Orenstein Hammond Sims Get together for Tom Ferguson
April 30th, 2005
You are invited to a meet and greet for Tom Ferguson at the Westminster Riding Club on April 30th, 2005. Sponsored by Phyllis Hammond, Deb Sims and Rebekah Orenstein…
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Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist
Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Md Troopers Assoc #20 & Westminster Md Fire Dept Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist
Saturday, April 30, 2005
20050429 CC FOP Lodge #20 Candidate questionnaire
Fraternal Order of Police Carroll County Lodge No. 20 candidate questionnaire
2005 Mayoral/City Council Candidate Political Survey - Due April 29th, 2005
Westminster Mayor
Fraternal Order of
April 8th, 2005
2005 Mayoral/City Council Candidate Political Survey
Due April 29th, 2005
Westminster Mayor
April 29th, 2005
1. What do you feel is the most positive strength you would add to the City of
Experience and the energy, drive, accessibility and ability to make that experience work for positive change.
2. What has been your most positive non-work related leadership experience?
The Civil Rights Movement in the south in the early 1970s.
3. What role, if any, do you see public safety playing in the future economic development of the City of
How would that affect the Police Department?
The Westminster Police Department plays a critical role.
4. Do you support rank and file negotiations for benefits? Please expand on your answer.
No.
5. What do you feel can be done to support public safety in the City of
Public Education. Accreditation. Technology. Landlord Training Program.
6. The current administration of the Westminster City Police Department has taken a positive step towards recruitment of police officers. What idea(s) could you give the Chief to help recruit quality police officers for the City of
Officer to Officer contact, recruitment and promotion including FOP promotion.
7. The current administration of the Westminster City Police Department has taken several positive steps to retain qualified police officers. What idea(s) could you give the Chief to help retain them?
Shift differential pay. Self-actualization. Esprit de corps. Degree of Openness.
8. What do you feel is the most pressing issue relating to the City of
Pay and strategic planning.
1. What do you feel is the most positive strength you would add to the City of
Experience and the energy, drive, accessibility and ability to make that experience work for positive change. I love my job. I have a passion for
I have the unique qualifications to positively affect the day-to-day quality of life for
Change can be difficult, but over the years, by working together with other community leaders and
I offer the citizens of the City of
2. What has been your most positive non-work related leadership experience?
Working in the Civil Rights Movement in the very early 1970s in the south. It taught me discipline, perseverance, tolerance for physical, psychological and verbal abuse and focus. It taught me patience (don’t sweat the small stuff) and to keep in mind the big picture in working towards positive social change.
3. What role, if any, do you see public safety playing in the future economic development of the City of
The Police Department plays a key and critical role in future economic development. As you know, 40% of the tax base in the City of
Potential businesses look at many factors when choosing to move to a municipality such as
It will affect the Westminster Police Department by requiring more innovative and cutting edge customer service oriented policing (such as Community Policing and S.E.R.A.) out of the officers and the department. Westminster Police Officers are our 365/24/7 ambassadors for
It will also require more police officers. However, economic development usually pays for itself. That stated, I have suggested for several years that
How can the FOP play a role in economic development, and attracting more jobs and businesses, to the City of
4. Do you support rank and file negotiations for benefits? Please expand on your answer.
I’m curious – what do you mean by “rank and file negotiations for benefits”? If this is double-speak for collective bargaining or bringing a union into the City of
Pay and benefits are one area of personnel where the City has to speak with one voice and have a clear consensus. When it doesn't happen that way, false hopes are created and disappointment is sure to occur. It is also one thing to understand that pay and benefits must increase in order for the City to stay competitive and remain on the cutting edge of providing customer service for our citizens and it is another thing for the employees to have an ownership stake in the organization and understand that we often have finite resources with which to work.
It has been my experience that often Unions do not understand the big picture and instead they foster friction, dissension and acrimony among the very folks who are already pre-disposed to do everything possible to provide the best for the employees. Unions pit employee against employee and employee against management. I have no interest in anyone or any organization getting between me and the employees whom I serve.
I urge the rank and file to continue to work through the chain of command to articulate what is needed and what can be done. If the chain of command is not working to facilitate getting the rank and file’s message to me then I need to know about that. Otherwise, I have yet to find a Westminster Police Officer who has not found me anything but accessible, ready and eager to listen, at all hours of the night and day, 365/24/7.
What additional benefits does the FOP think are needed by Westminster Police Officers? I worked hard in the past for Westminster Police Officers and I understand that there is more to achieve. By working together, we can all do better. Meanwhile, I have heard you in the past and worked hard for minimum court overtime, minimum emergency call out overtime, expanding the take home car policy, LEOPS, more training opportunities and I supported the expansion of the CRT to a countywide team; among many initiatives in which I heard you and went to work for you.
5. What do you feel can be done to support public safety in the City of
Public Education, Accreditation, Technology and Landlord Training Program are some ideas that quickly come to mind.
Public Education is self-explanatory. The local public has long since begun to take for granted that we have an excellent police department. By putting our heads together, perhaps we can arrive at some innovative approaches to letting the public be aware of the excellent policing that everyone in
Accreditation. With a long term goal of accreditation comes an emphasis on additional training opportunities beyond certification standards, including Executive Development Training, Incident Management, advanced Crisis Response Training.
Technology. Stronger emphasis placed upon the use of available technologies including the use of computers and other modern advances.
Landlord Training Program. By working directly with the Landlords we have found that they are a very effective key to the solution. Criminals when arrested are normally released pending trial and when sentenced serve little or no time and then return to what they consider is their home. It is important that we collectively work with the landlords to screen tenants, and put into place strict rental agreements proscribing an intolerance of crime or drugs, along with advocacy that landlords proceed quickly with the eviction process to help eliminate the ability of the criminal to return to live in the neighborhood and increase our calls for service.
What does the FOP think needs to be done to support public safety in
6. The current administration of the Westminster City Police Department has taken a positive step towards recruitment of police officers. What idea(s) could you give the Chief to help recruit quality police officers for the City of
The issue of Take Home Vehicles has recently been addressed. Issues such as pay are being addressed immediately by the proposed FY 2006 budget and a salary study is in that budget. LEOPS is in place… A signing bonus is in place.
Officer to Officer contact, recruitment and promotion. One idea that I’d like to share with the rank and file and the Chief is how can we get the rank and file to participate in attracting additional police officers to the Westminster Police Department. With an emphasis on laterals, how can we empower the rank and file to have a stake in the recruitment process? The best advertisement for the Westminster Police Department are the officers out there talking up the Department and the City of
How about the FOP participating? Perhaps the FOP could run some ads for all the agencies in the County and talk up our Carroll County quality of life, good schools, low crime rate and a great working environment where Police Officers and their work is greatly appreciated by the general Carroll County population.
What does the FOP think needs to be done to recruit quality police officers for the City of
7. The current administration of the Westminster City Police Department has taken several positive steps to retain qualified police officers. What idea(s) could you give the Chief to help retain them?
Shift differential pay. Self-actualization. Esprit de corps. Degree of Openness.
Above and beyond issues such as pay, better equipment, LEOPS and more training opportunities…
Degree of Openness. Continued change towards a more open system of management where information and explanations flow from the bottom to the top and the top to the bottom fluidly and easily. Understanding that there must be a clearly defined chain of command, it is possible for lower ranking officers to be provided the opportunity to give additional feedback and be a part of the future planning of the department. I believe that the greater the amount of information shared by a policing system with its environment (command staff and the Chief and the Mayor), the greater the degree of openness and opportunities for change.
Esprit de corps. By team building, officers can take pride that they are part of one of the finest police agencies in the region.
Self-actualization. Creating and giving police officers more opportunities to access responsibility for the future of the department
Shift differential pay. I believe that shift differential pay is important for all nightshift employees in the City of
I would like to hear what ideas does the FOP have to better recruitment and retention of Police Officers in the City of
8. What do you feel is the most pressing issue relating to the City of
Pay. In my FY 2006 Budget, I have included money for a comprehensive administration and salary study. To the best of my knowledge, this has not been done since the late 1980s. I don’t think that the salaries of
How will this issue affect the Police Department? It is my goal that you will be paid more.
What does the FOP feel is the most pressing issue relating to the City of
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Friday, April 29, 2005
Rockinberg quits Mount Airy planning commission by Carolynne Fitzpatrick
Rockinberg quits Mount Airy planning commission
Apr. 28, 2005 Carolynne Fitzpatrick Staff Writer
http://www.gazette.net/gazette_archive/2005b/200517/mountairy/news/272576-1.html
Pat Rockinberg resigned from the Mount Airy Planning and Zoning Commission effective Wednesday, April 20, after a lot of thought and regret, he said Thursday.
"One of my goals when I joined the commission was to promote...constructive dialogue," Rockinberg said. "I feel that I have been unable to meet that goal."
"I'm sorry to see him go," Mayor James Holt said Friday. "But if that's what's best for him, it's as it should be."
Planning Commission Chair Joe Jansen Monday thanked Rockinberg for his service. "Anybody who spends a day or ten years in this job deserves gratitude and recognition," Jansen said.
Council President John Medve, liaison to the planning and zoning commission, was also sorry to see Rockinberg resign, but for other reasons. "I think it's a shame," he said. "In my opinion he's responsible for making a commitment to serve, he should fulfill that obligation."
Rockinberg cited differences of opinions over how to control residential growth as a reason for his resignation.
"There are issues we didn't agree on," Medve said, adding that disagreements and discussions are healthy for decision making. Medve said that while there might have been "friction," that Rockinberg alluded to in his letter, "he never picked up the phone and called to talk about it."
Read the entire article here: http://www.gazette.net/gazette_archive/2005b/200517/mountairy/news/272576-1.html
20050428 Rockinberg quits planning commission
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Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/ = http://www.kevindayhoff.net/ Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://kevindayhoffart.blogspot.com/ or http://kevindayhoffart.com/ = http://www.kevindayhoff.com/ Kevin Dayhoff Westminster: http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/ or http://www.westgov.net/ = www.kevindayhoff.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevindayhoff Twitpic: http://twitpic.com/photos/kevindayhoff Kevin Dayhoff's The New Bedford Herald: http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/ = www.newbedfordherald.net Explore Carroll: www.explorecarroll.com The Tentacle: www.thetentacle.com
Thursday, April 28, 2005
20050427 Budget to give police a raise The Advocate by Jamie Kelly
Wednesday, April 27, 2005 THE ADVOCATE OF WESTMINSTER AND FINKSBURG
Budget to give police a raise Council to hold a public hearing May 3 on proposed Budget
BY JAMIE KELLY, ADVOCATE STAFF WRITER
In Westminster’s proposed budget, introduced at Monday’s Council Meeting, the police are slated to get a large raise as a way to keep more officers and better recruit highly-qualified officers to join the force.
During a budget workshop April 28, the council agreed to change the proposed budget to give the officers a three-step pay raise, two steps more than the other employees will receive. In the original proposal, all employees would have gotten a one-step raise, like they do each year, with more money possible after a planned salary study.
The proposal came from Council Member Thomas Ferguson, who asked Joseph Urban, city finance director, to determine how much it would cost to increase police salaries by two extra steps. That would cost $125,686.
Council Member Roy Chiavacci strongly supported that measure. When his turn came to ask questions about the budget, nearly all were concerned with the police department.
Police Chief Jeff Spaulding sent out a survey to other departments that
Westminster competes with for recruits. He said that new police officers in Westminster make around 20 percent less than those in other jurisdictions.
That, he said, will keep people from applying. Chiavacci said that the police need more help than other departments, because they have seven vacancies out of a staff of a little more than 40, while other departments have only a few with staff size of about 100.
Spaulding asked the council for the pay increase, because while the council has already done some to help with recruitment, pay is a major issue. He said he didn’t expect the problem to be solved overnight, or even in one fiscal year, but that the raise would be a big step.
But both Mayor Kevin Dayhoff and Council President Damian Halstad opposed the raise.
Dayhoff said that since the budget already includes money for a salary study, it wouldn’t be fair to other employees to raise police salaries before everyone’s salary has been looked at.
Rather, he said, the council should approve the budget, which already gave every employee a one-step increase.
The other employees have seen the council repeatedly favor the police department, he said, and if that continues to happen, it could hurt morale.
He said the other employees of the city also have an effect on public safety, and that should be recognized.
Halstad said his major problem was that Westminster’s salary was being compared to those in Baltimore, Baltimore County and other, larger jurisdictions.
While Westminster might compete with those places for officers, he said, the city can’t afford to pay as much as they can, and the salaries don’t necessarily need to be as high, because there’s less danger.
But four council members voted to change the budget to include the raises for the police.
“It’s a leap of faith, but it’s a good leap,” said Council Member Suzanne Albert.
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20050427 Budget to give police a raise The Advocate by Jamie Kelly
20050427 Vogel receives award for fundraising
Vogel receives award for fundraisingPAGE 18 Wednesday, April 27, 2005
THE ADVOCATE OF
Vogel receives award for fundraising
On April 12, the American Legion Auxiliary Post 31 presented Dylan Vogel a Certificate of Appreciation.
The 6-year-old collected $1,904 at TownMall of Westminster for the victims of the tsunami.
The ladies presented this award for outstanding service.
The mayor of
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
20050427 Exploding Councilmembers Baffle Political Scientists
Exploding Councilmembers Baffle Political ScientistsAnnapolis, Maryland, April 27, 2005
Kant Betrue[1], Staff Reporter,
New Bedford Herald - Phoenix Hill Daily Herald Bugle – All The News that is Unfit to Print
(Rhoiders) More than 100 councilmembers have puffed up and exploded in Maryland in recent weeks, and scientists still have no explanation for what's causing the instantaneous combustion, an official said Wednesday.
Body parts of the councilmembers have been tested, but scientists have been unable to find a bacteria or virus that would cause the councilmembers to swell up and pop, said Becky Caresalot, a spokesperson for the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Nor have they found any brain matter or any sign of higher evolved DNA or intelligent life.
"It's absolutely strange," Caresalot said. "We have a really unique story here in Maryland. This phenomenon really doesn't seem to have appeared anywhere before."
The councilmembers have been blowing up since the beginning of the month, filling up like balloons until their heads suddenly burst.
"It looks like a scene from a Frank Capra science-fiction movie," Wilma Magilicutty, the head of a local political science think tank, told the Phoenix Hill Daily Herald Bugle.
Often the phenomena occurs after the councilmember whines at a council meeting at the level of argument practiced by the average juvenile delinquent stuck at the intellectual level of a 2-year-old in a high chair throwing food.
Then the deadly phenomena strikes and "The swelled head councilmembers do not appear to suffer minutes before they finally explode." It is thought that this may be a result of the fact that most councilmembers do not have any feelings, a sense of remorse or accountability for their behavior.
Political scientists and pathologists have come up with several theories, but Caresalot said that most have been ruled out; with the exception that most councilmembers are really space aliens visiting from another planet and that fresh air, new ideas, sunlight and an enlightened environment is the cause of their demise.
Above and beyond pathological narcissism and delusions of grandeur, the councilmembers did not appear to have a disease, and a laboratory in Maryland has ruled out the possibility that it is a fungus that made its way from Washington, D.C., Caresalot said.
Caresalot said that tests will continue. In the meantime, municipal residents and (especially) municipal employees throughout the state have been warned to stay away from councilmembers.
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Copyright © 2005 New Bedford Herald - Phoenix Hill Daily Herald Bugle All Rights Reserved.
Copyright © 2005 New Bedford Herald - Phoenix Hill Daily Herald Bugle All Rights Reserved.
art literature of the absurd
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
[1] Kant Betrue, a Carthaginian whose family settled in Westminster after the Third Punic War, has been with the Phoenix Hill Daily Herald Bugle since the 1960s (he can’t remember exactly when in the 1960s…). A Pulitzer Prize winner for journalism, he writes about issues ranging from the international economy to exploding toilets.
Sunday, April 24, 2005
Westminster Common Council Member Ray Riley
Ray D. Riley, 86, Of Westminster
Ray D. Riley, 86, of Westminster, died Saturday evening, April 23, 2005, at Copper Ridge in Sykesville.
Ray D. Riley, 86, of Westminster, died Saturday evening, April 23, 2005, at Copper Ridge in Sykesville.
Born March 6, 1919, in Adams County, Pa., he was the son of the late Norman E. and M. Alice Martin Riley. He was the husband of Lalia Scott Riley, whom he married on November 9, 1941.
He graduated from Emmitsburg High School in 1935 and was a 1937 graduate of Blue Ridge College in New Windsor. He then was employed as a manager of Westminster Cooperative Poultry Products Auction.
In November 1942, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, 76th Naval Construction Battalion (Seabees), serving in the Pacific Theatre until the end of World War II.
Upon his return home, he joined Beacon Steel Products Co. of Westminster, retiring as vice president of sales in 1984.
He was a 63-year member and former deacon of St. Paul's United Church of Christ, Westminster, and served on the Westminster City Council from 1969 to 1983, serving as police committee chairman.
He was a life member of Westminster Kiwanis Club, joining in 1946, and serving as past president and Lt. Governor in the Capitol District and was named George Hixon Fellow in 1999.
He was also a member of the Forest and Stream Club of Westminster, Door to Virtue Masonic Lodge No. 46, the Boumi Temple Shrine, the Western Maryland Shrine Club and the Scottish Rite.
He was also a member of the American Legion Carroll Post No. 31 and VFW Molleville Farm Post No. 467.
Surviving, in addition to his wife, are son and daughter-in-law Arthur and Vickie Riley of Westminster; daughters and sons-in-law Janet and Allen Colburn of New Windsor and Marjorie and Frederic Lohnes and Donna Riley of Westminster; sister Della Riley Rasmussen of Carroll Lutheran Village; grandchildren Keith and wife Lisa Colburn of Ellicott City, Amy and husband Theodore Cook of Severn, Aileen Riley of Rockville, Kimberly Riley of Odenton and Eric Lohnes and Kevin Riley, both of Westminster; and great-granddaughter Elizabeth Cook.
He was predeceased by an infant brother, Ernest M. Riley.
A graveside service will be held at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday at Westminster Cemetery, followed by a memorial service at 11 a.m. at St. Paul's United Church of Christ, Westminster, with his pastor, the Rev. Terri L. Young, officiating.
The family will receive friends from 3 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Myers-Durboraw Funeral Home, 91 Willis St., Westminster, and prior to the service at the church on Wednesday. A Masonic service will be held at 8 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Westminster Kiwanis Foundation, P.O. Box 1551, Westminster, MD 21158, to the Shriners Children's Hospital, c/o Boumi Temple Shrine, P.O. Box 9695, Baltimore, MD 21237, or to Copper Ridge Institute, 710 Obrecht Road, Sykesville, MD 21784.
20050423 Ray Riley Obitituary
Riley Ray 19190306 20050423
Kevin Dayhoff www.kevindayhoff.net http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/
Thursday, April 21, 2005
20050421 Lee Primm support for Tom Ferguson for Mayo
Lee Primm support for Tom Ferguson for MayorApril 21, 2005
20050420 Committee orders New Windsor farmer to fix fence
Committee orders New
Carroll County Times - Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Despite neighbors' complaints that the loose pigs in Marston belong to a nearby farmer, the
More than a dozen residents gave testimony over two nights during the past two months about loose pigs trespassing on their property, uprooting their grass with their snouts and chasing the homeowners and their children.
But two experts from the University of Maryland Cooperative Extension testified that the pigs in the photographs provided by neighbors did not look like the quality of pig a farmer would raise to make money from, and said there was a strong possibility the pigs were feral, probably having escaped from a farm at some time and had reverted back to a wild state.
In addition, the two experts visited Carroll Schisler Sr.'s farm in the 2500 block of
Neighbors and animal control officers from the Humane Society of
The reconciliation committee said that regardless of whether the pigs belong to Schisler or not, he should repair the 300-yards of fence in question to prevent any of the animals he has in that pasture - sheep, goats, horses and cattle - from getting out.
The reconciliation committee ordered that the Schislers repair the fence to standards appropriate for the types of animals he pens according to the recommendations of the cooperative extension within 60 days.
Committee Chairman
Carroll Schisler Sr. said his fence was not allowing any animals out, but that neighbors were blaming him for any loose animals they saw, regardless of whether they belonged to him.
"Any time my fence is down it gets fixed," he said.
Schisler said he is still worried that his neighbors will continue to attack him because of the attention gathered from this hearing. Schisler testified that nearly 30 of his animals have been shot on his property in the past year because of bad blood with his neighbors.
Reconciliation committee member Barry Marsh made a motion at Tuesday night's hearing to have the committee go on the record that it is against residents taking any action against animals trespassing on their properties.
"This committee does not condone any of the citizens taking it upon themselves to destroy any of these animals," Marsh said.
Burke said he has contacted the Maryland Department of Natural Resources about the feral pigs. Burke said the representative he spoke with was very interested in investigating the matter and trying to eradicate the loose pigs as soon as possible.
The reconciliation committee asked that the county staff pursue an eradication program with the DNR and the
Resident Agnes Lerp said she appreciated the time the committee took to help resolve the pig issue. Lerp said while she doesn't necessarily believe the pigs are wild, she believes the committee has done all it can to correct the problem.
"Fixing the fence is the most important thing," she said.
Thursday, April 14, 2005
20050414 Activists demand dove be set free
Activists demand dove be set freeBreaking News Briefs for April 14, 2005
City reaches agreement in suit brought by activists
“Claude” to be set free
(Literature of the Absurd - Updated from the April 17th, 2003 version)
Kant Betrue,
Staff Reporter,[1]
April 14, 2005
Phoenix Hill Daily Herald Bugle - New Bedford Herald
Westminster (NBH) A group of bird activists, who were forced this morning to disperse during a loud protest at the Westminster Fire Department, accused the city in a federal lawsuit filed today, of violating basic bird rights by keeping an innocent dove in captivity in the Westminster Fire House.
Eight were arrested.It seems that Wednesday night, during the running of the Westminster Road Runners Club annual “Main Street Mile”, a dove flew through the open doors of the Westminster Fire Department equipment bays and took up residence in the pipes high above the fire equipment.
[…]
Magilicutty, a frequent critic of just about everything that moves, especially if it involves local municipal government, said that this was but another example of the lack of leadership on the part of Westminster Mayor Kevin Dayhoff. “He should have known that the dove was going to fly into the station after the doors were open and that he did nothing to stop it. It’s scandalous to have such a callous and vacuous man holding such a high position in the community.”
Read the rest:
#### [1] Kant Betrue, a Carthaginian whose family settled in Westminster after the Third Punic War in 206 BC, has been with the Phoenix Hill Daily Herald Bugle since the 1960s (he can’t remember exactly when in the 1960s…). A Pulitzer Prize winner for journalism, he writes about issues ranging from the international economy to exploding toilets.
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
20050413 Westminster Eagle Main St Minute Westminster Mayoral Candidate Interviews
04/13/05
Randi Buergenthal and Missie Wilcox
On May 9,
Q: What can you do for Downtown
By being a good listener, I can help facilitate making things happen and bringing folks together to find creative solutions and empower downtown businesses and residents to maintain an ownership stake in our community and future.
As a collage artist, I take different media to create a masterpiece; I liken this skill to addressing the diverse needs of the city to solve problems. We need to play upon our strengths - family-owned businesses with personal service, and bring even more people downtown.
Tom Ferguson: A healthy business environment in downtown
I plan to continue doing what I have done for years, which is to listen to the downtown business community and make certain that government is not creating impediments that make it more difficult for businesses to succeed.
I have worked with the city staff, the police department, and a group of downtown merchants to craft new parking policies, which successfully addressed the chronic complaint of inadequate curbside parking in the central business district.
In connection with the merger between Mason-Dixon Bancshares Inc. and BB&T Corporation, I was instrumental in securing a donation to the city of $2.25 million in cash, plus the real estate formerly known as the Farmers Supply property.
That donation provided for the complete removal of what had been a blighted property and paved the way for the development of
Q: How will you partner with merchants and those who live downtown?
TF: In the early 1990s, along with a small group of other business leaders, I saw the need for a private organization that could work with the city to enhance the business climate in Westminster, particularly downtown. In partnership with the city, we formed the nonprofit Greater Westminster Development Corporation, primarily as a means to provide local merchants a venue to discuss issues and concerns unique to downtown and to make recommendations to the mayor and City Council.
I served as the first chairman of GWDC and continue my involvement to this day as a member of the board of directors. The GWDC has played a key role as an advisor and sounding board for the City and is an example of bringing the private and public sectors together for the betterment of our City and its business community.
I also serve on the board of directors of Westminster Town Center Corporation, which is another nonprofit corporation formed in partnership with the city. Its early focus was the redevelopment of the old stone building situated on the former Farmers Supply property. That project is now nearly complete with a planned spring 2005 opening of a unique Irish style pub and restaurant being developed by local restaurateur David Johansson.
KD: For several years, I was a dues-paying member of the
I will also be available to our citizens to discuss new information and opportunities. I will continue to work hard to see that
Q: What do you think is the largest issue facing downtown?
KD: Now that we have built the two parking decks downtown, we need to move forward with turning our surplus surface parking lots into retail space that will bring even more folks into town.
I believe that the business footprint of
We've been working hard to expand downtown on an east-west basis along
This will be completed via land use, and there is ample opportunity to develop commercial and retail space in that corridor.
It is important that we expand our downtown character out, instead of having the big businesses and the national chains encroaching in.
TF: Clearly, a business operating in a downtown setting can have a tough time competing with the big box stores and the mall, but it can be done.
Convenient hours, attractive and unique, products and services delivered with a personal and friendly touch can go a long way toward attracting and keeping customers. Additionally, I think more diversification in the types of businesses operating
Downtown is desirable. But above all, I think the greatest risk is the risk of merchants and business owners not working together as a team. Our downtown is not like a mall or shopping center where the hours and mode of operation are standardized, but rather made up of entrepreneurs doing their best to make a go of it.
They are independent minded, which is why they have chosen to be downtown rather than in a shopping center. Once everyone recognizes that we can work together to promote downtown, we will all benefit from increased business, shopping, and downtown venues.
Q: What is the most positive thing about downtown
TF: Downtown
However, when I come across someone who is visiting for the first time the reaction is universally the same: "What a beautiful town this is!" This is a strength that cannot be duplicated in a mall or in a shopping center. Another positive thing about downtown is the revitalization progress we have made over the last decade or so, placing us in a much better position today.
KD:
It's important that we capitalize on our strength of family-owned, customer-service oriented and artist-based businesses.
Westminster has one of the best concentrations of artists in the mid-Atlantic region, and we've only scratched the surface of tapping this resource.
Q: How can we bring more people to
KD: We must continue to analyze customer data and intelligently market our historical and beautiful downtown. I would like to see more public events such as our highly successful Fallfest celebration.
For example, we have recently begun the planning to bring back the Christmas parade.
It is important that we continue an emphasis on developing our Gateways and better uniform signage. I would also like to explore more utilization of public art.
Additional ideas include a downtown Westminster Web site, a series of print ads describing downtown Westminster as a great place to do business, and a survey of young families to understand their current shopping habits.
More community employment would also be a big help. We need to continue to expand our community employment base so that many of the moms and dads who are currently spending 15 hours a week commuting can instead spend that time with their families, and in
Opportunities multiply as they are seized. Since I have been mayor, the City of
Let the progress continue.
TF: The more people who work and live in the downtown area, or at least close by, the better the chance we have that they will spend some of their disposable income in our downtown stores and restaurants. We must look for creative ways to attract what I call the "urban pioneers" - people who really like the idea of living where they work, and particularly like living near the central business district.
A prime example of this is the
I believe most of the condominiums are sold, and I don't think it will be long before we start to see some of the retail and office space being occupied.
More people living and working here means more pocketbooks with disposable income, which means more opportunity for the savvy downtown merchant.
Tom Ferguson grew up in
He continues to serve on the Board of Directors of Branch Banking & Trust Co. of
He is also a
Dayhoff Data
He has served on a variety of government boards and commissions since 1980.
Mayor Dayhoff has been an elected official since 1999 as a
He is a retired, self-employed small businessman, and attended Elon and McDaniel colleges.
He is also an artist, specializing in drawing, writing and mixed media collage.
From 1974 to 1999, he founded and owned a landscape design-build contracting company, where he raised nursery stock on a small farm and performed horticultural and property maintenance consulting.
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Wednesday, April 06, 2005
20050330 A Tribute to Richard N. 'Dick' Gehr
A Tribute to Richard N. 'Dick' GehrFirefighter, Veteran, Husband, Father and FriendOn March 30, 2005, the greater Westminster community suffered a great loss with the passing of Richard N. "Dick" Gehr.
Dick Gehr was born in Westminster on June 25, 1917, and lived here for 87 years. Uncle Dick was the son of the late Denton and Anna A. Whitmore Gehr. He was the husband of Charlotte L. Marker Gehr, to whom he was married for 25 years and the late Dorothy V. Starner Gehr, who predeceased him in 1977.
Dick Gehr graduated from Westminster High School in 1934 and attended Western Maryland College. He served in the Navy during World War II.He was retired from the state of Maryland, where he worked as a project engineer. Following his retirement, he worked for Wadel Kitchens and for auctioneers, Russell Kerr and David Redding.
Dick Gehr was an active life member of Westminster Fire Engine and Hose Company No. 1, having served since August 2nd, 1939, and was one of the last members with over 50 years of service. He served as president, secretary and chaplain of the fire department. He later served on the Fire Police Auxiliary.Dick Gehr was a member of the American Legion Carroll Post No. 31, the MD Retreads and Maryland Gold Wings and was an avid antique collector.
Surviving, in addition to his wife, are son Terrence N. Gehr of Westminster; stepdaughters Tamara Teaff of Lexington, Va. and the Rev. Sue Shorb-Sterling of Lusby; sister-in-law Juanita Senseney of Westminster; grandsons and spouses Anthony and Deborah Gehr of Manassas, Va. and Timothy and Juliana Gehr of Westminster; step-grandchildren Elizabeth and Robert Teaff, Margaret Sterling Brubaker and George and Christopher Sterling; great-grandchildren Kelsey, Dylan Richard, Zachary, Madison and Emily Gehr; nephews and spouses Thomas and Barbara Senseney, Jeffrey and Jill Senseney and Christopher Senseney and Darlene Rae Breining.
Our thoughts and prayers are with his wonderful family as they adjust to life without him. Our community will miss Uncle Dick very much.
This memorial tribute was signed in Westminster City Hall,
this April first, in the year Two Thousand and Five.
Westminster Mayor Kevin E. Dayhoff
This memorial tribute was signed in Westminster City Hall,
this April first, in the year Two Thousand and Five.
Westminster Mayor Kevin E. Dayhoff
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