Absentee Ballot Request Deadline Is Next Tuesday
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Sep. 2, 2010
The deadline to request by mail, fax, or e-mail an absentee ballot for Maryland’s primary election is next Tuesday, Sept. 7. Any registered voter in Maryland may request and vote by absentee ballot.
A voter who wishes to vote by absentee ballot must request an absentee ballot in writing and sign the request. An application can be printed from the State Board of Elections’ web site at www.elections.state.-md.us or requested by telephone, in writing, or in person at the voter’s local board of elections. Addresses and contact information for the local boards of elections are available at www.elections.state.md.us.
A local board of elections must receive a completed and signed absentee ballot application:
•If mailed, by 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 7, or
•If faxed or e-mailed, by 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 7.
The Garrett County Board of Elections is located at 2008 Maryland Highway, Mtn. Lake Park, and is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Local persons may telephone the office at 301-334-6985.
Photographer Marcia Warnick preserves county’s beauty in stunning images
Jay’s note: I visited The Gallery Shop last night in downtown Oakland for the opening of Marcia’s display. Check out her website. Here are some photos of the great photos that are available:
If you cherish Garrett County and would like to own some stunning images of everything from sunlight streaming through its lush forests or serene shots of Deep Creek Lake, visit The Gallery Shop in Oakland for photographer Marcia Warnick’s one-woman show, now through October 2.
A native Garrett Countian, whose day-job is being personal assistant to Railey Realty owner/broker Bill Weissgerber, Jr., Warnick rarely travels anywhere without her beloved Nikon camera by her side. While she has always enjoyed taking pictures, she said, it wasn’t until she completed a photography course under Penny Knobel-Besa two years ago that “a whole new world opened up” to her.
Once she had mastered all the technical aspects of her Nikon and learned from Knobel-Besa how “to think outside the box” and grapple with all the nuances of photo composition, Warnick has developed a genuine passion for photography, especially focusing on the natural beauty of Garrett County. Her portfolio includes a wide variety of images of everything that is special and unique to Garrett County. . .and more.
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
Primary may determine Garrett commission race
School closures, wind power issues in District 2
Megan Miller
Cumberland Times-News
— OAKLAND — Garrett County residents probably won’t have to wait for November to find out the identity of one of their county commissioners for the next 4-year term.
The race for the District 2 seat on the commission could be decided in the Sept. 14 primary election, with just two Republican candidates vying for the spot.
Jim Raley, now in his fourth consecutive term on the county Board of Education, is running for the seat against incumbent 12-year veteran Fred Holliday.
Since there is no Democratic candidate, the Democratic Central Committee has the option to nominate one after the primary to put on the general election ballot. The committee would have to do so by Oct. 4.
Raley has campaigned for several months from his spot on the Board of Education, taking a strong position against the possibility of closing some county elementary schools. He has repeatedly questioned the school system’s spending priorities in its own budget, and also called on the county government to help the school system make up its budget shortfall.
“If the county is not willing to help make up some of that, the school system is going to be in dire straits and have to make drastic decisions,” he said.
Holliday argued that the county has been “very fair” with its funding of the school system, and said all agencies are dealing with tight budgets in the current economic climate.
“In the past 10 years we have more than doubled our appropriation to the school board, even though they had a declining student population,” he said. “We still have exceeded the maintenance of effort every year, and some years we went considerably overboard on it.”
On another major issue, the development of two wind power facilities atop Backbone Mountain, Holliday has been a supporter, while Raley is skeptical of claims that the wind industry will significantly benefit the county.
“I think that wind power is a quick fix to some budget concerns,” Raley said, acknowledging that the county receives some economic benefit in the form of short-term construction jobs, a small number of permanent jobs and tax income.
But he said there are also problems with the economics of wind energy. Projects, he said, are heavily subsidized by government dollars, and turbine components and other parts of wind power facilties are often manufactured and imported from outside the U.S.
“I’m not a big fan of these partnerships where public dollars are used to fund these types of projects,” he said. “While we have some short-term economic benefit, I don’t think we’ll see a longterm economic benefit.”
Holliday, who has been a commissioner throughout the early phases of both projects’ development, said he doesn’t want to see turbines on every ridge top. But he defended the wind facilities as a way to produce cleaner energy and supplement the county budget through taxes on the facilities.
He pointed out that the projects have already brought some peripheral benefit to county businesses, with employees patronizing restaurants, grocery stores and hotels, and the companies purchasing several trucks at local automobile dealerships.
Holliday said he was surprised that some people opposed the wind projects, because “green energy is what we need to look to.”
“When they’re completed there will be six to eight good-paying jobs,” he said. “And we’ll have energy.”
More Labor Day holiday plans include road trip
September 3, 2010 – By Kate York
A predicted 9.9 percent more travelers this Labor Day weekend nationwide may be a sign that Americans feel the economy is improving, travel forecasters say.
The 2010 AAA travel forecast for Thursday through Monday estimates that 34.4 million Americans will be taking a trip at least 50 miles away from home, up from 31.3 million last year….
…The date of Labor Day typically also has an impact on the number of travelers. School has started in Washington County and much of the country but had the holiday fallen before then, the number of travelers likely would have been even higher, according to AAA.
Bill Dennis, 64, of Reno, is hitting the road today, and he said the economy did play a small part in the decision.
Dennis, his wife, children and grandchildren are going to Deep Creek Lake in Maryland for the weekend.
Gov O'Malley Appoints Maryland Sustainable Growth Commission
Gov. Martin O’Malley has made his appointments to the Maryland Sustainable Growth Commission.
Created and enacted earlier this year by the Maryland General Assembly, the Maryland Sustainable Growth Commission is charged with assessing and advising on the progress of State, regional and local planning in Maryland in achieving the goals of the State economic growth, resource protection, and planning policy.
Below is background information on the appointees:
Maryland Sustainable Growth Commission
Duane Yoder
Appointed as a representative from Western Maryland. He is the CEO of the Garrett County Community Action Committee, Inc. He has a B.A. in History from Eastern Mennonite University and is a resident of Garrett County.
Fishermen are catching 8-foot sharks in the Potomac River
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, September 3, 2010; 12:07 AM
Willy Dean was on the Potomac River in a 22-foot skiff Tuesday morning when he realized there was something both abnormal and enormous in his net. It was a deadly 8-foot-1 bull shark, a 300-pound-plus killer that had likely been feasting on cownose rays at Cornfield Harbor, just off the shores of Point Lookout State Park.
Buh bump. Buh bump. Buh bump buhbump buhbump. . . .
“When I first seen it, it was like ‘Jaws’ — we need a bigger boat!” Dean said Thursday. “I’m not kidding you. It looked huge. I didn’t know how we were gonna get it out. It’s my first shark. I’ve been fishing here a little over 30 years, and it’s the first time I’ve even seen one.”
But it wasn’t even the only one caught on the river during what has apparently become Shark Week on the Potomac. Thomas Crowder, a commercial fisherman from St. Mary’s County, said he and his crew were cutting a net near Tall Timbers on Wednesday when an even bigger bull shark was trapped. “He couldn’t swim and breathe, and he drowned,” Crowder said. “We kept saying for years that we wanted to catch a shark. . . . And Willy gets one, and then all of the sudden we get one. What are the odds? It’s just bizarre.”
Flying over Deep Creek Lake
A good friend and client of mine, Rick, offered to take me up in his Cirrus sr20 yesterday at the Garrett County Airport (by the way, the renovations are GREAT). Rick has a vacation rental property (Cloud 10) here at the lake that he flies up to check on & make repairs. (Shameless plug: the house is awesome: indoor pool, views of the lake & ski slopes, full arcade, more).
We spent the morning looking at other homes for sale – he insists that the market conditions are ripe for some unbelievable deals (I agree) and plans on investing in several more rental properties in the coming years.
We took off from the airport around 12:45 or so and spent a half hour cruising the skies. His plane is impressive, it even has a parachute! As you can tell from some of the photos, I got to see the Lodestone golf course from the air (looks great), the Adventure Sports Center (ASCI) & the Wisp golf course (I had two of my good buddies playing at the time – didn’t see them, though). It’s really neat how it all pieces together. Another thing that was unique is seeing just how high these hills are – there is a considerable drop off in elevation when flying over Marsh Mountain and then seeing how far the lake is below. It gave me a better feel of the terrain, as well as the ‘hidden’ things you don’t see from land. A few examples of this: a large, cleared out spot near Lodestone golf course, perhaps the cleared out spot for the future clubhouse or where they keep their sand, etc; a large pond/lake near Mosser Rd with some sort of rock wall in the middle of it (had NEVER seen that before); and lots of carved out spots in dense woods & forests for farms & crops. It’s a great perspective of the terrain we are all familiar with.
Of course, I was able to get a good view of the windmills as we flew overhead. I’m starting to get used to seeing them on the horizon now, but it was interesting to see just how high they were in the sky when flying beside them. The southern part of the lake is pretty flat, save for these few ridges and a towering ‘hill’ at Thousand Acres. I remember seeing the golf course there, as well, but due to the flight path, I couldn’t get a clear shot of it. I’m sure Bill Franklin has a photo or two…
Overall, it was a spectacular opportunity to see Deep Creek Lake from a bird’s point of view. I’m sure someone offers flights over the county, I’ll check into it and report back. Also, go up and check out the ‘new’ airport – it can accommodate private jets, which is really neat, and makes our area that much more accessible. It’s also nice to see federal tax dollars at work in Garrett County. Thanks again to Rick for the flight! Check out his vacation house – Cloud 10.
Here are some photos and a link to the full gallery on Facebook.
needs! 877-563-5350
Western Maryland Could See Next Fracking Boom
Jay’s note: This is one of the scariest things on the horizon – get involved & let your voice be heard.
Date Published: Wednesday, September 1st, 2010
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, may be coming to Maryland’s Garrett and Allegany counties. The two counties, located in the mountainous western region of the state, set atop the gas-rich Marcellus shale.
Drilling in Marcellus shale is done via a process called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. Fracking, which is now used in about 90 percent of US gas and oil wells, involves injecting water, sand, and a cocktail of chemicals at high pressure into rock formations thousands of feet below the surface. Because the federal Energy Policy Act of 2005 exempted hydraulic fracturing from regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act, shale gas drillers don’t have to disclose what chemicals they use. However, it is known that fracking fluids contain toxic chemicals like formaldehyde and benzene. As we’ve reported extensively, fracking has caused serious water contamination problems in several states.
According to the Maryland Geological Survey, in the past couple of years, Garrett and Allegany counties have seen the arrival of “land men,” an industry term for those who come to an area in advance of the actual drilling of test wells for natural gas. These land men typically contact land owners (and mineral rights owners) to arrange to lease the land on which to drill.
In both Garrett and Allegany, some resident have signed drilling leases, and in December 2009, Samson Resources, a privately owned oil and gas company based in Tulsa, Oklahoma applied for four drilling permits. The firm is seeking to drill three wells in Garrett County and a fourth well in Allegany County. If those wells are successful, Samson Resources will drill several hundred wells on 70,000 acres in the area over the next ten years.
Garrett nears OK for Heritage Area
Chamber of Commerce will manage county’s plan
Megan Miller
Cumberland Times-News
— OAKLAND — Garrett County took a significant step Tuesday toward to having some of its sites designated part of Maryland’s 12th — and possibly final — certified Heritage Area.
The Maryland Heritage Areas program is intended to help communities use their local culture, history and natural resources to develop a tourism trade that will strengthen their economies.
The entire county was named a recognized heritage area by the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority in 2003. But the process to become a certified heritage area is extensive.
On Tuesday the county commission approved the Garrett County Chamber of Commerce as the managing entity for the county’s Heritage Area Maintenance Plan, which is the cornerstone of the process.
The plan is still in development, but will basically lay out the county’s Heritage Area goals and specific steps and strategies for reaching them.
An advisory group made up of representatives from several county agencies has been working for more than a year, with the aid of a consultant, on the early phases of the process.
In Garrett County, the Heritage Area will include not only historical sites, but also sites like Spruce Forest Artisan Village that are important culturally, according to Peggy Jamison, a member of the group.
“This is a discussion of the sites and what we could do to link them, improve them, add to them,” Jamison told the commission. “The plan is a working plan.”
Canal Place in Allegany County is one of just 11 certified heritage areas in the state.
The MHAA has awarded more than $21 million in financial assistance and leveraged approximately $73.5 million in non-state funds for heritage projects statewide since it was created in 1996, according to a news release from the agency.
Wind power an election issue in Garrett County
Posted: 11:29 am Tue, August 31, 2010
By Associated Press
OAKLAND — A Garrett County commissioner is defending his support for wind power against two election-year opponents.
Republican Ernie Gregg says the two wind farms under construction in the mountainous county will generate tax revenue, but he wants to see how they fare before supporting any further development.
Gregg’s primary election opponent, Gregan Crawford, says the giant turbines will reduce property values and hurt the construction industry if people decide not to build in the area.
The only Democrat in the race, Eric Robison, is a vocal opponent of the projects.
The two wind farms under construction in Garrett County would be Maryland’s first.
