 million project in an email to local state legislators.
Hershberger says the 140-bed, minimum-security facility would be built between North Branch Correctional Institution and Western Correctional Institution in Crespatown, south of Cumberland. Each of those maximum-security prisons houses more than 1,300 inmates.
Read more: http://wtop.com/41/3697665/Md-planning-third-Cumberland-area-prison#ixzz3CpiyxeYC
Ms. United States 2014, Crystal Rush, will be the Grand Marshal of Garrett County’s 47th annual Autumn Glory Festival Grand Feature Parade on Saturday, October 11. Crystal will be featured in the annual Grand Feature parade, sponsored by My Bank! First United Bank & Trust, which begins at 1 pm in Oakland on Saturday, October 11th.
Crowned in July 2014, Crystal will serve as Ms. United States for one year, which will include hundreds of official appearances, including staring on a televised reality show, modeling in national print ads and television commercials, and appearing as a headline model in New York and South Beach Fashion Weeks. She will also take part in numerous charity events, with her platforms Foster Care, Autism and Mental Health: End the Stigma. Crystal grew up in Garrett County. Her grandparents are Grace Rush of Friendsville and the late Deane Rush of Friendsville. Her father is Dana Rush of McHenry and Cindy Lamastra of Bethany Beach, Delaware. Crystal was recently signed as a model for New York MMG modeling agency and works as a pageant coach. She is a former Baltimore Ravens Playmaker. More information about Crystal is available at www.msunitedstates.com.
Read More Here: http://deepcreektimes.com/news.asp
Oakland took top honors as the best town in America for leaf-peeping, thanks primarily to the blazing colors found just nine miles north of town at Swallow Falls State Park. As the Youghiogheny River flows through rock gorges, the oldest stands of eastern hemlock and white pine—more than 360 years old—blanket the area in gold, orange, and red. For five days in early October, residents turn out for the annual Autumn Glory Festival, including two parades, concerts, and band competitions. Oakland also embraces the Halloween spirit, hosting a hayride along the lakefront that passes scenes of zombies and ghosts.
Read More Here: http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/americas-best-towns-for-fall-colors/2
Posted: Aug 24, 2014 7:42 AM EDT
A man walked and biked over 300 miles across Maryland to raise money
for kids with cancer.
Justin Berk started last week at the top of mountain of the Wisp Ski Resort at Deep Creek Lake Maryland. He finished 312 miles later in Ocean City, MD yesterday. He dedicated each day to one “Cool Kids'” child who has either survived or is battling cancer.
Berk was 14 when he nearly lost one of his legs to a staph infection. This week long journey was a way for him to commemorate his hard battle at such a young age.
Read More Here: http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/26355817/man-walks-from-deep-creek-lake-to-ocean-city-md
Tuesday, August 12th:
The Annual Western Maryland Amateur is a stroke play event open to all male amateurs and is played over 54 holes. There is a “cut” after Saturday’s round combining the 2 day gross scores, with the low 30 players and ties competing in the Championship flight on Sunday, while all others not making the “cut’ will be flighted for play on Sunday. The 3 day total score is used to determine the winners in all of the flights. All players making the championship flight are guaranteed to receive a prize.
We also have a senior division with 3 age flights for those 55 & older as of the tournament date. Other events include “Closest to the Pins” on Friday & Saturday sponsored by the Women’s Golf Association. A practice round is included on Thursday with an option 2 man Best Ball Tournament with prizes being determined by the number of participants.
Read More Here: http://www.golfatoakland.com/western-maryland-amateur-tournament/
Matthew Bieniek
CUMBERLAND — A conference committee has approved $464,103 in additional funding for the Garrett County Public School system for the coming year, said Sen. George Edwards on Wednesday morning.
Both the House and Senate committee members have agreed on the figure, so Edwards expects passage in the final budget. Edwards and Del. Wendell Beitzel are members of the committee. The cash-strapped school system has been forced to consider school closures in the past few years.
“This should be very helpful to the school system and we are still waiting for the legislation introduced by both Delegate Beitzel and I to pass that would help the county out financially until the wealth study is completed,” Edwards said.
A study of the wealth formula is planned to begin in the fall of 2014 and is slated to be complete in 2016. The existing state funding formula can hit school districts with declining student populations hard.
“At the rate we have been impacted by the wealth formula … any help we can get from the state is appreciated,” said Janet Wilson, Garrett County superintendent of schools. The money will help the system move forward and restore some services that have been lost. Wilson mentioned both intervention services and middle school art and music programs. The idea “we don’t have to look at cutting teaching staff or closing schools is a huge relief,” Wilson said. Plans to close additional schools recently were averted when Garrett County commissioners injected additional funding into the school system.
School funding is also an economic development matter, Wilson said, since companies are concerned about the stability of school systems in areas to which they might locate. The idea of schools being closed year after year makes an area a hard sell, Wilson said.
One cost item often overlooked is the sparse population and large land area of the county, which adds to costs for the school system, Wilson said.
Edwards and Beitzel have introduced bills that would help school districts facing a drop in state funding. Edwards’ bill passed the Senate, without a single vote against the bill, and is now in the House.
The school funding bill is designed to help school districts facing decreases in state aid because of declining student enrollment, such as Garrett County. Allegany County has faced a similar problem in the past.
The bill mandates the state to supplement shortfalls in the state aid formula. “For fiscal years 2015 through 2017, if a county board’s total direct education aid in the current fiscal year is less than the prior fiscal year, then the state shall provide a grant to the county board equal to 50 percent of the decrease in total direct education aid from the prior fiscal year to the current fiscal year,” according to the language of SB 534.
The state budget provides $1.7 million in aid for affected districts in fiscal 2015, according to a floor report on the bill by the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee.
BALTIMORE, Md. (WUSA9) — Maryland officials have awarded funds to organizations from Garrett County to Talbot County so they can help victims of sexual assault.
$287,702 worth of funds have been awarded by the Governor’s Office of Crime Control & Prevention (GOCCP), through the Sexual Assault Services Formula Grant Program (SASP), officials said. This program is the first federal funding stream solely dedicated to the provision of direct intervention and related assistance for victims of sexual assault.
Matthew Bieniek
CUMBERLAND — Two bills that will impact education policy and finances in Western Maryland have won important votes, with time running out for passage of legislation in the General Assembly.
One bill would help school districts facing a drop in state funding and the other would remove an ex officio position from the Allegany and Garrett County boards of education.
The ex officio bill passed the House of Delegates 137-0 Friday. The Senate version of the bill, which passed 47-0, is already in the House.
On Thursday, the Ways and Means Committee gave the House version of the school funding bill a favorable recommendation. It’s not unusual to have bills filed in both houses of the legislature.
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