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Maryland coast opened to offshore wind development

By TIMOTHY B. WHEELER
The Baltimore Sun
Related:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/

The federal government on Monday invited bids from wind power developers to place turbines off Maryland’s coast, taking the first step toward what could be the nation’s largest offshore commercial wind project to date.

The Department of Interior identified a 277 nautical-square-mile area off the state’s 31-mile coast for possible leasing, largely accepting the recommendations of a state task force that has been studying offshore wind prospects since early last year. The nearest to shore turbines could be placed would be 10 nautical miles off Ocean City, Md., and 20 nautical miles off Assateague National Seashore.

The announcement by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement was hailed by Gov. Martin O’Malley, who has made developing offshore wind a centerpiece of his administration’s energy policy. His administration has proposed developing one gigawatt of electricity-generating capacity off Maryland’s coast, erecting more than 300 commercial turbines in phases.

O’Malley issued a statement calling the federal move “another step forward for Maryland’s new economy.” His administration has said developing one gigawatt of power offshore could support 4,000 manufacturing and construction jobs, plus 800 permanent jobs to operate and maintain the turbines and related infrastructure.

Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2010/11/08/2408720/maryland-coast-opened-to-offshore.html#ixzz14zKVQDhL

If you are thinking of 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! 877-563-5350

Deep Creek Do It All specializes in cleaning services in Garrett County & @ Deep Creek Lake. Give them a call (301-501-0217) or visit the website – competitive rates and quality results from a locally owned & operated company!

FireFly Farms Win Major Awards At ADGA Conference

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Nov. 4, 2010

FireFly Farms, producer of artisanal goat cheeses from Maryland’s Allegheny Plateau, received top honors for four of its aged goat cheeses at the American Dairy Goat Association’s annual conference. The ADGA held its annual conference Oct. 15 through 23 in Tucson, Ariz.

FireFly Farms’ aged goat cheese, Merry Goat Round, was honored as the 2010 Reserve Best-in-Show at the competition. Merry Goat Round also took a first place ribbon competing in its class against other unflavored surface mold ripened cheeses. These two new awards bring Merry Goat Round’s total individual award count to eight, including international recognition at the World Cheese Awards in 2004, 2007, and 2008.

FireFly’s aged goat cheese, Mountain Bleu, received the first place ribbon competing in its class against other unflavored blue-veined cheeses with exterior molding. This new award brings Mountain Top Bleu’s total individual award count to 13, including its 2005 selection by Saveur Magazine editors as one of their 50 favorite American cheeses and its international recognition at the World Cheese Awards in 2004, 2006, and 2008.

FireFly Farms’ aged goat cheese, Black & Blue, received the first place ribbon competing in its class against other unflavored, rindless, blue-veined cheeses. This new award brings Black & Blue’s total individual award count to five, including consecutive first place finishes in the ADGA Competition for 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010.

Read the rest here.

If you are thinking of 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! 877-563-5350

Deep Creek Do It All specializes in cleaning services in Garrett County & @ Deep Creek Lake. Give them a call (301-501-0217) or visit the website – competitive rates and quality results from a locally owned & operated company!

The Last Hues Of Fall


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Only spots of subdued color remain in the landscape now, as the brightest red and orange leaves have long since dropped from branches and lie in piles of rust and brown. November definitely gives a new look — that of pending winter, of which residents will get a taste this weekend, with a few inches of the sometimes-dreaded snow in the forecast for Friday and Saturday. But then the temp is to go back up next week, with next Wednesday predicted to be sunny and 60. Photo by Lisa Broadwater.

If you are thinking of 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! 877-563-5350

Deep Creek Do It All specializes in cleaning services in Garrett County & @ Deep Creek Lake. Give them a call (301-501-0217) or visit the website – competitive rates and quality results from a locally owned & operated company!

A Photo? Not Quite….


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Nov. 4, 2010

At first glance, a viewer may think this is a nice photograph of the Casselman Bridge, but upon further examination, one may be surprised to realize it is an acrylic painting. Local artist Joseph N. Miller created the work, and it is now on display at the Art Gallery of Garrett College. An exhibit of several of Miller’s recent acrylic paintings will run through Nov. 23 at the gallery, which is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and during special events on weekends and evenings. The public is invited to a reception for the artist on Saturday, Nov. 6, from 7 to 9 p.m.

A native of western Pennsylvania, Miller’s ancestors were among the first to settle in the Springs, Pa., area. He said while he was growing up there, his parents fostered his interest in nature and the outdoors. His early attempts at painting while in middle and high school were encouraged by Laura Brown and Greg Bobick. The artist, who is largely self-taught, began to seriously pursue painting in 2006. “The [acrylic] medium’s flexibility is liberating – allowing me to match the qualities of oil painting while offering advantages in drying time, toxicity, and variety of technique,” Miller said. He holds a bachelor of science degree in biology, and masters’ degrees in ecology and landscape architecture. This exhibition is made possible in part by a grant from the Garrett County Arts Council and the Maryland State Arts Council. For more information, persons may contact the art department at 301-387-3024 or e-mail ron.skidmore@garrettcollege.edu

Read the rest here.

If you are thinking of 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! 877-563-5350

Deep Creek Do It All specializes in cleaning services in Garrett County & @ Deep Creek Lake. Give them a call (301-501-0217) or visit the website – competitive rates and quality results from a locally owned & operated company!

Tourism rebounding – gazette.net

Demand for hotel rooms, employment up over national rates
by Lindsey Robbins Staff Writer

Anthony Castellano/The Gazette
Lori Epp (left), marketing director for Wisp Resort at Deep Creek Lake, chats with Lisa Dennis, events director for the Greater Ocean City Chamber of Commerce, during an opening reception for the state tourism conference Wednesday aboard the Catherine Marie at Annapolis City Dock. The conference runs through today.

Demand for Maryland hotel rooms this year through September has exceeded the national average by 1.5 percentage points, growing 8.9 percent from the same time last year.

Margot Amelia, Maryland tourism director, reported the promising data during the Maryland Tourism & Travel Summit at the Loews Annapolis Hotel on Thursday. The conference is hosted by the Maryland Tourism Council, Maryland Tourism Education Foundation and Maryland Office of Tourism Development.

The hotel is a Maryland Green Travel partner, which is a state initiative highlighting hospitality businesses engaged in green practices.

Maryland’s hotel industry also netted 13,000 new jobs from 2009 to 2010, she said. Overall, the state’s tourism employment increased 5.4 percent, compared with 0.7 percent nationally.

“Our industry is adding new employees, more so than others in the nation,” Amelia said. Sales tax revenue from the tourism industry also declined less than others in its tax code, with a 1.3 percent decrease compared with an average 2.5 percent drop. Amelia emphasized that the industry must grow that revenue by more than 3 percent to apply for additional funding for the tourism office.

Read the full article here.

If you are thinking of 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! 877-563-5350

Deep Creek Do It All specializes in cleaning services in Garrett County & @ Deep Creek Lake. Give them a call (301-501-0217) or visit the website – competitive rates and quality results from a locally owned & operated company!

Dying wish granted in western Md. county race

By The Associated Press • November 4, 2010

OAKLAND, Md. — Garrett County voters have fulfilled the wish of a county commissioner candidate who passed away 12 days before the election.

The local election board said Thursday that Republican Bob Gatto won a write-in campaign to succeed the late Dennis Glotfelty on the board of commissioners.
Glotfelty was a Republican whose name remained on the ballot despite his death. Local GOP officials initially urged people to vote for Glotfelty so the party could nominate his successor after the election.

The party later endorsed write-in candidate Gatto, the runner-up in the GOP primary. Glotfelty’s family says that was what Glotfelty wanted.

Gatto got more than 4,000 votes, Democrat Bill Welch got about 2,600 and Glotfelty got nearly 1,800.

If you are thinking of 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! 877-563-5350

Deep Creek Do It All specializes in cleaning services in Garrett County & @ Deep Creek Lake. Give them a call (301-501-0217) or visit the website – competitive rates and quality results from a locally owned & operated company!

Winter arrives in western Maryland, W. Va.


Accumulating snow possible mainly tonight into tomorrow
By Jason Samenow November 5, 2010; 10:30 AM ET

Areas shaded in purple are under a Winter Weather Advisory through Saturday due to the potential for 2-6″ of snow.No sooner than a day after the release of our winter outlook does the first accumulating snow event arrive in the mid-Atlantic region.

A winter weather advisory is in effect for Garrett County in western Maryland, which includes Deep Creek Lake. A second winter weather advisory covers the highlands of West Virginia, including extreme western Allegany, Highland, Pendleton, and western Grant and Mineral counties.

In western Maryland, at least 4 inches of snow is forecast by Saturday afternoon, with 6″+ in the high elevations. In the West Virginia highlands 2-5″ is expected.

Accumulating snow has not yet begun around Deep Creek Lake but you can watch the landscape whiten mainly tonight and tomorrow at DeepCreekCam.com.

Snow is not at all unusual in these areas during November. Oakland, Maryland — in Garrett County – averages about 9 inches of snow during the month. Four inches fell there last November.

The cause of the snow is an area of upper level low pressure moving through the region that will probably just produce scattered cloud cover east of the mountains. The D.C. Lake Blog offers a great discussion as to why this region gets so much snow.

If you are thinking of 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! 877-563-5350

Deep Creek Do It All specializes in cleaning services in Garrett County & @ Deep Creek Lake. Give them a call (301-501-0217) or visit the website – competitive rates and quality results from a locally owned & operated company!

Write-In Candidate Gatto Wins District 3 Commissioner's Race

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Nov. 4, 2010

Local political history was made this week, as a write-in candidate actually won an election, specifically the Garrett County District 3 commissioner’s race.

Official write-in Republican contender Bob Gatto received more than 4,000 of the 4,352 write-in votes that were cast in Tuesday’s general election.

Republican Tim Thomas and Democrat George Falter, together, received the remainder of those write-in votes.

Democrat Bill Welch had 2,603 votes, or about 30 percent, and the late Commissioner Denny Glotfelty, a Republican, garnered 1,755 votes, or 20 percent, in the District 3 race.

After ballots were cast on Tuesday, Garrett County Board of Elections judges only knew the number of write-in votes that were cast in that race. They did not know exactly who received how many of those votes until after they canvassed the ballots line by line. That procedure began at 10 a.m. this morning (Thursday, Nov. 4).

Board director Steve Fratz announced the results at noon today.

Glotfelty defeated Gatto, Thomas, and Louis Newcomb in the September primary. The one-term incumbent received about 41 percent of the votes, while Gatto had 32 percent, Newcomb had 16 percent, and Thomas had 11 percent of the Republican votes.

On the Democratic side, Welch defeated Falter by garnering 76 percent of his party’s primary votes.

Glotfelty died on Oct. 21, leaving a quandary for the Garrett County Republican Central Committee and local voters. Since the candidate’s death occurred so closely to the general election, Glotfelty’s name could not actually be removed from printed absentee and electronic ballots. In addition, the committee had only a few hours to come up with a Republican candidate who would essentially replace Glotfelty. Rather than “hastily making such a decision” about filling such “big shoes,” the committee asked residents to vote for Glotfelty “one more time” to show their support for him.

After receiving the support of the Glotfelty family, Gatto filed as a write-in candidate on Oct. 25. Following that endorsement and some public backlash for their previous lack of action, the current central committee backed Gatto.

Thomas filed as a write-in on Oct. 26, and Falter filed on Sept. 27.

There were no major surprises in other local races, as Republican candidates easily defeated their Democratic challengers. Registered GOP voters outnumber Democrats by about three to one in Garrett County.

Read the rest here.

If you are thinking of 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! 877-563-5350

Deep Creek Do It All specializes in cleaning services in Garrett County & @ Deep Creek Lake. Give them a call (301-501-0217) or visit the website – competitive rates and quality results from a locally owned & operated company!

Deep Creek Discovery Center – November 2010

Here is the full schedule of events for December at the Deep Creek Lake Discovery Center:

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 6 8:00 A.M. LET’S GO BIRDING THIS MAY BE EARLY, BUT IT IS THE BEST TIME TO HEAR AND SPOT SONGBIRDS. JOIN NATURALIST AARON, ONE OF GARRETT COUNTY’S MOST AVID BIRDERS, ON A WALK AROUND THE PARK. EXPERIENCED AND BEGINNER BIRDERS ARE WELCOMED! PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN BINOCULARS. MEET AT THE DISCOVERY CENTER.
1:00 P.M. NOVELTY NOSE ATTENTION, KIDS OF ALL AGES! COME TO THE DISCOVERY CENTER AND EXPLORE THE LIFE OF A BLACK BEAR. ACTIVITIES AND INTERESTING FACTS WILL BE PRESENTED BY OUR PARK NATURALIST. GET THE CHANCE TO TOUCH REAL BEAR FUR AND SEE AN ACTUAL SKULL!

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 7 11:00 P.M. HIKE TO THE BRANT MINE THIS PROGRAM IS A GUIDED HIKE WITH THE NATURALIST TO THE HISTORIC BRANT MINE. YOU WILL SEE THE REMNANTS OF A COAL MINE THAT WAS OPERATED IN THE 1920’S. PLUS, YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU WILL SEE ON THE WAY!
2:00 P.M. OWL VS. HAWK DISCOVER THE SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OUR BIRDS OF PREY AS THEY ARE PERCHED OUTSIDE THEIR MEW’S FOR CLEAR VIEWING AND PHOTOGRAPHY. THE PARK NATURALIST WILL ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS AND RELAY HOW THE BIRDS CAME TO BE AT THE DISCOVERY CENTER. 1 HOUR.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 13 8:00 A.M. LET’S GO BIRDING THIS MAY BE EARLY, BUT IT IS THE BEST TIME TO HEAR AND SPOT SONGBIRDS. JOIN NATURALIST AARON, ONE OF GARRETT COUNTY’S MOST AVID BIRDERS, ON A WALK AROUND THE PARK. EXPERIENCED AND BEGINNER BIRDERS ARE WELCOMED! PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN BINOCULARS. MEET AT THE DISCOVERY CENTER.
1:00 P.M. SMOOTH N’ SCALES KIDS OF ALL AGES! SLITHER YOUR WAY OVER TO THE DISCOVERY CENTER FOR AN AFTERNOON OF REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS! LEARN ABOUT THE SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO. ALSO, GET THE CHANCE TO BE UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL BY HELPING THE NATURALIST FEED!
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 14 11:00 A.M. WINTER WOODS. OPEN YOUR EYES TO THE CHANGING SEASONS BY ENJOYING A RELAXING HIKE. WHAT DO PLANTS AND ANIMALS DO TO SURVIVE IN COLD WEATHER? LEARN ABOUT HOW NATURE PREPARES FOR WINTER! REMEMBER TO DRESS APPROPRIATE!
2:00 P.M. OWL VS. HAWK DISCOVER THE SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OUR BIRDS OF PREY AS THEY ARE PERCHED OUTSIDE THEIR MEW’S FOR CLEAR VIEWING AND PHOTOGRAPHY. THE PARK NATURALIST WILL ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS AND RELAY HOW THE BIRDS CAME TO BE AT THE DISCOVERY CENTER. 1 HOUR.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 20 8:00 A.M. LET’S GO BIRDING THIS MAY BE EARLY, BUT IT IS THE BEST TIME TO HEAR AND SPOT SONGBIRDS. JOIN NATURALIST AARON, ONE OF GARRETT COUNTY’S MOST AVID BIRDERS, ON A WALK AROUND THE PARK. EXPERIENCED AND BEGINNER BIRDERS ARE WELCOMED! PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN BINOCULARS. MEET AT THE DISCOVERY CENTER.
1:00 P.M. STORY N’ CRAFT JOIN OUR PARK NATURALIST FOR A SEASONAL STORY AND CRAFT. THE PROGRAM IS $2.00 PER CHILD. APPROPRIATE FOR AGES 2-5
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 21 11:00 P.M. HIKE TO THE BRANT MINE THIS PROGRAM IS A GUIDED HIKE WITH THE PARK NATURALIST TO THE HISTORIC BRANT MINE. YOU WILL SEE THE REMNANTS OF A COAL MINE THAT WAS OPERATED IN THE 1920’S. PLUS, YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU WILL SEE ON THE WAY!
2:00 P.M. OWL VS. HAWK DISCOVER THE SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OUR BIRDS OF PREY AS THEY ARE PERCHED OUTSIDE THEIR MEW’S FOR CLEAR VIEWING AND PHOTOGRAPHY. THE PARK NATURALIST WILL ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS AND RELAY HOW THE BIRDS CAME TO BE AT THE DISCOVERY CENTER. 1 HOUR.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 26 CRITTER ENCOUNTERS EVERY HOUR ON THE HOUR, YOU WILL GET THE CHANCE TO MEET A DIFFERENT CRITTER. JOIN OUR NATURALIST TO DISOVER NEW FACTS AND WATCH FEEDINGS! ALL AGES ARE WELCOMED!
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 27 8:00 A.M. LET’S GO BIRDING THIS MAY BE EARLY, BUT IT IS THE BEST TIME TO HEAR AND SPOT SONGBIRDS. JOIN NATURALIST AARON, ONE OF GARRETT COUNTY’S MOST AVID BIRDERS, ON A WALK AROUND THE PARK. EXPERIENCED AND BEGINNER BIRDERS ARE WELCOMED! PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN BINOCULARS. MEET AT THE DISCOVERY CENTER.
1:00 P.M. A TURKEY’S TALE COME TO THE DISCOVERY CENTER FOR A GOBBLING GOOD TIME! LEARN ABOUT THE LIFE OF THE WILD TURKEY. KIDS OF ALL AGES CAN PARTICIPATE IN THE VARIOUS ACTIVITIES!
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 28 11:00 A.M. WINTER WOODS. OPEN YOUR EYES TO THE CHANGING SEASONS BY ENJOYING A RELAXING HIKE. WHAT DO PLANTS AND ANIMALS DO TO SURVIVE IN COLD WEATHER? LEARN ABOUT HOW NATURE PREPARES FOR WINTER! REMEMBER TO DRESS APPROPRIATELY.
2:00 P.M. OWL VS. HAWK DISCOVER THE SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OUR BIRDS OF PREY AS THEY ARE PERCHED OUTSIDE THEIR MEW’S FOR CLEAR VIEWING AND PHOTOGRAPHY. THE PARK NATURALIST WILL ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS AND RELAY HOW THE BIRDS CAME TO BE AT THE DISCOVERY CENTER. 1 HOUR.

EVERY SATURDAY THERE WILL BE A TANK TOUR AT 11:00 A.M. -DON’T PASS UP THE OPPORTUNITY TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE RESIDENTS OF THE DISCOVERY CENTER. HEAR STORIES, LEARN FACTS, AND GET A CHANCE TO TOUCH DIFFERENT CRITTERS. APPROPRIATE FOR ALL AGES

Find us on FACEBOOK and www.discoverycenterdcl.com
Programs and Center hours are subject to change without notice. 301-387-7067

If you are thinking of 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! 877-563-5350

Deep Creek Do It All specializes in cleaning services in Garrett County & @ Deep Creek Lake. Give them a call (301-501-0217) or visit the website – competitive rates and quality results from a locally owned & operated company!

School board seat in flux after Raley victory

Megan Miller
The Cumberland Times-News Thu Nov 04, 2010, 07:48 AM EDT

— OAKLAND — Jim Raley’s election to the county commission means that a seat on the school board is now in flux, at an already uncertain time for Garrett County schools.

Raley will resign from the school board to take his new office, creating a vacancy that will be filled, by law, through an appointment by the county commission. The appointee will serve out the remaining two years of his term, through 2012.

The appointee could be a person from any political party and any part of the county, because Raley’s seat is designated for a member-at-large.

Full article here.

If you are thinking of 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! 877-563-5350

Deep Creek Do It All specializes in cleaning services in Garrett County & @ Deep Creek Lake. Give them a call (301-501-0217) or visit the website – competitive rates and quality results from a locally owned & operated company!