Jay Fergusonjay@deepcreekvacations.com301-501-0420
Menu

Dove Center Receives Grant From Mary Kay

‘Like’ on Facebook!

Support the Republican Newspaper! It’s only $9.95/year for the online edition!

Sep. 29, 2011

The Dove Center has been selected to receive a $20,000 grant from the Mary Kay Foundation as part of its annual $3 million national domestic violence grant program. The Dove Center is one of 150 domestic violence organizations participating in the program. The grant will be used to support operating expenses of the agency’s domestic violence shelter, which houses an average of 125 women and children every year.

“We are so happy to have the support of the Mary Kay Foundation as we enter our 20th year in Garrett County,” stated Heather Hanline, Dove Center executive director.

“With the help of this grant and our new facility – which is the product of 10 years of planning, fundraising, and grant writing – we are fully prepared to provide comfort, safety, and healing to families in crisis.”

According to the Mary Kay Truth About Abuse national survey conducted last March, the current economic downturn has increased demand for the services provided by domestic violence shelters. The report also finds that the ability for these centers to raise funds and provide services will decrease in 2012. The survey also suggests that:

• 80 percent of domestic violence shelters nationwide report an increase in women seeking assistance from abuse, with most victims attributing violence to financial issues;

• 76 percent of domestic violence shelters indicate their funding has decreased;

• 65 percent of women in shelters can’t find employment due to the economy.

• 56 percent of shelters state that abuse is more violent than before the economic downturn;

“In light of the economic downturn and alarming increases in domestic violence, the Mary Kay Foundation’s mission is more critical than ever before,” said Jennifer Cook, MKF board member.

More here.

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! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!

877-563-5350 – toll free

Garrett County may not be on board with regional lobbyist

Commissioners will discuss issue over next several weeks, reports administrator

Matthew Bieniek Cumberland Times-News

OAKLAND —Garrett County leaders have not committed to join with other Western Maryland counties to hire a lobbyist to represent the region, County Ad-ministrator Monty Pag-enhardt said late last week. He said statements that the five counties had reached a consensus about hiring a lobbyist were incorrect.

“The Board of Garrett County Commissioners has asked that I let you all know that no final decision has been reached on participating in the five Western Maryland counties funding of a paid lobbyist. … The board has taken the matter under advisement and will be discussing in the next few weeks,” Pagenhardt wrote in an email.

“We’ve had no discussion and our commissioners have some real questions … we have not agreed and may not agree to hiring a lobbyist,” Pagenhardt said in a phone interview.

Last week, Allegany County Commissioner Michael McKay said Allegany County planned to join other counties in hiring a Western Maryland lobbyist. McKay did not say the counties had formally agreed to the idea. The plan was for each of the five counties to put about $5,000 into the till to hire a lobbyist to represent the interests of the region in Annapolis.

The five Western Maryland counties are Garrett, Allegany, Washington, Frederick and Carroll. A few thousand of the total will also help pay for an “event” hosted by the counties aimed at highlighting Western Maryland.

“It’s unfortunate, but that’s the way things work down there,” McKay said of the event.

The lobbying effort will be focused on the Maryland General Assembly session of 2012, McKay said.

The counties will probably come to a decision about their plans in October, McKay said. He’ll be part of a meeting of Western Maryland commission presidents planned for early October.

The idea of hiring a lobbyist started at this year’s Maryland Association of Counties meeting over the summer. County leaders discussed significant issues, including the controversial PlanMaryland. The discussions solidified the similarity of interests be-tween the counties, McKay said, which are dominated by rural landscapes and have strong agricultural roots. Many of the more rural counties believe PlanMaryland will usurp local planning decisions.

McKay said after further meetings he’ll have a better idea about possible candidates and the price to be paid for the hired hand in Annapolis.

In the past, Allegany County has at times hired a lobbyist, the most recent being former House Speaker Casper Taylor Jr., although the contract was with the firm for which Taylor works, Alexander and Cleaver. The firm was paid $17,000 a year and expenses, according to past Times-News reports. That contract began in 2008 and has subsequently expired.

Contact Matthew Bieniek at mbieniek@times-news.com

More here.

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! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!

877-563-5350 – toll free

Transportation Museum of the Garrett County Historical Society was officially opened

‘Like’ on Facebook!

Support the Republican Newspaper! It’s only $9.95/year for the online edition!

The new Transportation Museum of the Garrett County Historical Society was officially opened and dedicated during a special ceremony held Saturday afternoon. Among the honored guests were the children of Howard and Audrey Naylor, as the majority of the funding for the new structure came from the Howard and Audrey Naylor Family Trust. Conducting the ribbon-cutting in the photo above are, from left, Lon Naylor, Bart Naylor, Michael Naylor, Tyler Lupis (grandson of Lon Naylor), and Beth Naylor Watson. Special tribute was also made to Robert Boal, president of the society, who has led the effort to bring the museum to reality. Pictured below with Lon Naylor, Boal holds the plaque and photo which honors him for his work. Approximately 250 people were present for the grand opening.

More here.

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! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!

877-563-5350 – toll free

GC Commissioners Award Funding For After-School Progs.

‘Like’ on Facebook!

Support the Republican Newspaper! It’s only $9.95/year for the online edition!

Sep. 29, 2011

For the third year in a row, the Board of Garrett County Commissioners has prioritized the need for after-school programming and have provided emergency funding to help keep programs operating in the communities of Accident, Grantsville, and Oakland.

“Many thanks go out to our new commissioners – Gregan Crawford, Bob Gatto, and Jim Raley,” said Crystal Stewart, president/CEO Garrett County Partnership for Children and Families.

The Partners After School (PAS) programs are funded through the Garrett County Partnership for Children and Families Inc./Local Management Board in collaboration with the Garrett County commissioners, Board of Education, Community Action Committee, GC Health Department, County United Way, and other partners.

“The PAS programs provide a safe, supervised, and enriching environment for children during the high-risk after-school hours when many parents are still working,” Stewart said. “The programs offer comprehensive programming that focuses on academic achievement and school success, cultural enrichment, and positive youth development.”

Over the past few years, the PAS programs have suffered devastating budget reductions. Previously, the Partnership/LMB offered programs in six communities. As the result of funding limitations, only three programs were offered last year.

Until the commissioners allocated additional funding for the PAS programs last week, the Partnership/LMB had only $49,024 from the Governor’s Office for Children to provide half-year programs in Grantsville and Oakland. The additional $76,000 allocated by the Commissioners will allow these programs to continue through the school year and will also allow the continuation of the school-year program in Accident. These three PAS programs served 140 students last year, according to Stewart.

More here.

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! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!

877-563-5350 – toll free

Maryland state offices going off the bottle

Cost savings, environment prompt government move to tap water

By Timothy B. Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun

7:37 p.m. EDT, September 30, 2011
The O’Malley administration has decided to stop buying bottled water for state facilities where tap water is available, saying it’s striking a blow for frugality and the environment at the same time.

The state’s “Green Purchasing Committee,” formed last year to steer the government toward buying more healthful and environmentally friendly goods and services, voted Thursday to phase out the use of bottled water in state offices and other facilities, officials said.

The move was hailed by environmentalists, who said Maryland’s was the sixth state government to “kick the bottle,” as they put it, joining Connecticut, Vermont, New York, Colorado and Illinois.

“During these tough economic times our government should be spending scarce public dollars on projects that provide vital public services and grow the economy at large, not just the coffers for a handful of private corporations,” Kristin Urquiza of Corporate Accountability International, said in a statement announcing Maryland’s action.

More here.
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! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!

877-563-5350 – toll free

State school board releases progress results for 2010-11 term

“Garrett is the only school system in the state to have no schools identified as schools in need of improvement.”

Garrett ends year within goals set by officials

For the Cumberland Times-News Cumberland Times-News

OAKLAND — The Maryland State Department of Education on Friday released system level results regarding high school as-sessments and adequate yearly progress for the school year 2010-11.

In July, the state released results for Maryland school assessments and adequate yearly progress concerning elementary and middle schools.

Combining MSA and HSA, Garrett County is not a school system in system improvement status, the calculation used by the state to identify for improvement any school system that does not meet annual targets for two consecutive years in the same reported area at the elementary, middle and high school levels.

In order to meet the federal guidelines of No Child Left Behind, students in specified subgroups, including ra-cial/ethnic classifications, students eligible for free or reduced price meals, and students with special needs, must also meet the AYP goals.

Of the 15 schools in Garrett County, 12 schools made AYP for the 2010-11 school year. Dennett Road Elementary School and Northern and Southern middle schools did not meet AYP requirements in one or two subgroups and will be placed on local attention status for the 2011-12 school year.

With the release of the high school data, both Garrett County high schools made AYP status. The high schools made AYP, indicating that a significant number of students scored at the proficient and/or advanced levels in all nine subgroups in the reading and mathematics areas, including graduation rate, the high school assessments and alternate Maryland school assessment.

In 2009-10, Southern High School did not make AYP and was placed on local attention status. However, the school rebounded in 2010-11, showing proficiency in every category.

For the graduating class of 2011, 100 percent of the students met the HSA high school graduation requirement throughout the county by either passing all four subject tests, reaching a combined score of 1,602 on all four tests, or by completing bridge plan projects in the various subjects. Other data concerning high school assessments are as follows:

• 96.8 percent of the students met the HSA algebra requirement by passing the assessment or completing bridge plan projects.

• 96.6 percent of the students met the HSA biology requirement.

• 91.7 percent of the students met the HSA English requirement.

• 92.3 percent of the students met the HSA government requirement.

For high school AYP, 88.9 percent of the students scored at least proficient on the high school assessment in English. This was 9.4 percentage points above the state’s annual measurable objective of 79.5 percent.

In algebra, 87.6 percent of the students met the proficient mark on the high school assessment, which was 13.9 percentage points above the state’s goal of 73.7 percent. The high school cohort graduation rate was 92.8 percent in 2011, up from 88.8 percent in 2010.

In July, MSA reading and math scores at the elementary grade levels improved in 2011 compared to 2010 results. In reading, 90.2 percent of the elementary students scored at least proficient, up by 1.2 percent points from 2010.

In math, elementary students had 88.3 percent of the students at the proficiency level, a gain of 2.5 percentage points from the previous year.

MSA reading and math scores at the middle school level remained the same or dropped in 2011 compared to 2010. In reading, 89.1 percent of the middle school students scored at least proficient, the same as in 2010. In math, middle school students had 84.5 percent of the students at the proficiency level, a drop of less than a percentage point from the previous year.

Garrett is the only school system in the state to have no schools identified as schools in need of improvement.

More here.

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! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!

877-563-5350 – toll free