>Local Businesses Fined For Selling Alcohol To Minors
>Feb. 24, 2011
The Garrett County Board of License Commissioners/Liquor Control Board held violation hearings earlier this month for four retail establishments for the sale of alcohol to a minor. The hearings were a result of the businesses failing recent compliance checks conducted by underage cadets and troopers from the Maryland State Police.
The establishments that failed the compliance checks were El Canelo’s Restaurant, Oakland; Cindy’s Place, Finzel; Swanton Grocery, Gas & Liquor, Swanton; and Keyser’s Ridge Liquors, Grantsville.
In accordance with the rules and regulations of the Board of License Commissioners of Garrett County, the fine and suspension guideline for a first offense is a $100 fine and a “letter of reprimand” in the licensee’s file; the second offense is a $500 fine and up to a 10-day suspension; the third offense is a $1,000 fine and up to a 30-day suspension; and a fourth offense is the maximum fine and up to a one-year suspension of the license.
Along with these fines and suspension, the board may require additional alcohol awareness training and review and evaluate internal procedures concerning sales to minors at the licensed establishment. If the licensed establishment goes two years with no additional sales to minors, the establishment’s record is expunged.
The licensees for the above-mentioned establishments were summoned before the board at the violation hearings. They received the following penalties: El Canelo’s Restaurant and Cindy’s Place both received a $100 fine, and a “letter of reprimand” was placed in their file; Swanton Grocery, Gas & Liquors and Keyser’s Ridge Liquors both received a $500 fine and a five-day suspension of their alcoholic beverage license.
>BPW Approves Preservation Of Garrett Acreage
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Feb. 24, 2011
Governor Martin O’Malley announced yesterday Board of Public Works (BPW) approval to preserve 26 acres of land in Garrett County through Program Open Space. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will purchase the land, known as the White property, which is adjacent to Potomac State Forest, and add to the state forest system, which protects plant and wildlife habitat.
Located within a Target Ecological area, the property is contained in the Savage River Watershed, one of the only locations of an intact, connected brook trout population. The purchase is consistent with the fisheries management plan for the area and will protect critical habitat for rare and uncommon plants as well, according to the DNR.
The three-member Board of Public Works consists of Governor O’Malley (chair), Treasurer Nancy Kopp, and Comptroller Peter Franchot. The BPW is authorized by the General Assembly to approve major construction and consultant contracts, equipment purchases, property transactions, and other procurement actions.
Since 2007, Governor O’Malley and the BPW have preserved more than 33,076 acres of natural areas for public recreation and watershed and wildlife protection across Maryland. Since 1969, Program Open Space has provided funding for acquisition of 354,120 acres for open space and recreation areas.
>Kitzmiller Could Become A Ghost Town If School Closes, Mayor Browning Fears
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Feb. 24, 2011
Kitzmiller mayor Jim Browning does not want his town to become another death statistic in a local history book. But that could very well happen if Kitzmiller Elementary School closes, according to town officials.
“We don’t want to become a ghost town,” Browning told the Garrett County commissioners last Thursday afternoon.
The mayor, town council, and about 30 other residents met with the commissioners in an effort to rally financial and moral support to keep the school open.
Located along the North Branch of the Potomac River, Kitzmiller was incorporated in 1906. The former booming coal town’s current population is about 300. Community Action president Duane Yoder noted that the population had been decreasing, but raw census data indicates it has stabilized and may be increasing.
Kitzmiller is one of only four remaining Maryland communities of 31 identified in a Garrett County Historical Society publication titled Ghost Towns of the Upper Potomac, the mayor noted.
“A decision to close the school is a permanent solution to a temporary problem fueled by a depressed economic situation,” Browning said.
KES currently has 55 students in kindergarten through fifth grade, plus 12 in Community Action’s Head Start program. The annual cost to operate the facility is about $410,000.
The school is the heart of Kitzmiller, the mayor said, and a focal point for activities and services for residents of all ages, including after-school and basketball programs and the town’s annual homecoming event. In addition, a branch of Ruth Enlow Library has been located within the school’s library since 1987.
“We’re in partnership with the best education we can give this community of Kitzmiller,” said branch manager Diane Kisner. “For the school to be lost, it would be detrimental to the town of Kitzmiller. I just see so many positive things going on in the community, as the public librarian there.”
The library board announced it will discontinue the Kitzmiller branch if the school is closed, as funding will not be available to maintain the library in that or another building.
“The town will lose its identity as a community and become just an aggregation of residents,” Browning said about the possible school closure.
State allocations to local schools were significantly cut early last year because of economic conditions, an increase in the county’s wealth index, and the expiration of “hold harmless” legislation, which previously ensured level funding despite enrollment decline. As a result, the GC Board of Education is facing a more than $4 million budget shortfall in fiscal year 2012.
As a cost-saving measure, Dr. Wendell Teets, superintendent of Garrett County schools, proposed on Sept. 15, 2010, that Kitzmiller and Bloomington elementary schools be closed. He explained that these two schools have the highest cost of operation per student with the lowest enrollments. The cost to operate the Bloomington school is about $426,000 a year.
>Commissioner Crawford Testifies On Behalf Of Marcellus Shale Legislation
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Feb. 24, 2011
Board of Garrett County Commissioners chairman Gregan Crawford and Commissioner Bob Gatto attended a public hearing in Annapolis yesterday to provide support for House Bill 411. Sponsored by Del. Wendell Beitzel, the proposed legislation requires the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) to establish certain regulations regarding natural gas drilling.
“The Board of Garrett County Commissioners desires to see the process of exploration into the development of Marcellus gas resources managed in the best possible manner,” Gregan told the House Environmental Affairs Committee, which was assigned HB 411. “That requires oversight on both state as well as the local level. The board does not desire to see drilling commence without a prudent and in-depth review. Our county is reviewing the local aspects of this industry, and we believe that House Bill 411 is an essential step in the pro-cess.”
A companion bill, Senate Bill 422, sponsored by Sen. George Edwards, has been assigned to the Senate Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee, which will hold a hearing next Tuesday, March 1, at 1 p.m.
The proposed legislation outlines several issues that the MDE would have to address. Those include requirements relating to the following:
1. A water testing plan to ensure drinking water resources are protected, including requirements for surface well casing, grouting, and inspections.
2. The containment and disposal of fluid used in hydraulic fracturing pro-cesses.
3. The identification of all chemicals and materials used in hydraulic fracturing processes.
4. Prohibiting the unregulated discharge of drilling materials and fluids into streams, ponds, and other bodies of water for which the discharge has not been approved by the department.
5. Site reclamation and bonding.
HB 411/SB 422 would require MDE to submit regulations to the Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive, and Legislative Review regarding natural gas exploration and production in the Marcellus shale formation no later than Dec. 31.
>Just listed-Cedar Shores-Lakefront-Log-Townhome-GA7537216
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Log home style townhome with lake frontage and beautiful lake and slope views. This 5 bedroom, 4 bath end unit is in excellent condition and offers the perfect access to all area amenities.
Contact Jay Ferguson @ 301-501-0420 or DeepCreekLaker@Gmail.com for more information or to setup a private showing for this property.
Listing # GA7537216
$659,000
>Garrett coalition concerned about teens’ behavior
>Survey shows increased use of alcohol, cigarettes, drugs by students
Anonymous Cumberland Times-News The Cumberland Times-News Mon Feb 28, 2011, 07:47 AM EST
OAKLAND — Members of the Garrett County Drug Free Communities Coalition are concerned about trends in destructive behavior demonstrated by county teens.
A Youth Risk Behavior survey was administered to all county students in grades six through 12 in March 2010. The data from the 1,941 surveys has been analyzed and the results were shared with coalition members at their February meeting.
Students were asked to report at what age they first tried cigarettes, alcohol or marijuana; how often they had used one of the substances in the past 30 days; their perception of parental disapproval; and the perception of potential risk of using any of the substances.
Results indicated that more than half of all 12th-grade students have drunk alcohol; 30 percent have smoked cigarettes; and more than 22 percent admitted using marijuana or smokeless tobacco.
Survey results indicated that the use of cigarettes was introduced at a younger age than marijuana or alcohol, but that younger students are trying those substances at an earlier age. Sixth-graders indicated an average age of 9 for trying all three substances. The average age of onset reported by 12th-graders was significantly higher, ranging from 13 for cigarettes, 12 for alcohol and 13 for marijuana.
Ninety-two percent of sixth- and eighth-grade students indicated that their parents would say use of any of those substances is very wrong. However, that number decreased to 64 percent of students in 12th grade who thought their parents would find those types of behavior very wrong.
A high percentage of all students indicated a belief that smoking is harmful — 87 percent of sixth-graders and 68 percent of 12th-graders. Results were similar for marijuana use with 90 percent of sixth-grade students but just 52 percent of seniors. Alcohol use was looked down on by 60 percent of sixth-grade students and 37 percent of seniors. Students were also asked to report on their use of prescription drugs. Just 1.8 percent of sixth-grade students reported using prescription drugs to “get high,” but that number rose to 12.5 percent of seniors.
One of the more startling results of the survey revealed that very few males in grades 11 and 12, 27 percent and 20 percent, respectively, perceived having one or two drinks per day a great or moderate risk.
The coalition meets monthly to discuss and address problems relating to drug and alcohol treatment and prevention issues facing the youth of Garrett County.
In the past year, the coalition has launched a program called “Majority Rules.” Statistics have shown that seven out of 10 Northern and Southern Garrett schools students do not drink.
Coalition members plan to continue to study these statistics and modify their plan of action to address areas of great concern or where results indicate an increasing risk to the well-being of Garrett County youth. The group will continue its support for the seven Students Against Destructive Decisions that exist in the county and continue its community initiatives.
County Health Officer Rodney Glotfelty said the results of the survey will prove invaluable in future efforts of the coalition and thanked the Garrett County Board of Education for allowing and supporting the administration of this survey.
The coalition is comprised of area residents and representatives from the health department, government agencies and the school system. Kerri Margoff, a field supervisor with Garrett County Division of Parole and Probation, chairs the group.
The next meeting will be held at 11:45 a.m. on March 9 at the Garrett County Health Department.
Contact Angie Brant at abrant@times-news.com
>Let’s look before we leap when it comes to Marcellus shale gas
>To the Editor:
The Cumberland Times-News Sun Feb 27, 2011, 08:00 AM EST
Have you ever seen an orange stream in Allegany or Garrett County? Have you ever stood beside one? Did you ever drink the water? Have you ever gone fishing in one of these streams?
For most Allegany-Garrett County residents, the answers to these questions are “yes,” “yes,” “no,” “no” respectively. Our orange, acidified, lifeless waterways are an ever-present reminder of the long-term impacts of uninformed resource extraction.
Acid-mine drainage is caused by runoff from coal mines depleted and abandoned oftentimes more than one-hundred years ago.
Yet, we still live with the negative impacts today and our state has spent millions of dollars trying unsuccessfully to remediate the problem.
Next quiz questions: “How long ago did the Marcellus shale deposit form beneath the land of our counties?” Answer: “Millions of years ago.” “How long will the supply fuel our nation?” Answer: “15-20 years.”
“How will the price of natural gas change over the next 50 years?” Answer: “It will likely increase.”
“What are the negative impacts of gas fracking and how long will we live with those negative impacts upon our drinking water, streams, farms, and landscape?” Answer: “Nobody really knows yet.”
So, what are we to conclude? The lessons of acid-mine drainage tell us that if we can “look before we leap” then we should. Pennsylvania has moved quickly on gas fracking over recent years and there are many wells being actively pumped.
We can learn much from our nearby predecessor who has already “leaped.”
Scientists are closely analyzing the impacts of these wells and others around our region. The EPA will be publishing a report on this topic in 2012.
I suggest that we “look” at what happens from a safe distance of 50-plus miles and then decide after five years or more how we in Maryland should proceed.
The supply and demand economics of Marcellus shale tell us that it has been there for millions of years, that it will not disappear, and that the price for the resource will continue to rise.
While I know that our economy could use a boost now, I am confident that the extraction of natural gas from the shale will provide a similar or better financial return 5 to 10 years from now.
The good news about resource extraction today, compared to the coal-mining days of 100 years ago, is that we have the benefits of data gathering methods, environmental analysis and other scientific tools that were unheard of at that time. We should use these tools.
As one who is concerned about the well-being of local friends and family, I am excited about the potential for local cleaner-burning natural gas. Yet, I think we should only proceed after we have taken the most careful measures to protect our citizens for the long-term.
I don’t think we should “leap” just yet. I support a moratorium on gas fracking and encourage our citizens, council members, commissioners, representatives, senators, and governor to do the same.
Tom Kozikowski
Frostburg
AP Environmental Science Teacher
Mountain Ridge High School
>Naturalists at Oregon Ridge demonstrate how maple syrup is made
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Joe Warfield, 77, a long time volunteer from Reisterstown, watches over the evaporator and checks the sap/syrup’s point in the evaporation process making sure not to over boil the sap. (Brendan Cavanaugh/P3 Imaging, BALTIMORE SUN / February 26, 2011)
By Jessica Anderson, The Baltimore Sun
8:31 p.m. EST, February 26, 2011
E-mail Print Share Text Size bs-md-co-maple-sugar-20110226
At first, the clear liquid doesn’t quite resemble the thick, gooey brown substance dribbled across pancakes and French toast, but naturalists assured the crowds gathered Saturday at Oregon Ridge Park that the sap tapped from maple trees, with a little elbow grease, would make maple syrup.
Several hundred came for tours led by the Baltimore County park employees over the weekend for the annual Maple Sugar Weekend held each February, when weather conditions help the flow of sap with cold nights and warmer days.
“It was really informational,” said Lawrence Almengor of Harford County, who came with his wife, three young children and his parents. He said he and his wife, Briana Almengor, home-school their 6-year-old twin sons Tucker and Judah and daughter Bella, 4.
“Anything they can experience hands-on like that is great,” said Briana Almengor.
Lawrence Almengor said his kids weren’t the only ones learning. “I didn’t know you could make sap using different trees,” he said.
“I didn’t realize it wasn’t sticky, I learned a lot,” his wife said, adding that she didn’t realize that Maryland had its own maple syrup producers.
The state is not among the top 10 maple producers, but several farms continue to tap sap, mostly in Western Maryland, where Garrett County was the maple capital of the U.S. in 1928, according to a 2009 Frederick News-Post article.
>Nearly 1,000 expected at Deep Creek Lake dunk
>Saturday – 2/26/2011, 7:10am ET
MCHENRY, Md. (AP) – Organizers say hundreds of people will brave temperatures in the upper 30s to take a dip in Deep Creek Lake for charity.
The annual event Saturday in McHenry benefits Special Olympics of Maryland.
In 2010, about 350 people participated despite near-blizzard conditions, and raised about $150,000.
The weather forecast for this year’s event includes partial sunshine.
>Goodbye, Negro Mountain
>Blair Lee | My Maryland
Perhaps you mistakenly believed that Maryland lawmakers were preoccupied with the state’s budget crisis or the $33 billion unfunded public employees’ pension and health care liabilities or the spike in home foreclosures or the unemployment rate.
No, despite these pressing problems, our state lawmakers still have plenty of time for contentious racial arm wrestling. The latest Culture War clash over racial symbols and “gotcha” politics involves renaming mountains and replacing statues.
Two African-American state senators want to rewrite history more to their liking.
Sen. Lisa Gladden (D-Baltimore city) recently discovered a height in faraway Garrett County named Negro Mountain. According to Western Maryland lore, the mountain was named in honor of a black frontiersman who died in the French and Indian Wars defending white settlers against hostile Indians, now called “Native Americans,” not to be confused with illegal immigrants, now dubbed “New Americans.”
