western maryland – Jay's Real Estate Blog

Maryland Park Service Graduates 20 New State Park Rangers

The Maryland Park Service recently graduated 20 new State Park Rangers after they completed four weeks of training. The graduation ceremony took place on February 24, 2023, at Elk Neck State Park and NorthBay Adventure Camp. This is the 13th class of new State Park Rangers since the modern ranger school program was established in 2009.

Ranger school focuses on the primary jobs of the Maryland Park Ranger, which include operations, maintenance, interpretation, and customer service. During the four-week training, students participated in intensive practical exercises and written exams. The training was designed to simulate real-world scenarios, allowing rangers-in-training to execute emergency response, park operations, search and rescue missions, resource management, and more.

To become fully certified, rangers must also complete one year of operational experience. The new rangers will work in different regions, and they are as follows:

Central:

Nicole Staab, Rocks/Susquehanna State Park
Margaret White, Rocks/Susquehanna State Park

Eastern:

Brian Bokulic, Janes Island State Park
Ashley Brown, Pocomoke River State Park
Kirby Brown, Assateague State Park
Michael Fray, Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park
Erin Swale, Assateague State Park

Southern:

Samuel Behrens, Point Lookout State Park
Matthew Gregory, Southern Maryland Recreational Complex
Aubree Moore, Southern Maryland Recreational Complex
Calvin Ogburn, Southern Maryland Recreational Complex
Riley Schwertz, Point Lookout State Park

Western:

Travis Anthony, Cunningham Falls State Park
Emily Hendershot, Rocky Gap State Park
Ryan Keller, Herrington Manor State Park
Noah Manges, New Germany State Park
Cecilia Melton, South Mountain Recreation Area
Scott Offutt, Cunningham Falls State Park
Andrew Ogle, Deep Creek Lake State Park
Christine Smith, Deep Creek Lake State Park

“Maryland Park Rangers represent the vanguard of the Park Service mission – ‘to manage the state’s natural, cultural, historical, and recreational resources, to provide for wise stewardship and enjoyment by people,’” said Maryland Department of Natural Resources Secretary Josh Kurtz. “I thank each of them for their commitment to their duties, sharing and preserving our most treasured lands and waters now and for future generations.”

The Maryland Park Service takes pride in their ranger school program, which ensures that their rangers are highly skilled and competent in their duties. With the graduation of the 13th class of new State Park Rangers, the Maryland Park Service continues to maintain the quality of service they provide to the public.

“George Fund” to Support Economic Development in Western Maryland

Maryland Association of Counties

The new Senator George C. Edwards Fund will provide grant or loan funding to capital infrastructure projects and business development projects that improve the economic conditions in the region.

In the 2022 Legislative Session, the Maryland General Assembly passed Senate Bill 474, sponsored by Senators George Edwards, Paul Corderman, and Katie Hester. The legislation called for the creation of the “George Fund” and established the Western Maryland Economic Future Investment Board to review, evaluate, and rate applications for funding from the program. It also made this program a part of the Tri-County Council of Western Maryland, which supports the board and administers the fund.

The purpose of the Fund is to provide grant or loan funding to capital infrastructure projects and business development projects that improve the economic conditions in the region. A total of $50 million has been allocated for economic development projects over the next four years. The first round of funding is for $20 million to support projects in Garrett, Allegany, and Washington Counties.
The Western Maryland Economic Future Investment Board solicited applications and has been evaluating the projects that could make the most substantial economic impact, bring significant employment opportunities, and/or increase the tax base.
Requests for funding in Garrett County alone totaled over $8.7 million and would create over 200 jobs in the next year and over 300 new jobs in the next three years. Project awards are expected to be announced soon.

Senate Bill 474 also designated the positions which are represented on the Board. One representative from the Department of Commerce, appointed by the Secretary of Commerce; one commissioner from each member county, appointed by each member county’s respective commissioners; one representative of an economic development organization in each member county, appointed by each member county’s respective commissioners; one representative from Chamber of Commerce from each member county, appointed by each member county’s respective Chamber of Commerce; and one representative from the Maryland Municipal League, appointed by the Executive Director of the League.
For additional information visit https://senatoredwardsfund.org.

Jay Ferguson Named ROTY For 2018!!

The award is designed to honor and recognize a member for outstanding service to the real estate profession and the community. He goes well above and beyond that!

Jay Ferguson is currently with Taylor-Made Deep Creek Vacations & Sales. He has been a sales agent for nearly 20 years, he became co-owner of Taylor-Made’s new real estate division in 2014.

Deep Creek Lake Named 1 of the 11 Great Places to Rent a Summer Lake House

TripAdvisor released a list of the 11 greatest places to rent a summer lake house and guess what???

Deep Creek Lake was the first one listed!

Check out the article here.

lake1

To rent your summer lake house, click here.

PRICE REDUCTION!

Backs to Garrett State Forest! 15.43 acres with a ~30×60 pole building in coveted Youghiogheny Mountain Resort. Community has over 2,400 acres and over 50 miles of ATV, snowmobile and hiking trails. Private access, mostly wooded but not too remote – 4G cell service at property. Electric close by. Plenty of storage for all of your outdoor vehicles, campers, etc. The perfect getaway!

The Folded Rocks of Sideling Hill Road Cut

The Sideling Hill is a long, steep, narrow mountain ridge that runs north to south across western Maryland in Washington County, in the United States. For many centuries, this mountain had blocked the path of many travelers who wished to go from Maryland to northeast West Virginia and vice versa. Travelers had to decide whether they wanted to go around it or over it, but both routes being treacherous, resulted in many mishaps.

The first tunnel was blasted through the rocks of Sideling Hill in 1873–74 for the East Broad Top Railroad. This was followed by at least a couple more. The original railroad tunnel ceased operation in 1956, and the one opened in 1940 is now abandoned. A few decades later, when the Maryland State Highway Administration was laying down Interstate 68 across the state of Maryland, they decided that another tunnel through Sideling Hill would be too expensive. Instead, they decided to cut a deep notch across the hill and lay the road through it. After excavating 10 million tons of rock, engineers discovered they had exposed an unusual geologic structure — a syncline of tightly folded rock strata dating back more than 350 million years.

HAPPY SATURDAY!!

Taylor-Made Deep Creek Vacations's photo.

From the Mountain of Western Maryland!!

Garrett County developer pleads guilty in bank fraud case

Posted: Sunday, August 10, 2014 3:16 am

BALTIMORE (AP) — A Garrett County developer faces up to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to bank fraud conspiracy in a scheme involving three properties in Western Maryland and West Virginia.

Lewis Strosnider pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court in Baltimore. He’ll be sentenced Nov. 19.

Co-defendant Samuel VanSickle has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Maryland group's push for some counties to secede from state

http://video.foxnews.com/v/2678882380001/maryland-groups-push-for-some-counties-to-secede-from-state/

Western Maryland secessionists seek to sever ties with the liberal Free State

By Michael S. Rosenwald, Published: September 8

The push by 50 western Virginia counties to secede in 1863, forming West Virginia at the height of the Civil War, was led by a charismatic store-clerk-turned-lawyer who famously urged his supporters: “Cut the knot now! Cut it now! Apply the knife.”

West Virginia was the last state to break off from another. Now, 150 years later, a 49-year-old information technology consultant wants to apply the knife to Maryland’s five western counties. “The people are the sovereign,” says Scott Strzelczyk, leader of the fledgling Western Maryland Initiative, and the western sovereigns are fed up with Annapolis’s liberal majority, elected by the state’s other sovereigns.

Maryland counties considering secession

Should Western Md. counties be allowed to form their own state?

Yes
47%

53%

“If you think you have a long list of grievances and it’s been going on for decades, and you can’t get it resolved, ultimately this is what you have to do,” says Strzelczyk, who lives in New Windsor, a historic town of 1,400 people in Carroll County. “Otherwise you are trapped.”

Strzelczyk’s effort is one of several across the country to separate significant portions of states from, as he puts it, “the dominant ruling class.” Nearly a dozen northern Colorado counties are the furthest along, with nonbinding referendums set for November ballots. The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is making a move to join with parts of Wisconsin. Northern California counties want to form a state called Jefferson.

More here.

Category: western maryland