Jay Fergusonjay@deepcreekvacations.com301-501-0420
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Lakefront mobile home $89,900! 50 feet to the water, Wisp views, dock slip! ga8165849 108 Walton Rd

The true address is 108 Walton Rd. Conveys turn-key, everything you see. Likely a cash deal required, as financing is scarce. Ground rent & dock slip additional costs, but the views are amazing!

Well maintained Lakefront mobile in Walton’s. Just 50′ from dock, this 3 bedroom, 2 bath unit offers large deck, master suite, fireplace and Wisp views to go along with the great Lake View.

http://deepcreeklake.com/RealEstate/JayFerguson/detail.aspx?id=GA8165849

Citizen Shale issues response to state’s Marcellus report

From Staff Reports Cumberland Times-News

OAKLAND — Citizen Shale has completed its comments on the Governor’s Marcellus Shale Safe Drilling Initiative draft report on Best Management Practices for Marcellus Shale Development in Maryland.

“Many of you realize that the cart was placed in front of the horse in the development of the BMPs,” wrote Eric Robison, president of Citizen Shale. “The state of Maryland’s decision to compile BMPs before many other studies were completed seems to suggest that the state is moving forward with development of regulations without specific facts regarding the outcome of those studies.”

Robison suggested that a comprehensive way to form the BMPs would have been to fund a risk analysis, which would have guided the studies and scope for each. After those studies were completed, then the BMPs should be compiled, noted Robison.

The report is the second of three reports requested by Gov. Martin O’Malley’s safe drilling initiative. The primary focus of the report regarded environmental protection of potential drill sites.

“There are many areas within the BMPs that have what many would suggest are gold standards, but equally there are areas that lack informed decisions or have established industry guided recommendations,” wrote Robison. “Due to the complexity of the BMPs, Citizen Shale attempted to compile comments on areas that appeared to lack the gold standard approach to development of natural gas in the state of Maryland.”

Should hydraulic fracturing come to the state, one regulation to be implemented will be a mandatory Comprehensive Gas Development Plan to be done by any energy company applying for a permit to drill in the state.

“Though limiting clustered development to certain areas, Comprehensive Gas Development Planning requirements will ultimately create more intensive ‘sacrifice zones’ in the areas where this highly concentrated development takes place,” stated Citizen Shale in its comments.

The CGDP will cover a report on the location a company wishes to drill, how it will construct the well, materials that will be involved in drilling and other aspects in the production of the gas.

During a previous public forum, Christine Conn of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources explained the purpose of the CGDP is to allow the DNR and Maryland Department of the Environment, as well as other stakeholders, to recommend any changes to the company prior to drilling. Maryland would be the first state to mandate a CGDP by a government agency as a prerequisite for applying for a permit.

“There needs to be an external review process from MDE and DNR for permitting, siting, construction and operation of all pipelines and ancillary development outside of the CGDP process,” states Citizen Shale in its comments. “This can be addressed in the 2014 legislative session as a bill for the PSC (Public Service Commission) to adopt permitting for rural gas gathering lines within the state.”

As an organization, Citizen Shale hasn’t taken a position on fracking but has tried to stay within its mission of encouraging dialogue and supporting comprehensive efforts to protect individuals and communities from the wide-ranging impacts of shale gas development, said Robison.

The public comment period for the BMP draft report has been extended through Sept. 10. The report can be found at www.mde.state.md.us and a copy of the draft report is available at the Ruth Enlow Library in Oakland and the Frostburg Community Library.

On behalf of MDE, the Regional Economic Studies Institute of Towson University as part of the Maryland Marcellus Shale Safe Drilling Initiative is conducting a survey and it can be found at http://resisurvey.resiusa.org/surveydata/ContingentValuation.htm

Comments on the BMP can be made to the MDE at msac@mde.state.md.us

To view Citizens Shale’s comments in their entirety, visit  http://citizenshale.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Citizen-Shale-BMP-comments.htm.

More here.

3 make short list for Garrett judge

Governor to have final say

From Staff Reports Cumberland Times-News

OAKLAND — The Trial Courts Judicial Nominating Commission for Commission District 5 has chosen three names to forward to the governor for consideration for the position of Garrett County District Court judge.

Stephan Moylan, Raymond Strubin and Daryl Walters were found to be legally and most fully qualified for the appointment to district court, according to a letter from the Administrative Office of the Courts to the governor.

The commission selected the nominations via a secret written ballot Aug. 20. Prior to the vote the commission conducted extensive interviews and reviewed all available information on the candidates.

Moylan is assistant public defender for the state of Maryland. Strubin is with the Garrett County District 12 Office of the Public Defender and Walters is master for the Fourth Judicial Circuit Court of Maryland.

The names will be forwarded to Gov. Martin O’ Malley, who will make the final appointment. There is no time frame for O’Malley to make the appointment, according to Kathleen Stafford, administrative clerk for Allegany County District Court. Hopefully, he makes the appointment soon, she said.

The district court judge position was left vacant following Judge Leonard Eiswert’s mandatory retirement, effective March 21.

More here.

GC Solid Waste & Recycling Public Informational Meeting – Apartment & Condominium Recycling Requirements

Press Release

August 27, 2013

The Garrett County Department of Solid Waste & Recycling announces a public informational meeting to discuss apartment and condominium recycling requirements

Owners of apartment buildings or condominiums that have 10 or more units are reminded that they will be required to provide recycling to their tenants by October 1, 2014. House Bill 1 that was passed during the 2012 legislative session requires owners or condominium councils of owners to provide for the recycling of metal containers, plastic containers, glass containers and paper. They are also required to provide for the removal of these materials for further recycling.

Garrett County Solid Waste and Recycling will need to adopt an amendment to its 10 year Solid Waste Management plan in order to comply with this recently passed legislation. As part of that process an Informational meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday September 18, 2013 in the Commissioner’s meeting room at 7 pm. The purpose of the meeting will be to provide a review of the proposed amendment, discuss the impact on owners and tenants, and to offer the opportunity for questions.

A copy of the draft language for the amendment is available on-line at garrettcounty.org/solid-waste-recycling, at the landfill office, and at the Grantsville branch of the Ruth Enlow Library.

Concerned citizens or owners are welcome to attend the meeting, send e-mail comments to dwbaker@garrettcounty.org or contact Garrett County Solid Waste by phone at 301-387-0322.

65 foot lakefront lot with 2 BR perc + deep water dock slip at Hazelhurst $219,900

287 HAZELHURST RD SWANTON MD

65′ lakefront lot at Hazelhurst with usage of common dock slip. Surrounded by towering pine trees and partially fenced, this building lot offers a huge waterfront area with wide views of the lake. Original cottage was torn down and had a 2BR septic and well. Original building setbacks possible with special zoning exception. House next door (#277) also available, call for details.

$219,900
Listing # GA8005503

More here.

 

 

 

 

Franchot Releases Economic Report Of Schools Starting After Labor Day

Aug. 22, 2013

Citing the benefits to Maryland families, small businesses, and tourism overall, Maryland comptroller Peter Franchot released this week an economic impact report completed by the Bureau of Revenue Estimates regarding a post Labor Day start date for all Maryland public schools.

Alongside Ocean City mayor Richard Meehan, Senator James N. Mathias Jr., and numerous members of the local business community, Franchot announced that a delayed school start in Maryland would result in an additional $74.3 million in direct economic activity, including $3.7 million in new wages, and a separate $7.7 million in state and local revenue.

“The chance for families to spend precious time together and to build lifelong memories during that final, end-of-summer vacation has been lost by the decision to begin school a week, or even 10 days, before Labor Day,” said Franchot. “Not only does this cut into the opportunity for Marylanders to spend more time together as a family, but it also has a negative impact on small businesses. In these tough economic times, we need to do all that we can to support small businesses and promote economic activity, not cause unnecessary harm to them for no apparent reason.”

With Maryland having nationally renowned vacation destinations like Ocean City, Deep Creek Lake, and Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, tourism is the fourth largest industry in the state. With Maryland welcoming over 32 million domestic travelers annually in recent years, the tourism sector employs more than 340,000 Marylanders.

While Labor Day weekend in Maryland is most commonly associated with family trips to resort destinations, it also coincides with other major events occurring throughout the state, including the Maryland State Fair in Timonium, the Grand Prix of Baltimore, and four weeknight home games at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

Instead of reducing the 180-day school year, Franchot says he is confident that the state’s school systems would be able to adjust their calendars throughout the academic year without losing time for instruction in the classroom. The flexibility of adjusting winter and spring breaks or eliminating some of the school closure dates scattered throughout the school calendar would be left to each of Maryland’s 24 school systems, he said.

“This isn’t just necessary because of the $7.7 million in state and local tax revenue it would create for the priorities we care about, or the $74.3 million in direct economic activity it would generate in the midst of a sluggish recovery,” said Franchot. “Beyond the money or economic impact, it’s about Maryland families who save up a little each paycheck in order to spend one week each year in Ocean City or Deep Creek Lake, or catch an Orioles game, or visit the Maryland State Fair before the children return to school.”

More here.

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Commissioners Approve Updated Floodplain Management Ordinance

Aug. 22, 2013

The Garrett County commissioners approved updates to the county’s Floodplain Management Ordinance and related maps, following a public hearing on the issues Tuesday afternoon at the courthouse in Oakland. Also during their regular public session, the commissioners awarded bids and heard an update report from the Garrett County Department of Economic Development director.

Director John Nelson, GC Department of Planning and Land Development, said the updates to the Floodplain Management Ordinance and Flood Insurance Rate Maps were necessary to keep the county in compliance with National Flood Insurance Program regulations. The revised documents and subsequent revised flood insurance rates become effective on Oct. 2.

Nelson noted that, overall, there was a reduction in the number of designated flood plains in the county’s new ordinance and maps, compared to previous documents. The reduction is mainly the result of new mapping tools.

Permits and Inspections chief Jim Torrington noted the county has been in the process of studying and revising its ordinance for about four years. The county first joined the National Flood Insurance Program in 1976 under emergency status and became a part of the regular program in June 1985. Local, state, and federal officials created the county’s first floodplain study and maps at that time, using national data from 1929.

“Many of those maps are still in place today,” Torrington said.

He added that the county’s first Floodplain Management Ordinance was adopted in 1989 and was readopted in 1991. The document was reviewed again in 1994.

More here.

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Economic Impact of Post Labor Start for Maryland Public Schools

less-summer-school

Currently, all Maryland school districts begin the school year earlier than Labor Day.While the majority of Maryland’s twenty-four school districts begin one week prior to Labor Day,some begin even earlier. After weighing the number of additional school days by affected households, Maryland school districts would average an additional 8.7 days of summer vacation if the next school year began on September 3,the day after Labor Day…

…Under Maryland law,schools are required to be open for at least 180 actual school days and a minimum of 1,080 school hours.In order to adhere to the statute, this report assumes additional summer vacation days added to an individual school district would be accounted for during each school district’s current school year calendar.Thus, the school calendar change would allow for an expansion in the number of summer vacation days, as opposed to a shift from one part of the summer to another.

Read the report here.

Reduced! 115 Alderson St now $56,000! 5BR, updated kitchen, nearly 7,000 sq feet! GA7921862

115 ALDERSON ST
OAKLAND, MD 21550 

UPDATED KITCHEN. Handyman special! Partially renovated structure in need of some TLC. Currently offering 5BR and a commercial tenant, this building can easily be modified to suit your needs. Over 7,200 sq ft to work with! Property sold AS-IS. 24 hr notice req’d, owner must be present for all showings. Originally a church, this building has also served as a 3 unit apartment bldg.

 

http://deepcreeklake.com/RealEstate/JayFerguson/detail.aspx?id=GA7921862

Man charged in Deep Creek boat crash

Operator reportedly runs vessel aground at dam

Michael A. SawyersCumberland Times-News

MCHENRY — A 20-year-old Fallston man was tracked down and charged Wednesday morning after a wrecked and abandoned motorboat was discovered aground on the dam at Deep Creek Lake.

“Employees of the Brookfield Power Company were making their morning rounds when they saw the boat and called,” said Maryland Natural Resources Police Cpl. Walt May.

Using the registration number on the 20-foot Bayliner, police identified Michael Shawn Shannon as the owner. “Officer (A.) Felsecker found Shannon at his parents’ home (near the lake) about 9:30 a.m. He was charged with operating while under the influence of alcohol, negligent operation and underage possession of alcohol,” May said. Officer Glenn Broadwater worked the accident scene.

May said Shannon, who was accompanied in the boat by a friend, apparently operated the boat at full throttle in a very dark area of the lake. There were no injuries.

“We believe the accident took place about midnight,” May said. The boat was fully out of the water and had significant damage including a cracked fuel tank.

May estimated the boat was traveling 20 to 40 mph.

Director John Frank said he was the first responder at 8 a.m. after an alert that originated with the Maryland Department of the Environment downstate was transfered to the Maryland Emergency Management Agency and then to Garrett County.

“Some fuel spilled into the lake, but was dissipated by wind and wave action. Floating absorbant booms were placed as well.”

Hazardous incident response teams from Garrett and Allegany counties arrived and drained the remaining 20 gallons of fuel from the boat’s tank.

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

More here.