Nation honors Rev. Martin Luther King
Piedmont church celebrates life of civil rights leader
Michael A. Sawyers
Cumberland Times-News The Cumberland Times-News Mon Jan 17, 2011, 08:05 AM EST
— PIEDMONT, W.Va. — With all of the clapping, singing, amens and hallelujahs that would be expected within a Pentecostal church, the life of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was celebrated by about 100 people in downtown Piedmont Sunday.
Organized by the Tri-Towns Ministerial Association, the birthday celebration was hosted by the Rev. Bill O’Haver at the Piedmont Pentecostal Holiness Church on Second Street.
Area residents, some black, some white, nodded or uttered often as speakers and singers used the celebration to urge everyone to follow their individual light as did King.
“Martin Luther King earned God’s power,” O’Haver said. “He showed that he could be trusted, that he was not a quitter. Martin Luther King’s life encourages me that my life is important.”
Monday marks the 25th federal observance of the birth of King, whose words were often met with hate and resistance during one of the nation’s most turbulent and transformative eras. Today, King is one of the country’s most celebrated citizens and the only one to be honored with a national holiday who did not serve as a U.S. president.
King, who was born Jan. 15, 1929, was killed at age 39.
The gathering in Piedmont was energized by a rousing performance by Darnell and Lois Allen who led the group in songs such as “If You Live Right, Heaven Belongs to You” and “I’m a Soldier in the Army of the Lord.”
The Rev. Harry Coleman read some of King’s favorite scriptures, including those that encouraged the hate of evil and the love of what is right. “Let justice flow down like a stream,” Coleman read. “Let righteousnous flow like a river.”
The Rev. David Coleman provided a brief biography of King and noted that King “had the light.”
David Coleman said that each person has a light, “though some have been cracked or dulled or even burned out. It is up to each of us to show the light the way Dr. King did,” he said.
An offering taken up at the gathering will assist Tri-Towns area residents with emergency needs. During 2010, the fund helped 37 people and has been used already this year to assist five more, it was reported Sunday.
Legislation calling for a federal King holiday was introduced in Congress by U.S. Rep. John Conyers of Michigan just four days after King’s April 4, 1968, assassination. Later that same year, Coretta Scott King, his widow, started The Martin Luther King Center for Nonviolent Social Change in the basement of the couple’s Atlanta home.
Contact Michael A. Sawyers at msawyers@times-news.com. The Associated Press contributed to this story.
More thefts reported at Seven Springs
Monday, January 17, 2011
By Kaitlynn Riely, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
State police in Somerset reported three more thefts at Seven Springs Mountain Resort over the weekend.
On Sunday, a pair of blue-and-white Volker skis worth $700 were taken from outside the resort’s main lodge, a black-and-white Lamar snowboard worth $190 was removed from the Tahoe ski lodge, and a white, blue and gray Rossignol snowboard, worth $500, was taken from outside Willy’s Ski Shop, according to police reports.
It was not clear whether the three thefts were related to the more than 40 thefts previously reported at the resort in the past month.
State police are already investigating 41 reports of ski equipment being stolen at Seven Springs between Dec. 4 and Jan. 4. Many of the thefts occurred the weekend after Christmas, police said.
Police asked anyone with information to call 814-445-4104.
Kaitlynn Riely: kriely@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1707.
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11017/1118656-100.stm#ixzz1BJEQOZ3C
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
2nd firm seeks Md. natural gas drill permit
© 2011 The Associated Press
Jan. 14, 2011, 3:36PM
Share Del.icio.usDiggTwitterYahoo! BuzzFacebookStumbleUponEmail Close [X]FRIENDSVILLE, Md. — The Maryland Department of the Environment says a second firm has applied to extract natural gas from the Marcellus Shale geological formation underlying parts of far western Maryland.
A spokesman said Friday that Dallas-based Chief Oil & Gas LLC is seeking a permit for a well in the Friendsville area of Garrett County.
Samson Resources of Tulsa, Okla., has applied for drilling permits at four sites, but MDE says it’s actively pursuing only one, in Garrett County, just south of Pocahontas, Pa.
The gas is obtained through hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, which has been blamed water contamination and reduced property values in parts of Pennsylvania.
The Battle of Garrett County & Deep Creek Lake - Steelers v Ravens
It is being billed as ARMAGEDDON. The 3rd and final meeting of the year bewteen the area’s 2 favorite teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers & the Baltimore Ravens. Geographically, Deep Creek Lake is smack dab in the middle of the two cities. Vacationers from all over come from areas surrounding the NFL hubs. So, you can imagine, especially this week, there are large quantities of fans in the area.
The week leading up to the game is full of hype, and thanks to Facebook, you get to hear all the trash talking…all week long. This is the week where friends become foes, as the NFL game being played today at 4pm takes on a life of its own. There are bets on the line and there are offices divided. The Railey Realty office has its core of Steel Curtain fans and also fans of the Black Birds. You see the flags & car magnets flying around town; the jerseys on display at Arrowhead, the Wisp & Walmart; and the funny, yet tasteless, emails circulating through Deep Creek Lake mailboxes.
So, if you find yourself enjoying a late lunch or early dinner ANYWHERE around the lake and a TV comes on around 4pm, watch out. It’s Armageddon today, and you may want to get that last bit of food TO GO. It’s all in good fun, of course, but for Steeler & Raven fans, the season is on the line.
With that being said, there is one more picture I need to display in this post before making my own final preparations for the game, and I think you ALL know what this means:
GO STEELERS! BEAT THE BIRDS!!!!
Martin Luther King Weekend Activities
Honi-Honi Winter Luau Date: January 15, 2011 Time: 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM
http://www.honi-honi.com/
Event Description
Help us chase away the winter blues by dressing up in your summertime favorites! Live band and drink specials.
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Snowshoeing Eco ToursDate: January 15, 2011 – January 16, 2011 http://allearthecotours.com/maryland_snowshoeing.html
Event Description
Easy 2-hour Snowshoeing Tours at Swallow Falls State Park. 10am and 1PM with reservations required. Explore the awesome splendor of Swallow Falls in winter with a knowledgeable fun loving guide from All Earth Eco Tours. Amazing picture taking opportunities. $20 per person and includes snow shoe rentals, and hot cocoa. Groups can schedule a tour any day or time. Call for reservations and tour info – 1-800-446-7554
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Ravens vs Steelers – find the game of the year on TV @ Uno’s, Black Bear or a host of several other places. It’s the battle of Deep Creek! 4pm.
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Bud Light Music Series Date: January 19, 2011 Time: 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM http://www.wispresort.com/wisp/calendar.aspx?mode=detail&eventId=budlight_concert_1
Event Description
Free live entertainment from the Davisson Brothers Band courtesy of Bud Light!
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Need more snow? Go west
By this date last year, BWI-Marshall Airport had already recorded 21.9 inches of snow, beating the annual average for Baltimore. This year we’ve seen just 3.5 inches. What a difference a year, and maybe a La Nina can make.
If that’s a disappointment to you, you can fix things simply by hopping in your car and driving out to Garrett County. After 10 or 12 feet of snow last winter, those hardy folks are looking at an unbroken line of snowflake icons on their 7-day forecast. Moisture off Lakes Michigan and Erie, coupled with persistent winds from the northwest, are producing a more or less steady fall of snow this week.
The WISP Resort in McHenry has measured 102 inches of snow so far this season, including the 30 inches they’ve received this week. All the trails are open and there’s plenty of winter to go around out there. Garrett County was under a Winter Storm Warning until 11 a.m. today, with another 1 to 3 inches of snow due, and sub-zero wind chills. Snow showers and flurries are likely to continue.
Pretty much the same forecast – snow chances and sub-freezing cold – will hold for Pittsburgh, too, as the Ravens head out there Saturday for the divisional playoff game.
Maryland Wind Projects Face Pressure From Environmental Groups
by Mark Del Franco on Thursday 13 January 2011
Maryland’s first two wind projects are facing mounting pressure from environmental groups that insist the developers are endangering the Indiana bat, a creature listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
Save Western Maryland and the Maryland Conservation Council are urging Constellation Energy and Synergics to obtain incidental take permits (ITP) from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and the environmental groups are planning to sue in federal court to make the developers comply.
Save Western Maryland has brought suit against Constellation Energy in a U.S. District Court in Maryland, claiming that turbines on the 70 MW site in Garrett County, Md., will injure or kill Indiana bats.
Claims of turbines doing harm to Indiana bats made national headlines last year. Some environmental groups forced Chicago-based developer Invenergy to halt construction on a West Virginia wind farm because it failed to obtain an ITP. Invenergy later settled the case and subsequently secured its permit.
Ordinance To Ban Gas Drilling In MLP Introduced By Mayor, Council
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Jan. 13, 2011
The Mayor and Town Council of Mountain Lake Park introduced at its January meeting held last Thursday an ordinance that will make it illegal for the drilling of natural gas within the town limits.
Ordinance No. 2011-01, titled Mountain Lake Park’s Community Protection from Natural Gas Extraction Ordinance, “establishes a Bill of Rights for Mountain Lake Park residents and removes legal powers from gas extraction corporations within the town.”
At the heart of the ordinance is the following statement of law: “It shall be unlawful for any corporation to engage in the extraction of natural gas within the Town of Mountain Lake Park, with the exception of gas wells installed and operating at the time of enactment of this ordinance.”
The bill also recognizes the right of the people to “a form of governance where they live which recognizes that all power is inherent in the people, that all free governments are founded on the people’s authority and consent, and that corporate entities and their directors and managers shall not enjoy special privileges or powers under the law which make community majorities subordinate to them.”
When asked why this measure is being taken, Mayor Leo Martin said, “Our primary duty is to protect the health and welfare of the town, and especially to protect our water.”
Among the complaints and fears about the drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus shale is the potential contamination of water supplies by the highly toxic chemicals used in the drilling procedure known as fracking, which is used to free the gas that is contained within the shale and thus make it harvestable.
The Bill of Rights section of the ordinance asserts legal protections for the right to water; the rights of natural communities; the right to local self-government; and the right of the people to enforce and protect these rights through their municipal government.
A public hearing on the ordinance is scheduled for February 3, and a vote on passage is scheduled for March 3.
According to Mayor Martin, the bill was modeled after the ordinance adopted on November 16 of last year by the City of Pittsburgh, and drafted by the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, which is based in Chambersburg, Pa..
“If Pittsburgh can do it, we can do it,” Martin said, adding that he believes other Maryland municipalities should take a similar stand.
No Rest For The Weary
Relentless snowfall and high winds of the past several days in Garrett County have kept town and county roads crews out 24 and 7, working constantly to keep the paths open for safe travel. This driver is pictured as he crosses the frozen Little Yough in Oakland. The forecast does not indicate that these folks will get much of a break anytime soon, as snow is predicted every day for at least the next week. All drivers are of course urged to drive with great caution in this weather, and also to give space and patience to the snowplow drivers, who are, after all, out there making the place safer for everyone. Photo by Lisa Rook.
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