Jay Fergusonjay@deepcreekvacations.com301-501-0420
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Author: Jay Ferguson

Who I Am My name is Jay Ferguson, and I am a lifelong resident of the Deep Creek Lake area. I am also co-owner of the real estate side of Taylor Made. I have been in the real estate business for 21+ years now and I LOVE what I do! I have to say, my career really took off when I co-founded the real estate side of Taylor Made in 2014. Its been an amazing experience, building a real estate company from the ground up and achieving so much so quickly! In August 2016, we purchased Long & Foster Real Estate Deep Creek, where I had started my career in 2000. In 2018, we on-boarded virtually every agent from Coldwell Banker Deep Creek Realty as they closed up shop and the real estate family grew even more! We now have over 40 sales agents and have expanded to West Virginia and Pennsylvania, as well. Taylor Made is the #1 vacation rental company at Deep Creek with over 475 vacation rental homes, and over one hundred thousand yearly visitors. Its amazing what we have accomplished using the principles of honesty, teamwork and customer service! Personally, my wife Jessica and I enjoy traveling and especially spending time in the outdoors, hiking and exploring the many diverse areas that Garrett County is naturally blessed with. We have raised two wonderful children here, Kayleah (22) and Noah (13). In the summer, we love spending time on the water with friends & family and enjoying the lake life! We are both active in our church, our community & local school activities, and we fill our schedule with plenty of volunteer efforts. I currently serve on the board of directors for Habitat for Humanity. I am proud to say that I was named Deep Creek Time’s Favorite ‘Community Champion’ in 2019. I was also named Garrett County Realtor of the Year in 2018-19, as well. I really enjoy promoting my hometown. I am very proud of the resort area that has developed over my lifetime and look forward to growing the area even more! Deep Creek Lake has been described as ‘The Lake Tahoe of the east', and I think that speaks volumes about the potential to own property here! Deep Creek Lake isn't really a town or city by itself; it's comprised of three towns: Oakland, Swanton & McHenry, Maryland. I am very passionate about my hometown and am impressed with how many people know about it as we travel around the country. Deep Creek Lake is an amazing place to visit and even better place to live! During the pandemic in 2020, our market exploded and more and more people left their primary residence in the city to live here permanently. With distance learning in schools and tele-commuting becoming the ‘norm’, many more people were drawn to the area to ‘live where they love to play’. Why You Want Me Working for You: In addition to being an owner, I am consistently one of the top-producing agents in the entire area and the Associate Broker of record for Taylor-Made Deep Creek Vacations & Sales. I have 21+ years of experience and I am a problem solver. There aren’t many situations that I have not encountered and I have a strategy for almost every scenario that you may encounter. I have extensively trained in all areas of real estate & emerging technologies, and also have trained as an appraiser, as well as served as a full-time Broker. I have a strong knowledge of the industry, as well as many trusted local contacts & affiliations that allow me to perform at a very high level and deliver results. I have a great deal of respect for my peers in this industry and have strong working relationships that I would love to put to work for you. Call me to discuss your situation - I know I can be of great service to you & others you care about! Honesty. Integrity. Results.

A quarter of registered Garrett County voters ousted commissioners

Elaine Blaisdell

Cumberland Times-News

OAKLAND — About one-quarter of Garrett County’s registered voters decided the fate of the three Republican commissioners who were unseated Tuesday, according to complete but unofficial primary election results.

The voting turnout was at 25.26 percent, including early voting, according to results reported by the county to the State Board of Elections.

Paul Edwards ousted incumbent Jim Raley in District 2, with 50.5 percent of the votes, or a total of 1,933 votes to Raley’s 961 votes.

Edwards didn’t return a call for comment by press time.

Edwards will run unopposed in the November general election.

Edwards has 15 years in municipal government in Grantsville and is currently director of secondary education for Garrett County Public Schools. He will step down from  his 10-year mayoral position in Grantsville.

In District 1, Larry Tichnell unseated incumbent Gregan Crawford, garnering 49.28 percent of the votes with a total of 1,850 to Crawford’s 1,055 votes.

“I appreciate all the people that voted for me. I was surprised to win as handily as I did because there was a lot of good candidates in my district,” said Tichnell. “Thanks to everybody for their support and appreciation. I look forward to the election in November.”

Tichnell will square off against Leo Martin, a Libertarian, in the November general election.

In District 3, Jim Hinebaugh beat incumbent Bob Gatto by 2.78 percent of the votes. Earning 36.48 percent of the votes, Hinebaugh had a total of 1,419 votes to Gatto’s 1,311 votes. Hinebaugh will face Democratic candidate April Hebden, who received a total of 626 votes, as well as Bill Welch, a Libertarian, and James R. “Smokey” Stanton, unaffiliated, in the general election.

“Obviously, I’m very pleased to win. It was a pretty tight race,” said Hinebaugh. “I’m pleased with the outcome — it’s closer than I would have liked but I’m happy I won. I’m looking forward to the general election in November.”

Calls to Raley, Crawford and Gatto weren’t returned by press time.

District 3 Board of Education candidate Monica Rinker led the way with 2,319 votes, followed by Fred Gregg with 1,665 votes and incumbent Rodney Reckart with 735 votes. Rinker and Gregg will move on to the general election with District 1 candidates Stuart Harvey and Mathew Paugh, incumbent, and District 2 candidate Thomas Carr, incumbent. District 1 and 2 candidates will go straight to the general election because there is only one candidate from District 2 and two candidates from District 1. There is only one open seat in each of the three districts.

State’s Attorney Lisa Thayer Welch received 2,896 votes. Clerk of Circuit Court Timothy Miller received 3,080. Both ran unopposed. Register of Wills Rita L. Watson also ran unopposed with 3,188 votes.

Sheriff candidates Skyler Hebden, D, and incumbent Robert Corley, R, received 556 votes and 3,322 votes, respectively. Hebden and Corley will face off in the general election.

In the race for Judge of Orphans’ Court, Fred Sanders led over incumbent Wayne Wilt with 2,665 votes to 2,619 votes.

Jeff Hovis was the only candidate who ran for Democratic Central Committee with 652 votes. In the Republican Central Committee race, Brenda Butscher led with 2,357 votes, followed by Ruth Hinebaugh Umbel, 2,274 votes; Brian Schlossnagle 2,128; Bill Bittinger 2,099; Tom Sheahen 1,759; DeCorsey Bolden 1,640; Bill Schrider 1,522; and John Pucciano, 1,467.

Contact Elaine Blaisdell at eblaisdell@times-news.com.

More here.

Garrett County citizens vote commissioners out of office

Elaine Blaisdell

Cumberland Times-News

OAKLAND — Garrett County’s three sitting Republican commissioners were unseated Tuesday, according to complete but unofficial primary election results.

In District 1, Larry Tichnell, with 1,850 votes, won out over incumbent Gregan Crawford, who finished with 1,055 votes. Also in District 1, Eric Robison had 289 votes, Andrew Scott Harvey 250 votes and Dan Brenneman 310 votes.

In District 2, Paul Edwards led the way with 1,933 votes, followed by incumbent Jim Raley with 961, Tim Thomas with 753 and Gary Barlow with 181. Barlow suspended his campaign but remained on the ballot.

In District 3, Jim Hinebaugh, with 1,419 votes, beat incumbent Bob Gatto with 1,311. Also in District 3, Dave Beard, 538 votes; Jeff Haines, 484 votes; and Chad Maroney, 138. April Hebden, the lone Democrat in any of the three commission races, had 626 votes.

In District 1, Tichnell will face off against Leo Martin, a libertarian, in the November general election. In District 3, Hinebaugh will face off against candidate Hebden, Bill Welch, a libertarian and James R. “Smokey” Stanton, unaffiliated in the general election. In District 2, Edwards will run unopposed.

District 3 Board of Education candidate Monica Rinker led the way with 2,319 votes, followed by Fred Gregg and incumbent Rodney Reckart’s 1,665 and 735 votes, respectively.

Rinker and Reckart will move on to the general election  with District 1 candidates Stuart Harvey and Mathew Paugh and incumbent and District 2 candidate Thomas Carr, incumbent. Board candidates from District 1 and 2 will go straight to the general election because there is only one candidate from District 2 and two candidates from District 1.

There is only one open seat in each of the three districts.

Contact Elaine Blaisdell at eblaisdell@times-news.com.

More here.

New listing! 2474 Marsh Hill Road – 4/5 BR log chalet with dock – GA8385918

IMMACULATE 4/5BR log home at Waterside at Wisp, with dock slip. 3,600+/- sq ft of living area, spread over an open & inviting chalet floor plan. Perfect location for year round activities on Marsh Hill Rd – just 2 miles from Wisp. Custom concrete driveway, attached garage, 2 huge living rooms, 2 fireplaces, eat-in kitchen, wrap around porch/deck, wet bar & more! More here.
Listing Information
Property Type: Single Family-Detached
4 4 Full/1 Half
47,480 Sq. Ft. 3,600 (approx) 2001
Yes- 1 space 3
WATERSIDE AT WISP
Public
Public Sewer
School Information
CALL SCHOOL BOARD
Room Information
Bathrooms
4 1
Sep Dining Rm
Interior Features
 Propane, Forced Air, Other
Fully Finished
 2
 None, Other
Exterior / Lot Features
 Deck, Dock Facilities, Spa, Water Access
 1 Garage Spaces, Drvwy/Off Str, Garage
Stone, Log
Boat Slip
None
DEEP CREEK LAKE
0
Moderate Slope
Shows Well
 Deck
Driving Directions
From Taylor-Made DCV&S, turn on Sang Run Rd, left on Marsh Hill. Follow 2.4 miles to home on right.
Financial Considerations
$883 Annually
Fee Simple
1218048116
$5,409
2013

Much more here.

New listing! 1333 Deep Creek Drive – Lakefront townhome- Mountain View – GA8385901

Mountain View #8 is a vibrant and airy 3 bedroom townhome that will captivate you with water & slope views! With 3 levels of living space, there is more than ample room for everyone to spread out. This townhome is ideally located within walking distance to area dining and activities. Dock slip available through HOA. Reasonably priced, furnishings convey, established vacation rental. More here.
This property is a vacation rental! More here.
Listing Information
Property Type: Single Family-Attached
3 3 Full
1,563 (approx) 1989 3
MOUNTAINVIEW
Public
Public Sewer
School Information
CALL SCHOOL BOARD NORTHERN NORTHERN GARRETT HIGH
Room Information
Bathrooms
3
Kit-Dining Combo, Kit-Living Combo, Liv-Din Combo
Interior Features
 Electric Heating, Forced Air
Connecting Stairway, Fully Finished, Walkout Level
 1
Floor Plan-Traditional, Furniture Conveys, Other, Other, W/W Carpeting, Washer/Dryer Hookup
Exterior / Lot Features
 Dock Facilities, Water Access
 Assigned
Wood
Boat Slip
None
Water
DEEP CREEK LAKE
0
Shows Well
Driving Directions
From Taylor-Made Deep Creek Vacations & Sales, take Towne Center Way to Deep Creek Drive. Mountain View community is on your right.
Financial Considerations
Condo
1218054639
$4,619
2013

Much more here.

 

Bicycling for charity

Race Across America covers 3,000

Vickie GriffithsCumberland Times-News

GARRETT COUNTY — Race Across America contestant Chris “Hoppo” Hopkinson, of North Yorkshire, United Kingdom, tackles a hill on Rt. 40 in Garrett County on Friday.

The race, which covers 3,000 miles from Oceanside, California to Annapolis, Maryland, raises funds for a variety of charities.

Team Hoppo is sponsoring Fraja Ellie, a 5-year-old girl from North Yorkshire who is fighting neuroblastoma.

For more about the race, visit www.raceacrossamerica.org.

More here.

Past and present intersect in Grantsville

This stretch of U.S. 40 in Garrett County includes an artisan village, a stone bridge and a restaurant with a lot of character

June 17, 2014 | By Jonathan Pitts, The Baltimore Sun

GRANTSVILLE — — In a cabin built in the 1750s, just a few hundred feet from a 201-year-old stone bridge across the quiet Casselman River, a man sits at a slab of a wooden table, an array of carving tools spread before him.

The rush of traffic from nearby Alternate U.S. 40, also known as Route 40, does not bother Gary Yoder. Nor does the “thump-thump-thump” of the weaving loom from the cabin next door.

The most celebrated crafter of wooden bird sculptures in Western Maryland is too engrossed to notice.

“What I do is more like an addiction than a career — a healthy one, I hope,” he says, glancing up from a hawk feather he’s carving from a piece of basswood.

Yoder has been practicing his craft at the Spruce Forest Artisans Village — a cluster of working artists’ studios a mile from downtown Grantsville — for 42 of his 55 years.

More here.

Health implications of fracking focus of Garrett meeting

June 28 event open to public

For the Cumberland Times-News

Cumberland Times-News

— MCHENRY — A public presentation on the health implications of fracking to be held June 28 from 2 to 4:30 p.m. in the Garrett College auditorium will include time for community comments and questions.

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is the process of drilling and injecting fluid into the ground at a high pressure in order to fracture shale rocks to release natural gas inside.

Dr. Sacoby Wilson, Dr. Amir Sapkota and other team members from the University of Maryland’s Institute for Applied Environmental Health will deliver the presentation. “We are looking forward to reporting to the community on our results, conclusions and recommendations,” Wilson said.

Last fall, Wilson and his team met with community members to compile a list of issues and questions they wanted addressed by the public health study. The comments made in those meetings were written up and are available to read at www.marcellushealth.org.

This is also an opportunity to hear more about the work of Maryland’s Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission.

Representatives of the Allegany and Garrett county health departments will be present.

The June 28 meeting will be an opportunity to understand existing threats to Allegany and Garrett County air quality and why citizens may want to be trained to conduct their own air quality monitoring in addition to that being done by the state.

Pre-existing environmental threats need to be documented, so that if fracking is permitted, officials and scientists can determine if new problems with air, soil or water contamination are emerging. For public health purposes, it will be important to know if illnesses can be attributed to any phases of gas extraction and production.

The meeting is hosted by the Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health, School of Public Health, University of Maryland, College Park. MIAEH requests an RSVP atmeleahboyle@gmail.com.

More here.

Garrett County has second wildlife management area

Hunting will be allowed on land south of Bittinger

Michael A. Sawyers

Cumberland Times-News

— BITTINGER — A new state wildlife management area, only the second in Garrett County, will provide public hunting as well as protection for some plant and bird species.

The Cunningham Swamp Wildlife Management Area opened in May. Public access, including a parking lot, is available by turning west off state Route 495 about 100 yards north of the entrance to the Western Maryland 4-H Education Center.

The 258-acre unit includes grassy fields, evergreen and deciduous forest and, of course, a swamp. Some of the unit sits atop reclaimed strip mines.

“We encourage deer hunting at the WMA because deer eat the rare and endangered purple-fringed orchids,” said Ed Thompson of the Maryland Wildlife & Heritage Service, the managing agency within the Department of Natural Resources.

Thompson said deer also like to eat Canada yew, another plant with which he is concerned.

“The yew plant is like candy to a deer,” he said.

The WMA offers a variety of open fields and thick cover.

Jim Mullan, regional manager for WHS, said deer hunting should be popular and productive at the new unit.

“This part of Garrett County is well-known for having bears,” Mullan said. Bear hunting is by special permit only in Maryland.

A kiosk providing information about the WMA is located at the grassy parking lot.

Rare birds, including the golden-winged warbler and alder fly catcher, use the WMA, according to Thompson.

The state paid $550,000 from Program Open Space funds for the land.

To inquire, call 301-334-4255.

More here.

Jay Ferguson
jay@deepcreekvacations.com
301-501-0420
My Location
35 Towne Centre Way
McHenry, MD 21541
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