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>Garrett County is Against Fracking

>Thanks to Crede Calhoun for sharing this letter with me. It was published in the Baltimore Sun. I couldn’t agree more – the fracking method with which ‘they’ intend to release the gas is HORRIBLE for the enviroment & Garrett County as a whole. Why not stick with the proven gas extraction methods that are safer for the environment? Oh…it’s more expensive and takes longer….

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I am the owner of Garrett County’s oldest land and water adventure company. Our eco tourism business will be a joke if everywhere we turn are trucks, smells, bad water, gas wells, compressor stations, and gas pipelines crisscrossing our forested mountains. My wife and I own a home in Garrett County and have lived in this home on the banks of the Youghiogheny River Wild and Scenic River Corridor for almost 20 years. One of the first fracking wells is scheduled to begin just outside of our small town and the first horizontal gas fracking shaft is coming within 500 feet of my front door and just across our beautiful wild and scenic river. Contrary to what seems to be the message conveyed by some who claim to represent us there is massive opposition on the local level to unbridled industrialized gas drilling.

Obviously our valuable fresh water resources, the quality of life in our area for residents, and our tourism and real estate values are in serious danger with this non-conventional and risky drilling practice. Everywhere gas fracking has happened land and real estate values have plummeted. Tourism does NOT and CANNOT exist in gas fracking areas and our entire county is a tourism area. Our area is a jewel of clean natural resources whose value will only increase as nearby states destroy their claims to natural beauty, peace and quiet by allowing destructive gas fracking.

People come to our area because of the environment and potentially unsafe and unsightly large scale industrial gas extraction is obviously not compatible with the health of our vibrant tourism economy. People and families come to our area to escape these intrusions not be subjected to them. Visitors will surely be disenchanted in making Garrett County their vacation destination or in choosing Garrett County for a real estate investment or personal retreat.

These very deep wells under enormous pressure must stay intact FOREVER and this I believe is beyond the knowledge, technical abilities and guarantees of the extraction companies at this time. Look what happened in the gulf oil disaster. The massive increase in truck traffic to haul the fracking water and toxic radioactive fracking overflow fluids will be dangerous to transport and dispose of. In nearby Pennsylvania serious environmental problems from gas fracking seem to happen daily. Once our area becomes known for methane smells, industrial compressor stations, loud noise, well flare offs, bad roads, deteriorating poisonous water quality and massive truck traffic the word will get out and Garrett County and its lakes, rivers and mountains will no longer be the wonderful ‘natural’ vacation destination or quality of life it is today. It will be Gas Land.

The Deep Creek Lake property values and the home and rural land values of our entire county are at serious risk. My town is important for river recreation. We enjoy decent land values in all corners of Garrett County and non of it is expendable including the health of its families. We cannot afford to murder the goose (our environment) that lays our golden eggs. The gas is not going anywhere and there is no hurry to get it started before all the EPA and MDE studies are complete and we have every safeguard measure and numerous inspectors in place. Further more recent revelations by LNG Gas Company that much of this shale gas is to be exported shoots down the spin that this is an issue of national energy security or to lessen coal burning for power production.

In addition we need massive region wide baseline water quality testing done to insure that if the gas companies destroy these resources we can hold them responsible immediately and stop further drilling as well as be compensated for these potentially irreversible damages without question. Supporters of gas fracking want us to believe that this is an emergency and want to begin drilling now. They want to scare local folks into believing that we have to act fast or lose the opportunity. This of course is false because the gas will only get more valuable as time progresses.

Without good water what good is a few thousand dollars a year? Is setting off giant subterranean bombs thousands of feet down and below our water table the sensible thing to do? I urge all Maryland residents to stand for a greener Maryland and not a browner one. Our children are counting on us.

Sincerely,

Crede Haskins Calhoun II
All Earth Eco Tours
Friendsville, MD 21531

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If you or someone you know is considering buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues! As member of the Garrett County Board of Realtors, I can assist you with ANY listed property, regardless of the listing broker.

877-563-5350 Questions about ANY listed property? I can help! Call me!
Visit the ‘I Love Deep Creek & Garrett County group’ on Facebook! News, events, photos, real estate, community, info, more! 1,750+ members & growing!

>Garrett County Habitat for Humanity

> VOLUNTEERS WELCOME!!! Come help us with the Garrett County Habitat for Humanity winter build project. I will be there chipping in and taking some photos for the blog. ALL HELP IS WELCOME! Details (from Barb Butler GCBR): “We have been invited to participate once again in the Habitat Winter Build project which will be held on Saturday, April 2nd beginning at 8:00 am at the Oakland Armory. Lunch will be provided and served at noon to all workers by a local church ladies group. Remember ~ this is another great way to show other community members that Realtors® also volunteer their time with housing needs and not just sales in Garrett County. If you have a child that needs community service hours and you want to bring them with you, I will be happy to sign for their work time.” If you or someone you know is considering buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues! As member of the Garrett County Board of Realtors, I can assist you with ANY listed property, regardless of the listing broker.

877-563-5350 Questions about ANY listed property? I can help! Call me!

Visit the ‘I Love Deep Creek & Garrett County group’ on Facebook! News, events, photos, real estate, community, info, more! 1,750+ members & growing!

>Historic log cabin – 121 Old School House Rd – GA7323589

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121 OLD SCHOOL HOUSE RD
FROSTBURG, MD 21532

GOOD OLE COUNTRY COMFORT! That old-fashioned feeling meets you when you walk through the door of this historic one-room schoolhouse built in the late 1800’s. Converted into a 2 BR 1 BA home in the 1960-70’s; with beam ceiling, orig. wood flrs, claw-foot tub & wood stove add to the old charm. Approx. 3 miles to the Great Allegheny Passage Bike Trail,and 8 min. to FSU campus, 40 min. to Wisp & DCL.

Contact Jay Ferguson @ 301-501-0420 or DeepCreekLaker@Gmail.com for more information or to setup a private showing for this property.

Listing # GA7323589
$94,900

If you or someone you know is considering buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues! As member of the Garrett County Board of Realtors, I can assist you with ANY listed property, regardless of the listing broker.

877-563-5350 Questions about ANY listed property? I can help! Call me!
Visit the ‘I Love Deep Creek & Garrett County group’ on Facebook! News, events, photos, real estate, community, info, more! 1,750+ members & growing!

>State naming bills halted, including mountain monikers

>By ANDREW SCHOTZ
andrews@herald-mail.com
9:23 p.m. EDT, March 29, 2011

ANNAPOLIS— Legislation to name things in Maryland — including renaming two mountains — has come to a halt.

A state Senate committee decided Tuesday to turn down a series of bills requesting days and months honoring groups and individual people.

Also rejected was a resolution to change the names of Negro Mountain in Garrett County and Polish Mountain in Allegany County.

Sen. Lisa A. Gladden, D-Baltimore City, who is black, had sponsored the resolution to find new names “to reflect more accurately the history and culture of the region within which they are located.”

Western Maryland lawmakers took umbrage, arguing that Negro Mountain was named to honor a courageous black man killed fighting Indians in the 1750s. Polish Mountain initially was Polished Mountain and had nothing to do with ethnicity, they said; the name was shortened and pronunciation changed over the years.

Read the full article here.

If you or someone you know is considering buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues! As member of the Garrett County Board of Realtors, I can assist you with ANY listed property, regardless of the listing broker.

877-563-5350 Questions about ANY listed property? I can help! Call me!
Visit the ‘I Love Deep Creek & Garrett County group’ on Facebook! News, events, photos, real estate, community, info, more! 1,750+ members & growing!

>Class ring leads to burglary suspect

>A Maryland State Police trooper tracked down the owner of a 1970 Damascus High School ring being pawned in North Carolina, an investigating that led to the arrest of a man charged with burglaries in several counties and a neighboring state.

Edward A. Morton, 57, of Garrett County, was arrested this week after a two-month investigation that began when a trooper at the McHenry Barrack learned that the suspect was receiving checks totaling more than $10,000 from pawn shops in Maryland, Washington, New York and North Carolina. Police said:

In early March, State Police investigators learned a pawn shop in Charlotte, North Carolina had received a package of jewelry from Morton. The pawn shop owner gave troopers a description of the items, including a 1970 Damascus High School ring.

With just the graduation year and the initials inside the ring, a State Police investigator called Damascus High School and then made multiple calls to members of the 1970 graduating class. Within days, he had identified the owner of the ring as a woman who lives in Frederick. He contacted her and she confirmed the ring had been stolen along with other items during a recent burglary at her home.

Read the full article here.

If you or someone you know is considering buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues! As member of the Garrett County Board of Realtors, I can assist you with ANY listed property, regardless of the listing broker.

877-563-5350 Questions about ANY listed property? I can help! Call me!
Visit the ‘I Love Deep Creek & Garrett County group’ on Facebook! News, events, photos, real estate, community, info, more! 1,750+ members & growing!

>Maryland's Primary Care Providers Are Embracing Electronic Health Records

>BALTIMORE, March 30, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Physicians, nurse practitioners and other primary care providers from Ocean City to Garrett County are making the transition from paper to electronic health records, or EHRs, in order to maximize their share of around $20 billion in federal incentives made available through the Centers of Medicare & Medicaid Services. More than half of the slots in a unique program to assist Maryland primary-care providers are now full, the Chesapeake Regional Information System for Our Patients (CRISP) announced today.

CRISP is offering subsidized technical assistance to 1,000 primary care providers transitioning to EHRs by 2014. CRISP is a private, non-profit organization whose mission is to provide safer, more timely, efficient, effective, equitable, patient-centered health care to all Marylanders through health information technology.

“Governor O’Malley and I have made implementing electronic health records one of our 15 strategic goals because health IT will help reduce costs while improving care for Marylanders,” said Lt. Governor Anthony G. Brown, co-chair of Maryland’s Health Care Reform Coordinating Council. “Right now, Maryland health care providers have a valuable opportunity to take advantage of federal dollars to transition to electronic health records, but they must act quickly as these programs are available on a first-come, first-served basis and slots are filling up.”

A number of resources are available to the primary-care community through Maryland’s Regional Extension Center for Health Information Technology (REC), a program administered by CRISP with support from the Maryland Health Care Commission. More than 500 primary care providers across Maryland have signed up to participate in the REC program, with slots filling fast. Starting in 2015, providers who chose not to act will face penalties in the form of decreased reimbursement rates.

Read the full article here.
If you or someone you know is considering buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues! As member of the Garrett County Board of Realtors, I can assist you with ANY listed property, regardless of the listing broker.

877-563-5350 Questions about ANY listed property? I can help! Call me!
Visit the ‘I Love Deep Creek & Garrett County group’ on Facebook! News, events, photos, real estate, community, info, more! 1,750+ members & growing!

>Garrett students to make up days

>Cumberland Times News

OAKLAND — Garrett County public schools will be in session April 18 through 21 and April 25 for make-up days, according to the Garrett County Board of Education.

If you or someone you know is considering buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues! As member of the Garrett County Board of Realtors, I can assist you with ANY listed property, regardless of the listing broker.

877-563-5350 Questions about ANY listed property? I can help! Call me!
Visit the ‘I Love Deep Creek & Garrett County group’ on Facebook! News, events, photos, real estate, community, info, more! 1,750+ members & growing!

>Alcohol tax advances in Md. with education funds

>By BRIAN WITTE , 03.29.11, 05:17 PM EDT

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — An increase in Maryland’s alcohol tax advanced in the Maryland Senate on Tuesday, with a significant portion of the first year’s proceeds set aside for Prince George’s County and Baltimore schools.

The Senate measure would raise Maryland’s sales tax on alcohol from 6 percent to 9 percent over three years by 1 percent a year. It would raise about $29 million in fiscal year 2012, $58 million the following year and $85 million in the third year, fiscal analysts estimate.

In the next fiscal year, Baltimore schools would receive about $12 million, and Prince George’s County would receive about $9 million to help boost education funding in Maryland jurisdictions that lagged behind others because of school funding formulas. Proceeds from the alcohol tax would be diverted to those school jurisdictions only in a one-time adjustment.

“These are two of the largest consumers of alcohol in the state and most of the tax revenue is generated from those two jurisdictions, and under the governor’s plan, unfortunately, these two jurisdictions come up short in terms of state aid as contrasted to the rest of the state,” Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, D-Calvert, told reporters. “It’s the result of formulas. It’s not anybody’s diabolical plan.”

Read the full article here.

If you or someone you know is considering buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues! As member of the Garrett County Board of Realtors, I can assist you with ANY listed property, regardless of the listing broker.

877-563-5350 Questions about ANY listed property? I can help! Call me!
Visit the ‘I Love Deep Creek & Garrett County group’ on Facebook! News, events, photos, real estate, community, info, more! 1,750+ members & growing!

>DNR may close some off-road trails

>Michael A. Sawyers
Cumberland Times-News The Cumberland Times-News Wed Mar 30, 2011, 08:00 AM EDT

CUMBERLAND — People have until the end of April to tell the Maryland Department of Natural Resources just what they think about the possibility that the popular 16-mile off-road-vehicle trail on the Green Ridge State Forest could be closed.

Because of illegal riding, including users without the proper permit and those who take their vehicles off the designated trails, the agency is considering closing some trails and altering others. Most are in Allegany and Garrett counties.

“There are various problems with illegal riding,” said Kenneth Jolly of the state’s Forest Service. “There is marring of the forest floor, danger to rare plants, runoff into trout streams.”

The public has access to an entire study about off-road vehicle use and its problems by going to www.dnr.state.md.us. Comments can be submitted to ppeditto@dnr.state.md.us.

Recently, the agency met with users and others interested in the trails and/or the results of their use.

Jolly said the Green Ridge trail is the most heavily used in the state.

“It is closer to Maryland’s population center and it offers a degree of technical difficulty,” he said. “Besides that, it is a loop. Riders can return to the starting point without ever having to backtrack.”

“Our primary mission is to properly manage and protect the natural resources on the lands we oversee,” DNR Secretary John Griffin said in a prepared statement.

“We are also very much interested in providing sustainable recreational opportunities on our public lands for a wide spectrum of outdoor experiences,” Griffin added.

An annual $15 permit is required of riders. In 1994, there were 500 sold. A year ago, the number was 2,182.

The DNR is considering closing Poplar Lick Trail in Garrett County to protect the adjacent native trout stream of the same name.

The Burkholder Trail on the Potomac-Garrett State Forest between the North Branch of the Potomac River and state Route 135 could be relocated.

The agency will continue to monitor impacts to the Negro Mountain Snowmobile Trail before making a recommendation there.

Increased enforcement will take place on many illegal trails, including Toms Hollow and Mill Run on the Dan’s Mountain Wildlife Management Area, the South Branch of the Casselman River, upper Sideling Hill Creek, the Savage Ravines Wildland and Puzzley Run.

The agency will also consider increasing the cost for an off-road trail permit.

Contact Michael A. Sawyers at msawyers@times-news.com

If you or someone you know is considering buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues! As member of the Garrett County Board of Realtors, I can assist you with ANY listed property, regardless of the listing broker.

877-563-5350 Questions about ANY listed property? I can help! Call me!
Visit the ‘I Love Deep Creek & Garrett County group’ on Facebook! News, events, photos, real estate, community, info, more! 1,750+ members & growing!

>Drop in home prices raises fear of double dip

>By Elizabeth Razzi, Tuesday, March 29, 4:26 PM
Home prices dropped in nearly all major housing markets in the country in January, according to price index numbers released Tuesday. Analysts said the decrease may be a harbinger of a double-dip recession in the housing market.

According to the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, only two markets in its survey of 20 cities bucked the trend and posted year-over-year price gains, Washington, D.C., and San Diego.

The Washington area recorded a 3.6 percent annual growth rate for home prices in January. San Diego, the only other metro area to register an annual price increase, saw a gain of just 0.1 percent. The D.C. area was the only one to register a price increase compared with the month before, with a scant 0.1 percent price gain.

The S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city composite index fell 3.1 percent from its January,
2010, level. The 10-city index declined 2 percent.

Read the rest here.

If you or someone you know is considering buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues! As member of the Garrett County Board of Realtors, I can assist you with ANY listed property, regardless of the listing broker.

877-563-5350 Questions about ANY listed property? I can help! Call me!
Visit the ‘I Love Deep Creek & Garrett County group’ on Facebook! News, events, photos, real estate, community, info, more! 1,750+ members & growing!