Across Maryland, bare-bones household budgets soar above salaries
Written by
CAITLIN JOHNSTON and CARL STRAUMSHEIM
CNS Special Report
COLLEGE PARK — A Montgomery County family of three — an adult, a preschooler and a school-age child — needs about $78,000 just to make ends meet, a new report shows. And, without government assistance, minimum wage barely gets them a quarter of the way there.
The 2012 Self-Sufficiency Standard calculates the cost of living for Maryland families by looking at the price of such necessities as housing, food, transportation and child care. The report, prepared for the Maryland Community Action Partnership, found that median wages in Maryland have failed to keep up with the increasing costs of basic needs.
While those costs increased statewide by 54 percent since 2001, median earnings failed to rise accordingly, increasing only 25 percent.
The result: a real cost squeeze, said Dr. Diana Pearce, director of the Center for Women’s Welfare at the University of Washington School of Social Work, who conducted the study.
“People are working just as hard and more efficiently and more productively, but it’s not showing up in wages,” Pearce said. “And their costs are going up.”
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Some Extra "Hoopla" at WVU
The WVU women’s basketball team had a little extra “hoopla” at its recent Play4Kay game to heighten breast cancer awareness. Brenda Brosnihan, owner of Brenda’s Body Shop in Oakland, coordinated another Hoop Hope Hooray dance project as part of the halftime festivities to raise awareness and funds for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund™. The WBCA Play4Kay initiative is a global, unified effort for the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s (WBCA) nation of coaches to assist in raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in communities, and beyond. The late Kay Yow, former North Carolina State head women’s basketball coach, served as a catalyst for starting the endeavor for the WBCA. After three bouts of breast cancer, Yow died in January 2009. “More than 50 participants took part, dancing with pink hula hoops decorated with pink ribbons with the names of breast cancer survivors and those who died from the illness. Hoop Hope Hooray represents the importance of healthy lifestyle choices, breast cancer awareness, and early detection.”
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Brosnihan said the WVU game had the added component of a video showing prior to the performance taken of the dancers as they made their hoola hoops. “The women’s basketball team learned the dance, too,” Brosnihan said, “And the crowd really enjoyed seeing highlights of their efforts along with the dancers committed to supporting the Play4Kay initiative. Our performers included mothers, daughters, sisters, and grandmothers all pulling together to support this cause. We were thrilled to have the opportunity to perform at the WVU women’s basketball Play4Kay game; together we share many of the same objectives.”
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MPT Program To Feature Area Barns, Barn Quilts
Feb. 23, 2012
Maryland Public Television will present a one-hour program focused on the state’s many barns and barn quilt art. The show will include footage of Garrett County. Historic Barns of Maryland will air for the first time on MPT Wednesday, Feb. 29, beginning at 8 p.m.
Maryland has more historic barns per acre than just about any other state in the nation, according to a spokesperson from the television station.
“There is a lot to explore and see – from the tobacco barns of the lower Eastern Shore and southern Maryland to the red bank barns of the Piedmont Plateau,” the spokesperson said. “The innovative barn quilt project in Garrett County will also be covered during the statewide showcase.”
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Writer and producer Jonathan Slade, along with videographer Tim Pugh, visited Garrett County early last summer to explore the Barn Quilt Trail. Several property owners and members of the Barn Quilt Association of Garrett County Inc. were interviewed.
“Part travelogue and part nostalgia, Historic Barns of Maryland will celebrate architectural ingenuity,” the spokesperson said. “During the program, viewers will discover the agricultural, economic and cultural significance of these aging, iconic structures made of timber, stone, and brick. Farmers, builders, preservationists, architects, artists, and historians share insiders’ stories and perspectives.”
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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!
OTT To Present Farce
Feb. 23, 2012
Happily Ever Once Upon, a fairy tale farce, is being staged at Our Town Theatre in Oakland next week. “Have you ever wondered what happened after the ball was over?” asked director Christie Elmlinger. “This play checks in with Prince Charming and Cinderella 20 years after the clock struck midnight. We learn that the Enchanted Kingdom is broke, Cinderella’s fairy godmother is a blackmailer with a penchant for B-grade Western movies, and having five kids makes your feet so big the glass slippers no longer fit. Join us for an evening of laughter and love and see why the best fairy tales have real-life happy endings.”
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The show will open Wednesday, Feb. 29, and run through Sunday, March 4. Productions start at 8 p.m. on all dates but March 4, when the show will start at 2 p.m. Tickets are $8 on Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday, and $10 on Friday and Saturday. The director noted that this show “is not a princess fairy tale for young children.” The play contains some adult themes and mildly foul language, and is appropriate for those age 14 and older. Elmlinger designed the set, Ben Sincell is the lighting designer, Emily Elmlinger is the stage manager, and Ted Hughes built the set. The cast is pictured. In the front, from left, are Joshua Elmlinger, Jen Shillingburg, and Tammy Beitzel. In the middle row, same order: Dylan Barnard, Hannah Newcomb, Matt Steyer, Nixon Malcolm, Becca Flinn, and Rachael Huxford. In back, armed with pistols, is Lynne Elmlinger. Reservations are recommended, and may be made by calling the theatre at 301-334-5640.
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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!
Miss Herpel Is Crowned Miss Western Md.
Feb. 23, 2012
Local resident Grace Herpel was crowned Miss Western Maryland at the recent Miss Washington County/Miss Western Maryland Pageant held at the historic Maryland Theater, Hagerstown.
She is a 2009 graduate of Northern High School and the daughter of Betsy and Jerry Herpel, Accident. She is currently a junior at Frostburg State University pursuing a degree in math communications with a focus in public relations.
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Herpel champions her personal platform of “Volunteering: Changing Their and Your Life” as she volunteers for Garrett Mentors, the Lions Club Blind Skier Program, and HART for Animals, as well as raises funds for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Herpel will vie for the title of Miss Maryland in June at the Maryland Theater.
To donate to CMN Hospitals, persons may visit http://www.missamericaforkids.org/Donate/graceherpel.
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!
They’re treating symptoms — not problems
After attending the Garrett County commissioners meeting to discuss possible school closings and aiding or taking over the Adventure Sports Center International, (ASCI) I am afraid we may be asking the wrong questions.
School closings are not in and of themselves the real problem at hand. They are a symptom of a larger problem; lack of enrollment and a dwindling local population in Garrett County.
Treating only the school closings would be like taking Advil for a headache when in fact you have a brain tumor.
The big question is why are people born and raised in Garrett County leaving? Why are more families not making the county their primary residence?
Improvements are being made, though I assume lack of jobs that offer a real salary is one problem. High property taxes present another.
Cost of living is nearly on par with the nicer areas of large cities or other recreational destinations. Complete lack of anything that caters only to locals and doesn’t have a large price tag attached could be another part of the equation.
When I was a student at Garrett College in 2002 the GEIC incubation center for small business had just opened. I, along with 15 others was part of an internship with a software firm from Frederick.
We were paid minimum wage and offered health insurance with promises of good salaried jobs right at home in Garrett County when we graduated and potential for some of our education to be paid for.
One year later they dumped all of us with the exception of two and made good on none of their promises. What was dressed up and masqueraded as opportunity for locals was nothing more than cheap labor for a small software firm full of bloated promises that ended up being lies.
We need real economic growth and opportunity for all Garrett County citizens; $7.50 per hour, no health insurance and often sub-par working conditions don’t cut it and certainly does not encourage local people to stick around.
Closing schools will just make the area less and less attractive for potential new residents. The college is overpopulated with students from out of the area and this has created a tough learning environment for local children.
In, “Field of Dreams” Kevin Costner’s character learned, “If you build it they will come.” Perhaps our elected representatives and private business people need to realize if you offer real opportunity people will come.
If you stop allowing local citizens to feel like second class, more people will come and more people will stay.
Jeremy Gosnell
Oakland
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!
CVLG To Give Information On Drilling Leases
Feb. 23, 2012
The Casselman Valley Landowner Group (CVLG) will hold informational sessions on Saturday, Feb. 25, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Salisbury Volunteer Fire Department, Salisbury, Pa. Anyone who owns one or more acres of oil and gas rights will have a final opportunity to join the group that day. Informational sessions will be held hourly, and refreshments will be served.
The CVLG has been holding regular meetings in Salisbury since November. Landowners have expressed a strong interest in leasing property for Marcellus Shale drilling in recent meetings in southern Somerset County.
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Landowners with 10 or more acres in Garrett County are invited to attend to get more information, as Shale Marketers is interested in starting groups in Maryland in the near future.
Property owners in the Somerset County townships of Addison, Black, Elk Lick, Greenville, Larimer, Milford, Southampton, and Summit have thus far shown a committed interest in leasing over 15,000 acres of land for drilling purposes, according to Jack Polochak, an attorney representing the Casselman group.
The group has been organized by Shale Marketers, a marketing group representing clients who are interested in leasing their gas and oil rights to energy companies.
Richard Vickroy, the land group manager for Shale Marketers, noted that the more property owners combine efforts and acreage, the easier it is to negotiate an agreement with a prospective company.
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!
GC Officials Attend State Senate Hearing
GC Officials Attend State Senate Hearing
Feb. 23, 2012
A group of Garrett County officials attended a hearing in Annapolis yesterday to discuss the proposed Maryland State Senate Bill #586.
The bill would cap school system funding losses from state aid at around five percent.
About 30 individuals from the Friendsville area were present, while Dennett Road Elementary had seven people at the hearing on its behalf.
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The hearing began at 1 p.m. One Garrett Countian has stated that there was a wait time of approximately 3 to 4 hours before the school budget issue could be addressed, as other bills were also on the agenda.
When Bill 586 did come up, George Edwards, Maryland state senator, led the testimony and was followed by Davis Cox, Allegany County superintendent of public schools.
Next to speak were Garrett County commissioners Gregan Crawford and James Raley, followed by Sue Waggoner, Garrett County interim superintendent of schools, and Larry McKenzie, director of finance for the Garrett County Board of Education.
Spencer Schlosnagle, Friendsville mayor, then began the citizen testimony.
In response to the testimony, Edward Kasemeyer, Maryland state senator, stated that the committee was “going to help.”
Further information will be forth coming.
More here.
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Tucker Community Foundation Offering 40 Different Scholarships
Posted: Feb 22, 2012 4:43 PM EST Updated: Feb 22, 2012 4:43 PM EST
By Jeff Schrock, Randolph, Tucker and Upshur County Reporter – email
PARSONS –
The Tucker Community Foundation is accepting applications from high school students for merit-based scholarships.
Students in seven counties in West Virginia: Barbour, Grant, Mineral, Preston, Pocahontas, Randolph, and Tucker County, and Garrett County, Md. can use the money regardless of their field of study.
The foundation will award more than $52,000 in 40 different scholarships.
More here.
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Median wages in Md. fail to keep up with cost of basic needs, report says
By Caitlin Johnston and Carl Straumsheim, Special to The Baltimore Sun
February 23, 2012
A family of three in Baltimore County needs about $62,000 just to make ends meet, a new report shows. And, without government assistance, minimum wage barely gets them a quarter of the way there.
In Baltimore City, that same family of an adult with a preschooler and a school-age child needs nearly $50,000, the report said, for a bare-bones budget.
The 2012 Self-Sufficiency Standard, scheduled to be released in Annapolis on Thursday morning, calculates the cost of living for Maryland families based on prices of such necessities as housing, food, transportation and child care. The report, prepared for the Maryland Community Action Partnership, found that median wages in Maryland — which have risen about 25 percent since 2001 — have failed to keep up with the increasing costs of basic needs, which are up statewide about 54 percent.
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!
