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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

The best way to rent/sell your vacation home at Deep Creek Lake

If anyone reading this wants to offer up their rental house for a Deep Creek Lake reality show, I’ll be happy to pitch the idea. It’s really not a new concept, in terms of having ‘celebrity’ homes at Deep Creek Lake, but it sure is an interesting proposal to pick up vacation rentals or real estate sales. There are some current & past NFL players, NFL owners and a few other miscellaneous celebs that still own property here at the lake, so maybe their houses are available for the Deep Creek Lake reality show project…”Deep Creek Shore”, anyone??
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Reality Show Real Estate via CNN.com

(CNN) — Want to rent the “Jersey Shore” house in Seaside Heights, New Jersey? It’ll cost you.

What used to be just one of the many homes along Seaside Heights’ stretch of boardwalk is now a prime rental property that can cost as much as $4,000 a night, said the property’s broker, Mike Loundy of Seaside Realty.

On the low end, the property rents for $1,800 a night for a three-night minimum, but as availability decreases, the per-night cost will go in the opposite direction, although Loundy is quick to note that the owners are flexible with pricing.

Since production on the reality show wrapped, the house has been rented for a variety of uses, from a Sweet Sixteen bash — $4,400 total for the night, which included access to the whole house plus a DJ and catering — to a production set for a few television personalities who thought it would be fun to stay there with cameras of their own.

The house is open for anything that’s legal, and business, Loundy said, has been brisk, even for other houses.

“No one that I know of could see how popular the show [has become],” he said. “Our rentals in the area overall are up because they’re in proximity to that house. People are star-struck by the idea of staying here.”

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 Long & Foster Real Estate for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Deep Creek Baptist Church @ Deep Creek Lake

I saw this unique photo on the front page of the Republican website and thought it would be worthwhile to profile the Deep Creek Baptist Church. There are always small grains of truth and scripture on their billboard that will make you chuckle or think.

Here is some info from their website:

Deep Creek Baptist Church

Phone:
(301) 387-5688

E-mail:
pastorben@deepcreekbc.com

Website:
http://www.deepcreekbc.com/

Our Mission
Deep Creek Baptist Church is focused on pointing people toward Jesus Christ, the One and Only Son of God, as the only means of gaining eternal life in heaven.

Our History

While Deep Creek Baptist Church is the oldest Baptist church in Western Maryland, tracing its origins back to 1775. It wasn’t until 1891 that it became a part of the Maryland Baptist Union Association.

In 1879 and 1890 Reverend Frank Cunningham and Reverend W.P. Fortney, from the Jersey Baptist Church of Somerset County, Pennsylvania, came to the Friendsville/McHenry area and held a preaching mission in the local log schoolhouse. Converts and friendships were made. Seven years later the new pastor of the Jersey Baptist Church came to Deep Creek at the invitation of local residents to do some sport fishing. He was asked to hold meetings at the log school during his visit. Out of that double fishing trip (for fish and souls), the Deep Creek Baptist Church was organized on December 11, 1887, with Reverend Nathan Hart as pastor.

Deep Creek is the oldest Baptist church in Garrett County. It has been instrumental in starting two other churches in the county. The first house of worship was erected in 1888 and lasted seventy years. The church closed in 1912, the same year that Reverend Clement W. Hudson left after serving as pastor for eight years. When Reverend Hudson returned in 1916 for a summer visit, he was dismayed and shaken to find the church boarded and closed. He entered through a semi-boarded window and wrote on the pulpit Bible, “O Lord, revive Thy work in the midst of the years”.

The church reopened ten years after forty-eight hundred acres of glade land had been made into Maryland’s largest fresh water lake directly in front of the church in 1924. A rededication service was held in September 1934. Pews and a piano were bought from a black church in Frostburg for thirty dollars. No services were held again until 1935.

On May 2, 1937, Reverend William B. Orndorff accepted a call to become the pastor of the Baptist circuit of Loch Lynn, Ferndale, and Deep Creek. The church has had a total of fourteen pastors, ten since its reopening.

In 1958 the original building was dismantled and a new fieldstone building begun. The first service in the new and present church was held on June 4, 1961. A parsonage had been erected on the church site with its first occupant being Reverend Charles P. Anderson. A centennial weekend celebration was held on Labor Day weekend in 1987.

Deep Creek Baptist Church is a community church with resort attendances three times larger in the summer. Our visitors are always welcomed and encouraged to come back and kick off your shoes to stay a while. The evening services from the end of May through Labor Day are held at the local state park. The church’s current pastor Dr. Ben J. Lahay grew up in Baltimore and as a young man came to vacation at the Lake with his family.

Roll Call of Pastors

Nathan Hart (1887 – ? )

J.G. McAdoo (1896 – 1902)

W.H. Faust (1904 – 1905)

Clement W. Hudson (1905 – 1912)

William B. Orndorff (1937 – 1942)

B. Finney Bragg (1942 – 1944)

George H. Coker (1945 – 1948)

Paul S. Parker (1950 – 1957)

Charles P. Anderson (1957 – 1968)

Robert G. Jennings (1968 – 1974)

Donald R. Haynes (1976 – 1978)

David C. Long (1978 – 1982)

Donald M. Wilson (1982 – 2007)

Bernard J. Lahay (2007 – Present)

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

Honi-Honi Bar To Host DunkFest at Deep Creek Lake! February 26

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Feb. 18, 2010

The Honi-Honi Bar, located next to Deep Creek Uno’s Restaurant, will be hosting DunkFest! on Friday, Feb. 26, from 6 to 10 p.m. to kick off the 12th annual Deep Creek Dunk, a fundraiser event for Special Olympics Maryland.

This event will feature carnival games, a bonfire on the Honi-Honi lawn, and live music by Remedy Lite from 8 to 11 p.m. All proceeds from the event will benefit Special Olympics Maryland.

Special Olympics Maryland provides year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for persons 8 years of age and older with intellectual disabilities. The athletes are given continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy, and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills, and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes, and the community.

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

Garrett County Planning Commission's public hearing March 6

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The Garrett County Planning Commission’s public hearing on proposed revisions to three principal land development ordinances has been rescheduled for Saturday, March 6, at 10 a.m. in the Garrett College auditorium.

In the event of inclement weather, the alternative hearing date is Thursday, March 11, at 7 p.m. at Garrett College.

The proposed revisions would affect the Deep Creek Watershed Zoning, Garrett County Subdivision, and Garrett County Sensitive Areas ordinances.

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

Maryland Park Service issues warning for Deep Creek Lake snowmobilers

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The Maryland Park Service reminds all snowmobilers of the potential for unseen safety hazards on Deep Creek Lake, particularly at night. As of this Saturday, Feb. 20, an area of ice will be removed near Uno Chicago Grill along Garrett Highway to create open water for the annual Special Olympics Deep Creek Dunk. This area will remain unsafe for quite some time and will be marked with reflective traffic cones, said a park service spokesperson.

He added that persons should be aware that lake surface conditions under bridges where road salt and abrasives are plowed from the pavement are often particularly hazardous.

“Other conditions that may cause unpleasant situations are unseen snowdrifts or pressure ridges that can act as ramps and cause sleds to become airborne, leading to a loss of control and accidents,” he added.

Deep Creek Lake is a part of the designated ORV trail system, permitting use by registered snowmobiles only. Permits are available by mail or at any of the local state park offices during normal business hours. Snowmobiles may operate at night if equipped with working head and taillights.

Access to the lake may be made at Deep Creek Lake State Park or with permission from a private landowner with a permit site adjacent to the lake.

Ice fishermen, hikers, and cross-country skiers traveling on the lake should also exercise caution. The wearing of or having readily accessible life preservers could prevent a tragedy, said the spokesperson.

“Anyone who encounters people, pets, or wildlife that have fallen through the ice is asked to call either 911 or the toll-free DNR Communications number (1-800-628-9944) for assistance,” he added.

For further information on ice conditions at Deep Creek Lake, persons may telephone a ranger at the park headquarters office, 301-387-5563, or the Discovery Center on weekends at 301-387-7067.

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

Deep Creek Lake pic featured on AccuWeather.com weather blog

“No comment necessary in Deep Creek Lake, Md. Photo by AccuWeather.com Facebook user Shelley Thompson.”

A cool pic found its way to the weather blog of Accuweather.com. I found it on Twitter and wanted to share. The blog basically says we are in for another big storm beginning next week:

“From there, you guessed it, the swath of heavy snow may roll into the central Appalachians and the mid-Atlantic Sunday night and Monday.

While a wedge of warm air will try to work northward along the Atlantic Seaboard with this storm, odds favor mostly snow verses mostly rain at this time of the year, due to the cold ocean, cold ground, etc.

While this does “not” appear to be a storm that produces 2 to 3 feet of snow, it will add more weight to the existing snow on the ground and on roofs, be it water or more snow.”

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

Deep Creek Lake & Garrett County Photo - White Tail Deer - Literally

Thanks to Mary Lou Rhorbaugh of Prosperity Mortgage for sending this pic of some Garrett County natives wading through the snow. Garrett County has received over 220 inches of snowfall this winter…and more is coming! It’s a safe bet that they are ‘white’ tailed deer…

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

School systems looking at how to make up for missed days

Megan Miller
Cumberland Times-News

CUMBERLAND — School officials in Allegany and Garrett counties are struggling to piece together academic calendars and instructional plans wrecked by winter weather, but some help might be coming from the state.

In Allegany County, where students have missed eight days of school because of weather so far this year, officials haven’t decided how to handle make-up days.

Allegany County Superintendent David Cox said he’ll have more information about what the local board might do after a statewide meeting of superintendents scheduled for Friday.

“I know that every school system in the state, practically, has been impacted by missing a whole week of school,” Cox said. “We will continue these conversations. As we learn about our options, we’ll let you know.”

For Allegany County students, the last day of school is scheduled for June 8, with June 9-11 and June 14-18 designated as snow make-up days. Last year, the board voted to use Presidents Day and Easter Monday as snow make-up days.

At Tuesday night’s board of education meeting, Allegany County High School teacher Evan West implored members not to extend the school year.

“It’s very difficult to maintain a high level of instruction in those last days of June going into July,” said West, who is also a parent. “And it would be a morale boost for the staff, also.”

Cox said he hopes winter will back off so that the school year can proceed. “We would like to resume some sense of normalcy.”

At the state level, education officials are also hoping to avoid extending school years into mid-summer.

On Tuesday, Maryland Superintendent of Schools Nancy Grasmick will ask the state board of education to waive a few of the 180 days Maryland schools are required to complete in an academic year. If the board agrees, schools might not have to extend their class schedules as far into the summer as they currently expect.

“The waiver wouldn’t necessarily be for all of the days that students have missed, because we do think the 180-day requirement should be taken very seriously,” said Maryland State Department of Education spokesman William Reinhard. “But we’ve had a historic snow in Maryland, and this seems to be something that should be done so students aren’t in school until the Fourth of July.”

The board has approved similar waivers in the past, sometimes tailoring the number of days waived to conditions in individual counties. But Reinhard said Grasmick will probably request a set number of days to be waived statewide.

“The snow has pretty much affected every county,” he said. “Although some got a little less than others, most got a ton.”

As of Wednesday, Garrett County schools had missed 12 scheduled days of class. Without state intervention, Superintendent Wendell Teets said that will probably mean extending the school calendar well past the original last day of classes set for June 8.

“We normally build five days into the calendar as make-up days, and we have the option of using Easter Monday as well,” Teets said. “That will give us six days. The others, at this point in time, would be added on in June.”

Teets said the Garrett school system, too, would benefit from a state waiver, but it’s planning ways to solve the problem on its own, just in case.

“Right now that’s a nonissue for us,” he said. ”We’re just looking at ways to make up the days we have to make up.”

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

Housing starts post sharp rebound | Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Housing starts rebounded more strongly than expected to their highest level in six months in January, while permits fell slightly less than forecast, pointing a mild housing market recovery.

Housing Market

The Commerce Department said on Wednesday housing starts increased 2.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 591,000 units, reversing the prior month’s weather-induced drop.

Analysts polled by Reuters had expected housing starts to rise to 580,000 units. December’s housing starts were revised upwards to 575,000 units from the previously reported 557,000 units. Compared to January last year, starts surged 21.1 percent, the largest increase since April 2004.

“It’s a positive surprise on all fronts and shows that overall demand has moved higher. That’s an important element to watch as we move through a cycle going from incentive-based to more organic growth,” said Craig Peckham, equity trading strategist at Jefferies & Co. in New York.

U.S. stock index futures held gains, while Treasury debt prices extended losses on the report.

Groundbreaking for single-family homes rose 1.5 percent last month to an annual rate of 484,000 units after declining 3 percent in December. Starts for the volatile multifamily segment increased 9.2 percent to a 107,000 unit annual pace after rising 12.6 percent in December.

Housing, which is at the core of the most painful economic downturn since the Great Depression, is crawling out of a three-year slump, supported by government programs. New home construction contributed to economic growth in the third quarter of 2009 for the first time since 2005.

But activity slowed sharply in the fourth quarter and while homebuilder sentiment edged up this month, it remains at levels consistent with poor conditions.

Even with mortgage rates near record low, demand for home loans remains lethargic. Mortgage applications dipped 2.1 percent last week, while refinancings slipped 1.2 percent, the Mortgage Bankers Association said in a separate report.

New building permits, which give a sense of future home construction, fell 4.9 percent to 621,000 units last month after rising to a 14-month high of 653,000 units in December, the Commerce Department said. That compared to analysts’ forecasts for 620,000 units.

The inventory of total houses under construction fell 2.3 percent to a record low 503,000 units last month, while the total number of units authorized but not yet started eased 0.9 percent to 94,300 units.

A separate report from the Labor Department showed import prices rose 1.4 percent in January, led by a jump in prices for natural gas and other fuels. Export prices gained 0.8 percent in January after a 0.6 percent rise in December.

Analysts surveyed before the report had expected a 0.9 percent rise in import prices and a 0.4 percent rise in export prices.
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