Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Against overwhelming odds
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Next Monday is Independence Day. For someone like me, who grew up in a small agriculture-based country town in the heartland of the birth of our great nation, the holiday has always had a special meaning. I have often wondered why.
Norman M. Covert
Frederick will offer several possibilities this weekend for you and your family to join in celebrating our 235th Independence Day. A favorite is the 17th Annual Celebration hosted Monday by Col. James Olson (USA–ret.) and his family at their ranch on Angleberger Road near Lewistown.
Tom McLaughlin
Kampung Demak Baru, Malaysian Borneo – “Another dinner,” I said salivating at the thought of my mother-in-law’s cooking. My wife had asked me to attend a prayer memorial on the anniversary of her grandfather’s death, a tradition here in Malaysian Borneo.
Roy Meachum
Washington’s Shakespeare Theatre officially debuted Ethan McSweeny’s dynamite version of “The Merchant of Venice” on Sunday. STC Artistic Director Michael Kahn produced it last in 1999. The program notes that of all the Bard’s plays the work takes second seat only to “Hamlet.” I had never seen it before.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Damned Either Way
Roy Meachum
Privatization: Another View
Farrell Keough
Once Hennypenny realized “the sky was falling,” she immediately went forward to tell the King. Having met up with Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddles, Goosey-poosey, and Turkey-lurkey – they all decided to hurry together to inform the King of the dire circumstances. Problem was, as wise and helpful as these avian creatures were, Foxy-woxy had other plans!
Earl 'Rocky' Mackintosh
It was June 16, 2011, and a man from Georgia presented the results of a study at a Board of County Commissioners workshop that he was paid $25,000 to perform. Oliver Porter asked the commissioners to allow him to have the opportunity to present it as soon as possible once completed verses releasing for a public vetting beforehand.
Monday, June 27, 2011
On Privatization
Michael Kurtianyk
So, the privatization report has been released. People have had a week or so now to review the consultant’s document. Some have graded the report an “A;” others have given it a “C.” Not surprisingly there’s an “F” stamped on some copies.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Winchester Hall New Start
Roy Meachum
Frederick’s Board of County of Commissioners is new; it was sworn in a little over six months ago, on December 1, 2010.
Joe Charlebois
In Brooklyn, NY, seven brave souls of Engine 202/Ladder 101/Battalion 32 were honored on June 11th with a dedication ceremony that renamed a portion of Richards Street adding Seven in Heaven Way to the street sign. The section of the street that was renamed is the home to their firehouse.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
It Will Happen to You…
Patricia A. Kelly
An important, no, universal event, something that happens all around, the world, and to everyone else. In a riddle from the ancient text the Mahabharata, the hero Yudhishthira, is asked, “What is the most amazing thing about human life?” His answer is “That a man, seeing others die all around him, does not think that he will die.”
Chris Cavey
Time marches on. The summer solstice has come and gone and daylight is getting less and less. Still little has been mentioned by Maryland's governor about redistricting. No committee has been appointed to date and little has been said publically about the expected special session of the Maryland General Assembly slated for this fall.
Blaine R. Young
The last thing in the world I ever thought I would write a column about is the game of golf. But as I hacked my way down the fairway Monday in a tournament to support a great cause, Mission of Mercy, golf was on my mind.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Boys State and Helmet Laws
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Now how’s that for a combination. Allow me to explain. Today I will be part of a team, at the annual, weeklong American Legion Boys State 2011 citizenship-training event at McDaniel College, facilitating a discussion on the pros and cons of mandatory motorcycle helmet laws.
Norman M. Covert
Nearly 2,300 Seventh-day Adventist soldiers, who volunteered to serve as medical research subjects for the U. S. Army at Fort Detrick and Walter Reed Hospital some 57 years ago, show no adverse health effects, according to a recently completed health survey.
Tom McLaughlin
Kuching, Malaysian Borneo – My daughter Christine arrived after a grueling 32-hour Dulles to Kuching flight, including two missed connections and enough airport time to register and vote in the country of transit. Our eyes met and we waved through the glass where I was standing, observing the arriving passengers retrieve their luggage.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Unholy Hogwash!
Roy Meachum
While seemingly no one paid attention – but the victims and themselves – the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops recently announced the ongoing abusive scandals were a product of the 1960s’ sex revolution.
Shawn Burns
Our government! What exactly is it? What do we want it to be? How has it grown and adapted to meet our needs? How has it grown for better or worse?
Nick Diaz
Hours and days and months we spend in math class, working on numbers, equations, operations, transformations, number systems and a bunch of other skills. Yet, it’s not about the math.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Studying the Privatization Study
Richard B. Weldon Jr.
Oliver Porter, the consultant chosen by the Board of County Commissioners to study privatizing certain county government services, unveiled his report last Thursday.
Steven R. Berryman
My family and I have been living in an “altered state of awareness” since the recent motor scooter accident involving a 19-year-old close family friend, Alex Bodroghy, of Discovery in Walkersville.
Michael Kurtianyk
Did you see that the Frederick County Board of Education reached a tentative agreement this week with its three employee unions at Frederick County Public Schools? Indeed. If approved, the contract will go into effect July 1.
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