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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
O’Malley: Budget without new taxes
From Staff Reports
Associated Press Thu Nov 04, 2010, 07:41 AM EDT
— ANNAPOLIS — Looking ahead to his second term, Gov. Martin O’Malley said Wednesday his first budget proposal will reflect another challenging year with more cuts, but that no new tax proposals will be included in his January budget.
The Democrat said any increase in state revenue will come from more people landing jobs, not taxes.
“I’m looking for cuts — and a constant diet of cuts — until our economy comes back so that the revenues come back, and we’ve seen our revenues start to bump up because we’ve seen job creation actually in the positive zone for the first time in a long time,” O’Malley said.
Write-ins will determine Garrett commission outcome
Megan Miller
The Cumberland Times-News Thu Nov 04, 2010, 07:49 AM EDT
— OAKLAND — Today at 10 a.m. Garrett County election officials will begin sifting through thousands of write-in votes to name the next county commissioner for District 3.
A total of 4,352 write-in votes were cast in the race, and could potentially be divided among three registered write-in candidates: Republicans Bob Gatto and Tim Thomas and Democrat George Falter.
Deceased Candidate Loses Western Md. County Race
Dennis Glotfelty Died Of Cancer Days Before Election
POSTED: 11:32 am EDT November 3, 2010
OAKLAND, Md. — A candidate who died while seeking re-election to the Garrett County Commissioners lost the race.
County election officials said they’ll count write-in votes Thursday to determine whether any of three Republicans got enough support to beat the 2,603 votes cast for Democrat Bill Welch.
The late Republican incumbent Dennis Glotfelty received 1,755 votes even though he died of lung cancer 12 days before the election.
NWS plans fewer winter weather alerts in Allegany
November 4, 2010 – Baltimore Sun weblog
Hardy Allegany County residents just seem to deal with wintry weather without paying much attention to the stuff, much less caring about how the weather forecasters choose to define it.
But the National Weather Service is acknowledging the frequency of bad winter weather in Western Maryland’s mountain stronghold by requiring slightly more dire forecasts before they’ll issue winter weather watches and warnings. The change puts the county into the same class as Garrett County just to the west.
Until now, the forecast for Allegany County – and for the rest of Maryland east of there – had to call for 2 inches of snow in 12 hours before the folks in Sterling would issue a Winter Weather Advisory. As of 10 a.m. Thursday, the criterion for Allegany (also Grant, Mineral and Pendleton counties in W. Va., and Highland County in Va.) will be 3 inches in 12 hours.
