FireFly Farms Earns 2010 World Cheese Award Gold Medal
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Dec. 9, 2010
FireFly Farms, producer of artisanal goat cheeses from Maryland’s Allegheny Plateau, has recently won a Super-Gold Medal at the internationally recognized World Cheese Awards.
FireFly Farms’ aged goat cheese, named Bella Vita, was among the 47 cheeses that received the Super-Gold Medal in a class of hard, plain cheeses made from goat’s milk. It was one of only two cheeses crafted in the U.S. to earn this recognition, a fact noted in the Dec. 1 news release of the U.S. Dairy Export Council.
Commissioners Gregg, Holliday Conduct Their Final Public Mtg.
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Garrett County commissioners Ernie Gregg and Fred Holliday held their final public meeting on Tuesday. Both are Republicans, and both lost their bids to retain their seats in the recent election. Dozens of county staff members and constituents were on hand for the meeting.
District 1 commissioner Gregg was elected to six terms (not all consecutive), and is the longest serving commissioner in the county’s history.
“It’s been a real honor for me to serve the people of Garrett County,” he said. “I’ve tried to do that with compassion, fairness, integrity, and, most of all, honesty.”
Commissioner Holliday has represented District 2 for three terms.
“It’s been an honor and privilege to serve the people of Garrett County for the past 12 years,” Holliday said.
He said he hoped some of those gathered at the meeting would forgive him for “sticking a pencil in their eye” in an effort to keep them on budget.
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Buck kill down from past seasons
Michael A. Sawyers
The Cumberland Times-News Mon Dec 13, 2010, 07:50 AM EST
— CUMBERLAND — Wildlife officials on both sides of the North Branch of the Potomac River are looking at the significant declines in the number of bucks killed by gun hunters and some of them are trying to figure out just what happened.
In West Virginia, where the buck harvest is down 31 percent from a year ago and even more from previous years, Paul Johansen of the Division of Natural Resources believes it is a combination of things.
Southern High graduate earns degree from Gloucestershine
The Cumberland Times-News Sun Dec 12, 2010, 07:40 AM EST
— OAKLAND — Catherine R. Donaldson, a 2000 graduate of Southern Garrett High School, graduated with merit from the University of Gloucestershire in Cheltenham, England.
Donaldson has been studying abroad for more than a year, working toward a graduate degree in critical and creative writing. She received one of only three $5,000 international scholarships provided by the university to help with expenses.
The graduation ceremony was at the famous Cheltenham Racecourse in the Centaur Building on Nov. 30. She will be returning to the United States in January.
Concerns Grow As Marcellus Shale Drillers Prepare To Begin Locally
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Dec. 9, 2010
Formal filings to drill new Marcellus gas wells in Garrett County are expected any day from a company whose work locally in Pennsylvania has produced complaints about damage to a water well (see related story), and, a new study finds, more than 1,000 violations of Pennsylvania regulations so far this year. The process is still new to many Garrett Countians, with significant revenue being promised by drilling companies. However, concerns over the fracking process continue to grow.
Another concern is coming to light in that the principal oversight agency in charge of approving drilling, the Maryland Department of the Environment, is understaffed, under-funded, and limited by outmoded regulations. This situation is generating new scrutiny in Annapolis, as legislators prepare for the 2011 legislative session.
At least two central Maryland delegates are known to be drafting legislation that would call for a moratorium on drilling until MDE’s mining division in Baltimore completes a full review of its regulations and procedures. But details have yet to emerge.
“The MDE is working to find additional resources,” said Lisa Nissley, legislative liaison and environmental justice coordinator. Nissley noted the passage of a bill last spring that allows the department to impose licensing fees on energy companies.
“This would give us the revenue needed to hire additional inspectors,” she said.
Winter’s next round expected early Sunday
Preparations under way throughout region
From Staff Reports
The Cumberland Times-News Sat Dec 11, 2010, 08:01 AM EST
— CUMBERLAND — Winter’s early onslaught in Western Maryland is expected to continue this weekend with another winter storm predicted by early Sunday.
“It’s not going to be a paralyzing storm but the winds and the cold behind the initial system means business,” said Accuweather meteorologist Tom Kines at State College, Pa., Friday afternoon.
“Saturday looks to be a great day with sunshine and temperatures into the 40s for Cumberland, but then Saturday night into Sunday it will begin as snow or freezing rain until the front gets through later Sunday morning,” said Kines.
As for snow accumulation, Cumberland could get an inch, and several inches could fall in areas west of the city. “You are going to deal with a lot of snow showers Sunday night and for a prolonged period through Tuesday. I wouldn’t be surprised if areas of Western Maryland have up to a foot of snow on the ground by the time it’s finished,” he said.
The National Weather Service predicted a major storm system will affect the region Saturday night and into Sunday with mixed precipitation and possible snow accumulation. Widespread lake effect snow showers were also expected along with brisk northwest winds and cold temperatures that could push wind-chill readings to the minus 10 degrees range Monday night and Tuesday.
Daytime temperatures are not expected above 20 degrees.
For extreme Western Maryland, rain or freezing rain is expected after midnight Saturday and continuing throughout the day before turning to snow showers Sunday night, according to the National Weather Service. The forecast was posted Friday at noon.
Storm preparations were under way throughout the region, including Garrett County, where more than a foot-and-a-half of snow fell at Keysers Ridge over a four-day period ending Wednesday.
At the same time, up to 2 feet of snow was reported in the higher elevations of West Virginia.
“Tomorrow, SHA will begin to ‘pretreat’ interstates in western Allegany and Garrett counties if pavement conditions warrant,” said Maryland State Highway Administration spokesman Chuck Gischlar. “If the pavement is wet or the forecast changes to a mostly rainy start, then pretreating is not an option as it will run off of the highway.
“When SHA pretreats, we will use a combination of 85 percent salt brine/15 percent sugar beet molasses mixture. The material is sprayed onto the pavement and allowed to dry, which prevents snow and ice from initially bonding to the pavement and allowing SHA crews to remain ahead of the storm,” he said.
Wet or snow/ice covered roadways are not ideal and motorists should slow down and remain safely behind SHA crews. Posted speed limits apply to ideal weather conditions.
For latest information on road conditions, including access to live traffic cameras, log on to www.roads.maryland.gov and click the CHART icon.
Winter officially begins Dec. 21.
Top Snow Sport Resorts on Visit During Break
Posted by The Elm on December 10, 2010
By Kim Friel
Student Life Editor
Winter break is a time to relax, celebrate the holidays, and have fun with the winter climate. “Having fun” does not include driving dangerously on slick roads and shoveling out your family’s driveway, but it can include checking out the area’s top skiing, snowboarding, and snowtubing resorts. Here is a list of the best places to go, their rates, and how far away they are.
In Maryland:
WISP RESORT
“With a world renowned energy-efficient snowmaking system and over 100 inches of annual snowfall in Garrett County, Wisp’s 132 acres of ski terrain provide snowsport enthusiasts an incredible winter playground. Non-skiers and boarders won’t be left out; in fact, they’ll have as much trouble deciding what to do next with all that Wisp Resort and the Deep Creek Lake area have to offer: mountain coaster, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, fly fishing and more.” – www.wispresort.com
Snow squall catches drivers and roads crews off guard
Kevin G. Gilbert Staff Photographer
By DON AINES
December 10, 2010
dona@herald-mail.com
Friday morning’s snow squall caught state and county roads crews off guard, forcing them to abandon regular maintenance jobs and return to storage facilities to load salt trucks to treat the icy roads.
The unexpected storm sent cars and trucks skidding off roads and into each other and caused multi-vehicle pile-ups on Interstate 70 in eastern Washington County and western Frederick County, Maryland State Police said….
…Western Allegany County and Garrett County could see state roads pretreated this weekend with a new mixture of 85 percent salt brine and 15 percent sugar beet molasses if weather projections warrant and road conditions are suitable, Gischlar said. The beet molasses helps the pretreatment mix better adhere to the road surface, he said.
Increase in alcohol tax would save millions of dollars
Since Maryland’s tax on beer and wine has not been increased since 1972 and the tax on spirits has not been increased since 1955, Barry Rascovar was absolutely right in his column (“Tough budget cuts could make O’Malley a national player,” Nov. 26) in describing an increase in our state’s alcohol tax as “long overdue.”
According to a study by professors David Jernigan and Hugh Waters of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the dime-a-drink increase in the Maryland alcohol tax that we and a broad coalition of Marylanders are proposing as the Lorraine Sheehan legislation in the 2011 session would save many lives from alcohol abuse and hundreds of millions of dollars in health care costs.
Approximately 100,000 of these new enrollees were children who have been eligible for years but were not enrolled, and we commend the O’Malley-Brown administration and, particularly, Secretary of Health John Colmers for doing all they could to make sure that as many of Maryland’s children as possible have the health care they need.
Others are parents like Crystal Moon of Garrett County, whose doctor told her she would have been killed by an illness that her new state health care card helped to prevent. You can see other stories like Ms. Moon’s of how the new health care law helped people at www.healthcareforall.com
