Maryland State Board Of Ed. Willing To Waive Up To Five Days Of School
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Feb. 25, 2010
The Maryland State Board of Education yesterday set forth a limited waiver process for Maryland school system calendars affected by the historic snow storms of this winter.
School systems may request a waiver of up to five days from the required 180-day instructional calendar because of the inclement weather that affected the State during storms in December and February. The state board has authorized the state superintendent to approve individual requests from local system superintendents to make adjustments in the school calendar.
State law requires that schools be open for a minimum of 180 instructional days. The law also grants the state board authority to make adjustments to the school year if normal school attendance is prevented by severe weather. Under the waiver provision, systems must demonstrate that they have made sufficient effort in providing instruction through calendar planning and modifications.
“We believe that 180 instructional days is a bare minimum in a competitive world where some nations keep students in school for 220 days or more,” said state superintendent of schools Nancy S. Grasmick. “At the same time, we recognize that severe weather conditions this year have been unprecedented, and the state board believes that some flexibility must be granted.”
Read the rest of the article here.
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
Dunkers Prepare For A Chill At 12th Annual Deep Creek Dunk
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Feb. 25, 2010
Plans have been finalized by the Maryland State Police and Natural Resources Police for Saturday’s 12th annual Deep Creek Dunk and Friday night’s DunkFest celebration.
The annual charity fundraiser for Special Olympics Maryland is set for Saturday, Feb. 27, and as many as 1,000 dunkers are expected to take part in the event. Participants come from all across the region, making Deep Creek Lake a popular weekend destination for several hundred people from Baltimore and the surrounding areas during the weekend’s festivities.
Last year’s 11th annual MSP/NRP Deep Creek Dunk raised $162,000 with the help of just under 800 dunkers, with all proceeds benefiting Special Olympics Maryland and its year-round sports training and competition programs for individuals with intellectual disabilities. A significant portion of the funds raised support the 47 Garrett County athletes who train and compete throughout the year.
According to a spokesperson, the Dunk underwrites the entire annual budget for SOMD Garrett County, which includes transportation, uniforms, facilities fees, equipment, and meals.
“We are proud to partner with so many local businesses and with the Garrett County Chamber of Commerce to put on the Deep Creek Dunk, and have tried to market and position the event as just one small part of a weekend destination for those traveling from out of town,” said Tom Schniedwind, executive vice president of sports marketing for Special Olympics Maryland. “Our hope is that getting involved with the Dunk isn’t just a feel-good proposition for local businesses – instead, we hope that it’s actually good for business for our partners here locally.”
The dunk activities begin on Friday night at the Honi Honi “DunkFest,” and features the Toast Your Buns Bonfire from 6 to 10 p.m.; live music beginning at 8 p.m.; an outdoor pizza party and carnival games for the whole family; and fun drink specials both inside and out. Those who are dunking on Saturday may pre-register anytime between 6 and 9 p.m. Friday evening, and skip the lines altogether on Saturday.
In order to join the event and take a dip into Deep Creek Lake, participants must raise a minimum of $50 in pledges. For that contribution they will receive a complimentary meal from Uno Chicago Bar & Grill, a commemorative event sweatshirt, and a group color photo.
Special prizes will also be awarded for the top three fundraisers, the top law enforcement fundraiser, the best costume, and the top fundraising team. Heated changing tents are available on the lawn for both men and women to change in before and after.
Day-of registration begins at noon on Saturday, and the Dunk will take place at 2 p.m. There is no fee for spectators, and dunkers of all ages are welcome – though participants under the age of 18 will need signed parental consent. To register, persons may visit the web site at www.dunk-md.com or call 800-541-7544, ext. 503 (Md. only), or 410-789-6677, ext. 503, and register through the 24-hour Dunk hotline.
“The MSP/NRP Deep Creek Dunk is not just an event – it’s an experience,” said Schniedwind. “There is just an amazing energy throughout the crowd before, during, and after the Dunk as people embrace the spirit of fun and craziness that defines the event. And the best part is that all that positive energy ultimately translates into a better tomorrow for Special Olympics Maryland athletes in all of our communities.”
Dunk-day activities include music by DJ Jonny Rock, food, a wacky costume contest, and a live remote by WKHJ 104.5. Following the main event, the Black Bear Tavern is hosting the official Post-Dunk Party from 6 p.m. to close, complete with live music. A suggested $5 donation to Special Olympics Maryland gets all the official Deep Creek Dunk oval sticker and the chance to win prizes all evening.
The MSP/NRP Deep Creek Dunk, presented by Uno Chicago Bar & Grill and the Garrett County Chamber of Commerce, is coordinated jointly by the Maryland State Police, Natural Resources Police, Maryland Park Service and several other local law enforcement agencies.
The MSP/NRP Dunk is just the beginning of a full weekend of activities for Special Olympics Maryland, with the annual SOMD Winter Games beginning the following evening, Sunday, Feb. 28.
Winter Games feature competition in alpine skiing, modified alpine, cross-country skiing, and the newest addition, snowshoeing. Approximately 350 athletes from both Maryland and Delaware will travel to Garrett County for this
state-level event.
Read the rest of the article here.
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
Railey Realty Welcomes Jay Ferguson, REALTOR - Railey Blog
Railey Realty Welcomes Jay Ferguson, REALTOR
By: Mike Kennedy
mkennedy@railey.com
301-616-6106
February 24th, 2010
Category: Garrett County News, News
Lifelong Garrett County Maryland resident Jay Ferguson has joined Railey Realty – Deep Creek Lake and Garrett County’s leading real estate company since 1995. Jay has spent the last 9 years in the real estate business with Long & Foster Real Estate. He was the office individual top producer for 6 consecutive years, and a Hall of Fame member of the Gold Team – a distinguished honor in the company based on annual sales of $5 million or more for 8 of the last 9 years. Jay has expanded on his Realtor education as a GRI (Graduate of the Realtor Institute), RRS (Resort Recreation Specialist) and an e-Pro (internet transaction & marketing specialist).
Jay has successfully blended his background in web design and internet marketing / consulting to propel his real estate sales career and grow his business. He has worked with hundreds of clients throughout the years and has assisted many first time home buyers and friends in the dream of home ownership. Ferguson says, “I was born and raised in Oakland & at the lake, and it’s incredibly exciting to introduce new residents to everything that Garrett County has to offer. I’m very proud of how much our area has grown throughout the years and the many new businesses & attractions that make our home even more special.”
Ferguson has specialized in Southern Garrett County homes/land & Deep Creek Lake vacation home/building lot sales, though he has vast experience in all other areas of the county, as well. Jay has sold and marketed everything from small recreational lots, to farms, single family homes and vacation homes at Deep Creek Lake and Wisp Resort. “I greatly appreciate the opportunities and the people that I have worked with through my years in the real estate business. I have learned a lot from some truly great friends, colleagues, and real estate professionals. I look forward to a new challenge in my life and adding my sales experience and web marketing to the area’s #1 real estate agency. I am always eager to learn more from some of the greatest Realtors the county has to offer, as well as working with a locally owned real estate company.”
Railey broker and owner Kevin Liller had this to say about Jay. “We are really excited to have Jay join the Railey Realty team. Jay is a quality person who brings a vast knowledge of real estate and internet marketing as well as a very loyal customer and client base.”
Jay and his family live in Mitchell Manor in Oakland. He and his wife Jessica have two young children, Kayleah, 10, and Noah, 2. Jay is the son of Jerry & Sherry Ferguson, both Garrett County natives.
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
My new office at Railey Realty
Honi Honi bar preparing for the Deep Creek Dunk
You can see the number of snowmobilers that have made their way to Uno’s & the Honi-Honi over the past 3 weeks or so. With the record snowfall that we experienced, there is a ton of ice and snow still covering the lake.
From the outdoor deck at Uno’s, you can see where the ice is cut off to the right, above the whale and beside the pine trees.
Zoomed in on the hole in the ice. Past years, I recall it being bigger, but I figure keeping everyone closer together may prevent hypothermia setting in so quickly…
Still time to get sponsors and do the dunk this weekend! It’s a lot of fun and for a great cause, the Maryland Special Olympics.
Howard County Healthiest, Baltimore City Least Healthy, Garrett Near Middle
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Howard County Healthiest, Baltimore City Least Healthy, Garrett Near Middle
Feb. 18, 2010
Howard County has the healthiest residents in Maryland and Baltimore City has the least healthy in the state, according to a new report released Tuesday by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The project is the first of its kind to rank the overall health of the counties in all 50 states – more than 3,000 total – by using a standard formula to measure how healthy people are and how long they live.
Garrett County’s residents fall near the middle of the list of Maryland’s 23 counties and Baltimore City, ranking 14th in health outcomes and 13th in health factors.
Maryland’s 10 healthiest counties, starting with most healthy, are Howard, Montgomery, Frederick, Queen Anne’s, Carroll, Talbot, Calvert, St. Mary’s, Harford, and Worcester. The 10 counties/city in the poorest health, starting with least healthy, are Baltimore City, Somerset, Dorchester, Allegany, Caroline, Wicomico, Cecil, Prince George’s, Kent, and Baltimore.
The healthiest of Maryland’s 24 counties are clustered in the north-central region of the state; the least healthy are sprinkled primarily in the southeast and northwest regions of the state.
“This report shows us that there are big differences in overall health across Maryland’s counties, because of many factors, ranging from individual behavior to quality of health care, to education and jobs, to access to healthy foods, and to quality of the air,” said Patrick Remington, M.D., associate dean for public health, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. “For the first time, every person can compare the overall health of his or her county to the health of other counties in Maryland, and also see where the state needs to improve.”
The online report, available at www.countyhealth-rankings.org, includes a snapshot of each county in Maryland, with a color-coded map comparing each county’s overall health ranking. Researchers used five measures to assess the level of overall health or “health outcomes” for Maryland by county: the rate of people dying before age 75, the percent of people who report being in fair or poor health, the number of days people report being in poor physical and poor mental health, and the rate of low-birthweight infants.
The report then looks at factors that affect people’s health within four categories: health behavior, clinical care, social and economic factors, and physical environment. Among the many health factors they looked at were: rates of adult smoking, adult obesity, binge drinking, teenage pregnancy, number of uninsured adults, availability of primary care providers, preventable hospital stays, rates of high school graduation, number of children in poverty, homicide rates, access to healthy foods, air pollution levels, and liquor store density.
Garrett County’s best ranking – 6th – was in physical environment. The county ranked 8th in health behaviors, 14th in social and economic factors, and 19th in clinical care.
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
GCAC Members Attend Md. Arts Day In Annapolis
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Feb. 18, 2010
Members of the Board of Directors of the Garrett County Arts Council along with staff, volunteers, and representatives of several other county arts organizations traveled to Annapolis on Feb. 9 for the 12th annual Maryland Arts Day, hosted by Maryland Citizens for the Arts (MCA) and the MCA Foundation.
This year’s theme was “Many Voices, One Song,” with the image of hundreds of voices together creating one song of support for the arts across the state, said Karen Reckner, executive director of the Garrett County Arts Council.
While the day was curtailed somewhat because of the inclement weather, Reckner said, a considerable crowd was still in attendance to demonstrate the importance of art in communities.
“Garrett County was the only county west of Frederick to make the trip,” she said. “We were recognized for the courageous spirit of the group.”
In addition to the county arts council, members of Garrett Lakes Arts Festival (GLAF) and Our Town Theatre also attended.
“Maryland Arts Day is the most important arts advocacy event of the year, bringing the many, varied voices of the artistic community together in support of state funding for the arts and the Maryland State Arts Council,” Reckner said. ” In addition, Maryland Arts Day acts as the only state-wide annual meeting for the Maryland arts community.”
Read the rest of the article here.
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
Deep Creek Lake & Garrett County Snowfall History from 1939
You may have heard by now that we have set the new record for snowfall in Garrett County, Maryland this winter. Well, thanks to my friends at Team One (buy a vehicle from Steve Shaffer, he’s the man!), I got a copy of the official Garrett County snowfall history, dating back to 1939! It’s pretty neat to see how much total snow we’ve had each year. I believe this originated from the State Highway Administration. For the record, we are at 234.5 inches so far this year, which beat the previous record of 2003 by…1 inch.
I’m looking forward to 2 or 3 more snowstorms to CRUSH this record once and for all! Who is with me??
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
Jay Ferguson has joined Railey Realty at Deep Creek Lake
It’s official: I have teamed up with Deep Creek Lake & Garrett County, Maryland’s #1 Real Estate brokerage, Railey Realty. I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to grow my real estate business and to continue to provide excellent service and sales to all of my friends, family and clients! A special thanks to all of my friends and colleagues that I have worked with through years while at L&F – it was a very special 9 years of my life 🙂
If you are in the market to buy or sell real estate in Garrett County or at Deep Creek Lake, I would LOVE to be your agent!!!
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
Winterfest 2010 in downtown Oakland, Maryland
As you can see, we had a dazzling sunny day for Winterfest in Oakland yesterday. The temperature was perfect, and there were a lot of Garrett County folk who shook off their latest episode of cabin fever and took to the streets. I am always particularly impressed with the Oakland train station and the downtown Garrett County Historical Society museum. There is such a rich history of the area contained in that museum, you should really stop by to check it out. You could easily spend a few hours reading all of the displays and looking at the photos. I’ll blog more about that later.
As for Winterfest, it was a perfect day to pull it off. Lots of activities for the kids, plenty of diverse ice sculptures to ogle and a plethora of local vendors and artisans peddling their wares on the streets and at the Oakland train station.
We really enjoyed it – the kids thought sitting in an ice throne (sponsored by Grand Central Station) was ‘awesome’ and the Dragon Slide (sponsored by Long & Foster Real Estate) was pretty cool, too. We were hoping to ride the horse drawn sleigh, but the line was just a little too long.
We enjoyed a tasty lunch at Wendy’s Town Restaurant, which was packed. Their buckwheat cakes and sausage are among the best in town – Englanders and OakMar have pretty darn good buckwheats, too 🙂 Winterfest seemed to be a great success in terms of business for local merchants and vendors – which was great to see.
I didn’t get to make it to the snowmobile races because of a sleeping little boy, but I heard they were awesome. I’ll find some info out there and share in the coming days. Winterfest is still going strong today (Sunday), so get out there and enjoy it! It’s a bright sunny day!
If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Long & Foster Real Estate for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350
