February 2012 – Page 3 – Jay's Real Estate Blog

Hearing scheduled on measure that would cap education cuts

Local legislators voice support

Matthew Bieniek Cumberland Times-News

CUMBERLAND — A committee hearing is scheduled Wednesday on a bill sponsored by Sen. George Edwards to cap K-12 education cuts by more than 5 percent in Maryland counties.

The hearing is scheduled at 1 p.m. in front of the Budget and Taxation Committee. Edwards is a member of the committee and the sponsor of Senate Bill 586.

Allegany County Commissioner Bill Valentine is scheduled to testify in favor of the bill, staff at Edward’s office said. The bill is also filed as House Bill 660 and is sponsored by Delegates Wendell Beitzel, LeRoy Myers Jr. and Kevin Kelly.

Gov. Martin O’Malley’s fiscal 2013 budget includes a 5.5 percent cut in funding for Allegany County and an 11.8 percent cut in funding for Garrett County. This is on top of a 6 percent cut these two jurisdictions took in funding during the fiscal 2012 budget.

The bill would effectively limit the cuts per year to 5 percent through 2015. The cuts are the largest faced by any of the school systems in the state. Allegany County is the poorest county in the state, with a median income of around $37,747.

“The state really needs to look at how the wealth formula is computed. This bill would be a benefit to Garrett and Allegany counties and potentially others if we can get it passed. It would also give the state time to study how we compute wealth for K-12 education and look at appropriate various changes to the formula,” said Edwards.

The wealth formula uses a calculation based on a number of financial factors some legislators believe results in a skewed appraisal of the financial condition of some counties and their ability to fund local schools.

The calculation is used to determine how much state aid goes to county school systems in Maryland.

“The futures of the children of Garrett and Allegany counties are being jeopardized due to massive losses in state funding for education,” said Beitzel in a news release.

Edwards and Beitzel had to fight the same battle last year. The two managed to convince their colleagues to add in extra funding for the two counties in the 2011 session.

Because of the budget cuts, the Garrett County Board of Education is examining the possible closure of up to three elementary schools.

“The citizens from these areas have made it clear that these schools are at the heart of the community and closing them would cause irreparable harm for the students and their families,” Beitzel said.

Contact Matthew Bieniek at mbieniek@times-news.com.

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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!

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BOOK REVIEW: 'It's Murder, My Son': Mac Faraday's Good Fortune Followed by Murder Spree in Western Maryland Resort Town

Tuesday, February 21, 2012 – 18:15 Reviewed by David M. Kinchen
BOOK REVIEW: ‘It’s Murder, My Son’: Mac Faraday’s Good Fortune Followed by Murder Spree in Western Maryland Resort Town

No disrespect to Mac Faraday, Archie Monday, David O’Callaghan, Travis Turner or any of the multitude of good, bad and ugly characters populating Lauren Carr’s “It’s Murder, My Son” (CreateSpace, 286 pages, $14.99) but to me the most interesting character in the book is a lovable, mischievous, sneaky German shepherd named Gnarly.

Even people who are allergic to dogs and cats will get a jolt out of this Army veteran of a dog, originally imported to Spencer and Deep Creek Lake — Maryland’s largest lake — to guard local beauty Katrina Singleton. Gnarly is unsuccessful in his task and is brutally beaten in his attempt to save the wealthy Katrina from her murderer. Gnarly is rescued by Spencer Police Officer David O’Callaghan, who grew up with Katrina and has a history with her.

Gnarly ends up with former District of Columbia homicide detective Mac Faraday, who inherits a $270 million fortune from his birth mother, “America’s Queen of Mystery” novelist Robin Spencer. The inheritance couldn’t come at a better time: Faraday’s wife of 20 years, Christine, has left him for a D.C. lawyer named Stephen Maguire, and Mac loses everything in the divorce, including a house in the pricey Georgetown district of D.C. (How a cop can afford a house in Georgetown escapes me, but I think his affluent wife paid for it).

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Living in Your Dream Vacation Home

Thanks to low interest rates and good prices, these couples took the plunge and bought the vacation homes they’d always wanted.

By Kathleen Bridges http://www.washingtonian.com
Published Friday, February 17, 2012

….Although prices in many popular resort areas are still falling, agents and lenders say the market is showing signs of recovery. In Virginia’s Rappahannock County, the number of homes sold climbed by almost 15 percent from 2010 to 2011. Homes in some areas are also selling faster—in Maryland’s Garrett County, they sat on the market an average of 208 days this past November, a drop of 26 percent from the same month in 2010.

Bill McGuire, a lender for First Home Mortgage in Easton, says that historically low interest rates and low prices have finally begun to lure buyers: “A lot of our clients had been looking casually for several years but were too afraid to jump in. They’re realizing that now may be the time to buy.”

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A Rare Visitor

Genuine winter weather, usually a given in Garrett County, has become a rare visitor this year. The usual weeks of ongoing snow and ice are just not happening, allowing residents to save a bundle in heating costs, and the county roads department to stay well within its budget so far. Snow did come down in the traditional Mountaintop fashion on Saturday, though, resulting in nearly a foot of the drifting white stuff.

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But the warmth returned soon after, and today is a rainy February day. The temps are to remain in the 40s until Sunday, when more snow is predicted. Winter Fest is set in Oakland this weekend, and usually is in the midst of cold and snow. This year might be a little warmer, but the celebration is set to go on anyway, and all are invited to come out and have some wintertime fun. Photo by Lisa Broadwater.

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Committees Slate Hearings For Local Lawmakers' Bills

Feb. 16, 2012

Hearings have been scheduled in Annapolis for several bills introduced by Del. Wendell Beitzel and Sen. George Edwards.

The House Environmental Matters Committee will review Beitzel’s HB 732 and HB 744 on Wednesday, Feb. 29, at 1 p.m. Both bills deal with natural gas and oil issues. HB 731 would require that the leases contain certain uniform language. It would also provide for the recordation of those leases.

HB 744 would require leasing agents, known as “landmen,” be registered with the Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation in order to do business in the state of Maryland.

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Edwards’ version of HB 744, SB 770, will be heard by the Senate Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee on Tuesday, March 6, at 1 p.m. Edwards’ SB 471 – Natural Gas and Oil Leases Recordation Requirement will be heard by the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on Wednesday, March 14, at 1 p.m.

The Senate Budget and Taxation Committee will hold a hearing for Edwards’ SB 333 – Garrett County – Hotel Rental Tax Rate on Wednesday, Feb. 22, at 1 p.m. This proposed legislation would give the Garrett County commissioners authority to set the hotel rental tax rate limit at 6 percent. According to current state codes, the county may not set a hotel rental tax rate that exceeds 5 percent. The current rate is 5 percent.

The Senate Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee will hold a hearing for Edwards’ SB 472 – Environment – Dormant Mineral Interests – Termination by Court Order Requirements, and SB 588 – Bow Hunting – Possession of Handguns for Protection on Tuesday, Feb. 28, at 1 p.m.

SB 472 would require a court order that terminates a dormant mineral interest to identify specified information and would require the court clerk that issued the order to record it in the land records.

SB 588 would prohibit the Department of Natural Resources from restricting licensed bow hunters who are at least 21 years old from carrying a handgun for personal protection.

Edwards’ SB 772 – Vehicle Laws – Registration Plates for Motorcycles – Individuals with Disabilities will be reviewed by the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on Wednesday, Feb. 29, at 1 p.m. This bill would allow someone to possess a specified number of special registration plates for individuals with disabilities for specified motorcycles, in addition to the special registration plate and parking placards authorized under provisions of law.

The Senate Budget and Taxation Committee will review Edwards’ SB 469 – Family Security Trust Fund – Interest Earnings on Wednesday, March 7, at 1 p.m. This proposed legislation, in part, would prohibit the transfer of interest from the Family Security Trust Fund to the state’s general fund.

The Senate Budget and Taxation Committee will review Edwards’ SB 466 – Allegany and Garrett Counties – Slot Machines for Nonprofit Organizations, and SB 467 – Income Tax Credit – Teachers at Maryland School for the Blind and the Maryland School for the Deaf at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, March 13.

SB 466 would add Allegany and Garrett to the list of counties in which specified nonprofit fraternal, religious, and war veterans’ organizations may own and operate not more than five slot machines under specified circumstances.

SB 467 would, in part, alter a credit against the state income tax for up to $1,500 of tuition costs of specified teachers to include teachers at the Maryland School for the Blind and the Maryland School for the Deaf.

Edwards’ SB 468 – Real Property – Acquisition by State Highway Administration – Unpaid Assessments will be reviewed by the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on Wednesday, March 14, at 1 p.m. This bill would expand the application of specified provisions of law relating to the acquisition by the State Highway Administration of real property that is subject to an unpaid assessment.

Anyone who would like to know more about these bills can access the information and the hearing schedule on the Maryland General Assembly’s web site at http://mlis.state.md.us.

Persons may also contact Beitzel’s office at 1-800-492-7122, ext. 3435, or Edwards’ office at 1-800-492-7122, ext. 3565.

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City receives $80,000 grant for art gallery, loft

By C.J. LOVELACE cj.lovelace@herald-mail.com

3:09 p.m. EST, February 21, 2012

The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, or DHCD, will provide $80,000 for a project in Hagerstown to renovate a building in the Arts & Entertainment District for use as an artists loft and gallery….

…A total of $290,000 was awarded to the five projects in Western Maryland, including two in Allegany County and two in Garrett County. Those projects include facade improvements and the installation of historical signage, Skinner said.

The Community Legacy Program aids essential revitalization projects that expand neighborhood business and job development, homeownership investment, commercial revitalization and other activities that support Gov. Martin O’Malley’s Smart Green & Growing initiative, Skinner said.

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Closing Dennett Road bad for special education students

To the Editor: Cumberland Times-News

I am disappointed that no mention has ever been made of the special education population at Dennett Road Elementary School.

I do not know if everyone knows that Dennett Road is the special education center for the entire southern end of Garrett County.

At Dennett Road, there are two large classrooms, a kitchen area to teach life skills, safe Time Out area, a private changing area for children who require this type of assistance, sensory room, handicapped equipped playgrounds, and ample handicapped equipped bathroom stalls and facilities separated into “Girls’” and “Boys’” bathrooms to serve the large number of students taught at this school.

The consolidation plan calls for these students to be shoved into two cramped classrooms at Yough Glades with NO private changing area, NO sensory room, NO safe time out area, NO kitchen skills and safety teaching area, NO handicapped equipped playground, and ONE toilet and sink (NOT Handicapped Equipped) to be shared by BOTH boys and girls.

I am sure that the staff of Yough Glades have good intentions and are highly qualified teachers, but their school is poorly designed, and will not allow for the inclusion of these students in the regular education setting, as they are included at Dennett Road.

This large special education population deserves better than to be shoved into a corner of leftover space in a building that doesn’t provide enough room for a walker to fit in a bathroom or in classrooms.

I recall one mother saying, at the Garrett County Board of Education meeting at Southern High School, “Just because my daughter is non-verbal, does not mean that she will not feel humiliated being changed in front of other students/adults. It does not mean that she will not feel hurt because she is not able to be included in activities because her walker doesn’t fit into the areas that the other students can access.”

I have dealt with similar situations during my wife’s life-ending illness. She was in a wheelchair for approximately ten years. Not having access to stores, restrooms, parks, etc. that non-handicapped people could access was humiliating and depressing.

Is this the message we really want to send to the special education students and their families? I think not. Send the right message. Make the only right decision. Keep Dennett Road Elementary School open.

Darrell DeWitt

Oakland

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Beitzel Bill Takes Tough Stance On Wildlife Poaching

Feb. 16, 2012

Del. Wendell R. Beitzel (R–Dist. 1A) last week filed House Bill 1052, a measure that will give the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) the increased ability to provide harsher penalties for those individuals who illegally poach wildlife.

“As an avid hunter, I am very troubled to hear stories of individuals who have failed to hunt game responsibly,” Beitzel said. “Everyone has heard of stories of hunters who poach at night, hunt out of season, ignore game bag limits, or who illegally trespass on another person’s land in search of game.”

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Over the last several years, Beitzel has joined with Del.Barbara Frush (D–Anne Arundel / Prince George’s counties) on the measure that would give the DNR greater authority in regard to enforcement against poaching.

This year, Beitzel has taken the lead in sponsoring the bill. The bill would allow for an administrative hearing process in which the DNR could hold a hearing to decide whether the hunter’s license should be revoked for a period of time. Current law only provides for a judicial process.

“Currently, the same judges that deal with domestic issues and DUIs must also address these hunting violations,” Beitzel said. “As a result, lenient penalties are often given to egregious offenders. This bill would give the DNR authority to revoke hunting privileges after a conviction on charges for game violations.”

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United Way grant will open adventure activities to pupils in Garrett County

Planners hopeful partnership improves attendance, high school graduation rates

For the Cumberland Times-News Cumberland Times-News

MCHENRY — Students at Grantsville and Accident elementary schools and Southern Middle School will be able to attend after-school adventure activities beginning April 19.

The Garrett College Adventure Sports Institute, Garrett County Health Department and Board of Education are developing the program through a grant to the health department from the United Way of Garrett County.

United Way officials see an opportunity to improve public school attendance and ultimately promote high school graduation rates, according to a news release from Garrett College.

The grant proposals was developed by staff from the health department and Adventure Sports Institute, according to Michael Logsdon, director of Adventure Sports at Garrett College. “The program will involve an ASI professional staff and an ASI student major who will coordinate a set of adventure initiatives and challenges,” he said.

The adventure program will be conducted after classes mid-week on the campuses of each of the three schools. “As a culminating activity, after-school participants from each school will separately spend a Saturday on the grounds of New Germany State Park, participating in a smorgasbord of activities, including rock climbing, a nature hike, orienteering, mountain biking and canoeing,” Logsdon said.

ASI has joined forces with the health department and the board of education in previous endeavors. The Transitional Age Youth program is offered by a partnership between the college, board of education and the Garrett County Core Service Agency. The program targets boys and girls who are facing challenges in staying on course for a successful future.

Logsdon said he believes that this type of adventure activity programming can be very effective in helping the younger students develop a more positive attitude and increasing focus and confidence.

“It is also a great opportunity for the Adventure Sports students to gain real-world experience working with youth under the supervision of professional staff. We are looking forward to launching this new project,” he said.

For more information, contact Logsdon at 301-387-3333.

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Repairing Heavily Traveled Coal Truck Routes Could Cost Millions Of Dollars

Feb. 16, 2012

Garrett County Roads Department personnel discussed the deteriorating condition of Lower New Germany and Westernport roads with the Garrett County commissioners last Tuesday. Repairing those roads could cost millions of dollars.

A recent video taken from the passenger’s side of a vehicle traveling on Westernport and Lower New Germany roads was shown.

“We have an extreme amount of damage occurring to these two roads,” Moyer said.

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He indicated there are two things adding to their demise: heavy truck traffic traveling to and from coal mines, and unusual winter weather cycles in which road surfaces keep freezing and thawing.

“When that occurs, it also causes deterioration to the underlying clay that’s underneath the road,” Moyer said. “It softens it up, makes the road surface flexible.”

The video showed repair work under way on a section of Westernport Road. Crews had to remove the crumbling asphalt, excavate several feet below the road surface, and rebuild/stabilize the underlying strata, before new pavement could be reapplied.

“They have to dig down to as solid ground as possible, and then they use a mixture of riff-raff and crusher-run stone to try to tighten that up and seal that in,” Moyer said.

He noted, however, that a major problem with maintaining roads right now is asphalt and bituminous concrete cannot be purchased this time of the year.

“So, we’re using what’s called cold mix, which is not the best thing to use this time of year for patching,” Moyer said. “It’s just a temporary fix.”

The superintendent noted that in 2008, the county paved the entire 18 miles of Westernport Road at a cost of $493,754.

“That’s materials only,” he stressed. “That does not include equipment and labor.”

Since 2008, because of constant truck traffic, the Roads Department has spent another $76,700 in repairs to Westernport Road, including patching and drainage work, according to Moyer.

County engineer Dwight Emory estimates the cost of bringing Westernport and Lower New Germany roads up to actual “coal-hauling” standards at $9 million. The only road in the county that currently meets that standard is Wilson Road, which was developed and is maintained by Mettiki Coal.

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Month: February 2012

Hearing scheduled on measure that would cap education cuts

BOOK REVIEW: 'It's Murder, My Son': Mac Faraday's Good Fortune Followed by Murder Spree in Western Maryland Resort Town

Living in Your Dream Vacation Home

A Rare Visitor

Committees Slate Hearings For Local Lawmakers' Bills

City receives $80,000 grant for art gallery, loft

Closing Dennett Road bad for special education students

Beitzel Bill Takes Tough Stance On Wildlife Poaching

United Way grant will open adventure activities to pupils in Garrett County

Repairing Heavily Traveled Coal Truck Routes Could Cost Millions Of Dollars

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