‘With remorse’ Garrett County superintendent suggests school closings
Elaine Blaisdell Cumberland Times-News
OAKLAND — Garrett County’s interim superintendent of schools recommended Tuesday that Dennett Road and Kitzmiller elementary schools be closed due to a lack of state funding.
“We don’t have any wiggle room in the budget. I am a proponent of small schools and I agree that it takes a community to raise a child. This is definitely an emotional issue,” said Sue Waggoner, who said it was “with remorse” that she made the decision.
House Bill 660 and Senate Bill 586, proposed by Delegates Wendell Beitzel, Kevin Kelly and LeRoy Myers Jr. and Sen. George Edwards passed in the Senate but failed in the House, according to Waggoner.
“It is unprecedented. Who would have believed that the legislature would adjourn without passing it,” said Waggoner, who said she wasn’t sure if lawmakers would return for a special session to hash out budget differences. “I’m still hopeful things can change.”
The county stands to lose $1.5 million in state assistance in fiscal year 2012 and that number is projected to be $2.5 million in FY 2013.
The board will vote on the recommendation at a special meeting on April 24 at 7 p.m. Public comment will be taken before the vote.
The proposed bill would have limited the board’s losses in state funding to 5 percent for the next three years. If the bill would have passed, it would have capped losses at $1.5 million.
In closing Dennett Road and Kitzmiller, it will save the board $1.2 million and $279,000 respectively, according to Waggoner. However, the board would have to add $170,750 in unemployment compensation to its budget.
There was no public comment on the school closing recommendation.
Contact Elaine Blaisdell at eblaisdell@times-news.com.
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Adventure Sports Center International Now Part Of Garrett Co. Government
Mar. 29, 2012
It’s official. Garrett County government has taken ownership of the Adventure Sports Center International (ASCI). The county commissioners announced their decision during a press conference Tuesday morning at the courthouse. Their vote to accept the deed, operations, facilities, assets, and a portion of the man-made whitewater course’s debt was unanimous.
Effective March 27, the Marsh Mountain center is an agency/department of Garrett County government.
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About 50 local residents were on hand for the announcement, with many voicing their objections to the acquisition.
“I think you bought a white elephant,” Oakland area resident Steven Friend told the commissioners.
Mountain Lake Park mayor Leo Martin said he thought the commissioners made a bad decision.
“It’s going to put us in a mess for years,” Martin said.
ASCI Inc.’s board of directors, a nonprofit corporation, offered full title to all of its facilities to the commissioners on Jan. 5. But the offer included a $3 million debt. The board had borrowed the money from First United Bank & Trust and Susquehanna Bank to cover unexpected costs during the construction of the facility. ASCI became operational in 2007 through public (federal/state/county) and private funds amounting to about $24 million.
“Since that date (Jan. 5), the county has considered the ASCI offer, reviewed all information available to the county concerning ASCI’s facilities, its assets, its liabilities, its current and long-term value to the county and the community, and has consulted with ASCI’s financial partners,” Commissioner Gregan Crawford said.
He said the two banks agreed to accept the assignment of debt in the sum of $600,000 in full satisfaction of ASCI’s debt obligations. Crawford called the banks’ offer a “generous” opportunity to resolve the debt issue.
“Based upon the ASCI offer and with the assistance of the financial institutions, the county has agreed to terms with the ASCI board of directors, which will permit the county to operate ASCI,” he said.
The $600,000 will be split between the two banks and will come from the county budget’s general fund. The fund will be replenished through the local hotel/motel tax. The current tax rate is 5 percent, with the revenue allocated to the Garrett County Chamber of Commerce and Garrett County Department of Economic Development. In fiscal year 2011, the tax garnered $1.3 million for the county.
Local lawmakers introduced legislation in this year’s General Assembly session that would allow the commissioners to increase the tax to 6 percent.
The commissioners indicated in a press release that questions have been raised about the commissioners appropriating additional funds to prevent three elementary schools from closing.
“[The] accommodations tax cannot be used to fund the school system, so there will be no funding conflict,” Crawford said.
The commissioners stressed the importance of preserving taxpayers’ investment in ASCI and its economic potential to the county.
Since ASCI is a nonprofit, Crawford said, the county is one of the few institutions that could have stepped in and assumed ownership and control of the center.
Several residents asked the commissioners how they expected to be successful running the center when the ASCI board was not. Commissioner Jim Raley said the board could not make it profitable and pay down its debt at the same time.
“Once the debt is resolved, ASCI can begin to concentrate more of its resources on its core functions and end the preoccupation surrounding the debt solution,” Crawford said. “Because public funds were used, I firmly believe that we have a responsibility to make it succeed. The easy way out would be to turn our backs and walk away and watch $24 million of capital costs slip away. But whose interest would that serve then?”
Not counting the debt service, Commissioner Bob Gatto said, ASCI is able to cover its operations and labor costs, plus make a very small profit.
“We want to grow the facility,” Gatto said, noting that the center’s 550-acre Fork Run area could be used year-round for educational and recreational purposes. In addition to rafting, ASCI also offers rock climbing and mountain biking.
ASCI will open for the 2012 season on April 28. Crawford noted that 90 events are planned, including the SavageMan Triathalon and the Maryland Open Canoe and Kayak Championships. He indicated that educational opportunities for school children and college students will continue to grow, as well as international exposure. The International Canoe Federation will hold its world championships at ASCI in 2014.
“We cannot allow ourselves to give up on this project,” Raley said about ASCI. “I think this project is still in its infancy. I think we can grow this project, and I think if you work with us we can make that happen.”
But improvements to ASCI operations are needed, he indicated.
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Garrett tech firm continues to grow
2012 — One of the best local economic development success stories can be found in Garrett County where GCC Technologies continues to grow.
The firm started in 2007 on the Garrett College campus with 17 employees. Today it has more than 200 workers, including 100 it recruited from Garrett County. Jobs range from senior business analyst to information technology specialist.
GCC provides a wide range of technical and support services, including information technology, acquisition management, contract management, program management, training, studies and analysis and administrative support,
Last week, the Garrett County government announced it had sold its Maryland Economic Development Corp. building at the Southern Garrett Business and Technology Park to GCC for $1.15 million. Jim Hinebaugh, the county’s economic development director, called the transaction and the firm’s success a “big deal” that is “a great model for economic development in a rural area.”
The 30,000-square foot building was sold for the same price paid by the county when it purchased the building from MEDCO in December, according to Monty Pagenhardt, county administrator. The county will use the money to pay off the loan it made to purchase the building.
Jim Bailey, managing member and president of GCC, said his firm is offering the most competitive salaries found in Garrett County, along with a good employee benefits package. He said the county’s support in helping the start-up operation was one of the keys to the success.
At a time when we hear so much disappointing economic news, it is refreshing to see a business like GCC flourish here in Western Maryland. Their hard work and success, and the support received from Garrett County and state government, are commendable.
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Garrett robotics team gets top honors at Ohio event
Students win Chairman’s Award; invited to world championship in St. Louis
For the Cumberland Times-News Cumberland Times-News
2012 — OAKLAND — Garrett County’s High School FIRST Robotics Competition GaCo Team 1629 received top honors at the FIRST Buckeye Regional Robotics Competition in Cleveland.
The event was held last weekend at Cleveland State University’s Wolstein Center. Garrett County was the only Maryland team competing at the Ohio competition.
During the three-day event, team members competed with 58 other teams from surrounding states.
Teams were judged in many areas in addition to how well their robot placed during the competition, including robot control and design awards, team imagery, spirit and community impact.
Of the awards, Team 1629 received the Chairman’s Award, the most prestigious award that FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) offers in their regional competitions.
In addition to winning the Chairman’s Award, the team’s robot was the eighth-seeded robot after competing in 10 qualification matches that earned the team the right to compete in elimination rounds and survived to the semi-final matches before being eliminated at the Buckeye Regional.
The team receiving the Chairman’s Award, in view of the judges, is the team that best exemplifies the mission of FIRST. The FIRST mission is to change the way young people regard science and technology and to inspire an appreciation
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Lawmakers poised to give officials wind farm regulatory power
House advances Garrett legislation
Elaine Blaisdell Cumberland Times-News
2012 — OAKLAND — The Maryland House of Delegates Economic Matters Committee has advanced a bill that would give the Garrett County commissioners the authority to enact ordinances relating to setbacks and the decommissioning of wind turbines, according to a news release.
“This is a very large step towards providing some safeguards for the citizens of Garrett County,” Delegate Wendell Beitzel said.
The companion measure to H.B. 747, sponsored by Sen. George Edwards, has been unanimously approved by the Senate. The two legislators have sponsored measures to give local governments authority to regulate wind turbines during the past several sessions. However, this is the first time that the House Economic Matters Committee and the Senate Finance Committee have approved the measures relating to Garrett County.
“Senator Edwards and I sought to put these protections in place prior to windmill development on Garrett County’s mountaintops. With passage of this bill, the commissioners will have authority to establish setback and decommissioning provisions for wind turbine projects. I applaud my colleagues for recognizing the need for this very important legislation,” said Beitzel.
Both measures must now be approved by the House and Senate by midnight April 9, when the 2012 legislative session ends.
During the Draft Land Management Ordinance work session in March, the county commissioners discussed an ordinance that would call for wind turbine setbacks of 2,000 feet from a residence, church, school or other occupied structure and 1,000 feet from a property line. The draft ordinance also addressed a decommissioning agreement requirement.
A third Draft Land Management Ordinance work session will be held April 10 at 10 a.m.
The two proposed wind turbine projects at St. John’s Rock and Four Mile Ridge are progressing. Eleven agreements have been recorded and executed with property owners for wind turbines on the St. John’s Rock ridge, according to Jim Torrington, chief of the Garrett County Permits and Inspections Division. In February, a metrological tower permit was issued to Synergics Wind Energy LLC for a tower along St. John’s Rock Road. Synergics has proposed 24 wind turbines.
The next step in the county permitting process would be a grading permit, according to Torrington, who noted that for the first wind project (Roth Rock) it took Synergics 18 months to get a grading permit. However, since Synergics has already been through the process, Torrington thinks that the process will be smoother and take less time. Gestamp Wind North America of Houston now owns the Roth Rock project.
Contact Elaine Blaisdell at eblaisdell@times-news.com
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Victims Recovering After Freak Crash At Derby Fundraiser
Mar. 29, 2012
Several individuals who were hurt in a freak accident on Saturday, March 17, at the Bear Claw Tubing Park of Wisp Resort are reportedly all recovering from their injuries. The accident happened during the annual Cardboard Box Derby, a fundraiser hosted by the Deep Creek Lake Lions Club that benefits that group’s Blind Skier Program.
The event, this year with the theme of “Beachin’ Weekend,” involved 31 entries, and had proceeded with no problems until near the end of the contest.
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According to a spokesperson for Wisp, one of the last entries in the field, registered as the “Dragon Wagon,” started down the designated lane of the tubing park. It was carrying 14 individuals, a mix of adults and minors.
It descended approximately halfway down the lane, and then veered out of lane #2 and crossed into lane #1. It traveled approximately 30 yards in tubing lane #1 before leaving the snow surface. The Dragon Wagon then collided with metal pipes that support a snow-making machine. The pipes were protected by four 55-gallon plastic barriers.
The spokesperson said the impact caused the occupants to forcefully collide with each other, and some were ejected out of the vessel. Two children were taken by helicopter to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, W.Va., and five others left the premises by ambulance.
“All injured individuals were attended to and were en route to area hospitals within 45 minutes after the incident occurred,” the spokesperson said.
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EGG-xtravaganza Planned By FIRST Robotics Team
Mar. 29, 2012
FIRST Robotics Team 1629 will hold a fundraising event on Saturday, April 7, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Garrett County Fairground parking lot, located off Mosser Road, McHenry.
The event will feature science and technology based activities that are all centered around eggs. Activities will include an egg chucking competition (for distance), egg painting using LEGO machines, LEGO egg jousting vehicles, a geocached egg hunt, and many more egg-based activities.
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Team 1629 will provide all materials needed, including GPS units, with the exception of the egg chucking contestants, who will need to bring their pre-built egg chucking machines. All egg chuckers must be within a 30x30x30 inch volume for the entire launch sequence and may not use combustibles or compressed air. Mechanical devices such as slingshots, catapults, and trebuchets are allowable as long as they conform to the sizing restrictions. Hard boiled eggs will be used for the competition and will be provided at the event.
Exact times and rules for all activities can be found online at www.team1629.com.
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On A March
On a march to Arlington from his home in Columbus, Ohio, a distance of 400 miles, is 23-year-old U.S. Marine veteran Justin Kuhel, who passed through Garrett County on Monday and is pictured above along Fingerboard Road. Kuhel is making the journey to raise both awareness and money for the Wounded Warriors Project, a non-profit organization with a mission to assist and support injured military service members. He enlisted in the U.S. Marines one day after graduating from high school and subsequently served with the Second Battalion Eighth Marines Scout Sniper Platoon in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He was honorably discharged in the fall of 2010 and is now a member of the Inactive Marine Reserves.
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“I was one of the lucky ones who came back uninjured,” Kuhel said, “but a lot of my friends either did not come back or came back with significant injuries. I decided I needed to do something to support them.” Kuhel has a goal of raising $10,000, and on Monday noted that he had raised over $7,000 toward that goal. He plans to arrive at Arlington National Cemetery no later than next Monday. Kuhel is currently in a paramedic training course, with plans of possibly pursuing a nursing degree. Persons who wish to make a donation can do so online by going to the following web site and following the prompts: www.facebook.com/marchtoarlington.
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New Md. poll reveals caution on fracking
Matthew Bieniek Cumberland Times-News
2012 — CUMBERLAND — A new poll shows a strong majority of Marylanders favor a cautious approach on the use of fracking to drill for natural gas in the Marcellus shale in the western portion of the state.
The poll contrasts sharply with previous industry-funded polls on natural gas drilling, and there’s a reason for that, said Mike Tidwell, director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network.
“The message Maryland voters are sending is that second chances are rare and expensive,” Tidwell said. Pennsylvania is now trying to do studies after permitting drilling.
“We want to do the opposite in Maryland,” he said. Citizens want the industry to pay for the studies, Tidwell said.
“I haven’t seen an industry-funded poll that asked Maryland voters about contaminated water … water quality or the concerns people in Pennsylvania have experienced over fracking,” Tidwell said.
In fact, one of the reasons his organization commissioned the poll by OpinionWorks was to combat the impression given by the industry polls. “We felt there was a gap,” he said.
The industry polls avoided questions about fracking or the chemicals used in fracking.
“There are no such things as perfect energy resources,” Tidwell said. “The gas industry only wants to ask you, ‘Do you want jobs, money and royalties?’”
Fundamentally, the results show Marylanders want to have studies done before any drilling in Marcellus shale begins.
In Western Maryland, 65 percent of voters also answered yes to the question on studies.
The poll only asked two questions, the first was: “Do you think the state of Maryland should or should not conduct studies to develop what are known as ‘best practices’ guidelines — including environmental protection guidelines — for energy companies to follow before permitting hydraulic fracturing when drilling for natural gas in Maryland?”
This question brought a 71 percent “yes” response, according to the poll results.
The second poll question was: “If such studies were required, should the energy companies or the taxpayers pay for them?” That question brought an 81 percent “yes” response, according to the poll results.
“Any numbers this high are rare,” Tidwell said. “Policymakers and reform advocates say the polling numbers show that the Maryland state Senate should follow the House of Delegates lead and immediately pass HB 1204 to fund safety studies related to fracking for gas,” a press release from the network said.
“This poll confirms what I’ve heard in every corner of the state — that from Baltimore City to Deep Creek Lake — Marylanders overwhelmingly support our go-slow approach to fracking,” said Delegate Heather Mizeur, sponsor of House Bill 1204.
The legislation to fund fracking studies passed by a wide majority in the House last week. “Taxpayers deserve the peace of mind that comes from scientific review of this controversial drilling practice and they shouldn’t be stuck footing the bill to pay for it,” said Mizeur.
“The results of the oll showed significant support for studies to develop fracking guidelines among every voter subgroup — including Republicans. Sixty-seven percent of Republicans and 74 percent of Democrats supported conducting studies,” the press release stated.
The poll had a 4 percent margin of error.
º“Education regarding shale development is a slow process due to the diverse range of issues involved,” said CitizenShale.org President Eric Robison. “Nationally and statewide, the awareness has grown mainly due to concerns about drinking water. Why should Eastern Marylanders be concerned? The answer is that some of their drinking water originates in headwaters in Pennsylvania, where regulations have been lacking. Maryland needs to address not just water quality, but air quality and environmental concerns — to name but a few of the issues voiced nationally.”
The total value of the natural gas in Allegany County’s Marcellus shale could be close to $15.72 billion, with the average well earning $65,000 to $524,000 yearly, University of Maryland Extension staff has said.
Contact Matthew Bieniek at mbieniek@times-news.com.
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House approves 7.5 percent natural gas tax
Opponents of rate cap amendment: It isn’t enough money to provide regulatory oversight
Associated Press
2012 — BALTIMORE — House lawmakers Monday night passed a 7.5 percent state severance tax on natural gas in a 82-51 vote, after delegates on Saturday fended off an amendment from Delegate Wendell Beitzel, R-Garrett, that would cap state and local taxes on natural gas extraction at 7.5 percent combined.
“The amendment would incorporate all severance taxes,” Beitzel said. “Local, county and state taxes together could not exceed 7.5 percent.”
Garrett County currently has a severance tax of 5.5 percent, which means the state could assess a severance tax of only 2 percent under Beitzel’s amendment. Allegany County’s severance tax of 7 percent would limit the state’s share to just 0.5 percent.
Higher rates were needed to enforce regulations, proponents say.
Delegate Maggie McIntosh, D-Baltimore City, chair of the House Environmental Matters Committee and a sponsor of the severance tax, said applying different rates to every county would create administrative problems. She also said the 7.5 percent cap Beitzel proposed would not provide enough money for the regulatory oversight needed to protect human health and the environment.
“Limiting the state to .05 percent would be wrong,” McIntosh said. “It’s going to be the state that’s called for environmental cleanup and for other kinds of issues that happen … when drilling begins.”
McIntosh suggested that Garrett and Allegany counties could lower their severance taxes to make the tax more “reasonable” to gas companies.
The 7.5 percent tax was amended down from 15 percent by the House Ways and Means Committee on March 20 by a vote of 16-5.
The severance tax is primarily aimed at Marcellus shale exploration, which requires the process of hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” to free gas trapped in shale formations deep in the Earth’s surface. But the 7.5 percent severance tax will also apply to conventional gas wells that are not drilled using the fracking method.
Fracking has been blamed for contamination of groundwater in Pennsylvania and New York over the last decade, where Marcellus Shale exploration has been the most active.
New York placed a moratorium on fracking three years ago until it could be regulated. Lawmakers there are now poised to lift the moratorium.
Delegate Kevin Kelly, D-Allegany, was concerned that a 7.5 percent state severance tax on top of local taxes would scare away natural gas exploration to neighboring states that charge a much lower severance tax — or none at all.
Pennsylvania has no severance tax and West Virginia recently passed a severance tax of 5 percent.
“I think you should have a severance tax that helps cover the costs of (oversight),” McIntosh responded — pointing to problems with shale drilling in New York and Pennsylvania.
She said the gas companies would still come to Western Maryland, even with the 7.5 percent state severance tax.
Beitzel’s amendment failed by a vote of 43-78.
Marcellus shale drilling could begin as early as August 2014 after the study is complete.
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