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Selected As Autumn Glory Parade Grand Marshals

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Athletes Casey Eichfeld and Tom Wallisch are pictured doing what they do best. Eichfeld, above, is a 2008 Whitewater Slalom Olympian, who started paddling with his dad at the age of 18 months. He was named the youngest National Slalom Cadet Team member at age 8 and competed in the 2008 Beijing, China, Olympics, where he placed 11th. Below is Wallisch, who is currently based out of Salt Lake City, Utah, is a native of Pittsburgh, Pa., and has had a second home in Garrett County with his parents since 1989. He attends the University of Utah and works as a professional freestyle skier. Wallisch is considered one of the country’s top park skiers. See story for details on Eichfeld and Wallisch and learn more about them at the Meet & Greets slated for the weekend of Autumn Glory.

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!

Rain soaks region; 911 centers report few emergencies

From Staff Reports
The Cumberland Times-News Fri Oct 01, 2010, 07:56 AM EDT

— CUMBERLAND — Steady rain throughout the region, courtesy of Tropical Storm Nicole, prompted various weather-related calls Thursday to local emergency centers. No major injuries were reported.

More than a half-inch of rain fell by 7 a.m. in the city, according to Tim Thomas, local observer of the National Weather Service. The rain began to taper off by 4 p.m. with total rainfall totaling 2.14 inches, according to wunderground.com.

Today’s Accuweather forecast for Cumberland predicts partly sunny conditions and a high temperature of 63 degrees.

As for weather-related activity, the State Highway Administration reported removing a large boulder that rolled from the hillside onto westbound Interstate 68 near the Seton Drive exit at about 9:45 a.m. Thursday. No one was injured and a front-end loader was used to remove the boulder. Cumberland Police controlled traffic until the boulder was removed.

An accident in the 13400 block of McMullen Highway sent two people to the Western Maryland Regional Medical Center for treatment of apparently minor injuries. One vehicle crossed the center line into the path of the other vehicle. Wet road conditions contributed to the crash, Maryland State Police said.

Property damage accidents were reported without injuries at state Route 96, two miles north of Hyndman, shortly before 10 a.m. and on westbound I-68 near the Vocke Road exit at LaVale at about 7:10 a.m., according to the Allegany County 911 center.

Several other accidents and reports of flooded basements were made to emergency centers throughout the day. Apparently none involved serious injuries.

In Garrett County, nearly an inch of rain fell overnight. The wet roadway of eastbound I-68 at Grantsville sent a Ford passenger car out of control but no one was injured. The vehicle slid into a ditch after entering the interstate from the state Route 495 access ramp, police said. No more weather-related calls were reported by either Maryland State Police or the Garrett County 911 center by late afternoon.

In nearby West Virginia, no weather-related calls were reported by late Thursday morning by emergency centers in Mineral and Hampshire counties.

A flood watch was posted by the National Weather Service to remain in effect until 9 p.m. Thursday for Allegany, Hampshire, Pendleton, Hardy, Grant and Mineral counties.

The Maryland Natural Resources Police announced that boating and other recreational use of the Upper Potomac River, including its creeks and streams, should be avoided, based on information received from the National Weather Service and the Maryland Emergency Management Agency.

This advisory is in effect through Monday and will be updated as necessary.

The NRP said river levels are now hazardous for recreational use on the entire main stem of the Upper Potomac River from Cumberland to Little Falls.

For the latest information on Potomac River conditions between Cumberland and Little Falls, call the National Weather Service at 703-996-2200.

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!

MDE approves permit for Casselman mine

Authorization moves project past final development hurdle

Megan Miller
The Cumberland Times-News Fri Oct 01, 2010, 07:59 AM EDT

— GRANTSVILLE — The Maryland Department of the Environment issued a permit this week that essentially cleared the last procedural hurdle preventing development of a coal mine under the Casselman River.

The surface water discharge permit will allow Maryland Energy Resources LLC, a subsidiary of the Indiana, Pa.-based Joseph Peles Coal Company, to discharge an average of 500,000 gallons of mine drainage per day, along with variable volumes of stormwater, into the North Branch of the Casselman from an underground mine.

The proposed mine is comprised of more than 4,600 acres and includes 15 million tons of recoverable coal.

The possibility of development of a coal mine in that area has been discussed openly by public officials since at least 2008. The Casselman Basin, which runs beneath Grantsville, is estimated to contain about 116 million tons of coal, according to MDE.

Maryland Energy Resources applied for the discharge permit in February 2009, but a determination was delayed partly because of concerns expressed by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources over the mine’s potential impact on two state endangered species, the hellbender salamander and stonecat fish.

Members of the public echoed those concerns in a May 19 public hearing. They also voiced concerns about acid mine drainage and other issues related to monitoring the mine discharge.

MDE’s written response to public comment stated that the mine will be designed and operated in such a way that water “will not passively flow out of the mine.” The agency stated that management of acid mine drainage and erosion and sediment controls is covered under a separate permit already issued for the project by the Bureau of Mines.

MDE also stated that DNR withdrew its jeopardy opinion regarding the endangered species after reviewing the final conditions of the permit.

Any person who is “adversely affected” by MDE’s decision has until Oct. 30 to request a judicial review in Garrett County Circuit Court, according to the agency.

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!