20050921 Carroll Airport outlook good

Carroll Airport outlook good

Westminster Advocate: http://westminsteradvocate.com/

Historical Perspective: Carroll Airport outlook good

Wednesday, September 21, 2005

(586 words)

One board of commissioners after another, since the 1940s, has helped bring the Carroll County Regional Airport to the first-class facility that we know today, worthy of being named Maryland “Airport of the Year.”

The journey has been hard and not without controversy.

In the early 1970s, I would tag along to breakfast at Baugher’s with community leaders such as Bobby Warner, Scott Bair Jr., Jim Erb and Tom Senseney Sr. The airport was the often the center of contentious debate.

The Democratic Advocate reported on July 15, 1971, private developers wanted to take it over, and Commissioner John D. Meyer would have nothing of the idea. In September 1971, Meyer went on WTTR and said the county intended to develop its own land for an airport. On November 29, 1971, the Advocate said developers offered the commissioners $150,065 for the airport.

In a controversial decision, the commissioners said no.

Meyer announced: “I feel the county needs an airport for the proper economic development of the county … Nothing we do benefits everyone, and there are those that will disagree. But I feel aviation is just like TV; it’s here to stay. I feel it’s very important to the future growth of the county.”

The county forged ahead, and by the late 1970s, a 2,290-foot runway was constructed. In the mid-1980s, a 20-year master plan was adopted. The runway was extended to 5,100-foot runway by 1994.

Vivian Laxton and Gary Horst helped me bring the airport story up to date. I also interviewed some pilots. Horst has done an excellent job shepherding the airport to profitability and excellence in the last number of years.

In one of my favorite stories about Horst, on April 9, 1997, Max Bair, Horst and I flew out of the airport to do a site visit on a solid waste bioconversion facility in Tennessee. We flew down in a very small plane, sort of like being strapped to a surf-board with two lawn mowers attached for propulsion …

Today, the 5,100-foot runway is the sixth largest non-military runway in Maryland and handles about 100,000 flights a year. The airport has struggled financially in the past, but any initiative of this significance will have its setbacks. The airport is operated from its own enterprise fund, not through the county’s general fund, and a profit is projected for the 2006 fiscal year from nearly $2 million in gross revenues.

What is to be applauded is the perseverance on the part of the commissioners to plow ahead. Forget about any past mis-steps, real or imagined, and let’s concentrate on the lessons learned, the achievements and the future.

For Carroll to continue to attract economic development in today’s extremely competitive landscape, it is imperative that we capitalize on niche assets in place. The airport is a huge draw for new tax base and high-paying jobs.

I am looking forward to the completion of the airport’s Technical Advisory Committee’s new master plan. Carroll will greatly benefit from more corporate hangars, replacing the 20 by 80 foot retrofitted tin construction shed that currently serves as its terminal and extending the runway to 6,500 feet.

This committee, comprised of Martin Pittenger, Donald Vetter, Douglas Pollard, Brian Stites, Bonnie Jones, Jeffrey Smith, Edward Goldman, Peter Welles, Kevin Utz, Wray Mowbray, David Taylor and Tina Thomas, has worked hard for all us, and we owe them a big “thank you.”

The airport is critical to our economic future, and we must move forward, with all due, well-planned and thoughtful speed.

Cross posted.

— Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster.

E-mail him at kdayhoff(at) carr.org

Kevin and Mr Moose in San Diego California

Kevin and Mr Moose in San Diego California

The Adventures of Mr. Moose

September 18, 2005

Kevin and Mr. Moose take a moment to rest in the shade in San Diego, California, September 18, 2005

20050918 SD Southpark KED Moose

Kevin Dayhoff www.kevindayhoff.net http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/

20050908 Loose pigs no longer terrorize Marston

Loose pigs no longer terrorize Marston area

By Carrie Ann Knauer, Times Staff Writer

Carroll County Times

Thursday, September 08, 2005

Residents in Marston say they haven't seen any loose pigs in their neighborhood since the county Right to Farm Reconciliation Committee made its ruling five months ago stating that the loose pigs were probably wild.

Elizabeth Cavey, of Bowersox Road, said she had seen the pigs last winter when they were running loose and tearing up people's lawns, but said she hasn't seen any since the reconciliation committee meetings. Cavey, who said she never believed the pigs were feral, thinks local landowners may have shot and killed all of the loose pigs.

Officials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture visited the Marston area about six weeks ago in search of feral pigs, said Bill Powel, county ag preservation administrator and supervisor of the ag reconciliation committee. Four people searched the woods and farms in the area for several hours and were unable to find any pigs or recent evidence of pigs, he said.

The USDA officials have offered the county to search the area again later this fall to look for more evidence. Powel said the date of that investigation has not been set.

Powel said that he has not had any residents call him to report loose pigs or other livestock roaming through their yards. He said it's possible that between the Humane Society of Carroll County trapping the pigs and the local landowners shooting them, there may not be any more feral pigs.

Richard Spriggs, a Marston Road resident, said he has lived in the area for more than 30 years and he had never heard of wild pigs living in Marston before this case came up last winter. Spriggs said that regardless of where the pigs came from, he hasn't seen any in a long time.

While Marston residents haven't reported any more problems with loose pigs or other livestock coming from the Schisler farm, the Schislers have still had problems with their neighbors. On Aug. 28, the Schislers reported to the Maryland State Police that someone had shot one of their cows.

According to the police report with the Carroll County Sheriff's Office, Carroll Schisler Sr. said he was walking through his field at about 2:20 p.m. on Aug. 28 when he saw a calf standing near a Brahman cow that was lying on its side. Schisler told the police he approached the cow to investigate its health and saw that it had been shot in the head. He called the police to report the incident, which is still under investigation.

The Schislers could not be reached for comment regarding the incident, but Carroll Schisler Sr. did testify during the ag reconciliation meetings that he had had problems during the winter with neighbors shooting his livestock on his property.

Powel said he had not heard about the Schisler's cow being shot, and said he was sorry to hear that the incident had happened. Assistant County Attorney Tim Burke said that the law states that people may not shoot trespassing animals unless the property owners are in imminent danger, and shooting animals that are not trespassing is not allowed.

Anyone with information regarding the shooting is asked to call Deputy Sherri Martin at 410-386-2900.

Story so Far

More than a dozen residents gave testimony to the Right to Farm Agricultural Reconciliation Committee between January and March about loose pigs trespassing on their property, uprooting their grass with their snouts and chasing the homeowners and their children.

Residents testified that they believed the pigs were coming from Carroll Schisler Sr.'s farm in the 2500 block of Marston Road. Several residents said they had confronted the Schislers about the pigs and the Schislers offered to shoot the pigs for them, which residents took to mean that the Schislers owned the pigs and were responsible for them.

Agricultural 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 that the pigs possibly were feral, probably having escaped from a farm at some time and reverted to a wild state.

In addition, the two experts visited Schisler's farm and examined his pigpen. They determined that it was an adequate pen that should be able to contain his pigs.

The reconciliation committee decided that the pigs were likely feral pigs. However, regardless of whether the pigs belong to Schisler, the committee ordered the Schislers to repair their fence to the standards appropriate for the types of animals he pens - sheep, goats, horses and cattle - to the recommendations of the cooperative extension.

20050907 If technology Available Why Not WiFi?

If technology available, why not Wi-Fi?

http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?pnpid=978&show=archivedetails&ArchiveID=1132527&om=1

Westminster Eagle

09/07/05 By Kevin E. Dayhoff

I've been fascinated with public Wi-Fi and all the possibilities it can provide Carroll County.

On Aug. 15, Silver Spring, in Montgomery County, announced that it now has public Wi-Fi - this put my random access memory into overdrive.

Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity) is a wireless high-frequency local area network that provides Internet access.

In June 2004, Newsweek previewed a sampling of 10 places in the world that are currently utilizing Wi-Fi. What caught my attention was the example of Hermiston, Ore., where the service covers 600-square-miles for a population of 13,200.

Can you imagine what it would be like to be anywhere in Carroll County and be able to go online for directions, restaurant menus or just to have access to information about all the exciting shops and businesses in the area?

Or download the latest corrections to your PowerPoint presentation from Bangalore, India, just before a meeting - just by powering up your laptop, Web browser enhanced cell phone, PDA or even a hand-held game device?

With the talent we have in Carroll, I would say that if it can be done in Hermiston, Oregon or Montgomery County, we could do it too.

Montgomery County is in the middle of an aggressive Wi-Fi initiative. The county is starting with the higher population areas first and then steadily expanding the coverage. The same approach would work in Carroll.

Alisoun Moore, Montgomery County Department of Technology Services Chief Information Officer, said that in Silver Spring, 10 unobtrusive antennae located on traffic signals, light poles and buildings provide the Wi-Fi service. This serves all downtown Silver Spring, (which is larger than the Main Street area of Westminster from Washington Road to McDaniel College).

Remember years ago when Silver Spring was a nondescript stretch of bypassed suburbia? Not so anymore. Go visit www.silversprung.com/home.html and see for yourself.

An Aug. 15, a Montgomery County press release stated, "The redeveloped Downtown Silver Spring, known as a hotspot for entertainment, dining and shopping, now is also a hotspot for wireless internet accessÉ

"The Community Wi-Fi initiative is designed to É (provide) no-cost community Internet access where it currently does not exist - in our open-air public places. É This endeavor demonstrates Montgomery County's commitment to the substantial benefits that broadband information access bringsÉ"

When I asked Moore how Montgomery County did it, the first words out of her mouth were music to my ears: "It's a private-public partnership. The county has very little money in it."

Atlantech Online provides the technical component in return for a $1,700 per year fee from the county. Atlantech is a local Internet Service Provider and for them it's a marketing piece.

Moore noted that, "Montgomery County did not want to get anyway near É competing with the private sector." This service is for public areas only.

Montgomery County Executive Doug Duncan said in a release, "The successful revitalization of downtown Silver Spring is a national model for urban redevelopment. After years of delays, I am proud that we were able to break the gridlock and get this project moving.

The area is now an arts and entertainment destination in the Washington, D.C. region, and our Wi-Fi agreement ensures that Silver Spring will remain on the cutting edge."

The consensus of an informal survey conducted locally was, yeah, there are questions to be answered; but let's roll up our sleeves and do it.

Wi-Fi presents unlimited opportunities for Carroll County.

Since the initiative would need to start in Carroll's municipalities, I contacted the Carroll County Maryland Municipal League Chapter President, Hampstead Mayor Haven Shoemaker.

Haven put it best: "I have many questions, but I'm willing to investigate any cost-effective private-public technology initiative that will stimulate economic development and quality of life for our citizens."

Taneytown Mayor Pro Tem Darryl Hale agreed, and Mount Airy Council President John Medve added that, "anything which enhances communication and access to government is a good thing."

I couldn't agree more.

Opportunities multiply once they are seized. The future is here, and Wi-Fi is a great opportunity for Carroll County.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster. E-mail him at: kdayhoff@carr.org.

©2004 MyWebPal.com. All rights reserved.
Contact us at webmaster@mywebpal.com
All other trademarks and Registered trademarks are property
of their respective owners.

20050828 Politics fills space around judicial vacancy by David Nitkin and Jennifer Skalka

Some say Ehrlich wants friend on list of nominees; Allegany seat empty since 2004

Politics fills space around judicial vacancy

Criminal cases are piling up in Allegany County, where a political standoff has left the District Court operating with one full-time judge since late last year.

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., who selects judges, was given the names of three candidates for the county's judicial vacancy by a nominating panel in December. But nine months later, he has yet to interview any of the finalists. As a result, Allegany County now has the longest-standing judicial vacancy in the state.

Some Republican leaders and court officials in Western Maryland say the holdup isn't because of who was nominated but who was not. The list does not include the name of Kevin Kelly, a Democratic state delegate from Allegany County and a longtime Ehrlich friend. Kelly applied for the position, but his candidacy was rejected by the panel.

[…]

John N. Bambacus, a former Republican state senator who teaches political science at Frostburg State University, called the District Court situation "a circus."

[…]

The episode provides a glimpse into the often-hidden world of judicial politics. On one side is a local power structure that has coalesced around a favored candidate. On the other is a first-term governor who does not back away from fights and rarely demonstrates a taste for compromising or deal-making.

Stuck in the middle are the users of the court system in Allegany County. The criminal docket is being scheduled into January, when normally cases would be heard in November, court officials say.

"The governor's first responsibility is to serve justice, not his friends," said Del. Kumar P. Barve, the House majority leader from Montgomery County. "He needs to appoint someone qualified very quickly. If he's delaying appointing somebody because he wants Kevin to be a judge, that's wrong. I can't think of any other reason why he hasn't appointed somebody by now."

[…]

"It would appear that Governor Ehrlich has lost control of the judicial nominating commission," said Bambacus, the Frostburg professor.

[…]

Sun staff writer Jennifer Skalka contributed to this article.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-md.judge28aug28,1,6997695.story?coll=bal-local-headlines

20050828 Politics fills space around judicial vacancy by David Nitkin and Jennifer Skalka

20050831 A New Hospital for Carroll County Westminster Eagle column

“A New Hospital for Carroll County”

August 31, 2005 by Kevin Dayhoff (656 words)

I recently came across an old “Program of Dedication” for “Carroll County General Hospital”. It is dated “Two o’clock in the afternoon, Sunday, August 27^th, 1961.”

We all take for granted our local hospital, but I remember a time when we didn’t have a local hospital.

The idea for a local hospital in Carroll was first discussed after the First World War. It was not until the 1950s, that the idea of raising money to build Carroll County General Hospital became a reality.

I asked Mr. and Mrs. Babylon about what they remember about the community coming together to build the hospital. Mrs. Babylon gave me an old file from the 1950s marked “Hospital.”

There were a number of wonderful “finds” in the file. One “find” was a very neat, carefully typed multi-page information packet entitled, “An Invitation To David Babylon To Help Provide The Hospital We All Need” from “Scott S. Bair Campaign Committee… Headquarters… 6 E. Main St… Phone # Tilden 8-8521.” It appears that it was individually typed. I wonder how many of these were produced? It must have been quite an effort. Unfortunately, the document is undated.

In this column, I’ll share with you some of excerpts from this campaign package. It gives us great insights of Carroll in the 1950s. Eight pages outline: “Everyone in Carroll County knows that we need a hospital of our own! Three things point out the need day after day! * our ever growing population ** our distance from other hospitals *** our ever increasing use of hospitals…It is inconceivable that a county of our size and progressiveness should continue any longer without a hospital of our own!”

“We need the hospital because of population growth. Our present population is close to the fifty thousand mark! Conservative estimates predict that… by 1970 it will be at least 62,000. According to United States Public Health Department standards a population of 50,000 needs 225 hospital beds. WE HAVE NONE!”

Our current population is 160,000.

“We need a hospital in Carroll County because all others are so far away. In emergencies or in maternities minutes can be important. Here is how far we have to go over heavily traveled highways…Gettysburg Hospital 25 miles Frederick 30 miles Hanover 20 miles Baltimore 32 miles. THEY ARE ALL TOO FAR AWAY IN ANY EMERGENCY!”

I was born in Frederick Memorial Hospital in 1953. Many of my friends were not born in a hospital or were born in Gettysburg, Hanover or Baltimore.

“We need a hospital because… In Carroll County in a single year physicians admitted [to other hospitals] the following types of patients. Maternity 1122 Surgery 2115 Medical 615 Extra-ordinary 231 Total 4083 …”

“To meet this urgent need and after careful study a fifty-bed general hospital is proposed as the first step…twenty-five beds for surgery. Twenty-five beds for maternity and medical cases. An emergency service department. Operating, Delivery, X-Ray…

“What will this cost? The first step – the fifty bed unit can be built for approximately one million dollars. It can be built for this relatively modest amount because: the site has been provided by the county without cost to the hospital…”

“Where will the money come from? From the county Tobacco tax funds and accumulated gifts $300,000. From the Federal Government Hill-Burton Hospital Construction Funds 350,000. From you and the other people of Carroll County 300,000. The campaign for 300,000 is now under way.”

Clip this column for reference because in the future I’ll gather some of the current statistics of the Carroll Hospital Center (as Carroll County General Hospital is now known) for some compare and contrast. I’ll share with you more of the great “finds” from this file and I’ll provide you with more pre-1961 history of Carroll’s forty years of work to build a hospital. In addition, as many folks have reminded me, I still owe you a column on the fascinating life of Dr. Theodore E. Woodward.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster. E-mail him at: kdayhoff AT carr DOT org

####

20050819 Lifting Material from the Blog World

20050819 Lifting Material from the Blog World

There Are Two Possibilities Here

August 19th, 2005

http://nomoremister.blogspot.com/2005/08/ok-there-are-two-possibilities-here.html

Hat Tip: http://wonkette.com/

No More Mister Nice Blog calls out Washington Times columnist John McCaslin for retailing an anecdote, sans attribution and with lightly mussed word changes, from a conservative blog Libertas.

The column concerns an incident at a film-festival screening of the Ronald Reagan vehicle The Killers, in which the audience burst out into spontaneous applause when Reagan's character was shot and killed. One can cluck--oh, can one cluck--about journalistic ethics and whatnot, but we sort of take this as a positive sign:

Clearly the professionally indignant conservative pundits are running out of things to be operatically outraged about if they're lifting ideas from blog entries about film revivals. What's next, after all? Complaints that Harry Reid's manner is curt, or that Ted Kennedy is red-complexioned and bulbous? That the peanut bags you get on airlines are hard to open?

Though we do of course look askance at the MSM's unacknowledged lifting of material from blogs. That's bloggers' work: Step off, Mr. Salaried Columnist Man! -- HOLLY MARTINS

UPDATE - - Okay _ _ I finally found it:

There Are Two Possibilities Here

[NMMNB, via Romenseko]

No More Mister Nice Blog

It's Karl Rove's world. We just live in it.

http://nomoremister.blogspot.com/2005/08/ok-there-are-two-possibilities-here.html

Thursday, August 18, 2005

OK, there are two possibilities here: either John McCaslin, the "Inside the Beltway" columnist for The Washington Times, e-mails rough drafts of some of his work to right-wing blogs and then spends a week revising the e-mailed items before putting them in the paper -- or he's not above reading such blogs and doing a little unacknowledged "borrowing."

On August 8, Libertas, the blog of the right-wing Liberty Film Festival, ran an item about a screening of The Killers, Ronald Reagan's last movie. Reagan is shot in the movie; at the screening, this shooting was cheered. The Libertas item is prefaced with "I received this email this morning from a friend of mine," then the e-mail begins:

I have a report of a bizarre, disturbing incident....

Yesterday -- nine days later -- McCaslin's column led with an item on the same incident. McCaslin's column begins:

We're here to report a rather bizarre, if not disturbing incident....

The Libertas e-mail continues:

The crowd at the screening of The Killers, on Thursday night erupted in cheers when Reagan was shot and killed. The crowd was comprised of Hollywood people – film preservationists, reviewers, scholars, researchers, actors and actresses, writers. L.A. Confidential director Curtis Hanson was also in the crowd for the movie.

McCaslin's item continues:

Well – read the entire piece here: There Are Two Possibilities Here

####

20050817 Dedication of the Westminster Airport in 1943

1943 Dedication of Westminster Airport

Westminster Advocate

August 17^th, 2005 by Kevin Dayhoff (528 words)

On June 22, 2005, The Carroll County Regional Airport (CCRA) was honored as the Maryland Airport of the Year by the Maryland Aviation Administration.

The airport, renamed as the CCRA in 1979 on Route 97 near Westminster has a long history. The airport supported military airlifts during the Korean and Vietnam War and still supports the Air National Guard and Maryland Civil Air Patrol.

Although I have failed to find any published accounts, folklore has it that barnstormers were using the cow pasture, that was located at what we now know as the CCRA, as early as the 1920s. In those days a pilot or flock of pilots would fly over a small rural town, attract attention and then land in a nearby farm field, sell tickets and perform stunts with their newfangled flying machines.

There are also no accounts available as to how the cows felt about this activity. Although I can only imagine, they may have a made a mess out of the fields at seeing “extra large flies with propellers” landing in the grass nearby.

Sometimes barnstormers came by invitation. The June 25, 1920, Union Bridge Pilot, reports “Captain Otto Swoboda, in charge of the US Army Recruiting office, has… arranged to send two aeroplanes for our Fourth of July celebration…”

According to the June 11, 1943 issue of the Westminster Democratic Advocate, “Westminster's new airport was dedicated with a two-day event beginning” at 3:15 PM on Saturday, June 5, 1943, by Westminster Mayor Joseph L. Matthias. 600 folks and 50 aeroplanes attended. “Several rode horseback, some came on bicycles and many walked…” Scott S. Bair, Sr., and Carroll Crawford organized the dedication. In 1943, the airport was about 50 acres.

“The station was in charge of Miss Anne Reifsnider, assisted by Mrs. Belle Fringer…” (Mrs. Fringer was my first grade teacher at East End Elementary School at the corner of Green and Center Streets.)

“The Carroll County Canteen committee… Miss Adeline Hoffman and Mrs. Milson Raver…served the luncheon…sandwiches, baked beans, radishes, carrots, ice cream and coffee.”

Mayor Mathias…said, "Today we have assembled for [the] purpose of officially dedicating a new airport, a project which will play an important part in the service of our community, state and Nation. In this time of war, when everything must be done to advance the important science of aviation, Westminster is proud to have a part in this great development…This event is a milestone in the history of this community. May it greatly promote the War effort, and when the war is won may this airport be a valuable asset to the commercial life of a better tomorrow."

In 1946, Pan-Maryland Airways, Inc. selected Westminster Airport as one of its stops in a service authorized by the Public Service Commission to “operate scheduled flights between Baltimore, Annapolis, Easton, Cambridge, Crisfield, Chestertown, Westminster, Frederick, College Park, Havre de Grace, Bel Air, Elkton, Centreville and Brandywine.” Democratic Advocate, September 6, 1946.

The airport has been an integral part of Carroll County’s economic development strategy ever since. Today, the CCRA has a 5100-foot runway and handles about 100,000 flights a year. In my next column, we’ll pick the story up here.

Cross posted

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster. E-mail him at: kdayhoff(at)carr.org

###

20050731 Lance Armstrong 2005 Time Trial with music

Lance Armstrong-2005 Time Trial (with music)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qz95I3cJQ_s

Le Tour de France from July 2005

music: song, confusion; Artist, New Order. Featured on the Blade Soundtrack. Viva Le Tour!

####

20050707 Gazette article by Judson Berger: Bowie Councilman Dennis Brady to be appointed MML president

Gazette article by Judson Berger: Bowie Councilman Dennis Brady to be appointed MML president

by Judson Berger Staff Writer , July 7, 2005

Eleven years of involvement with the Maryland Municipal League will culminate this week for Bowie Councilman Dennis Brady (At-large), who after a week as first vice president will be named president.

The appointment comes as Havre de Grace mayor and recently-elected MML president David Craig is tapped for the County Executive seat in Harford County.

No longer a municipal leader, Craig will be forced to leave his MML position, and Brady will step in.

"This is a culmination of 11 years of being involved," Brady said Wednesday. He served as an at-large board member for five years, and was elected as first vice president at the end of June. "I feel I've got something to give to the group, and I think it benefits the city."

Brady said once in his role as president, he will start lobbying in Annapolis for municipal funding.

The MML is headquartered in Annapolis, and represents 157 municipalities in the sta

20050707 Gazette article by Judson Berger: Bowie Councilman Dennis Brady to be appointed MML president

20050700 2007 MML president Dennis Brady Bowie

People Maryland Craig – David Craig

20050714 Westminster prepares to survey employees cct

20050714 Westminster prepares to survey employees By Robert Brodsky for the Carroll County Times

Westminster prepares to survey employees By Robert Brodsky for the Carroll County Times

Westminster prepares to survey employees

By Robert Brodsky, Times Staff Writer

Thursday, July 14, 2005

Hey, Westminster City employees. How do you like your job? Do you feel appreciated by your supervisor? Are you overworked? How about underpaid?

City workers will have the opportunity to answer questions like these and others as Westminster prepares for its first employee opinion survey.

The survey, which will be done by a yet unselected private consulting firm specializing in human resources work, will look at how the city's 160 employees view their jobs and examine what can be done to improve worker satisfaction, said Westminster Mayor Thomas Ferguson.

"It's a physical checkup of the [city's work force] environment," he said.

The employee opinion survey was a central point in Ferguson's campaign for mayor last spring. He said morale among employees had declined in recent years and wanted to find a way to improve relations between the city and its work force.

"One of the major reasons in doing this is to send a message to employees that we will listen to what you have to say," Ferguson said.

The survey's success will be based on two essential elements, Ferguson said. Employees must be assured their answers will be kept confidential and that they will result in meaningful change.

"If nothing comes of it, they're going to say 'Don't ask us again,'" Ferguson said. "We're planning to take these answers and factor them into our strategic planning process."

The survey will not result in any hirings or firings, nor any immediate shift in how the workforce is structured, Ferguson said. Rather, the survey could help determine which departments are lacking adequate equipment, which personnel may need increased training and whether employees as a whole believe they are fairly compensated and appreciated for the work they perform.

The city has received four bids by firms interested in performing the survey, Ferguson said. The bids range from $7,500 - a questionnaire that would be sent to all employees and then analyzed by the firm - to a $27,000 proposal that would include one-on-one interviews, group meetings and focus groups.

The city's personnel committee, composed of Finance Director Joe Urban, City Councilmembers Robert Wack and Suzanne Albert and Human Resources Administrator Darlene Childs, will hear presentations from the four consultants Monday and Tuesday.

Urban anticipates the committee will make its decision based not only on cost but on the services that would be most beneficial to city employees.

"Just mailing out a questionnaire may not inspire the most amount of confidence from employees," Urban said. "We want to structure the process to create the highest level of confidence from employees."

The city plans to pay for the survey by diverting resources from a $100,000 fund set aside to cover the cost of potential salary increments that could be suggested in an upcoming salary study, Urban said.

That study, which will be conducted by a different firm, will compare the salaries of Westminster City employees to those in the private sector and in other neighboring cities.

If needed, funds for salary increases could be supplemented through the city's emergency fund or through it's unappropriated surplus, Urban said.

The personnel committee plans to make a decision on a consulting firm for the employee opinion survey next week. The proposal would then go before the Westminster City Council on July 25.

If approved, the study could start in August and take between 60 and 90 days to complete.

Reach staff writer Robert Brodsky at 410-857-7865 or Rbrodsky@lcniofmd.com.

20050714 Westminster prepares to survey employees By Robert Brodsky for the Carroll County Times

20050715 Mr. Moose goes traveling

July 15, 2005

Mr. Moose goes traveling. On the road with Mr. Moose...

20050713 Today’s Youth – They are Fantastic

Today’s Youth – They are Fantastic

Westminster Advocate

July 13th, 2005 by Kevin Dayhoff (528 words)

Four stills and a quantity of corn whisky were seized by police officers Tuesday morning at a local church. Deacon Willie Brown was arrested. Brown admitted in court that he had been tempted by the devil. Now that I have your attention, I should mention that the “Church of the Holy Moonshiners” incident occurred in 1921. In the July 8th, 1921 Union Bridge Pilot article I read, no mention was made as to how popular services were at the church...

However, this column is not going to be about history. It is about our future. Today’s column is about one of my favorite soapbox topics - today’s kids. I think they are fantastic.

Over the years, I have been very fortunate to have many great opportunities to spend time with young folks in our community; whether it is attending a Carroll County Children’s Chorus event, visiting or reading in schools, 4-H activities, Scouts or just spending time with my nieces and nephews.

Whether they are still in school, or in college, just joining the workforce or serving in uniform, today’s youth are an inspiration for us all. Today’s youngest generation is doing great things and I, for one, really appreciate it and want to thank them. And not just when I need them to teach me how to program my cell phone.

According to the United Nations Statistics Division, 21 per cent of the US population is under 15 years old. Thirty-four per cent of our population is over 60. That 21% is sure going to have to work hard to take care of that 34%. Might be a good plan to spend some time with them now. I don’t know about you, but with the way food is currently packaged, when I grow older, I’ll need some help with the circular saw and hammer necessary to break into my food.

Over and over, I am greatly impressed by the number of adult volunteers and teachers and youth leaders who give of themselves tirelessly, to give our youngest generation a leg up on the many challenges they will face.

Moreover, speaking of volunteering, perhaps we should all take note of the example today’s fantastic youth are setting for us. According to “Youth Service America”, youth volunteering is up 12% over the last 10 years. 73% of America's 60 million young people believe they can make a difference in their communities. Teenagers volunteer 2.4 billion hours annually. Teenage service is worth $34.3 billion to the US economy. Youth who volunteer just one hour a week are 50% less likely to abuse drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, or engage in destructive behavior. Youth who volunteer are more likely to do well in school, graduate, vote, and be philanthropic.

There are so many great organizations in our community that are making a difference and enabling our children to make a difference. Please find one for which you can donate your time or your money. Moreover, take time to thank a teacher, a choir director, a Scout leader or a volunteer today. They aren’t doing it for the money. They are making a huge investment in our future for which we are all benefiting.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster. E-mail him at: kdayhoff AT carr DOT org
####

Labels: Art Writing Essays and articles

20050712 This Year Halloween Comes Early in Maryland

This Year Halloween Comes Early in Maryland

July 12^th, 2005 by Kevin Dayhoff (739 words)

Who among us has not heard of the Salem witch hunt trials of 1692 in Massachusetts? Did you know that in Maryland, we had a few witch hunts between 1665 and 1686, one in 1712 and apparently, another hunt is scheduled for the summer of 2005?

According to a Carroll County Times article on October 31^st, 1993, “Belief in witches and supernatural spirits were part of the Pennsylvania German culture brought into this area by the settlers.” Apparently, some folks in Maryland still believe in hunting witches.

The Times article mentions that in the December 1936 edition of Maryland Historical Magazine, Judge Francis Neal Parke wrote an article entitled "Witchcraft in Maryland."

Judge Parke was one of Maryland’s most celebrated jurists. He was born in Westminster in 1871 and admitted to the bar in 1893. He was appointed Chief Judge of the Fifth Judicial Circuit in 1924 and served in that capacity until his retirement in 1941. He returned to private practice on Court Street, in Westminster, until his death in 1955.

In his article, Judge Parke discussed that the “earliest cases [of alleged witchcraft] involved the hanging of women assumed to be witches while aboard ships traveling from England to the colonies in 1654 and 1658” shortly after Maryland was founded in March 25^th, 1634. Judge Parke reports five additional cases of alleged witchcraft. “The first four cases occurred between 1665 and 1686, and the fifth was in 1712.”

Back to the future, I read an Associated Press article in the Carroll County Times the other day that House Speaker Michael E. Busch has actually, for real, I’m not making this up, named a “committee of four Democrats and two Republicans to join six state senators in an inquiry into the personnel polices of the Ehrlich administration.”

In a published account last May in the Washington Times, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr., said, “A lot of people have indicated they want to testify before a commission… It is not going to be a witch hunt.”

Oh, I feel better all ready.

Perhaps the team of Miller and Busch feel a good witch hunt, every 300 years or so, does a state good. According to an account of the Salem witch hunt trials, that I have in my library, by Douglas Linder, in the summer of 1692 nineteen men and women were convicted of being witches and hung. An 80 year old was crushed to death under some heavy rocks for refusing to agree to go on trial. Take heed, if anyone out there is considering not playing along with the Annapolis version of “Salem 2005”; I suggest that you re-read the previous sentence.

The senators and delegates named to the committee are some of the most talented and capable elected officials in Annapolis. I just wish that they weren’t wasting their time on a witch hunt.

Perhaps, our Maryland General Assembly leaders aren’t aware of some of the other challenges facing us in the State of Maryland.

For example, how about a committee on the continuing crisis in health care? A little committee on the cost of prescription medicine? How about a small committee on the state’s continuing structural budget deficit? School construction? Road congestion and transportation needs? How about the challenges in our juvenile justice system? Attracting new business to Maryland? Business retention? Teacher compensation and retention?

For all you folks reading this at home, these issues are affecting your quality of life and mine. Do not, for one minute, think that this little parlor game of political charades is none of your concern.

The state workforce includes 80,000 employees. According to a Washington Times article on May 25^th, 2005, “Lawrence J. Hogan Jr., the governor's secretary of appointments, said the Ehrlich administration in three years has fired 280 of its 7,000 at-will workers. Mr. Ehrlich's Democratic predecessor, Gov. Parris N. Glendening, fired 309 at-will workers in a single year from the Department of Transportation alone…”

Paul E. Schurick, the governor's communications director, said it better than I could in a June 3^rd, 2005 Gazette article by Thomas Dennison: "The double standard is as gross and as egregious as I have ever seen. The fact of the matter is, dozens of legislators have made a career of trying to influence the hiring and firing of state employees."

Happy Halloween. Shenanigans like this out of Annapolis sure aren’t a treat and the trick is on us.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster. E-mail him at: kdayhoff@carr.org

####

20050702 Langdon’s “Direct To You station turns 50” by Kristin DeIuliis Carroll County Times

Langdon’s “Direct To You station turns 50” by Kristin DeIuliis Carroll County Times

Direct To You gas station turns 50

By Kristin DeIuliis, Times Staff Writer Saturday, July 02, 2005

Jim Langdon is proud that his family business has been around for 50 years.

[…]

Jim Langdon's father, James Langdon, opened the gas station, which is on George Street in Westminster, in 1955. Originally, Direct To You also ran an ice cream stand next to the station, but that closed in 1964 to devote more time to the gas station.

The station doesn't offer ice cream anymore…

"We'll do anything for our customers," Langdon said. "We know that people don't like pumping their own gas. They don't want to smell like the pumps."

[…]

One event Langdon remembers particularly well was the oil crisis in 1973, when OPEC refused to ship oil to countries that had supported Israel in its conflict with Egypt. The consequence was a severe oil crisis in the United States.

[…]

Langdon's wife, Margaret Langdon and son, Michael Langdon, 29, also help run Direct To You Gas. Margaret keeps the books and Michael is the general manager.

[…]

Fuel prices

When Direct To You Gas opened in 1955, it sold fuel for 19.9 cents per gallon.

When Jim Langdon started working full time with his dad in 1970, gas was about 30.9 cents per gallon.

Today, Direct To You Gas sells regular fuel for about 2.17 per gallon.

Read the entire article here: Direct To You gas station turns 50

http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2005/07/02/news/local_news/news1s.txt

http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/

People Carroll County

Westminster Business

Westminster Business Direct To You Gas

Business Carroll County

Carroll County Times

20050702 Langdon’s “Direct To You station turns 50” by Kristin DeIuliis Carroll County Times

####