20010829 MDE: Westminster awarded grant to upgrade wastewater treatment plant

20010829 MDE: Westminster awarded grant to upgrade wastewater treatment plant

Press Releases

Maryland Department of the Environment

Richard McIntire (410) 537-3012 (410) 716-8784-Pager

CARROLL COUNTY AWARDED GRANT TO UPGRADE WESTMINSTER'S WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT

http://www.mde.state.md.us/PressReleases/133.html

ANNAPOLIS, MD (August 29, 2001) – Governor Parris N. Glendening today announced Maryland Board of Public Works’ approval of a $164,562 grant for Carroll County to upgrade and expand the existing Westminster Wastewater Treatment Plant so that it may operate more efficiently.

“We are taking progressive steps to protect our finite natural resources without compromising the high quality of service Marylanders expect,” said Governor Glendening. “This funding will allow Carroll County to serve citizens from the Westminster Wastewater Treatment Plant in a more efficient and effective way while at the same time, reducing the amount of nutrients being released into Maryland’s waterways. This grant assists with our on-going efforts to target state funds in Priority Funding Areas consistent with our Smart Growth Initiative.”

The upgrade to the existing Westminster treatment plant will include the construction of a Biological Nutrient Removal facility to improve nitrogen removal to a level of 8 milligrams per liter. The project also includes an expansion to increase the wastewater treatment capacity to 5 million gallons per day.

County officials are hoping this grant from the Maryland Department of the Environment’s (MDE) Water Quality Infrastructure Program will assist them in helping meet the Chesapeake Bay nutrient reduction goal of 40 percent.

“The financial assistance from MDE and the state of Maryland is essential to allow the city to upgrade its wastewater treatment plant,” said Westminster Mayor Kenneth A. Yowan. “This project will enhance water quality in the Little Pipe Creek watershed and, ultimately, the Chesapeake Bay.

The total cost of the project is $4.2 million of which $2.1 million is the local share being paid by the city of Westminster. The grant approved today increases the state’s participation in the project to more than $2.1 million.

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Water and Sewer Westminster, Water and Sewer Westminster Wastewater Treatment Plant

20010824 Columnist Barry Rascovar is leaving the Baltimore Sun

Sun's Rascovar to retire next Friday

Aug. 24, 2001 by Josh Kurtz, Staff Writer

ANNAPOLIS -- It's official: Barry Rascovar, the influential political columnist and deputy editorial page editor of The (Baltimore) Sun, will end his 30-year career on the newspaper next Friday.

Maryland politics may never be the same.

"The Sun paper's losing really one of the premiere columnists," said state Comptroller William Donald Schaefer, a former governor and Baltimore mayor. "He was never very good to me. ... But I think he had some of the best insights into politics."

Rascovar, 55, accepted an early retirement package offered this summer by the Tribune Co., the Sun's Chicago parent.

[…]

For 10 years as a reporter and 20 years as an opinion writer, Rascovar has been one of the most visible and powerful observers of Maryland politics.

[…]

Some friends of Rascovar's privately grumble that he was the victim of a power struggle with Jacqueline Thomas, the editorial page editor who was brought in to replace Rascovar's friend and mentor, Joseph Sterne, who retired in 1998.

Read the rest here: “Sun's Rascovar to retire next Friday.”

20010818 A conversation between God and St. Francis on the subject of lawns

A conversation between God and St. Francis on the subject of lawns:

August 18th, 2001

GOD: Frank, you know all about gardens and Nature. What in the world is going on down there in the Midwestern part of that place they call America?

What happened to the dandelions, violets, and thistle I created eons ago?

I had a perfect, no- maintenance garden plan. Those plants grow in any type of soil, withstand drought and multiply with great abundance. The nectar from the long lasting blossoms attracts butterflies, honeybees, and flocks of songbirds. I expected to see a vast garden of colors by now, but all I see are these green rectangles.

ST. FRANCIS: It’s the tribes that settled there, Lord. The Suburbanites. They started calling your flowers weeds and went to great lengths to kill them and replace them with grass.

GOD: Grass? But it’s so boring! It’s not colorful. It doesn’t attract butterflies, birds, and bees, only grubs and sod worms. It’s temperamental with temperatures. Do these Suburbanites really want all that grass growing there?

ST. FRANCIS: Apparently so, Lord, they go to great pains to grow it and keep it green. They begin each spring by fertilizing grass and poisoning any other plant that crops up in the lawn.

GOD: The spring rains and warm weather probably make grass grow really fast. That must make the Suburbanites happy.

ST. FRANCIS: Apparently not, Lord. As soon as it grows a little, they cut it-sometimes twice a week.

GOD: They cut it? Do they bail it like hay? ST. FRANCIS: Not exactly, Lord. Most of them rake it up and put it in bags.

GOD: They bag it? Why is it a cash crop? Do they sell it?

ST. FRANCIS: No sir, just the opposite, they pay to throw it away.

GOD: Now let me get this straight. They fertilize grass so it will grow, and when it does grow, they cut it off and pay to throw it away?

ST. FRANCIS: Yes, Sir.

GOD: These Suburbanites must be relieved in the summer when we cut down on the rain and turn up the heat. That surely slows down the growth and saves them a lot of work.

ST. FRANCIS: You aren’t going to believe this Lord, when the grass stops growing so fast, they drag out hoses and pay more money to water it so they can continue to mow it and pay to get rid of it.

GOD: What nonsense. At least they kept some of the trees. That was a sheer stroke of genius, if I do say so myself. The trees grow leaves in the spring to provide beauty and shade in the summer. In the autumn they fall to the ground and form a natural blanket to keep moisture in the soil and protect the trees and bushes. Plus, as they rot, the leaves form compost to enhance the soil. It’s a natural circle of life.

ST. FRANCIS: You better sit down, Lord. The Suburbanites have drawn a new circle. As soon as the leaves fall, they rake them into piles and pay to have them hauled away.

GOD: NO. What do they do to protect the shrubs and tree roots in the winter and to keep the soil moist and loose?

ST. FRANCIS: After throwing away the leaves, they go out and buy something which they call mulch. They haul it home and spread it around in place of the leaves.

GOD: Where do they get this mulch?

ST. FRANCIS: They cut down trees and grind them to make mulch.

GOD: Enough. I don’t want to think about this anymore. St. Catherine, you’re in charge of the Arts. What movie have they scheduled for us tonight?

ST. CATHERINE: Dumb and Dumber, Lord. It’s a real stupid movie about..........

GOD: Never mind, I think I just heard the whole story from St. Francis.

_____

20010818: Turfgrass, Lawn care, Lawn Grass, Bagging Grass, Yard waste

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