Butterflies protected at Kitzmiller sanctuary
Baltimore checkerspot, state insect, found on 15-acre property
For the Cumberland Times-News
Mon Sep 20, 2010, 07:53 AM EDT
— KITZMILLER — Land-owners in the Kitzmiller area operating as Woodhill, LLC have decided to protect 15 acres that are home to rare butterflies through a conservation easement with the Maryland Environmental Trust and the Allegheny Highlands Conservancy.
Woodhill Sanctuary contains habitat for several rare, threatened or endangered butterfly species, including the official state butterfly.
The Baltimore checkerspot was designated the official insect of Maryland in 1973, and while once common in the region, the species has experienced significant de-clines in recent years. Woodhill Sanctuary is now one of only eight known Baltimore checkerspot colonies remaining in Maryland.
According to Jennifer Frye, ecologist with the Maryland Department of Natural Re-sources, the protection of Woodhill Sanctuary “ensures the preservation of this critical and uncommon habitat which currently supports at least five butterfly species included on the list of rare, threatened and endangered animals in Maryland.”
LLC trustee Vlad Dupre and his late wife, Elizabeth, have stewarded the property for more than 25 years. Though Dupre was unaware of the unique nature of the habitat on the property, he was pleased to learn of the option to protect the property with a conservation easement. The easement protects the rare habitat by requiring a habitat management plan to guide the maintenance of the area.
“My family and I are thrilled to contribute to the preservation of these endangered species of butterflies,” said Dupre. “We consider it a privilege to be a part of the efforts of the Maryland Environmental Trust to maintain and manage natural habitats for the people of Maryland to enjoy and learn from.”
Gov. Martin O’Malley joined the conservation groups in thanking the Garrett County landowners for their foresight.
“I want to thank Woodhill LLC for their generous donation,” said O’Malley. “By preserving this butterfly sanctuary we are helping ensure that future generations fully experience Maryland’s rich wildlife and natural wonder.”
Deep Creek tributaries free of water quality issues, MDE says
Citizens group questions sample location, size
Megan Miller
Cumberland Times-News Sun Sep 19, 2010, 08:02 AM EDT
— DEEP CREEK LAKE — While Deep Creek Lake might have water quality issues with nutrients levels in some of its coves, those problems don’t appear to be flowing in with the streams that feed the lake.
That’s according to a report released in mid-August from the Maryland Department of the Environment. Officials outlined the report’s findings Thursday in a meeting of the Deep Creek Lake Workgroup.
Lake-goers have complained of algae blooms and overgrowth of aquatic grasses in some coves, pointing to an overload of nutrients such as phosphorous as a potential cause.
But the data examined by MDE showed that in the watershed, meaning the waterways outside the body of the lake, nutrients including nitrogen and phosphorous are present only in low levels.
“We’re not saying it’s not impaired,” said Ross Mandel, an official with the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin. “We’re just saying it’s not impaired by nutrients.”
Not everyone agreed with MDE’s assessment of the situation. Barbara Beelar, director of local conservation group Friends of Deep Creek Lake, pointed out that MDE looked at data gathered in only a few of the dozens of tributaries feeding Deep Creek Lake.
“I’m concerned about the blanket statement that there is no nutrient impairment of the watershed,” Beelar said. “It’s only four tributaries out of fifty-ish you’ve taken a look at.”
She pointed out that most of the streams sampled feed into the northern part of the lake, while nutrient-related problems seem more concentrated in the southern part.
The report looked at the watershed as a whole, and also looked separately at the overall water quality of the lake. It contained data collected by MDE and the Department of Natural Resources at different periods over the last decade.
MDE officials say they plan to proceed from this point with studies of any existing problems in the lake from a more localized approach. An MDE field monitoring group will conduct water quality monitoring and other testing through the upcoming months, and could potentially conduct dye tests on septic systems in the lake area — with the permission of property owners — in the spring.
Septic systems are one of the potential sources of phosphorous, along with things like crop fertilizers and animals in pastureland.
Another assessment of the health of Deep Creek Lake is scheduled to be released sometime in the next few months.
Friends of Deep Creek Lake plans to publish the lake’s first-ever ecosystem health report card with the help of EcoCheck, a team affiliated with the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The report card will factor in things like land-use patterns, watershed boundaries and available data from testing conducted by multiple agencies. In addition to “grading” the lake, the report card will include suggestions of things property owners can do to improve the watershed’s scores.
SHA is Trying to Get You Out of a "Rut" this Fall
It happens in an instant. Driving through a suburban or rural area and a deer jumps in your path. What do you do? The Maryland Department of Transportation’s State Highway Administration (SHA) is providing tips to help avoid crashes involving deer and other nocturnal animals….
Here are some tips to minimize the risk of hitting a deer:
• Be extra attentive between sunset and sunrise – this is when deer primarily feed;
• Use your high beams when appropriate to illuminate the eyes of deer;
• “Never veer for deer” – brake firmly but do not jerk the steering wheel. Sudden movements could cause a more serious crash with a fixed object or another motorist;
• Be cautious—if you see one deer it’s likely part of a herd;
• Obey deer crossing signs placed in areas known for high deer populations;
• Always wear your seat belt;
• Avoid distractions like cell phones, food and radios; and always
• Always drive sober.
If a collision is unavoidable and you do hit a deer, be sure to consider the following:
• Do not touch the deer. An injured deer can hurt you and further injure itself;
• If possible, move your car off to a safe location to avoid a secondary crash with another vehicle; and
• Call the police and try to be as specific as possible about the location.
Over the years, SHA has used some innovative approaches to assist with the high number of deer crossings.
…In Garrett County, SHA recently installed high fencing to not only prevent deer from crossing, but also Black Bear and other large animals.
Residents or motorists that notice a deer that has been struck should log onto roads.maryland.gov and click “Contact Us” for an online service submission form to have the animal removed. A complete list of SHA’s maintenance shops is also located on the website.
Hundreds Registered For Western Md. Triathlon
SWANTON, Md. (AP) ― A western Maryland triathlon billed as the world’s toughest has attracted hundreds of registrants.
The 70-mile SavageMan Triathlon begins Sunday morning at Deep Creek Lake State Park near Swanton.
The event, combining swimming, biking and running, was rated the hardest race on earth this year by Triathlete magazine.
The race course passes through two state parks and the Savage River State Forest. It also crosses the Eastern Continental Divide.
BYU student credits faith for surviving boat mishap at Deep Creek Lake
Jay’s note: This happened while I was out of town on vacation and I didn’t see any articles or anything about online, but it was in the Deseret News today. What a great story – must read.
By Sara Israelsen-Hartley, Deseret News
PROVO — While his peers purchased textbooks and studied their class schedules for another fall semester, BYU senior Dane Brock said a prayer of thanks that he still had a right leg to take with him to classes next year.
In fact, for the 24-year-old who nearly died three weeks ago when he was run over by a boat while swimming, each new day is worth celebrating.
Brock’s optimism and faith kicked in just seconds after he realized he’d been hit by a boat while vacationing at western Maryland’s Deep Creek Lake on Aug. 27.
He’d been swimming hard near the edge of the safe-swim zone and between splashing and breathing never heard the roar of the motor. The impact from the propeller shoved him under the water and as he floated to the bloodied surface, he knew he needed immediate help.
“I don’t think they knew how serious it was, they just kept apologizing,” he said of the boaters. “I told them I appreciated them apologizing but they needed to get me in the boat or I was going to drown.”
Savageman Triathlon this weekend - #1 toughest in the world
Here is the schedule of events and the main website (lots of cool photos to check out):
2010 SavageMan Triathlon Festival Schedule of Events
Friday, September 17
*30.0 athletes are strongly encouraged to pickup packets and rack bikes on Friday
3:00 – 9:00 PM 30.0 and 70.0 Packet Pickup at Garrett County Chamber of Commerce
3:00 – 9:00 PM Volunteers Check-In at Garrett County Chamber of Commerce
3:00 – 7:00 PM 30.0 Bike Racking at Transition Area
Saturday, September 18
SavageMan 30.0 Triathlon
6:30 AM Transition Area opens
6:30 to 8:30 AM 30.0 Packet Pickup at Oak Pavilion
6:30 to 8:30 AM 30.0 Bike Racking
8:45 AM Mandatory Athlete Briefing
9:15 AM Transition Area Closed
9:30 AM SavageMan 30.0 Triathlon Race Start
9:50 AM First athlete on bike course
11:00 AM Swim cut-off time
10:50 AM First athlete on run course
11:30 AM First athlete finishes!!
1:00 PM Bike cut-off time
2:00 PM SavageMan 30.0 Course Closed
2:00 PM Awards Ceremony
5:45 PM “Champion” Fundraiser private reception with Dave Scott at Wisp Resort
6:30 – 8:30 PM SavageMan Carbo-Load Dinner
SavageMan 70.0 Triathlon
1:30 – 6:30 PM 70.0 Packet Pickup at Oak Pavilion
3:00 – 7:00 PM Mandatory 70.0 Bike Racking
3:30 PM Mandatory Athlete Briefing #1
4:30 PM Mandatory Athlete Briefing #2
5:45 PM “Champion” Fundraiser private reception with Dave Scott at Wisp Resort
6:30 – 8:30 PM SavageMan Carbo-Load Dinner
Sunday, September 19
SavageMan 70.0 Triathlon
6:00 AM Transition Area Opens
8:15 AM Transition Area Closes
8:15 AM Spectator Shuttle Departs for Westernport Wall
8:30 AM SavageMan 70.0 Triathlon Race Start
8:55 AM First Athlete on Bike Course
9:30 AM First athlete encounters Westernport Wall
10:10 AM Swim cut-off time
11:25 AM First athlete on run course
1:00 PM First athlete finishes!!
3:00 PM Bike cut-off time
3:30 PM Awards Ceremony
5:00 PM SavageMan 70.0 Course Closed
Garrett County's 40% was the highest voter turnout in Maryland
While Maryland had the lowest voter turnout on record, that was not the case for Garrett County, where 40% of registered voters turned out to vote Tuesday. Specualting, but perhaps there was a reason that so many good folks showed up at the polls this election to let their voices be heard?
Garrett board unsure of when to replace Raley
Commission candidate could vote on new member’s appointment for his former seat
Megan Miller
Cumberland Times-News Cumberland Times-News Fri Sep 17, 2010, 07:59 AM EDT
— OAKLAND — The decision on whether or not to close Bloomington and Kitzmiller Elementary schools will be made by the Garrett County school board after months of study and recommendations from the public, advisory committees and school administrators.
But the outcome of Tuesday’s primary election could bring another major factor into play — the selection of a replacement for board member Jim Raley.
Raley, a Republican, appears poised to become a Garrett County commissioner. He won a decisive primary victory in District 2 over incumbent Fred Holliday, and currently faces no opponent in the November general election because no Democrats filed for the seat.
If Raley vacates his seat on the board of education, Maryland code dictates that the county commissioners will appoint a replacement to serve out the remainder of his term, through 2012. The appointee could come from anywhere in the county, because Raley’s seat is designated for a member-at-large.
The question is whether the current commission or the newly elected commission — which would include Raley and at least one more new commissioner — will do the appointing.
So far, it’s a question with an unclear answer. County Administrator Monty Pagenhardt said he has spoken with Superintendent Wendell Teets and the current commissioners about the issue. County officials will discuss the matter with an attorney, and will likely consult the state board of education as well.
The process of making an appointment would probably be triggered by Raley submitting his resignation from the school board, Pagenhardt said.
The current commission has generally appeared supportive of school officials’ efforts to examine school closures as a way of cutting spending and managing the budget. But the new commission will likely include at least two members who have taken positions against school closures.
Raley has been an outspoken opponent of closing the schools. And in District 1, both Republican candidate Gregan Crawford and Democrat Eric Robison have also taken strong positions against the measure. Crawford, speaking of the potential impact on Garrett communities, told the Times-News that the schools need to remain open “at all cost.”
If the school board appointee opposes school closures, it could create a close vote on the divisive issue.
In recent months, Raley and fellow board member Charlotte Sebold have often sided together on votes related to the issue. In August, the two opposed the schedule for considering possible closures, which forced board President Donald Forrester to cast a tiebreaker vote that passed the measure 3-2.
Three members of the board of education are up for re-election in November, but two, Forrester and Thomas Carr, are running unopposed. In District 3, incumbent Rodney Durst faces a challenge from Rodney Reckart.
Letter to Editor: Officials not acting to protect Deep Creek Lake
Interestinbg points in this letter to the editor of the Cumberland Times:
To the Editor:
Cumberland Times-News Cumberland Times-News Fri Sep 17, 2010, 08:00 AM EDT
— Three strikes in baseball means you’re out. Many worldwide religions regard the number three as having important significance.
Three times this year sewage has spilled into Deep Creek Lake.
The first sewage spill went largely unreported. Since there was never any official estimate given the only thing to work off of are estimates made by private home owners. Some of these are as high as 65,000 gallons.
The second spill was reported at first by the Cumberland Times-News with estimates of 45,000 gallons of raw sewage entering the lake. A recent spill was estimated at 6,400 gallons, even though the original estimate issued by the Deep Creek Lake POA was 9,000 gallons.
In one summer season it appears that over 116,400 gallons of raw sewage have entered Deep Creek Lake. This coincides with the largest fish kill ever reported in the lake watershed.
As a real estate agent and small business owner I, like many lake residents, depend on the lake’s recreational value to sustain small business growth.
More importantly, I look to Deep Creek Lake to provide our area with an important natural resource: both recreationally and ecologically.
Gorgeous migrating birds, (bald eagles and herons included) unique freshwater fish, and exciting freshwater mammals, (such as beavers) all make this resource and the surrounding streams their home.
On the recreational side, Deep Creek Lake has introduced countless visitors and residents alike to just how much fun and enjoyment Mother Nature can offer.
Though, as a citizen watching sewage literally run into our lake, I fear that those in the positions to maintain lake water quality have failed on multiple occasions.
Just as BP, Halliburton, and Trans Ocean failed to maintain an operational and secure oil well in the Gulf — the Garrett County commissioners and Department of Public Utilities Sanitation Division have failed to maintain a viable and safe sewage system at Deep Creek Lake.
This failure has threatened not only the health of the lake but public health as well.
To add insult to injury they failed not once, not twice, but a total of three times. In doing so, they have put many lake area businesses in jeopardy of large scale profit losses and endangered the health of local residents and visitors alike.
This goes without mentioning the tremendous toll these spills have taken on the lake’s aquatic life. To me this is unacceptable.
As residents and business owners we have two choices. We can quietly allude ourselves to the false pretense that everything is being done by our current elected officials to maintain lake quality and preserve our natural resources. Or we can face the stark reality that something needs to change.
As sewage fills Deep Creek Lake and wind turbines dot our once picturesque mountain landscape are we not forced to ask, have our elected officials kept the lake area and Western Maryland’s best interest at heart?
Perhaps we need to ask all elected county officials to exit their offices since new representatives have been chosen to hopefully make far better choices and offer much more efficient management of Western Maryland’s crown jewel, Deep Creek Lake.
Jeremy Gosnell
Oakland
Commission will have new look
Two longtime Garrett incumbents defeated
Megan Miller
Cumberland Times-News Thu Sep 16, 2010, 08:01 AM EDT
— OAKLAND — Regardless of the outcome of the Nov. 2 general election, the makeup of the Garrett County Commission will be very different next term.
Longtime incumbents Ernie Gregg, a 24-year veteran of the commission, and Fred Holliday, who served for 12 years, were both eliminated in Tuesday’s primary by first-time commission candidates.
Gregg was defeated for the District 1 seat by Gregan Crawford, who garnered more than 55 percent of the votes cast. In District 2, Holliday lost to four-term board of education member Jim Raley, who took more than 61 percent of the votes cast.
“I think there’s an anti-incumbency out there and I think the voters feel the commissioners were no longer listening to them,” Raley said Tuesday. “That’s really the direction this whole thing took.”
Both Gregg and Holliday also attributed their losses partly to the anti-incumbent mood that appears to be sweeping the nation.
Raley currently faces no challenger in the general election, because no Democrats filed for the District 2 seat. The Democratic Central Committee has the option to nominate a candidate to put on the general election ballot by Oct. 4.
In District 1, Crawford, who could not be reached for comment, will face Democrat Eric Robison in November. Robison ran unopposed in the primary.
The only commission incumbent to make it through the primary was Denny Glotfelty in District 3, who faced the largest number of primary election opponents. Glotfelty beat out three other Republicans — Bob Gatto, Louis Newcomb and Tim Thomas — and secured more than 41 percent of the votes cast.
He will face Democratic challenger Bill Welch in the November general election. Welch easily dusted off his primary opponent, George Falter, and won more than 75 percent of the votes cast.
Glotfelty said he was surprised by the outcomes of the other commission races.
“Whoever they put in in the other districts is who the people want, and we’ll do the best we can for Garrett County,” he said.
In the Republican race for sheriff, Robert Corley took nearly 58 percent of the votes cast to defeat Larry Gnegy and advance to the general election. Corley will take on Democrat Skyler Hebden, who ran unopposed in the primary.
In a four-way Republican race for register of wills, incumbent Rita Watson won handily with nearly 64 percent of the votes cast. Watson’s nearest challenger was Traci Royce, with more than 22 percent, then John Sines, with nearly 10 percent, and Bryan Paugh, with less than 4 percent. No Democrats filed for the office.
In November, four candidates will square off for three open positions as judge of the orphans court. Republicans Clifford C. DeWitt, Wayne Wilt and James F. Margroff took the most votes and will advance to the general election, while Democrat Everett B. Deberry ran unopposed and will automatically ad-vance.
In the general election, the three candidates who receive the most votes — regardless of party — will win.
The November general election will also include nonpartisan races for three seats on the board of education.
Two incumbents, Donald Forrester in District 1 and Thomas Carr in District 2, are running unopposed. Incumbent Rodney Durst filed to retain his District 3 seat, but faces a challenge from Rodney Reckart.
