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Garrett County broadband project receives $250,000 grant from ARC

Matching local funds will bring high-speed service to hundreds

Greg Larry Cumberland Times-News

MCHENRY — Garrett County’s continued effort to expand broadband services received a boost Friday when the Appalachian Regional Commission announced that it is awarding a $250,000 grant to assist the project.

Officials say the funding will allow high-speed broadband services to be accessed by about 800 additional homes in southern Garrett County.

“Today we are here to provide the county $250,000,” said Earl Gohl, federal co-chair of the ARC.

“Having an opportunity to make an investment like this really makes a difference in rural communities. It’s so important. It’s why the ARC was established,” said Gohl.

The method to be used to deliver the high-speed service is a newly developed wireless system that accesses unused frequencies on the television spectrum.

“Today’s ceremony takes from the planning stage to the doing stage. That’s great news,” said Jim Raley, county commissioner.

Numerous officials attended the event, including state Sen. George Edwards, County Commissioner Gregan Crawford and U.S. Rep. John Delaney of the 6th Congressional District.

“Let’s face it, access to high-speed communication is an absolute in the world today. We applaud the grant. It’s done in a smart way,” said Delaney.

Delaney said he enjoyed hearing of the cooperation among the private sector, government and community resources.

“I love the spirit that I hear out here. There are a lot of lessons to be learned from that in Washington,” said Delaney.

The grant awarded by the ARC is a matching grant, meaning funds in the same amount must be secured and added to the investment. The county plans to supply the $250,000 matching funds required to bring the total funding package for the project to $500,000.

The homes receiving the new high-speed service will be Crellin, Pleasant Valley and other communities south of Oakland. Residents in that region are currently using dial-up.

Raley said that the goal of the county is to deliver broadband to 90 percent of homes. That requires around 3,000 homes to be brought online. The grant will allow 800 more to have access, leaving 2,200 still needing high-speed service.

Frank Shap, assistant director of economic development for the county explained how the new system works.

“It’s really a radio signal going into the house. The technology is called Television White Space. It’s the unused frequencies on the television spectrum,” said Shap.

“There will be a receiver in the house almost like a modem. A wireless signal will go back to a transmitter mounted on a tower and from there to the internet,” said Shap.

A carrier such as Shentel, Comcast, QCall or Atlantic Broadband will be needed to administer the system.

“We will try to identify one or more carriers that want to work with us to deliver the service,” said Shap.

Crawford said that the more broadband is accessible in the county, the more likely people will buy a home or move their business there.

“We have a lot visitors that come to the county and say ‘If I just had a way to work from here I would do it,’” said Crawford.

The more flexibility we can offer them, the better the chance they will stay, Crawford added.

Greg Larry can be contacted at glarry@times-news.com

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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.