Area Leaders Voice Concerns At "Stop The Shift" Press Conference
Mar. 1, 2012
The Garrett County commissioners joined the Allegany County commissioners at a “Stop the Shift” press conference in Cumberland on Tuesday. About 50 people attended the event, which took place at the Allegany County Office Complex.
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Spearheaded by the Maryland Association of Counties (MACo), similar press conferences took place across the state on Monday and Tuesday to give local leaders an opportunity to voice their concerns about Gov. Martin O’Malley’s Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act of 2012 (BRFA).
The House Appropriations Committee, House Ways and Means Committee, and the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee held public hearings in Annapolis this week on BRFA.
A major component of the budget that concerns MACo is the governor’s proposal to “shift” teacher pension liability from the state to county governments. Effective July 1, 2013, jurisdictions would pay for half of the combined cost of teachers’ Social Security and pension costs. Currently, counties only pay for the Social Security portion, which is about one-third of the total pension cost.
“Counties are maxed out,” Commissioner Jim Raley said at the Cumberland conference. “Enough is enough. Citizens, please get involved in this issue. It is critical, as if the pension shift occurs, it will certainly cut jobs, close schools, and devastate communities.”
Raley noted that last year Garrett County “absorbed” a state cut of approximately $1.5 million to education, thus placing the local appropriation higher than the state appropriation for the first time ever.
“The $1.7 million that Garrett County contributed last year allowed for the schools to continue to operate and work toward a solution to this ongoing problem,” Raley said. “This year, our loss will be approximately $2.7 million in state aid to education and, coupled with the county loss of revenue of approximately $2 million and a potential of having to absorb pensions for education employees, creates a large budget shortfall. In the current year, Garrett County government is contributing $850,000 over maintenance of effort to our schools.”
According to Del. Wendell Beitzel, the governor’s proposed budget includes certain offsets to the teacher retirement shift by way of a disparity grant; however, the total shift for FY 2013 alone would cost Garrett County government $276,240 and Allegany County $554,075.
“The disparity grant is set to expire, and then the local jurisdictions have the entire burden,” Betizel noted in his weekly e-mail to constituents.
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2 could join rural counties coalition
Matthew Bieniek Cumberland Times-News
CUMBERLAND — A coalition formed to represent the interests of rural counties and their residents is poised for expansion beyond the confines of the group’s origin in Western Maryland.
Cecil and Somerset counties could join the coalition of Allegany, Carroll, Frederick and Washington counties.
Garrett County commissioners decided not to join the coalition when it was formed late last year.
“We met with those folks and it was a good meeting,” said Cecil County Commission President James T. Mullin.
Mullin said Cecil commissioners met with Frederick County Commissioner Blaine Young and others.
His fellow commissioners reached a consensus and plan to take a formal vote on joining The Maryland Rural Counties Coalition at their Tuesday meeting, Mullin said.
Mullin said he thought the consensus was “unanimous.”
While the four initial members of the coalition pitched in to hire a pair of lobbyists, Mullin said he didn’t believe joining in that effort is a prerequisite to joining the coalition.
Allegany County Commission President Michael McKay said Somerset County is also interested in joining the coalition.
Somerset County commission staff confirmed the matter was up for discussion at a meeting last week but that it was tabled. McKay said his understanding was that Somerset County did not have a quorum at its last meeting so a vote was delayed.
McKay and Young have volunteered to be missionaries of a sort for the organization and will travel to meet with any county’s commissioners who might be interested in joining the organization.
The coalition’s key issues are PlanMaryland, laws relating to septic systems and watershed implementation plans for the Clean Water Act.
The coalition recently held a reception for legislators in Annapolis.
“I think that with it being a new organization, to have 50 senators and delegates show up, it was a good cross-section of the General Assembly, including Democrats and Republicans,” McKay said at the time.
Many of the legislators who attended the reception were from outside Western Maryland, McKay said.
The coalition has already made an impact by persuading the Maryland Association of Counties to support House Bill 121.
The bill would amend the state constitution and require funds designated for Chesapeake Bay cleanup to be actually used for that purpose.
The decision was historic, McKay said, because initially, MACo staff had recommended the organization take no position on the bill.
That all changed after lobbying by the coalition to support the bill and MACo officials testified in favor of it, McKay said.
Contact Matthew Bieniek at mbieniek@times-news.com
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Industry study says Maryland could be home to 365 natural gas wells, employ more than 1,800
ALEX DOMINGUEZ Associated Press
First Posted: March 01, 2012 – 4:45 pm
Last Updated: March 01, 2012 – 4:46 pm
BALTIMORE — Western Maryland could be home to 365 natural gas wells that employ more than 1,800 people, according to a study an industry group released Thursday.
The study released by the Maryland Petroleum Council estimates the wells would produce gas for 30 years, and more than $200 million in revenue for the state, about $160 million for Garrett County and $65 million for Allegany County over that period.
“The fiscal impact from this will be simply enormous, particularly at the local government level,” said Anirban Basu, chairman and CEO of the Sage Policy Group, a Baltimore economic and policy consulting firm that prepared the study.
However, Basu noted the figures were estimates based on gas prices that can vary. Drilling is also expected to create a wide variety of jobs, noting about 420 people in 150 occupations are needed to bring a single well online.
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Shale gas in Maryland impacts two counties enormously: study
Washington (Platts)–1Mar2012/506 pm EST/2206 GMT
An industry-funded study of the economic impact of drilling for shale gas in Maryland’s westernmost two counties found that production would create 1,814 permanent jobs by 2025 and contribute $441 million in tax revenues to the state and Garrett and Allegany counties.
“The fiscal impact will be enormous, particularly at the county level,” Sage Policy Group CEO Anirban Basu said in a conference call Thursday.
Garrett and Allegany counties collect 5.5% severance taxes on gas production. Basu estimated that the state of Maryland would enact a 2% severance tax.
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The Republican Newspaper Marks 135 Years Of Operation March 3
Mar. 1, 2012
Today’s issue of The Republican newspaper begins its 136th year of existence, having been founded on March 3, 1877, by Capt. James Hayden. A veteran of the Union Army in the Civil War, he named the paper in honor and in memory of President Abraham Lincoln, who had been assassinated just 12 years prior. Hayden’s descendants still reside in Mountain Lake Park.
Benjamin Hinkle (known by most as “B.H.”) Sincell purchased the publishing company in 1890, and printed his first issue of The Republican on his 21st birthday.
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Sincell operated the company, producing the newspaper and managing a general printing shop, until his death in 1947. His son, Donald R. Sincell (“Mose”), general manager, and his brother-in-law, George H. Hanst, editor, took over the business at that time, along with B.H.’s widow, Lillian “Tay” Sincell and his grandson, Robert Benjamin Sincell.
Robert’s son Donald W. Sincell became the editor in 1978. In the 135-year history of The Republican newspaper, there have been just four editors: Hayden, B.H. Sincell, George Hanst, and the current editor, Don Sincell. Ownership remains in the Sincell family, with five family members on the staff.
The Sincell Publishing Company Inc. employs 26 people, and operates a satellite office in Grantsville. The paper is published each Thursday. To the best knowledge of the company owners, a week has not passed without publication since the paper’s beginning. So today’s issue should be the 7,021st Republican printed.
The commercial shop was initiated by B.H., who did most of that work by himself for many years, printing business cards and stationary and many other items for area businesses and individuals. He slowly added staff members over the years, including his son Mose, who worked in the commercial shop his entire career, and who was followed in that position by his son Robert (“Bob”), who remained there until his death in 2003.
The shop continues to operate, producing printed materials, such as posters, tickets, brochures, invitations, stationary, business cards, posters, and others items.
The newspaper has a circulation of approximately 11,000, combining the 9,500 mailed papers and the 1,455 online subscriptions. The paper is mailed to virtually every state in the country, and is viewed online internationally every week.
The web site address for the newspaper is www.therepublicannews.com. It is a paid site, with a fee of $9.95 per year to view a wide range of items from the hard copy of the newspaper.
As newspapers struggle nationally in the rapidly changing publishing world, The Republican faces its challenges as well, according to the company’s owners. The explosion of the Internet, the woes of the U.S. Postal Service, and the recent difficult economy have definitely affected Sincell Publishing, but the paper remains an important and vital part of community life in Garrett County, and the staff is dedicated to maintaining that role.
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Study: Natural gas could mean big bucks for state
Friday, March 02, 2012
Study: Natural gas could mean big bucks for state
Evaluation of potential health impact still on table
by Margie Hyslop, Staff Writer
Maryland would reap about $441 million over 30 years in severance taxes if natural gas is extracted from the Marcellus shale formation under the state’s two westernmost counties, according to a study released Thursday by the Maryland Petroleum Council.
“It should be noted that our estimates are pretty conservative,” said Anirban Basu, an economist whose Sage Policy Group conducted the study.
That estimate — which includes about $214 million in revenue for the state, $162 million for Garrett County and $65 million for Allegany County — assumes that Maryland approves drilling and that the industry decides it is worth tapping about 710.1 billion cubic feet of reserves estimated to be available thousands of feet below the two counties.
Depending on whether low or high production is allowed, the state and two counties stand to gain $242.1 million to $642 million from severance taxes. The taxes are based on a 2 percent state levy and a 5.5 percent local levy.
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Garrett County FTC Teams Win State Championship; Will Attend Nationals
Mar. 1, 2012
Garrett County’s FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) teams, G-FORCE and Techni Clovers, sponsored by GEARS and 4-H, won the Maryland FTC State Championship held at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory this past weekend. Both teams were finalists for various awards, with G-FORCE bringing home the Inspire Award and Techno Clovers receiving the PTC Design Award. The teams together, along with a team from Washington, D.C., won the Winning Alliance Award.
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Both teams have worked since September learning engineering design, fabrication, and testing concepts, and winning these awards advances both teams to the FIRST FTC National Championships to be held in St. Louis, Mo.
The Inspire Award is given to the team that the judges felt truly embodies the “challenge” of the FTC program. The team that receives this award has performed well in all judging categories and was chosen by the judges as a model FIRST Tech Challenge team. The judges use match performance, observations made during interviews and in the pit area, the team’s Engineering Notebook, and performance on the playing field in determining the winner.
The intent of the PTC Design Award earned by the Techno Clovers is to expand the challenge, inspiring teams to incorporate industrial design into their robots. These elements can be shown in the simplicity of the design as it applies to the tasks, the look and feel of the robot, and how the design allows one to think of robots in new ways. The design aspect must serve a function – but should also differentiate the robot in a unique fashion – not an easy task with a limited set of parts and game challenge.
G-FORCE was a finalist for the PTC Design Award, as well as the Think Award, which is given to the team that the judges feel best understands the role of the engineering notebook in the design process. Both teams were the top two finalists for the Rockwell Collins Innovate Award, which is given to the team that the judges feel has the most innovative and creative robot design solution to the FTC challenge to any or all specific field elements or components. Elements of this award include elegant design, robustness, and out-of-the-box thinking with regard to design.
Coach Arlene Lantz was also a finalist for the Compass Award, which recognizes an adult coach or mentor who has provided outstanding guidance and support for an FTC team throughout the year. The winner of the Compass Award is determined from candidates nominated by FTC team members, via a 40- to 60-second video submission, highlighting how the team’s mentor has helped them become an outstanding team.
The teams hold weekly practices at Garrett Engineering And Robotics Society (GEARS) in McHenry, with the coaches there to supervise and guide the students. The students take the lead role in building and running their award-winning robots.
“During the season, I learned so many things, from design work to running power machines to teamwork and communication skills,” stated Southern High School sophomore Alex Miske, who is new to the
G-FORCE team this year. “A highlight for the season was having the chance to be on the drive team. We went undefeated at our first qualifier, and then I also got to drive at this competition. Being a part of this team has really changed my life and has set me on the path to an engineering career.”
More here.
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In Need of Major Repairs
As evidenced in this photo taken this morning by Lisa Broadwater, the historic Casselman River Bridge is in great need of repairs. In addition to the damage pictured, which is located on the west side of the downstream face of the 199-year-old structure, the road above is separating from the bridge’s stone wall.
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The 80-foot span bridge is located in the four-acre Casselman River Bridge State Park, located off U.S. Route 40 east of Grantsville. The bridge was completely restored in the 1940s. It has not been used by vehicles for decades, but is open to foot traffic. Park crews recently set up barricades to the bridge and roped off access to the damaged area. Park service engineers were at the site this morning inspecting the damage.
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New system could boost permits for bear hunting for Allegany, Garrett county residents
Initial 25 percent will go to area applicants
Michael A. Sawyers Cumberland Times-News
CUMBERLAND — A new system for allocating Maryland bear hunting permits is likely to result in applicants from Allegany and Garrett counties receiving about half of them, according to Paul Peditto, director of the Maryland Wildlife & Heritage Service.
During recent bear seasons, 260 permits were available.
The agency has agreed to award the first 25 percent of the permits (65 if the total remains the same) to applicants from the bear hunting zone, which has been all of Garrett and Allegany counties.
Residents of those counties have drawn an average of 35 percent of the permits since bear hunting resumed in 2004. Peditto said the new formula will boost that percentage.
“The applicants from Garrett and Allegany who don’t get drawn for the first 25 percent of the permits will go back into the drawing with everybody else for the remaining 75 percent,” Peditto said via phone Friday.
Throughout the eight years of bear hunting, Allegany-Garrett residents — while averaging 35 percent of the permits — have killed 55 percent of the bears.
“They know where bears are and have better access to private lands,” Peditto said, adding that he expects hunting to become a more efficient bear management tool with more local hunters seeking the animals. Peditto said that because most nuisance bears reside on private lands, more of those animals will be taken with the new system.
“It could be, too, that more hunters from those counties will apply knowing that their odds to be drawn have improved,” he said.
The new protocol came as a byproduct of legislation that was almost introduced by Delegate Wendell Beitzel, who sought to have more bear hunting permits go to owners of 50 or more acres of land in those two counties.
“The DNR informed me that it would not be legal to grant landowners special privileges,” Beitzel said. “They asked that I give them an opportunity to work on the issue. I am very appreciative of the DNR’s willingness to make accommodations to resolve some of our requests or concerns,” Beitzel said.
Allegany-Garrett Sportsmen’s Association President Jerry Zembower said he, too, is pleased, though he sought an even greater number of permits for local hunters.
Zembower said the greater allocation will “definitely wake the people up out our way. They’ll see that the DNR is trying to take care of our people, at least a little bit.”
Even though putting more Western Maryland hunters in the woods might make for busier days at the check-in stations, Peditto said he anticipates that the season will continue to last four or five days before the harvest quota is reached.
The agency awaits laboratory results from its first bear population survey in six years, the results of which will be used to establish the harvest quota, number of permits, hunting area and other specifics associated with the 2012 bear season.
Traditionally, there has been a $15 nonrefundable application fee, and permits have been awarded in early September. In 2011, 3,915 hunters applied.
Since bear hunting resumed after a moratorium of a half-century, hunters have legally taken 408 bears. The greatest single harvest was 68 in 2009. The smallest was 20 in 2004.
“This change is good,” Beitzel said. “I know one hunting club with 19 members and none of them have been able to draw a bear-hunting permit.”
Beitzel said the effort to alter the permit allocation was supported by the Maryland Legislative Sportsmen’s Foundation.
Contact Michael A. Sawyers at msawyers@times-news.com.
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‘Staycations’
Gas prices may bring boost to local tourism
Cumberland Times-News
If there is a silver lining in the rising cost of gasoline prices it might be that Western Maryland tourism will see a boost this summer.
In the spring and summer of 2008, gasoline prices increased to the $3.60 to $4 range. When that occurred people started taking “staycations,” a term meaning they were taking a vacation near home, rather than to far distant points.
Experts are predicting gasoline to far exceed $4 per gallon this spring and summer, creating a situation similar to 2008.
Dave Williams, whose firm has long helped to promote tourism in Allegany County, said the fact that the county is only two hours from the Washington and Baltimore beltways is a big asset when people are worried about saving on gasoline costs. This year his firm will use the slogan “Drive Less — Do More” to highlight the fact that Western Maryland is not far away for downstate residents and they should consider penciling in Western Maryland as a vacation destination while gas prices are high.
With such attributes as Canal Place and the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad, state parks and forests, Cumberland and Frostburg arts districts, Rocky Gap’s convention center and golf course and Deep Creek Lake, there is plenty for a vacationer to like about our area. Additionally, the Great Allegheny Passage was not completed back in 2008, and now hikers and cyclists have the bike trail as another big reason for visiting here.
Tourism continues to be a major element in the local economy. If $4-per-gallon gas prices result in more visitors to the region, at least that will be one benefit from the pain at the pump.
More here.
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