Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist

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

Sunday, November 30, 2003

20031110 Westminster Mayor and Council Meeting Minutes

20031110 Westminster Mayor and Council Meeting Minutes

City Council

Minutes of City Council Meetings Agenda for next City Council Meeting

MINUTES OF CITY COUNCIL MEETING

CITY OF WESTMINSTER, MARYLAND

November 10, 2003

http://www.westgov.com/citygovernment/minutes/111003.asp

QUORUM:

A meeting of The Mayor and Common Council was held in the City Hall Council Chambers, located at 1838 Emerald Hill Lane, on the evening of November 10, 2003, at 7:00 p.m. Mayor Dayhoff; Council President Halstad; Council Members Albert, Chiavacci, Ferguson and Wack; Department Heads Beyard and Urban; City Attorney Walsh; and Acting Westminster City Police Chief Brewer were present.

Minutes

On motion of Mrs. Albert, seconded by Mr. Ferguson, the Minutes of the Meeting of October 27, 2003 were approved as presented.

Public Hearing:

Mayor Dayhoff conducted a public hearing on the City of Westminster’s Public Housing Agency Plan. Ms. Karen Blandford summarized the federally mandated five-year plan. Ms. Blandford indicated that the requirements stipulate that the plan be updated annually and the document is not a strategic planning document. Ms. Blandford stated that the Section VIII program in the City of Westminster serves 289 families. Ms. Blandford stated that graduates of job training programs would not be eligible for assistance unless their children are under three years of age. Council President Halstad requested that a provision be included to ensure that recent graduates, within six months of graduation be eligible for assistance. Ms. Blandford advised The Mayor and Council that a timing provision could be included but staff’s recommendation would limit the time restriction to four months of graduation. Mayor Dayhoff requested that Ms. Blandford and Mr. Walsh work together to define “Government Action.” Ms. Blandford advised that would occur.

Ms. Josephine Velazquez indicated her concern with the program and the potential for loopholes that could be created to abuse the program. Ms. Blandford addressed the plans on how to combat program abuse.

The Mayor closed the Public Hearing at 7:28 and closed the public record as well.

Consent Calendar

On motion of Mr. Ferguson, seconded by Mr. Chiavacci, the consent calendar was approved as presented which consisted of the acceptance of a sanitary sewer easement at the Carroll County Agriculture Center, Good Cause Waiver No. GCW 03-11 and Job Reclassifications.

Reports from the Mayor:

… Noted that he attended the Maryland Municipal League Legislative Conference.

Reports from Standing Committees:

Mrs. Albert indicated that she is working with the residents of Manchester Avenue to resolve parking related concerns of the business and residential community.

Mr. Ferguson indicated that BGE had a very successful meeting with the residents of West Green Street.

Mr. Ferguson noted that he had received a complaint about taxicab operators in Carroll County.

Mr. Chiavacci congratulated Mr. Ferguson for being the Westminster Rotary Club Outstanding Citizen of the Year.

Dr. Wack noted that BGE representatives were able to address many concerns of the residents on West Green Street and would follow up with those that required more investigation.

Mr. Halstad deferred his time to Mr. Frank Johnson, Special Assistant to Commissioner Gouge to discuss the County’s growth initiatives.

Mr. Johnson outlined the County’s growth initiatives to date and discussed in length Carroll County’s development deferral process.

Mr. Halstad announced that Mr. Steve Horn, Planning Director and Mr. Steve Powell, Chief of Staff, Carroll County Government would attend the December 22, 2003 meeting of The Mayor and Common Council to further discuss the County’s growth initiatives.

Mr. Ferguson noted that he attended the Carroll County Landlords Association meeting and States Attorney Jerry Barnes gave an overview of the Nuisance Abatement law as outlined in the Annotated Code of Maryland. Mr. Ferguson indicated that many of the members of the Carroll County Landlords Association own property in Westminster.

ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS:

Mr. Halstad summarized Resolution No. R03-10 – Annexation No. 53 “Arnold Property.” Mr. Chiavacci inquired about the result of the Public Hearing. Dr. Wack indicated that there was some concern on behalf of the community but overall the applicant had sufficiently addressed many of the site specific concerns. Mr. Chiavacci requested staff to work with the developer and the community to ensure that all parties are involved in the site planning process. On motion of Dr. Wack, seconded by Mr. Ferguson, Resolution No. R03-10 – Annexation No. 53 “Arnold Property” was unanimously adopted.

On Motion of Mr. Chiavacci, seconded by Mrs. Albert, Ordinance No. 712 – Arnold Property “R-10,000 Residential Rezoning” was unanimously introduced for consideration.

DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS:

Mr. Urban stated that the 2003 Annual Audit was completed in October 2003. The City expects include General Fund Contributed Assets in the 2004 Audit.

Mr. Beyard reminded The Mayor and Common Council of the Planning and Growth Session scheduled for Saturday, November 15, 2003 from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at McDaniel College.

CITIZEN COMMENTS:

Ms. Josephine Velazquez, 59 Pennsylvania Avenue, commended the Westminster Police Department for its prompt response to her report of a party at a property near her home.

Mr. Erik Horgos, Westminster, Maryland, indicated his support of the infill annexation of the Arnold Property. Mr. Horgos expressed his concern with the proposed layout of the development.

Council President Halstad adjourned the meeting at 8:30 p.m.

SHAWN SIDERS

Friday, November 14, 2003

20031000 Dayhoff Inc Pocomoke City

20031000 Dayhoff Inc Pocomoke City

Dayhoff Inc Pocomoke City

Photo by Pocomoke City Police Chief J. D. Ervin

One day I arrived at a Maryland Municipal League meeting and sat beside Pocomoke City Police Chief J. D. Ervin as was my habit. And he presented me with this photo from the old Campbell Soup factory grounds in that city.

I later had the pleasure of seeing the building before it was torn-down.

What fun picture.

11/14/2003

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Wednesday, November 12, 2003

20031111 Vets Day idea list of things to send to military in Iraq

Vets Day Idea list of things to send to Military Personnel in Iraq

City of Westminster Office of Mayor Kevin Dayhoff
P. O. Box 710 – City Hall, Westminster, MD, 21158
November 11, 2003

Today, on Veterans Day – as every day, it is important that we not only remember our men and woman in uniform serving our country and protecting our freedoms, but it is particularly important that we do something to support them. One way that you can help our military as they serve us, is to send them some items they need.

Scott Jeznach, who works for The City of Westminster, recently found the following request in the 82nd Airborne Division Association newsletter of October 2003:

Our troops in Iraq are in need of hard-to-get supplies and would be most grateful for any assistance we can give them.

They have requested baby wipes with Aloe, bar soap, deodorant, foot cream, foot powder, sun block, chapstick, disposable razors, shaving cream, hand lotion, q-tips, batteries, fans, insect repellent, paper, pens, envelopes, stamps, nuts, beef jerky, hard candy, gum, snacks and powdered drinks.

December 20th, 2006 UPDATE:

Please send any of the above to

CSM Thomas Beyard
TF AVCRAD 06-08
Camp Arifjan, Kuwait
APO AE 09366

LTC David E. Smith

Division Chaplain

82nd Airborne Division

APO AE 09384

LTC Smith CSM Thomas Beyard will make the distribution to our troops there.

Please feel free to enclose a note indicating who you are, where you are from, and expressing your support of their work protecting our freedoms.

If you have any questions, please contact Scott Jeznach or Mayor Kevin Dayhoff.

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Thursday, November 06, 2003

20031106 Trying not to judge Chief Justice Taney

Trying not to judge Chief Justice Taney History: The 'shrine' home of Taney, who has a thorny legacy because of Dred Scott, will be presented more impartially.

By Jeff Barker, Sun Staff, November 6, 2003


FREDERICK -- Nowhere is Maryland's ambivalence toward Roger Brooke Taney more evident than in this city, his adopted home.

Taney, the second- longest-serving chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, had a house here that now bears a plaque proclaiming it "a national shrine."

But Taney (pronounced TAW-nee) is best known for writing the 1857 Dred Scott decision holding that black Americans were not citizens, so "there's a lot of animosity about the house," says Dick Wettrich, who lives next door.

The difficulty in handling Taney's legacy is apparent as the Frederick County Historical Society prepares exhibits for the house and slave quarters he owned here from 1815 to 1823. The society acquired the buildings this year and is revisiting the manner in which they are presented to the public.

The society is planning a less reverential, more impartial approach -- one that doesn't judge whether Taney was a hero, villain or something in between.

"Taney was an enigmatic character," says Mark Hudson, the society's executive director. "We want to be as truthful and forthright as possible."

For 35 years, the house was owned by a foundation whose president, former Alderman H. Thomas Summers, calls Taney "a great man."

"He swore in seven presidents, including Abraham Lincoln," Summers says. "Dred Scott was a bad decision, but he was backed by other members of the court. Everybody makes mistakes during their lifetime."

The foundation donated the house to the historical society in June, mostly because of difficulty maintaining it.

The house sits in an old section of downtown Frederick where many of the residents today are black. The three-story brick home -- featuring many portraits of the long-haired, lanky-looking chief justice -- is connected by a breezeway to a slave quarters in the back.

Visitors to the home have long been greeted by the marble plaque declaring the structure a shrine, but it is probably going to be removed as part of the "reinterpreting" process, Hudson said. "The connotation of a shrine is that this is a great person and I don't necessarily challenge that, but our interpretative approach is going to be more objective," he said.

Also being removed is a bust of Taney -- a copy of a statue at Frederick City Hall -- that sits in a parlor room. The bust wouldn't have been there when Taney occupied the house, and the society says it wants all of the furnishings to be as authentic as possible.

The society doesn't know what to do with a large painting of Taney swearing in Lincoln. The painting has long hung in the house but it includes notables of the time who either weren't at the swearing-in, or weren't in the spots they are depicted in. "It doesn't accurately reflect history. It's stylized," Hudson said. "But it's been here a long time."

The society plans to close the house for several months beginning in mid-December while it makes the changes. It is informally soliciting comments from the neighborhood on what would be suitable for display.

In the 1857 decision, Taney said that Scott, a longtime slave suing for his freedom, was not a citizen and that no slave -- nor their free descendants -- had standing to sue in the federal courts. He based his ruling on an interpretation of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. Of the latter document, he wrote: "It is too clear for dispute that the enslaved African race were not intended to be included, and formed no part of the people who framed and adopted this declaration."

But analyzing Taney, who was born in Calvert County but made Frederick his home, is no simple task.

In 1819, he successfully defended a Methodist minister from Pennsylvania accused of inciting slaves to riot. In his argument, Taney called slavery "a blot on our national character" left over from Colonial times.

Taney, who also served as U.S. attorney general and treasury secretary, "was known for his astute and acute legal mind," said Maryland Archivist Edward C. Papenfuse. "Do I believe he was a racist at heart? Yes. He was a strong believer in slavery. Was he a creature of his time? Yes. Should we ignore his historical contributions? No."

One of the Taney statues sits on the grounds of the State House, not far from one of Thurgood Marshall, the court's first African-American justice. There are also statues of both men in Baltimore.

In Frederick, an outdated, barracks-style public housing complex in an area known for crime bears Taney's name.

Willie Mahone, a black Frederick attorney, said he tried years ago to get the name changed -- he wanted it named after Marshall -- but authorities resisted.

Mahone keeps a copy of the Dred Scott decision in his desk -- "as a reminder," he said. When asked to pose for a newspaper photograph years ago, he chose to stand in front of Taney's statue at City Hall "because I wanted to imagine him turning over in his grave."

He applauded the historical society "for saying they're not going to do a governmental endorsement of the concept that he's a great man. It's proper to let the public make its own determination."

Copyright © 2003, The Baltimore Sun