text stringlengths 237 126k | date_download stringdate 2022-01-01 00:32:20 2023-01-01 00:02:37 ⌀ | source_domain stringclasses 60 values | title stringlengths 4 31.5k ⌀ | url stringlengths 24 617 ⌀ | id stringlengths 24 617 ⌀ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Thomas Cassidy Sr.
Thomas (Tom) George Cassidy Sr., 99, of Frederick, Maryland, formerly of Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, passed away on Friday, Sept. 2, 2022, at Somerford House in Frederick, Maryland.
He was born Nov. 30, 1922, in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, to the late Thomas George Cassidy and Catherine Grosch Cassidy. He was predeceased by his wife of 57 years, Verna Heino Cassidy, in August of 2006; and his three brothers, Robert (Bob), Paul (Pete) and John (Jack) Cassidy.
He is survived by his five children, Thomas (Tom) Cassidy Jr. and wife Wendy, of Frederick, Maryland, Michael (Mike) Cassidy, of Denver, Colorado, Patricia (Trish) Bauer and partner Pete Marcoff, of Point of Rocks, Maryland, Mary Cassidy and partner Chris McLaughlin, of Stonington, Connecticut, and John Cassidy and wife Suzy, of Atlanta, Georgia. He is also survived by 14 grandchildren, Kelly Sweet and husband Mike, Alex Cassidy and wife Jessica, Josh Bauer and partner Courtney Roberts, Casey Bauer, Haley Bauer and Ben Bauer, John Paul Bibeau, Patrick Bibeau, Thomas Bibeau, Marc Bibeau and David Bibeau, Liam Cassidy, Laney Cassidy and Maggie Cassidy; and six great-grandchildren, Addy Sweet, Karoline Sweet and Emmy Sweet, Gunner Cassidy, Paige Cassidy and Briggs Bauer. He will also be remembered by numerous cousins, nieces, nephews and other family and friends.
Tom grew up in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. He began work at age 12 in a dairy store after the death of his father. He was a devout Catholic and was a member of the Knights of Columbus from the time he entered as a squire at the age of 12. He worked in the steel mills after high school. As head of the household, Tom was exempt from the draft, yet he volunteered for the U.S. Army Air Corps and served two years. After the end of the war, he headed to Washington, D.C., where he went to work for the Department of the Navy. Ultimately, Tom retired from the Pentagon and the Department of Defense in 1980.
He met the love of his life, Verna Heino, in Washington, D.C., and they were married on June 25, 1949. They raised their five children while living in Forest Heights, Maryland, and moved to Gaithersburg, Maryland, in 1969. After retiring, they moved back to Waynesboro, Pennsylvania. After the death of his beloved, Verna, Tom lived at Quincy Retirement Village for 14 years. He recently returned to Frederick after having fought through COVID and lived at Somerford House.
We would like to thank the staffs at Quincy and Somerford for the love and care shown to our father.
A Mass of Christian burial will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, Sept. 9, 2022, in St. Andrew Catholic Church, 12 N. Broad St., Waynesboro, with the Rev. Christopher Onyeneke officiating. Burial will be private in St. Andrew the Apostle Parish Cemetery, Waynesboro.
The family will receive friends from 9-10:30 a.m., Friday, Sept. 9 in Grove-Bowersox Funeral Home, 50 S. Broad St., Waynesboro.
A reception will immediately follow the memorial mass in the Knights of Columbus banquet hall, 42 W. Second St., Waynesboro.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to in his memory to: St. Andrew School, 213 E. Main Street, Waynesboro PA 17268.
Online condolences may be expressed at bowersoxfuneralhomes.com.
Thomas George Cassidy | 2022-09-06T05:34:32Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Thomas Cassidy Sr. | Obituaries | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/thomas-cassidy-sr/article_97ddb86e-8c2c-5def-9e34-3e1b7f005d62.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/thomas-cassidy-sr/article_97ddb86e-8c2c-5def-9e34-3e1b7f005d62.html |
William Hipkins
Mr. William Atlee "Willie" Hipkins, 94, of Crestwood Village in Frederick, died Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022, at Frederick Health Hospital. He was the beloved husband of Sylvia I. Hipkins for 54 years.
Mr. Hipkins, born May 24, 1928, was the son of the late Walter Lewis Hipkins and Mary Catherine (Brandenburg) Hipkins.
Mr. Hipkins was a dairy farmer in the Urbana area and later in New Market, finally retiring in 2015. He was a longtime member of Wesley Chapel United Methodist Church, of Urbana, and later New Market United Methodist Church. In addition he was also a member of the Frederick County Farm Bureau; an active board member and chairman for the Southern States Frederick CoOp; a member of the Capital Milk Producers Association; and a member of the Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative Association.
Mr. Hipkins is survived by his son, Jeffrey Allen England and wife Judy, of New Market; and his grandson, Christopher Allen England and wife Kate. He was also survived by his dear friends, Michael E. Brandenburg, whom he considered a second son, and wife Cindy, of Middletown; and neighbor and guardian angel, Carolyn Linton.
In addition to his parents and his wife, Mr. Hipkins was proceeded in death by his grandson, Cobey Adam England; and brothers, Rufus B. Hipkins, Perry L. Hipkins, John W. Hipkins and Franklin Hipkins.
The family will receive friends from 4-7 p.m., on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022, at Keeney & Basford Funeral Home, 106 E. Church St., Frederick. The funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 9, 2022, at New Market United Methodist Church, 5501 Old New Market Road, New Market, MD 21774. The Rev. Scott Clawson will officiate. Interment will follow at Mount Olivet Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be made to New Market United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 111, New Market, MD 21774, or Frederick Health Hospice, 1 Frederick Health Way, Frederick, MD 21701.
William Atlee Hipkins | 2022-09-06T05:34:38Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | William Hipkins | Obituaries | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/william-hipkins/article_48595a81-21e8-5cd8-b8bd-798d636a470a.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/william-hipkins/article_48595a81-21e8-5cd8-b8bd-798d636a470a.html |
This Labor Day, appropriately, we are announcing a change to our publication schedule that will provide our production and delivery staff members some of the same holidays off that most of us enjoy.
Today marks the last day we will produce print editions of our paper on six major holidays, or on alternate days as recognized by the federal government and the U.S. Post Office.
Going forward, our offices will be closed — and our delivery teams will get a chance to sleep in — on Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Day, Memorial Day, July 4 and Labor Day.
When the federal observance of a major holiday falls on a Monday, like the observance of Christmas this year on Dec. 26, we will take that day off.
Of course, the news never stops, so we will continue to staff holidays with reporters and photographers, although at a reduced level. And our subscribing members will continue to have full access to that timely reporting and all of our online resources through the holidays.
This will not affect subscription prices. Or, put another way, we will not reduce subscription prices or extend their terms. Rather, the small reduction in operating expenses we will gain from this change will help us minimize subscription rate increases over the next year.
But mostly, it's a chance for our hard-working production and delivery teams to take a break and spend some time relaxing with their families.
— Geordie Wilson, publisher | 2022-09-06T05:34:44Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | From the publisher: A holiday change | Columns | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/opinion/columns/from-the-publisher-a-holiday-change/article_5047e919-c92b-5c70-b45c-6f869ec99db8.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/opinion/columns/from-the-publisher-a-holiday-change/article_5047e919-c92b-5c70-b45c-6f869ec99db8.html |
Today’s leaders should strive to emulate George C. Marshall
BOARD of CONTRIBUTORS I Don DeArmon
As memoirs from ex-presidents and “tell-all” books from White House staffers roll off the presses to produce financial bonanzas for their authors, can you even imagine a public figure who would refuse to write his memoirs simply because he didn’t think he should profit from his public service?
That person would be George C. Marshall, U.S. Army chief of staff throughout World War II, then later secretary of state and secretary of defense. Marshall was the first five-star general in U.S. history. He was named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year twice; except for U.S. presidents, he’s the only one to whom that’s happened. He’s the only professional soldier to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. This year marks the 75th anniversary of Marshall’s Harvard University speech in June 1947 that outlined a proposed European Recovery Program (later termed the Marshall Plan).
George C. Marshall coincidentally became Army chief of staff on Sept. 1, 1939, the first day of World War II. On that day, the U.S. had the 17th-largest Army in the world. Over the next two years, before Pearl Harbor and in the face of an active anti-war movement, Marshall persuaded a reluctant Congress to build up U.S. forces and initiate a peacetime draft. By war’s end, that military force numbered 12 million men and earned victory in Europe and the Pacific in less than four years.
Marshall was expected to command the allied invasion of Europe. But when President Franklin Roosevelt asked him his preference, Marshall told FDR that FDR should choose the commander with no consideration for what Marshall might want. FDR then told him, “I don’t think I could sleep with you out of Washington,” and Dwight D. Eisenhower was appointed instead.
Marshall’s unselfish act was consequential: Eisenhower became the most famous general of World War II, which led him to later be elected president. Eisenhower called Marshall one of the two greatest men he ever knew. When World War II concluded, Winston Churchill praised Marshall as the “organizer of victory.”
If his World War II service was Marshall’s only accomplishment, he would be one of the greatest men who lived during the 20th century. But President Truman called him out of a well-earned retirement in 1947 to serve as secretary of state.
Marshall had earned the respect of Republicans and Democrats in Congress throughout the war. He was devoted to U.S. democracy, always deferring to presidential and congressional decisions without complaint. He didn’t vote in elections, and he kept a distance from FDR so that Congress would never think of him as political.
That reputation was called upon in 1947 and 1948 to convince Congress — which had changed to Republican control — to pass the largest foreign assistance program in history.
Europe had suffered 36 million war-related deaths. Its canals and bridges were destroyed, roads cratered, rail lines mangled, factories gutted, and agricultural production stymied. Fifty million Europeans were homeless.
Still, Americans were weary of the war, its aftermath and its costs. Marshall testified to Congress 25 times, and he traveled across the nation to build public support. Successful passage of the Marshall Plan in April 1948 was followed by the formation of what is known today as the European Union and the formation of the NATO military alliance that has been crucial to peace in Western Europe for over 70 years.
In 1953, President Eisenhower asked Marshall to represent the United States when Queen Elizabeth was coronated. When — as guests proceeded into Westminster Abbey — the distinguished assemblage recognized Marshall, it immediately rose to its feet. The self-effacing Marshall turned around to see what dignitary had entered the cathedral — but it was he who was being honored with the gesture of respect.
There will never be another George C. Marshall. But his character, his selflessness and his devotion to democracy are standards that today’s leaders should strive to emulate.
In 2018, Don DeArmon was honored to give the Marshall Day speech to students at George C. Marshall High School in Fairfax, Virginia. He writes from Frederick. Email him at don.dearmon@gmail.com.
George C. Marshall | 2022-09-06T09:23:45Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Today’s leaders should strive to emulate George C. Marshall | Columns | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/opinion/columns/today-s-leaders-should-strive-to-emulate-george-c-marshall/article_b66fbc30-9113-5439-a1ce-6fa10c125b4e.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/opinion/columns/today-s-leaders-should-strive-to-emulate-george-c-marshall/article_b66fbc30-9113-5439-a1ce-6fa10c125b4e.html |
People gather around Winters Mill football player Greyson Lyons after he went down on the field during a second-quarter play against St. John’s Catholic Prep on Friday night.
Updated: Winters Mill player who collapsed during game against St. John's making 'positive progress'
A Winters Mill High School football player who collapsed on Friday during a game against St. John’s Catholic Prep has made “positive progress” since being admitted to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center, according to a statement from the high school’s football program.
Greyson Lyons, a junior lineman for the Winter Mills Falcons in Westminster, did not get up off the ground after a defensive play late in the second quarter of a game hosted by St. John’s on Friday night.
Personnel performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on him, did chest compressions and used a defibrillator. The game was halted, then suspended.
The young man’s heart failed while he was on the field, and it failed again when he arrived at the Shock Trauma Center, according to a message Lyons’ older brother, Grant Lyons, posted on an online fundraiser to support Greyson’s recovery.
In an update posted to the fundraiser at 5:45 p.m. on Sunday, Grant Lyons wrote that his younger brother was still recovering.
“It is very hard for him to speak but we did get a smile out of him,” Grant wrote. The post included a photo of Lyons in a hospital bed.
In his initial post to the fundraising page, Grant wrote that his brother was undergoing testing and was heavily sedated.
Lyons thoroughly enjoys playing football and dreams of playing in college, Grant wrote, but the likelihood of those dreams coming true are now “very slim.”
“Anything and everything is helpful at this point,” he wrote. “Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts. And god bless.”
As of Monday afternoon, the fundraiser had brought in about $27,000, far surpassing the goal of $15,000. About 340 people had donated to the page, and its comment section was filled with messages of support for Lyons and his family, including from the families of St. John’s students.
A statement the Winters Mill High School football program posted on social media on Sunday said Lyons “has made positive progress” at the Shock Trauma Center.
“He is one of the top facilities in the country and we are confident he is receiving world-class treatment,” the statement said.
The program thanked the St. John’s community for its help for Lyons.
“We are eternally grateful for all of you,” the statement said. “Despite meeting as opposing teams in competition, you have earned our unending admiration, and we are fortunate to consider you our friend.”
This week, in a show of support to Lyons and his family, students at St. John’s will take part in different activities. They will wear ribbons Tuesday, sign a get well card Wednesday, make bracelets Thursday and “dress down” for $2 Friday. Proceeds will go to Lyons’ family, according to a Facebook post from St. John’s.
BUCKEYSTOWN — A Winters Mill High School football player was flown to University of Maryland Shock Trauma after going down during a season-ope…
Grant Lyons | 2022-09-06T20:45:02Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Updated: Winters Mill player who collapsed during game against St. John's making 'positive progress' | St Johns Catholic Prep | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/education/schools/private/st_johns_catholic_prep/updated-winters-mill-player-who-collapsed-during-game-against-st-johns-making-positive-progress/article_22a9c008-550e-5aaf-97c2-f1c8ea23d898.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/education/schools/private/st_johns_catholic_prep/updated-winters-mill-player-who-collapsed-during-game-against-st-johns-making-positive-progress/article_22a9c008-550e-5aaf-97c2-f1c8ea23d898.html |
Jennifer Shoemaker and Calvin Edward Ramsburg.
Work by Jennifer Shoemaker.
Jennifer Shoemaker, Calvin Edward Ramsburg and Mai Vo-Dinh exhibit work at FCC gallery
Artists Jennifer Shoemaker, Calvin Edward Ramsburg and Mai Vo-Dinh will present “One with the Brush,” an exhibit of watercolor, oil pastel, graphite and acrylic, from Sept. 10 through Oct. 5 in the Frederick Community College Mary Condon Hodgson Art Gallery. The exhibit opens with a reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Sept. 10 in the Visual and Performing Arts Center lobby.
Frederick artist Jennifer Shoemaker is the protege of Calvin Edward Ramsburg and a reiki master as well as an artist. She believes in the healing power of art and enjoys sharing information about that and the lineage.
Calvin Edward Ramsburg is an award-winning abstract artist whose work has been seen in solo and group exhibitions in America, Europe and Mexico. Ramsburg’s paintings, executed in acrylic, combine drawing and brushwork, and are derived from a combination of personal events and environments he’s known throughout his life. A career artist, educator and arts advocate, Ramsburg lives in Frederick with his wife.
Mai Vo-Dinh was born in 1933 in Hue, Vietnam. His paintings and woodblocks have been exhibited throughout Asia, Europe, Canada and the U.S., resulting in over 50 one-man exhibitions. An author, translator and illustrator, he had over 40 books to his credit. He and Helen Coutant shared the prestigious Christopher Award for the book “First Snow” and he was a recipient of the Literature Program Fellowship from the National Endowment of the Arts.
The MCH Gallery is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday at FCC. For more information, contact Wendell Poindexter, MCH gallery manager, at 301-846-2513 or wpoindexter@frederick.edu.
Calvin Edward Ramsburg
Jennifer Shoemaker
Mai Vo-dinh | 2022-09-06T23:02:26Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Jennifer Shoemaker, Calvin Edward Ramsburg and Mai Vo-Dinh exhibit work at FCC gallery | Arts & entertainment | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/arts_and_entertainment/jennifer-shoemaker-calvin-edward-ramsburg-and-mai-vo-dinh-exhibit-work-at-fcc-gallery/article_87c1ff7c-a5b0-5a6a-a721-0eb70359d0ec.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/arts_and_entertainment/jennifer-shoemaker-calvin-edward-ramsburg-and-mai-vo-dinh-exhibit-work-at-fcc-gallery/article_87c1ff7c-a5b0-5a6a-a721-0eb70359d0ec.html |
Oetting has been with the Maryland Office of the Public Defender for 18 years, the release said
In 2014, she became a supervising attorney. Most recently, she was the chief attorney in the Misdemeanor Litigation Division of Baltimore City.
As the chief attorney, she brought three district courthouses to work together as one division representing clients from Baltimore city at both the district and circuit court levels, the release said.
Oetting is a University of Baltimore School of Law and University of Maryland, College Park graduate. She is also a member of the Maryland Criminal Defense Attorneys’ Association, the Baltimore County Bar Association and the Baltimore City Bar Association, the release said.
She is a volunteer with Marian House, a program offering rehabilitative services for women and their children, and the Community Action Network, which provides opportunities to families and children.
Angela Oetting | 2022-09-06T23:02:32Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Oetting named acting district public defender | Courts | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/crime_and_justice/courts/oetting-named-acting-district-public-defender/article_dde4ae7f-d72f-5036-99bd-d6f08a23a0eb.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/crime_and_justice/courts/oetting-named-acting-district-public-defender/article_dde4ae7f-d72f-5036-99bd-d6f08a23a0eb.html |
Gov. Thomas Johnson High School music teacher Jonathan Kurtz is a finalist for 2022-2023 Maryland Teacher of the Year.
Gov. Thomas Johnson High School music teacher Jonathan Kurtz directs his orchestra students on Tuesday. Kurtz is a finalist for 2022-2023 Maryland Teacher of the Year.
TJ High educator named finalist for Maryland Teacher of the Year
Jonathan Kurtz, a music teacher and head of the Academy for the Fine Arts (AFA) at Frederick's Gov. Thomas Johnson High School, is one of seven finalists for Maryland Teacher of the Year.
Frederick County Public Schools named Kurtz its 2022-23 teacher of the year in April. Now, he moves on to a final interview round with officials from the Maryland State Department of Education.
As he sat in TJ's auditorium Tuesday afternoon, listening to his orchestra students practice scales, Kurtz said he was humbled by the designation.
He hadn't expected to win FCPS' title, and he was surprised again to be named a state finalist, he said.
And he knows exactly what he wants to do with the attention he's now receiving from district administrators — advocate for arts education.
"If someone gives you the platform," Kurtz said, "you have to use it."
Now in his 20th year of teaching in the arts, Kurtz has been at TJ for six years.
There, he runs the AFA, an arts program available to students from all 10 of FCPS' high schools.
Kurtz has taught at the elementary and middle school levels, too. That experience has informed his current perspective on the value of arts education, he said.
In elementary school, students are engaged in arts programming multiple times per week. But from grades 6 through 12, they are only required to spend one year in an arts class — a semester in middle school and a semester in high school.
"I'm wondering if, to some degree, the secondary levels should take some lessons from how we structure elementary school," Kurtz said. "Not, like, playing down to kids, but treating school more like a lab, where they get chances to explore, chances to be creative and to find themselves.
"When they come to high school, we send them in all these different directions all day — they're in this department, and then this one and this one, and we're not doing much to connect all of those things together."
Arts classes help students stay engaged in their learning, Kurtz said, and get many of them excited about school in the first place. They're also great for highlighting connections between different subjects, he added.
As FCPS and districts around the country struggle to address the shifting mental and emotional needs of their students, Kurtz said, the arts will play a vital role.
"Public education is at a really dramatic turning point, where it can either choose to modernize or it can go obsolete," Kurtz said. "Our students are slowly becoming electric cars, and we're still building gas stations. And it's not going to work that much longer unless we shift to what our students have become."
In his remarks to the Frederick County Board of Education after accepting his award in June, Kurtz made clear that he wanted to work with board members to strengthen arts programming around FCPS.
He told them that "the pandemic flipped us all upside down, but also taught us that education can be flexible and innovative when it chooses to be."
He also spoke about the importance of supporting arts teachers around the county — some of whom, he said, "have left the profession feeling undervalued and unappreciated."
He requested a "roundtable" discussion with elected officials, the district's staff and teachers. That led to an "extremely productive conversation" about arts education later in the summer, Kurtz said Tuesday.
"We need more of that," he said. "We need more people who are just willing to sit down and talk. The kids need to see that happening."
In a district news release, FCPS Superintendent Cheryl Dyson called Kurtz's accomplishment a "well-deserved honor."
The last FCPS educator named Maryland Teacher of the Year was Urbana High School's Michelle Shearer, in the 2010-11 school year, the release said.
Shearer went on to win National Teacher of the Year. She was recognized in a White House ceremony by then-President Barack Obama.
Now, Shearer is the project manager for high school innovation and transformation for the LYNX Program at Frederick High School, according to the release.
The announcement of this year's state winner will be broadcast live on Maryland Public Television on Oct. 6. The winner will compete with all other state winners for National Teacher of the Year.
Jonathan Kurtz | 2022-09-07T01:08:14Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | TJ High educator named finalist for Maryland Teacher of the Year | Music | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/arts_and_entertainment/music/tj-high-educator-named-finalist-for-maryland-teacher-of-the-year/article_2f6630cf-3f91-5367-93f3-223afcbd051a.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/arts_and_entertainment/music/tj-high-educator-named-finalist-for-maryland-teacher-of-the-year/article_2f6630cf-3f91-5367-93f3-223afcbd051a.html |
Simpson would fight for more protections for domestic violence victims
Karen Simpson said that as a survivor of domestic violence, she is running for the Maryland House of Delegates to strengthen protections for people victimized by intimate partner violence or sexual harassment.
While campaigning for one of the three open seats in legislative District 3, Simpson said, she knocked on more than 24,000 doors.
At many homes, she said, people a story about themselves or someone they loved who had been abused or mistreated at home, work, school or in their community.
“No one ever really thinks that it worked well,” she said, “as far as the system and protecting people.”
Simpson came in third out of seven candidates in her primary race, with 15.65% of the Democratic vote.
The other four candidates in the general election are Democrats Kris Fair and Del. Ken Kerr, an incumbent, and Republicans Kathy Diener and Justin Wages.
The Maryland general election is on Nov. 8.
Simpson said she would advocate to remove time limits for reporting workplace sexual harassment. Companies should be required to investigate every complaint, she said.
Inappropriate workplace behavior costs companies money and employees, Simpson said.
She would advocate to create a registry for people convicted of intimate partner violence-related offenses, she said.
She would be open to having the registry public, similar to one for people convicted of sex offenses, or to have it available only to businesses selling firearms.
Instead of temporary protective orders, Simpson said, they should be permanent and only lifted when the person no longer needs it.
Pay for teachers at Frederick County Public Schools should be higher, Simpson said. She would lobby for Frederick County to receive more funding to increase teacher salaries.
“I can’t wave a magic wand and [automatically increase teachers’ salaries],” she said. “But once again, by bringing more money back in other ways, it frees up the county’s money in order to pay the teachers better.”
The $792 million budget the Frederick County Council approved in May for this fiscal year included about $365 million for the Frederick County Board of Education — $35 million more than in the last fiscal year's budget.
The investment will largely be used to increase teacher and staff salaries.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is moving forward with a plan to widen parts of interstates 495 and 270. Last month, the Federal Highway Administration approved an environmental impact statement, making the plan eligible for federal funding.
But rather than support widening the interstates, Simpson said, she wants the legislature to create programs that incentivize businesses to let employees work remotely.
She said she would support measures that bolster the state’s public transportation system, especially trains. She did not elaborate on plans to do so, beyond saying it would require state, local and federal collaboration.
“You’re not going to get to the [carbon] emissions you want if you don’t get people off the road,” she said.
Simpson has worked for the state since 1992. Currently the education and training manager for the Maryland State Retirement Agency, Simpson has also been a Child Protective Services worker and was the first manager for the state’s Child Protection Citizens Review Panels.
Simpson said she has experience advocating for legislation and developed relationships in Annapolis.
If elected, she said, she would leverage those relationships and experience to help constituents.
“It’s not really about me,” she said. “I think it’s more about what people need, what’s going to help. I look at myself more as that vehicle.”
Name: Karen Simpson
Occupation: Education program manager
Previous campaigns/offices: Unsuccessful run for state delegate, 2018
Campaign website: www.karen4maryland.com
Social media: Facebook: facebook.com/Karen4Maryland; Twitter: twitter.com/karen4maryland; Instagram: instagram.com/karen.simpson
Email: karen4maryland@gmail.com | 2022-09-07T01:08:21Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Simpson would fight for more protections for domestic violence victims | Election Coverage | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/continuing_coverage/election_coverage/simpson-would-fight-for-more-protections-for-domestic-violence-victims/article_4cec88d4-41d3-5925-9076-6ae8103c3b7b.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/continuing_coverage/election_coverage/simpson-would-fight-for-more-protections-for-domestic-violence-victims/article_4cec88d4-41d3-5925-9076-6ae8103c3b7b.html |
The Frederick County Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to push its deadline to consider a plan to preserve Sugarloaf Mountain and its surrounding area.
The council will have until Oct. 31 to decide whether to approve, modify, disapprove or remand The Sugarloaf Treasured Landscape Management Plan back to the Planning Commission.
The new deadline — which County Attorney Bryon Black advised the council to adopt “out of an abundance of caution” to ensure the county will comply with state law — will not change the council's timeline for the plan.
The council is scheduled to vote on Oct. 18 whether to approve the Sugarloaf plan, which would preserve nearly 20,000 acres in the southern part of Frederick County between Interstate 270 and the Monocacy River.
Under Maryland’s state code for comprehensive land use plans, the council had 90 days to consider the plan from the time the Planning Commission certified it.
The Planning Commission signed its final version of the plan on July 13, and the County Council received the plan on July 21, Black said during the council's meeting Tuesday.
Maryland state law, however, does not specify whether the plan was considered certified when the Planning Commission signed it on July 13 or when the council received it eight days later, Black said.
If, under state law, the plan was certified when the Planning Commission signed it, the state’s 90-day period would end Oct. 11. But if the plan was certified when the council received it, the period would end Oct. 19 — one day after the council is scheduled to vote.
To prevent confusion about whether the county could be in violation of the state’s 90-day deadline by voting on Oct. 18, the Office of the County Attorney asked the council to extend the 90-day period.
State law grants legislative bodies the authority to extend the deadline by up to 60 days if members determine there are “exigent circumstances” that would prevent them from voting on the plan within the initial 90-day window.
In its resolution to extend the deadline, the council cited the complexity of the Sugarloaf plan and the number of meetings scheduled to review, discuss and receive public comment about it; public hearing notice requirements; the number of additional matters the council has on its agendas; and the limit on how many legislative days the council may have each year.
Frederick County’s charter prohibits the council from passing any bills in November during a council member election year, so the council would have had until Oct. 31 to take action on the plan regardless of the state’s 90-day window.
If the council does not approve, modify, disapprove or remand the Sugarloaf plan by Oct. 31, then the county will adopt the version of the plan that the Planning Commission certified in July.
Frederick County planners on Tuesday presented the County Council with two bills to accompany a plan to preserve Sugarloaf Mountain and its su… | 2022-09-07T01:08:27Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | County Council extends deadline to vote on Sugarloaf plan | Planning | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/politics_and_government/planning/county-council-extends-deadline-to-vote-on-sugarloaf-plan/article_afccc3b3-3b6a-57ef-9714-7266dc02ef5b.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/politics_and_government/planning/county-council-extends-deadline-to-vote-on-sugarloaf-plan/article_afccc3b3-3b6a-57ef-9714-7266dc02ef5b.html |
Frederick County Health Department to offer last rabies clinic of the year next week
The Frederick County Health Department will offer its last rabies vaccination clinic of the year on Sept. 15 at Thurmont Community Park from 5 to 8 p.m.
The clinic will be held rain or shine, on a walk-in basis, according to a news release from the Health Department on Tuesday. All dogs, cats and ferrets 12 weeks old or older are welcome, the release said.
Each vaccination will cost $10. Pet owners can pay by cash or check but not by debit or credit card.
As of Thursday, 14 animals had tested positive for rabies in Frederick County this year: six raccoons, three skunks, three cats, one fox and one groundhog, according to the news release.
Pets that are vaccinated against rabies have shorter quarantines after being exposed to an animal that is positive for rabies, and have much better protection from the disease, according to the release.
Once an animal or person has symptoms of the disease, rabies has a nearly 100% mortality rate, according to the release.
Humans can prevent themselves from dying of rabies by avoiding unvaccinated animals or, if exposed to the disease, by receiving a vaccination. Pet owners can protect their pets from rabies by vaccinating them or preventing their exposure to unknown or unvaccinated animals.
Since it is not always possible to limit a pet’s interactions with unvaccinated wild or stray animals, according to the release, it is crucial to get pets vaccinated against rabies.
“The cornerstone of rabies prevention and control is rabies vaccination of domestic animals so please take this, or other, opportunities to vaccinate your pets,” Barry Glotfelty, an environmental health services director for the Health Department, said in the release.
For more information about the vaccination clinic or general rabies information, call 301-600-1717 or visit health.frederickcountymd.gov/258/Rabies.
— Angela Roberts | 2022-09-07T03:08:41Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Frederick County Health Department to offer last rabies clinic of the year next week | Environment | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/environment/frederick-county-health-department-to-offer-last-rabies-clinic-of-the-year-next-week/article_b9e695e3-19dc-5d25-be69-06518d0162c2.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/environment/frederick-county-health-department-to-offer-last-rabies-clinic-of-the-year-next-week/article_b9e695e3-19dc-5d25-be69-06518d0162c2.html |
Frederick City Hall
City workshop to examine improvements for employee pay, other benefits
Changing rules for participation in employee pension plans, increasing city contributions for employee health plans and making Juneteenth an official holiday are among the recommendations that Frederick officials could consider for improving employee compensation.
The directors of the city’s Human Resources and Budget and Administration departments will brief the mayor and aldermen at a workshop Wednesday on possible changes to the city’s structure of pay and benefits.
A comprehensive study of salary and benefits finished in 2021 identified the city’s pay scale as its main competitive weakness.
As part of the fiscal 2023 budget, the aldermen approved a new pay scale with a starting salary of at least $20 an hour and set aside $315,000 to implement the study’s other recommendations.
providing $90 per pay period for bilingual employees who can provide translation services for the city’s communications department
offering sign-on bonuses for jobs that require different recruitment
increasing the amount of vacation time that can be carried over
increasing the accrual of sick leave
contributing more to employee health care premiums.
The $315,000 is not earmarked for any specific benefit or recommendation, and Wednesday’s workshop will start the conversation with the aldermen to decide which areas they would like to focus on first, Karen Paulson, the director of human resources, wrote in an email Tuesday.
Along with the report’s recommendation, members of the city’s staff recommended:
offering health benefits to part-time staff members of different pay grades
removing restrictions from floating holidays
adding Juneteenth as an official city holiday
increasing tuition assistance to include fees and textbooks
using an actuary to review changing the city’s pension plan.
For the past several years, Mayor Michael O’Connor, D, has administratively closed city offices on Juneteenth, but it has not been approved as an official holiday, Paulson wrote. The review of the pension plan would look at eliminating the Rule of 90, a formula that decides when an employee can reach their normal retirement date, she wrote.
The rule, adopted by the city in 2012 for new hires, requires that an employee’s age at retirement and their years of service must add up to 90 before they’re eligible for retirement.
The city offers two pension plans for employees — a 25-year plan and a 30-year plan, Paulson wrote.
Before the rule was adopted, employees were eligible for retirement after completing the number of years required by the plan they participated in, regardless of age.
The cost for implementing the proposed changes has not been determined, because any changes involving pensions will have to be reviewed and estimated by an actuary, Paulson wrote. Wednesday’s workshop is scheduled for 3 p.m. at City Hall. | 2022-09-07T05:00:44Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | City workshop to examine improvements for employee pay, other benefits | Politics & government | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/politics_and_government/city-workshop-to-examine-improvements-for-employee-pay-other-benefits/article_61a3bcd1-7292-5a1d-824f-b4b2bc9118a5.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/politics_and_government/city-workshop-to-examine-improvements-for-employee-pay-other-benefits/article_61a3bcd1-7292-5a1d-824f-b4b2bc9118a5.html |
Tampa Bay Bucs coach Todd Bowles earns his bachelor's degree online from Mount St. Mary's
When Mount St. Mary’s holds its commencement ceremonies in May 2023, a Super Bowl champion plans to walk across the stage at a university that doesn’t even have a football team.
Todd Bowles, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach, earned his bachelor of science last week through the Mount’s Center for Accelerated and Adult Education. The former Bucs defensive coordinator, who helped Tampa Bay win the Super Bowl LV in that role in February 2021 before taking over the team’s top job this offseason, completed his work for an interdisciplinary degree in youth and community development.
Bowles, 58, began his college education at Temple 40 years ago, but left without a diploma to start his NFL career in 1986, when he joined the Washington Redskins as an undrafted free agent defensive back.
After a seven-year professional career in which he spent six seasons with Washington, Bowles went directly into coaching. But he always longed and planned to finish his education. In the summer of 2020, he was directed to the Mount by his agent, Anthony Agnone, a 1975 MSM alum. Bowles got enrolled and completed his studies online over the next two years.
“Completing my degree was something I had always wanted to do over the years because it was something I had promised my mother when I went to play in the NFL, and I wanted to follow through on that promise,” Bowles said in a press release from the Mount. “Over the years, as I became a father, it became something I wanted to do in order to set a proper example for my sons as they continue on their educational paths. I have also worked pretty extensively with children through my various community projects, and I felt it was important to show them they can achieve whatever they set their mind to.”
With a mind that’s often employed to solve some of the NFL’s most complex offenses, Bowles was delving into Mount assignments, for instance, about the teachings of Plato and Aristotle for his Ethics and Human Good course. In that same class, he also presented his own coaching philosophies and strategies on working through obstacles to develop a team.
“I am extremely appreciative of the faculty and the administration at Mount St. Mary’s for helping me navigate through what seemed like a daunting task when I started this journey,” Bowles said. “When I had questions, or needed some guidance along the way, I always felt supported and that played a large role in my ability to successfully complete the program.”
When Bowles wasn’t occupied this summer running Tampa Bay’s offseason program — or answering repeated questions about the excused 11-day training camp absence of superstar quarterback Tom Brady — he was finishing up his final college classes as a Mount student.
“A successful NFL coach obviously doesn’t need to put in the extra work required to complete a bachelor’s degree, but Todd is clearly the kind of person to keep his promises and finish what he starts,” said Mount Director and Associate Professor of Human Services Timothy Wolfe.
Last year, Bowles served as a guest lecturer for a Sport Management class at the Mount taught by Corrine Farneti, while this summer the coach spoke to middle schoolers in the university’s College Experience Camp about overcoming adversity.
Said Farneti in the release, “If we could mold someone directly from our mission statement, Todd would be it — from giving back to the community, grit, and strong leadership — he’s it.”
Bowles plans to attend commencement at the Emmitsburg school next spring. | 2022-09-07T05:00:56Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Tampa Bay Bucs coach Todd Bowles earns his bachelor's degree online from Mount St. Mary's | Collegiate | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/sports/level/collegiate/tampa-bay-bucs-coach-todd-bowles-earns-his-bachelors-degree-online-from-mount-st-marys/article_02d0691b-268b-5eb9-8247-f7a3971b559c.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/sports/level/collegiate/tampa-bay-bucs-coach-todd-bowles-earns-his-bachelors-degree-online-from-mount-st-marys/article_02d0691b-268b-5eb9-8247-f7a3971b559c.html |
Commanders linebacker Jamin Davis said he feels more like himself than ever.
Commanders need LB Jamin Davis’ progress to continue
Late in the second quarter of the Washington Commanders’ second preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs, linebacker Jamin Davis saw a play before it unfolded. The Chiefs tried to deceive the defense by motioning a receiver left to right and faking a jet sweep handoff — the exact type of eye candy that, in the past, might’ve sown just enough doubt in Davis’ mind to make him mistrust his read. He might have hesitated or even taken a step toward the jet sweep, forfeiting the milliseconds and fractions of space that separate success and failure in the NFL.
While the preseason is an inherently flawed sample, and while he hasn’t made many splash plays, Davis feels like he has made enough good reads and quick reactions to help shed the frustrations of what he called a “humbling” rookie year. He’s starting to recognize himself on tape again.
“That’s Jamin Davis,” he said of the play against the Chiefs. “You want to get consistently there and make that your foundation, who you are as a player, versus like ‘Oh, he’s showing flashes, or who he can be as a player.’ [Expletive] that. That’s me. ... That’s literally me. [I’m] just going out there to get more comfortable, and [I’m] playing ball, bro. I didn’t get this far for nothing. That’s just how I’m thinking right now.”
This offseason, Washington moved Cole Holcomb to the “Mike” role and Davis off ball, which lightens his responsibilities and should help his brain unlock his body. Davis still possesses remarkable athletic talents. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.48 seconds, jumped 42 inches vertically and has a nearly 80-inch wingspan, all 95th percentile or higher measurements for a linebacker, according to mockdraftable.com.
If Davis can sustain his faster, freer play, it would provide a big boost to a defense trying to rebound from a disappointing 2021, more specifically in covering opposing tight ends and running backs.
Commanders running back J.D. McKissic, who is sometimes covered by Davis in practice, complimented his performance in camp: “He [is] like a totally different player.”
“He is playing with more certainty and more confidence,” defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio said of Davis. “When he’s locked in mentally and really understands where he belongs, he’s able to come to life. ... We are going to need him to play well.”
Davis’ growth and consistency goes beyond the box score. On one running play in Washington’s preseason opener against Carolina, Davis met a lead blocker in a gap and forced the back to bounce outside, where a teammate was waiting for an easy tackle. Those subtle plays often go unnoticed but help the defense maintain its structural integrity while avoiding explosive plays.
For a player such as Davis — who was only a one-year starter in college — the lower-stakes reps he has taken this spring and summer have been crucial in his ability feel the game slowing down. And as he has become more consistent, his teammates have grown to trust him more.
Last year, Holcomb said, Davis sometimes shied away from being vocal before the snap because he either lacked confidence in his read or because, if he changed the defense, his assignment would change, too, forcing him to think through a new responsibility. This year, Davis has been more self-assured.
“I’m proud of where Jamin’s at,” Holcomb said. “He’s giving me a lot of confidence. I don’t have to worry about him. I don’t have to think about him. He’s out there, and he knows what he’s doing.”
When Commanders coach Ron Rivera talks about Davis, he often returns to a play from Week 3 last season at the Buffalo Bills. On fourth-and-2, Davis read running back Devin Singletary running a route out of the backfield and toward the flat. Davis broke on the throw and got to Singletary at about the same time as the ball; he tossed Singletary backward to stop the conversion.
That play, Rivera noted, was in man coverage. If the Commanders let Davis use his natural skills more, he might become the player they dreamed of when they selected him 19th overall.
Davis said he hears the criticisms of fans who think he is a bust or a waste of a first-round pick. He is motivated by them and says, “Just let ‘em keep talking crazy.” But he sees himself on tape, and he wants everyone else to see it, too. His play this preseason has given him confidence they will.
“Now,” he said, “it’s like, ‘OK, let’s go show the world who I really am as a player.’” | 2022-09-07T05:01:15Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Commanders need LB Jamin Davis’ progress to continue | Professional: All Sports | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/sports/level/professional/commanders-need-lb-jamin-davis-progress-to-continue/article_47ef01cc-337a-5f70-bc50-ec219d2947f1.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/sports/level/professional/commanders-need-lb-jamin-davis-progress-to-continue/article_47ef01cc-337a-5f70-bc50-ec219d2947f1.html |
Hellen Lucille Screen
Helen Lucille Screen, 97, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, passed away at home Sept. 1, 2022.
Lucille was born in Lakewood, New Jersey, April 9, 1925, to her parents, John and Mildred Clayton, and she was the oldest of five children (Doug, Glenn, Beverly and Clifford).
Lucille graduated from Toms River High School and worked for the New Jersey Bell telephone company. She had a great love for the ocean and fishing. She later moved to New York and graduated from Traphagen School of Fashion, where she had a real talent for design. She had so much talent that a skirt was featured on the cover of Mademoiselle Magazine and a blouse in the Sears catalog. There was not anything she could not do, from making wedding dresses to upholstering furniture to making the perfect pie with the thinnest pie crust. It was in New York on New Year’s Eve, 1953, that she met Ernest at a party. It was love at first sight, and they were married in June 1954. The couple moved to Maryland, where they had two children, Craig and Janet. Lucille and Ernest also built a home at Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, which is enjoyed by many friends and four generations of family. She was involved in Y Women, the Homemakers Club, Sugarloaf Mountain Region AACA, American Legion Post 171, the Harwood House Thrift Shop, and the Girl Scouts. Lucille loved her family, especially her grandchildren and great-grandchild.
She is survived by her husband of 68 years, Ernest Screen; her brother, Glenn Clayton; her daughter, Janet Rossignuolo and husband Jon; her grandchildren, Morgan Screen, Kristy Rossignuolo, Tony Rossignuolo and wife Kaitlyn, and Allison Fleming and husband Justin; and great-granddaughter, Brooke Rossignuolo. She is also survived by her late son’s wife, Karen Screen.
Friends may call 9-11 a.m. Friday, Sept. 9, 2022, at Molesworth-Williams Funeral Home, 26401 Ridge Road, Damascus, MD 20872. Funeral services will begin at 11 a.m. at the funeral home. Interment will follow in Pine Grove Cemetery, in Mount Airy, Maryland. A reception at American Legion Post 171 will follow at 1 p.m. As a tribute to her involvement in AACA, the family suggests any antique automobiles are welcome to attend.
The family suggests, in lieu of flowers, contributions be made to JSSA Hospice Care, American Legion Post 171, or Damascus United Methodist Church. Indicate on your check that it is in memory of Lucille Screen.
Lucille Screen
Ernest Screen | 2022-09-07T06:49:39Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Hellen Lucille Screen | Obituaries | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/hellen-lucille-screen/article_67a4dacc-003a-58ab-b4d0-dfb9a407d6d9.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/hellen-lucille-screen/article_67a4dacc-003a-58ab-b4d0-dfb9a407d6d9.html |
Osborne Francis Wachter Jr., 91, of Middletown, died Saturday Sept. 3, 2022 at Vindobona Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Braddock Heights. He was the husband of Betty Smith Wachter, his wife of nearly 71 years.
He owned and operated Erie Insurance’s Wachter Insurance Agency in Middletown from 1969 until his retirement.
He was a member of Zion Lutheran Church, Middletown; a graduate of Frederick High School (1948). He also attended Mercersburg Academy.
Surviving, besides his wife, is a daughter, Deborah Wachter, of Middletown; two sons, David Wachter and wife Pam, of Middletown, and Brian Wachter, of Jefferson; four grandchildren, the Rev. Nicole Wachter, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Nathan Wachter and wife Mary, of Leesburg, Virginia, Craig Wachter and wife Aubrey, of Jefferson, and Rachel Wachter, of Middletown; three great-grandchildren, John, James and Brynn Wachter; sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law, Don Hamlin, of Baltimore, Barbara Ohler, of Middletown, Doris Adkins and husband Woodie, of Cedarburg, Wisconsin, Ron Shapard, of Myersville, and Vickie Smith, of Hagerstown. | 2022-09-07T06:49:51Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Osborne Wachter Jr. | Obituaries | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/osborne-wachter-jr/article_5613b404-c461-514c-8da0-7635d0674510.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/osborne-wachter-jr/article_5613b404-c461-514c-8da0-7635d0674510.html |
Richard Lowell Thompson, 83, of Point of Rocks, Maryland, passed away Sept. 6, 2022, at home. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Bonnie Aidyl Allen Thompson; his daughter, Patricia Lynn Eshbaugh, her husband, Rohe, and their children, R. Neil, Aiden and Sean, of Mount Juliet, Tennessee; his son, Richard Lowell Thompson II, his wife, Marsha, and their children, Gunnar and Stone, of Myersville, Maryland; and his daughter, Kimberly Dawn Thompson, of Point of Rocks, Maryland. He is also survived by his niece, Monica DiCamillo; nephews, Eric Thompson and Russ Thompson; and many great-nieces and great-nephews. He was preceded in death by his stepfather, Eugene C. Felton; stepmother, Donna S. Thompson; brother, John V. Thompson; sister-in-law, Betty Lou Thompson; nephew, Mark Thompson; and niece, Stephanie Mattei.
Born Jan. 17, 1939, in Washington, D.C., he was the son of the late George V. Thompson and Grace R. Felton. Richard was a graduate of the first graduating class at Wheaton High School, where he began his lifelong career in the printing business. He previously owned Studio Printing Inc. in Rockville, Maryland, and The Printer’s Helper in Woodsboro, Maryland. He was a member of the D.C. National Guard. He met his wife while bowling and continued his passion for bowling for over 50 years. He was past president of the Mid-Maryland Bowling Association. He was an avid fan of the Baltimore Ravens, Baltimore Orioles, Washington Redskins and Washington Nationals, and he loved ‘50s music, ice cream, chocolate, jelly beans and his miniature schnauzer, Schotzie.
Richard’s life will be celebrated at the Point of Rocks Community Center on Saturday, Sept. 10 at 1637 Ballenger Creek Pike, Point of Rocks, Maryland, from 3-5 p.m. Family and friends are invited to join this celebration. Please dress casually.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Richard’s memory to the Michael J. Fox Foundation, P.O. Box 5014, Hagerstown, MD 21741-5014.
Richard Lowell Thompson Ii | 2022-09-07T06:49:58Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Richard Thompson | Obituaries | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/richard-thompson/article_fb3b24a4-a299-509d-bbd9-257a1e8b4f9d.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/richard-thompson/article_fb3b24a4-a299-509d-bbd9-257a1e8b4f9d.html |
Rudy Avadikian
Rudy Avadikian, 92, of Frederick, Maryland, died Sept. 4, 2022, due to complications of pneumonia.
He was born May 25, 1930, to Krikor and Loussper Avadikian, who migrated from Turkey and Greece in the mid-1900s.
Rudy was in the U.S. Army and served in the Korean War. He attended the University of Maryland, earning his Bachelor of Science degree, and he retired after a long career with the National Bureau of Standards.
Rudy was predeceased by his wife, Carrie Avadikian; and the mother of his children, Elaine Burdick Avadikian.
He is survived by his longtime companion, Gloria Babashan; his brother, Richard Avadikian; three children, Mark (Dee) Avadikian, Laura (Troy) Bregy and Cristine Avadikian; seven grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren; and his canine pal, Sengi.
A wise man who lived his life with purpose, leaving behind a legacy of dignity, Rudy was surrounded by his family as he entered into glory.
A graveside service with military honors will be held at 1 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9, 2022 at Mount Olivet Cemetery, 515 S. Market St., Frederick. Those wishing to attend will gather at the FSK Chapel before 1 p.m., and we will proceed back to graveside. | 2022-09-07T06:50:04Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Rudy Avadikian | Obituaries | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/rudy-avadikian/article_ec2931d5-b2fd-51f1-acc7-50899e39637e.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/rudy-avadikian/article_ec2931d5-b2fd-51f1-acc7-50899e39637e.html |
Thomas Hoke
Thomas Eyler Hoke, age 98, of Emmitsburg, died Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022, at Gettysburg Hospital. Born Nov. 19, 1923, he was the son of the late Joseph R. Hoke and Effie Eyler Hoke.
Tom served in the U.S. Army as a medic during World War II fromm 1943 to 1946. He retired as an equipment operator form Potomac Edison more than 35 years ago.
He is survived by his son, John Hoke and wife June; daughter, Rebecca “Becki” Willard; many grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.
He was predeceased by his wife, Ethel Grace (nee Long) Hoke in 2003; brother, John Hoke; and sisters, Elizabeth Summers, Rebekah Gingell and Ann Hull.
A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022, at Myers-Durboraw Funeral Home, 210 W. Main St., Emmitsburg, Maryland, with nephews, the Rev. Harry “Bud” Yoder and the Rev. Fr. David Hoke officiating. Interment will follow at Emmitsburg Memorial Cemetery.
The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022, from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m.
Memorial contributions can be made in Tom’s honor to the charity or organization of choice.
Online condolences may be expressed to the family at myersdurborawfh.com.
Thomas Eyler Hoke
John Hoke | 2022-09-07T06:50:16Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Thomas Hoke | Obituaries | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/thomas-hoke/article_59dd3b85-127c-5fe9-9809-c4d1dea4e017.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/thomas-hoke/article_59dd3b85-127c-5fe9-9809-c4d1dea4e017.html |
The Supreme Court is reshaping the entire landscape of the relationship between religion and the state in this country, and the Frederick County Board of Education has no choice but to follow the new rules the court is creating.
The most recent decision was handed down by the court in June, supporting the right of a high school football coach to kneel and pray on the 50-yard line after games. The court ruled 6-3 in favor of Joseph Kennedy, the coach.
The Religion News Service, an independent news agency, noted that decades of case law forbade school employees from leading school children in prayer. “In the past, courts had feared that such activities put undue pressure on the students to conform to a faith endorsed by a government employee,” RNS reported.
But RNS said the new, more conservative court instead ruled that the coach’s freedom of speech and freedom of religion were unconstitutionally restricted by the school district.
After the ruling, National Public Radio reported: “The current court is the most pro-religion of any court in nearly 70 years, according to statistics compiled for an upcoming article in The Supreme Court Review, written by law professors Lee Epstein of Washington University, St. Louis, and Eric Posner of the University of Chicago. While the number of pro-religion outcomes edged up to 58% overall when William Rehnquist was chief justice (1986-2005), the rate has skyrocketed to over 86% in the years since then with John Roberts as chief justice and the court’s composition growing steadily more conservative.”
In essence, the court has decided that the freedom to practice one’s religion — called the Free Exercise Clause — is more important than the Constitution’s Establishment Clause, prohibiting the government from instituting a religious practice.
That is the reality that the school board now faces, and it must change its policies to comply. The question is: How should the policies be changed, and by how much?
At a recent meeting of the board’s policy committee, school district Chief Legal Counsel Jamie Cannon suggested two minor changes to the policy on religious expression.
Cannon said the board could add a mention of the Free Exercise Clause to the policy, which currently only mentions the Establishment Clause.
“I think it is important to say we uphold the Free Exercise and the Establishment Clause,” News-Post reporter Jillian Atelsek quoted Cannon telling the board. “Because they made a very strong point to say, ‘School systems, you’ve got to make sure you’re looking at both.’”
Secondly, Cannon suggested, the board could add the words “with students” to the policy that now says “school officials may only be present [at religious events] to monitor for supervision but may not participate.”
As Cannon explained, adding “with students” to the policy could highlight the fact that school employees may exercise their religion while on duty as long as they are not doing so with students.
But after giving her advice, Cannon conceded: “I have struggled with, ‘Do I know what this means? Do I know how to interpret this?’ Because I think there’s still a lot of gray.”
We agree with the legal counsel. With the court rewriting the rules on church-state relations in each term, it is not easy for local officials to know if they are complying with current law.
The recent ruling has been widely criticized as unclear. It is likely that, in the years to come, the court will see many more cases on this issue of where to draw the line between Free Exercise of religion and the Establishment of religion.
For now, Cannon’s suggested changes make sense, and the school board should adopt them, even while realizing this is not a settled issue. | 2022-09-07T06:50:22Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | BOE's approach on religious expression makes sense, but there is 'a lot of gray' | Editorials | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/opinion/editorial/boes-approach-on-religious-expression-makes-sense-but-there-is-a-lot-of-gray/article_0a808bd5-54ca-5d27-b9ce-054993706158.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/opinion/editorial/boes-approach-on-religious-expression-makes-sense-but-there-is-a-lot-of-gray/article_0a808bd5-54ca-5d27-b9ce-054993706158.html |
Jen Ludke, plein-air artist, left, and Don Ludke, a barn selector for the Barnstormers Tour, stand for a portrait outside of Shane and Annie Martin’s barn in New Windsor on Sept. 2. The barn will be featured in the 15th annual Barnstormers Tour and Plein Air Paint Out on Sept. 10.
Don Ludke, a barn selector for the Barnstormers, stand inside of Shane and Annie Martin’s Barn in New Windsor on Sept. 2. The barn is one of the barns featured in the 15th Annual Barnstormers Tour and Plein Air Paint Out happening on Sept. 10.
Shane and Annie Martin’s Barn is displayed in New Windsor on Sept. 2. The barn is one of the barns featured in the 15th Annual Barnstormers Tour and Plein Air Paint Out happening on Sept. 10.
Don Ludke, a barn selector for the Barnstormers, stands in the spring house on the property of Shane and Annie Martin’s Barn in New Windsor on Sept. 2. The barn is one of the barns featured in the 15th Annual Barnstormers Tour and Plein Air Paint Out happening on Sept. 10.
Don Ludke, a barn selector for the Barnstormers, points to beams inside of Shane and Annie Martin’s Barn in New Windsor on Sept. 2. The barn is one of the barns featured in the 15th Annual Barnstormers Tour and Plein Air Paint Out happening on Sept. 10.
Barnstormers Tour will showcase agriculture history at Sam’s Creek
Every year, the Frederick County Landmarks Foundation chooses a different geographic area of the county to highlight during their Barnstormers Tour and Plein Air Paint Out.
The Sept. 10 event, now in its 15th year, will feature barn tours from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and gathering at the host barn from 3:30 to 5 p.m. for an art show and sale, food and live music.
Designed as a fundraiser for the nonprofit, the event features a self-guided tour with on-site docents highlighting historic barns and educating visitors on the county’s rich agricultural heritage, while artists and crafters create pieces inspired by the scenery.
This year’s event focuses on barns in the Sam’s Creek area of Libertytown, New Windsor and Union Bridge.
Once the nonprofit members agree on a location, they turn to volunteer Don Ludke, who works to secure eight barns for the tour. Instead of calling, texting or posting on social media, Ludke takes a more personal approach. He drives around the selected area and scouts out barns that would be a good fit for the tour and serve as sources of inspiration for the plein-air artists. And then, he simply knocks on the front door to see whether the owner would be interested in participating.
Their reactions usually go three ways, he said. Some slam the door in his face — which he understands. Others are intrigued by being a part of the event and ask for him to get back in touch after they have had a chance to consider the offer. The final group are those who are immediately thrilled and have been awaiting an invitation for the annual event for years.
“You meet all kinds of interesting people,” Ludke said. “I enjoy doing it. ... It is a fun way to give back to the community and Landmarks [Foundation].”
The location of the barns is released to individuals who buy tickets, but Ludke has a special connection to a barn featured. One of his ancestors built the structure and several family members are buried in a cemetery on the land. The property was sold by his family in 1952, and he has no memory of being in the barn. Ludke did, however, grow up doing farm work in barns in the area. He will be a docent at the farm during the event. When looking at the history of the structures, some are hand-hewn barns built in the 19th century, while one was completed in the early 20th century. The oldest barn on the tour is estimated to have been built in the late 18th century. Starting out as a log barn with two cribs, the structure has gone through several iterations over the years, mainly in the parlor level.
Dean Fitzgerald, Landmarks past president and owner of Fitzgerald’s Heavy Timber Construction, said each barn on the tour is pretty different from the others featured. “Sometimes on the tour, we have barns that are identical, like the same guy built them all, but these are all pretty unique,” he said.
Sam’s Creek is an old agricultural community that was built on farming. “It is a bit of a rolling hill topography up in that part of Frederick County,” Ludke said. “It is pretty cool how they stick that barn right on the side of the hill, and there it is. How the hell they got in and out of some of them I have to wonder. Very innovative. It is pretty cool how people would have worked so hard to make a living off the land. It is pretty impressive.”
Docents on-site will discuss unique aspects of the barns, as well as how parts were used for farming. Some have threshing floors in the center of the barn, while others have a small room in a corner to store grain. Other barns have milking equipment from different time periods, so folks will get to see how the practice was done in the past.
The event will also teach participants about how hay was stored and the evolving modernization of the practice. Initially, the hay would be gathered up loose, piled on a wagon and brought into the barn to be placed in the haymow. Sometimes farmers would use a crane on a metal track powered by a horse, mule, donkey or old tractor to lift up large amounts of loose hay in a hay fork. Later generations began gathering hay into square bails while in the field. Once in the barn, they would use a chain drive lift that would take the hay up for someone to stack them.
Foundation members hope participants take away an awareness of the historical aspect of barns in the county.
Ludke’s wife, plein-air artist Jen Ludke, said Europe has castles so residents can see history in modern times, and Frederick County has barns that offer the same perspective.
Mary Mannix, vice president of the executive committee, notes the Landmarks nonprofit exists to promote the preservation of the county’s historic sites, structures, natural landmarks and communities. Since the county has changed so rapidly over the past couple decades, she hopes those new to the area who attend the tour will take away a better understanding of the agricultural history and the differences found in various cities and towns across the county.
Fitzgerald wants participants to learn about our ancestors and how they lived and labored, including valuing hard work and building enduring structures.
“It really comes to principles,” he said. “It was their principles that guided them or influenced them to do such things that outlasted themselves. I would really like to see more of our community doing things not just for ourselves and not even for our children but doing things that will benefit our grandchildren, our great-grandchildren that have not even been thought of or born yet. Our ancestors did a lot of those things, trying to leave the world better. I really would hope that folks would catch on to that and try to bring that home into their own lives.”
Barnstormers Tour
Dean Fitzgerald
Dwasserba Sep 7, 2022 12:48pm
Oops my second thought seeing the “barn selector” was, gosh, it’s like everywhere you look, we all married that same guy with the red shirt fashion sense 😂
Oh! Two thoughts! My sister and hus bought an abandoned farm in PA when we bought here. Ours was a new build. They bought theirs for the BARN. I always had trouble mentally getting past the house that came with it - even after the first baby they lived in a third of it with only a couple rooms upstairs livable. We had slept in the one room pre-baby because it had…a ceiling. A wonderful pastoral view but peeling stained floral wallpaper from a horror movie. I took a smoke alarm with us. So many adventures with the house which 40 years later is a much admired grand Queen Anne with a wraparound porch et al. Newbies think it was restored, but it was a simple rundown huge farm house that had been a rental for decades. A heater vented through a window, oh my and bad foundation issues. It was jacked up for starters. All the while people showing up to paint the barn, admire the barn, board horses. My sister kept adding on land, blocked a quarry on and on. Today it’s quite a place with easements for wetlands etc., like 250 acres of ponds and Scottish cattle and goats and gardens. The barn burned one winter in the middle of the night about 15 years ago. The animals were rescued but the barn was a loss. They have a painting. Anyway I have experienced barn appreciation close-up. | 2022-09-07T18:32:32Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Barnstormers Tour will showcase agriculture history at Sam’s Creek | Arts & entertainment | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/arts_and_entertainment/barnstormers-tour-will-showcase-agriculture-history-at-sam-s-creek/article_23b81c43-5d50-5499-9288-981cac606c0e.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/arts_and_entertainment/barnstormers-tour-will-showcase-agriculture-history-at-sam-s-creek/article_23b81c43-5d50-5499-9288-981cac606c0e.html |
Festival of India showcases cultural art, music, food
The Indian Association of Frederick will host Festival of India on Sept. 10 at the William R. Talley Rec. Center beginning at 5:30 p.m. The free event showcases the diversity of India through classical and folk music and dance, art and crafts, food, clothing and vendor displays.
For those who embrace Frederick’s growing diversity, this will be a family-friendly gala full of colors, scents and sounds of India.
Like past years, local and state public officials will attend the event to show support for the Indian community of Frederick. The evening will feature performances from children and adults. Since India is a land of many co-cultures, performances will represent music and dance of several states, as well as popular Bollywood.
Attendees will be able to sample a variety of Indian food as well. There will be snack items, meals, desserts and drinks from local Indian restaurants.
Art and crafts business vendors will be onsite, including henna designs, jewelry and clothing.
Until the pandemic, this event has continually and successfully drawn overwhelming public response. Not only does it offer a representative insight into the Indian culture to the Frederick community, but it also engages residents from all over the Baltimore/D.C. metro area in multicultural enrichment. With tremendous community response, a few years’ events were standing-only room.
IAF, Inc. is a nonprofit volunteer organization of the Indian community in the Frederick area. The association has organized the Festival of India every year since 2002. | 2022-09-07T18:32:38Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Festival of India showcases cultural art, music, food | Arts & entertainment | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/arts_and_entertainment/festival-of-india-showcases-cultural-art-music-food/article_01651231-b48f-526e-9a02-cb1ebf1bf33f.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/arts_and_entertainment/festival-of-india-showcases-cultural-art-music-food/article_01651231-b48f-526e-9a02-cb1ebf1bf33f.html |
Residents participate in Mount Airy’s Art in the Park program Aug. 16 at Wildwood Park.
Mount Airy resident June Cayne created this painting at Art in the Park on Aug. 16. Participants learned about American artist Alma Thomas and were given the chance to create art inspired by her work.
Artist Fernando Llort will be highlighted during the Sept. 13 Art in the Park.
Art in the Park is a new, free program offered by the Town of Mount Airy. Residents are invited to gather at various local parks, learn about an influential artist and create their own works of art with supplies provided by the town.
“We are trying to offer more frequent, low-key, intimate events throughout the year,” parks and events assistant Nancy Hernandez wrote in an email. “The Town already has many wonderful large-scale festivals. So this is a chance to reach other people through activities that are better in smaller groups.”
Two events have been held so far, and two more are to come.
Cayne was an early fan.
She moved to town about two years ago from Montgomery County to be closer to family but wasn’t able to meet many new people during the pandemic. When Cayne’s daughter told her about Art in the Park, she signed up for the first session in July. Cayne spent about 35 years teaching art at Montgomery County Public Schools.
At the first Art in the Park event, participants gathered by a pollinator garden to learn about artist Georgia O’Keeffe, who was known for paintings of flowers. Cayne had so much fun, she returned in August, where artist Alma Thomas was the focus.
“For me, it’s such a wonderful social outlet because it’s been hard for me to meet people,” Cayne said.
The events have attracted a wide range of ages. Cayne, 72, was delighted to meet a 2-year-old girl at one gathering.
Hernandez, who leads the events, said Art in the Park aims to highlight diverse artists “who painted nature in unique ways.” The program is not meant to be formal art instruction.
“Instead, I present a little biographical information about the featured artist and we briefly talk about their art styles and techniques,” Hernandez wrote. “We look at pictures of their artwork and then participants get a chance to paint. The idea is to try the featured artist’s technique or get inspiration from their style to try something new, but participants can paint anything and any way they want.”
Hernandez wants participants to feel welcome and free from judgment. She purposely chose artists with styles that are not realistic, so participants would not feel intimidated.
On Sept. 13, Art in the Park will take place at Watkins Park and highlight artist Fernando Llort from El Salvador. His work is characterized by bright colors and simplified shapes and includes symbols of Mayan culture.
On Oct. 11, American abstract expressionist Helen Frankenthaler will be the focus at Prospect Park. She developed a soak-stain technique to create abstract images on large canvases with thinned paint. Art in the Park guests will have the chance to try a similar technique.
Both events will take place at 10 a.m. All ages are welcome, but children under 14 need to have an adult attend with them. There is a cap of 20 people per session. No drop-ins are permitted. Pre-register at least two days in advance so staff can ensure supplies are available. Call 301-829-1424, ext. 135, and leave your name, phone number and the number of attendees.
“The idea is to provide a friendly, peaceful, more intimate setting where people can enjoy painting together in a beautiful place,” Hernandez wrote.
June Cayne
Nancy Hernandez | 2022-09-07T18:32:44Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Mount Airy creates art in local parks | Arts & entertainment | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/arts_and_entertainment/mount-airy-creates-art-in-local-parks/article_2c1fe27f-0ec2-5eca-9215-c4741a042491.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/arts_and_entertainment/mount-airy-creates-art-in-local-parks/article_2c1fe27f-0ec2-5eca-9215-c4741a042491.html |
David Van Deventer at right on the fiddle.
David Van Deventer
Musician to Musician: Watermelon Fest co-producer David Van Deventer
The weekend of Sept. 15 is going to be a busy one for Dave Van Deventer. Not only is he a co-producer of the Watermelon Pickers Festival in Northern Virginia, but he’ll also be performing throughout the weekend in two of his bands, Furnace Mountain and The Woodshedders. He recently hopped on the phone to talk about what it’s like producing a music festival in the Shenandoah, the balance between organizing and performing at an event, booking Little Feat as this year’s headlining act and, naturally, if he has any desire to eventually step away from the hustle and bustle of the festival after being part of it for nearly two decades.
You are the producer of the festival, and two of your bands are playing the festival, so let’s take the producer side first. How tough is it to put something like this together?
If you’ve ever thrown a party before, there’s the guests and the food and all that. So, you just times it by 10,000 and there you go [laughs]. There’s a lot of moving parts, and there are many things you can’t control, as it is with lots of things in life, so it’s a good learning experience that way. You can’t control things like the weather — good things and bad things. You gotta do your best, and hopefully you’re doing something you believe in. I only hire bands I want to hear, so I think of it as though I’m planning a party for a lot of people who are just going to trust what’s going to happen when they get there.
How long have you been involved with the festival?
Since the beginning.
At this point, does it feel easier?
Yes and no. The past two years were pretty rocky with the pandemic — the cancellations. I had thought I’d seen everything. It’s been 18 years. I’ve had the event flooded out before, and we had to move it on a day’s notice. I had a venue cancel on us at the last minute. We’ve had hurricanes. I thought I’d been through every scenario, and then came the pandemic. But this year, I have to say it’s been pretty chill. The one good thing about doing it this many years is a lot of people who show up — volunteers and the like — they know what to do, and they do the same thing every year, so it sort of starts running itself after a while, and that part does make it easier.
If someone decided tomorrow they wanted to start a music festival, what’s something that would surprise them, something that people normally don’t know about putting on a festival?
They would probably be surprised by how much bands charge, especially famous ones, and all that’s involved with getting them there and making a situation where they can do their art. There’s a lot involved in hotels and travel arrangements and food. There’s more involved than people would think, and that’s a good thing. When you go see a festival, you should think, “Oh, that looks easy.” If that’s what you’re thinking, then they’re probably working really hard, doing it right.
This year, you have Little Feat as the headliner. How did you come to that?
We’ve been typically a bluegrass festival, and bluegrass is kind of a broad genre these days. We had the group Leftover Salmon from Colorado one year, and they brought Bill Payne from Little Feat to play keyboards with them. That sort of planted the seeds in our heads. I saw they were touring this year and thought, “Well wouldn’t that be neat.” And you don’t always get what you ask for, but sometimes you do, so we got Little Feat.
Were there some bands or musicians on the list that you were hoping to get and didn’t? Maybe you’ll get them next year?
Yeah, there were. Typically, for me, when I’m booking an event, I start with the headliner and go down from there. So, after we got Little Feat, I was really hoping to get some strong female acts in there. I was looking at Sierra Ferrell and Molly Tuttle, who we’ve had before. I wasn’t able to get either one of them for different reasons, so we went with Jerry Douglas and Larry Sparks because they were on a list of musicians that played at Watermelon Park way back in the ‘70s at one of the first bluegrass festivals. We’ve been checking names off the list for the past 18 years, and we’re about at the end of it. We pretty much got everybody who was still alive on that list, at one point or another. But we hadn’t had Jerry Douglas or Larry Sparks, so that’s how I came to the next tier of headliners. After that, I went heavy with the third tier being a lot of female artists, so there’s about eight different female-led acts this year.
Speaking of acts playing, you are in two of them, from what I understand. How does that play out for you? If you’re part of the producing and part of the playing, is the playing end a lot more fun?
It is. That’s a very good question. I’ve tried more and more to task the responsibility of what the setlist is going to be to the other band members, because I’m usually busy transferring tickets and talking to volunteers right up to the minute I get onstage. But once I get onstage and start playing, it’s like you’re in a different part of your brain then, and you get to appreciate the festival from that point of view. I think it calms me down and grounds me to the whole event and [allows me to] not get caught up in the logistics. So, I find it to be a therapeutic, good thing to do.
How do you decide on where to put the bands that you’re in throughout the day?
We’ve always kind of done the same thing. Furnace Mountain typically plays early on Saturday. For the past many years, we’ve had some dancers that come from New York, flatfoot cloggers and such, so we put on an old-time song and dance kind of thing. We always play the 4 o’clock set, and it sort of sets the mood for the day on Saturday. I don’t really use it as an opportunity to put our bands in the highest profile spot or anything like that. It’s more of a tradition for me. Then, the Woodshedders are more of a rock, country, bluegrass thing, so I usually put us in the late-night dance tent. We always get excited about doing different, cool covers that we think will get the audience dancing.
You said you’re playing the late-night dance tent and then the next morning, you’re kicking it off early with your other band on Saturday. Does that affect things for you? Do you have to kind of keep yourself in check Friday night?
Oh, absolutely. I come with earplugs and the eye blinder things, and I get in my RV and I go to bed as early as I can. Sleep is important.
I’ve always kind of thought there’s a difference between playing at a festival and playing at a bar or a club. Do you have that same feeling? Is it different to get ready for a festival set?
Yeah. I feel like playing in front of a festival audience is so much different than playing a listening room, where everyone is sitting down. It’s not better or worse, but it’s just sort of an open-ended, freeing energy, and you feel like people are listening, walking around, doing stuff. It feels pretty relaxing to me to play at a festival. A lot of times, I feel a little more self-conscious playing in front of a listening room, but I enjoy both.
Were you able to play any other festivals this summer?
Yeah, let’s see. I just played a chamber music festival yesterday, the Shenandoah Chamber Music Festival in Charles Town. We opened up for the chamber music folks with Furnace Mountain. We played our old-time bluegrass like we do, and then they played their classical program, which is sort of geared around Appalachian music, which was interesting.
When you go to other festivals, because you’re familiar with the way everything goes at these things, do you allow yourself to let loose, or are you looking around, thinking about things, taking notes, those types of things?
Both. I’m always taking it all in. Any time you are part of building something ... if you build houses, every time you walk by a house, you’re going to look at how everything’s done. You just can’t help it. I go to DelFest every year, and that’s a pretty big festival. I’m always trying to pick up on different ways to do things, what works and what doesn’t.
Speaking of that, how long do you anticipate doing this? Do you want to be a producer for the next 10, 20 years, or are you going to want to hang it up someday?
Exactly [laughs]. I don’t know the answer to that. There are moments where I’m like, “This is it; this is my last one,” and I’ve been doing that since the beginning. There are moments where I think everything worth doing is going to put you to the test. So, we’ll see. I’ve gone this far, and I’m excited about this year, so I’m glad I’m doing it this year at this point, at this moment.
That could change tomorrow?
Or five minutes from now [laughs].
Watermelon Pickers’ Fest
A three-day bluegrass, country, Americana and soul lineup includes Little Feat, Jerry Douglas, Jocelyn Pettit & Ellen Gira, The Wildmans, The Wilson Springs Hotel and Scythian. Gourmet food trucks, local brewers and beer garden, workshops, children’s activities, and permanent showers and bathrooms are available.
When: Sept. 15 to 17
Where: Clarke County Fairgrounds in Berryville, Va.
Tickets: $40 to $550. Kids 12 and under admitted free. Ticket price includes onsite camping.
Info: watermelonpickersfest.com | 2022-09-08T02:47:05Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Musician to Musician: Watermelon Fest co-producer David Van Deventer | Arts & entertainment | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/arts_and_entertainment/musician-to-musician-watermelon-fest-co-producer-david-van-deventer/article_78965890-0954-58b0-97bb-29954c57ac2b.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/arts_and_entertainment/musician-to-musician-watermelon-fest-co-producer-david-van-deventer/article_78965890-0954-58b0-97bb-29954c57ac2b.html |
NEW OLD VENUE OPENS IN BRUNSWICK
Smoketown Brewing will officially open its upstairs space, Cannon’s Events, with a daylong concert on Saturday. Housed in the 1940s firehall, the space hosted the likes of Patsy Cline, Jimmy Dean and Duke Ellington in its heyday but has sat vacant for about a decade. Thanks to Smoketown owner David Blackmon and a passionate staff, including his son, Jake Blackmon, the space will be open once again — and hopefully for years to come — to host live music and other community events. Also of note in Brunswick: Beans in the Belfry has resumed live music after putting it on hold during the pandemic. The Martin Family Band will perform there on Friday night, with many more shows to come.
RECORD EXCHANGE FINDS A NEW HOME
After the tragedy of the fire — and residual water damage — at The Record Exchange building, owner Sam Lock thought his days in the record business had come to a close. But after seeing tremendous support from the community — monetarily and otherwise — he told The News-Post he will stay in the game and plans to reopen the store at a new location, 410 N. Market St., Frederick. The new space is slightly smaller at 1,400 square feet, so Lock plans to discontinue selling DVDs while adding a small stage for concerts. To say the least, we are psyched to see the store will live on — and to see live music in its next iteration.
TIME TO GET IN THE STREETS
It’s a Frederick tradition. Come out and celebrate that time in 1983 when people gathered together on Market Street after it had been closed for months for renovations. During the In the Streets festival, stages will be erected along the street, each block has a theme, there’s more amazing food than you could ever dream of eating in one day, and activities abound for all ages, from a mile-long run to a beer garden and everything in between. The fest is likely the biggest of the year, drawing some 75,000 people to downtown Frederick — which, for the record, is roughly the population of the City of Frederick itself.
BACK IN TIME TO THE DARK(ROOM) AGES
“Unshuttered” exhibit curators Dee Dolan, Nancy Luse and Leslie Ruby hunted down photos shot by Frederick News-Post photographers during the 1970s to ’90s to put on display the scenes of Frederick County (and beyond) captured before the digital era. Check out the work at the opening reception on Saturday at Gaslight Gallery in downtown Frederick, and maybe you’ll hear a story or two from some of the old-time journalists who brought us the news in a totally different time.
Imagine for a moment watching, through the smoky haze of cigarettes and cigars, Patsy Cline … | 2022-09-08T05:02:13Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | NEED TO KNOW: Week of Sept. 8 | Arts & entertainment | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/arts_and_entertainment/need-to-know-week-of-sept-8/article_9ba45d98-655b-5972-869d-283e7ac88b04.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/arts_and_entertainment/need-to-know-week-of-sept-8/article_9ba45d98-655b-5972-869d-283e7ac88b04.html |
Smoketown Brewing manager James Horrell on the Cannon's stage.
Cannon’s opens this weekend after a decade dark.
The piano Duke Ellington once played in the firehall.
The renovated firehall space, now called Cannon's Events, will have its grand opening on Sept. 10.
David Blackmon, owner of Smoketown Brewing Station in Brunswick, inside the area above the brewery, which is now Cannon’s Events.
Brunswick firehall in its heyday.
The man, the myth, the legend Sonny Cannon stands outside the firehouse he was instrumental in building.
Brunswick History Commission
A historic image of the firehall ballroom in Brunswick.
Jake Blackmon, director of operations at Smoketown Brewing, on Sagner Avenue in Frederick in 2021.
Dave Blackmon, owner of Smoketown Brewing in Brunswick is shown inside the area above the brewery which is being turned into an event center.
The Brunswick firehall ballroom back in the day.
Sonny Cannon takes the stage while the band plays at the Brunswick firehall.
Smoketown Brewing
Imagine for a moment watching, through the smoky haze of cigarettes and cigars, Patsy Cline singing onstage just feet in front of you in the little railroad town of Brunswick.
Imagine, if you will, hearing the announcement — via megaphone, coming from a car rolling down the block — that Duke Ellington would be in town tonight — then donning your best nightlife garb and walking to the firehall to party all night with your mayor and neighbors and friends.
For decades, the Brunswick firehall was, in a word, the community’s heartbeat. The space played host to high school dances, dog shows, roller derby practices, weddings, dinners — and, in its heyday, too many concerts to count.
Jake Blackmon remembers being in the firehall as a kid for pancake dinners and Sunday bingo, but by the time he graduated from Brunswick High School in 2014, the volunteer fire department had moved to a new location — and high school proms and graduations followed suit.
In fact, the massive event space on the second floor of the firehall sat empty for about a decade before Smoketown Brewing — where Blackmon is director of operations — reopened it, through, one might say, sheer willpower and relentless determination.
This week, they’ll see their efforts pay off when they celebrate the grand opening of Cannon’s Events with an all-day concert. The day of music starts at 2 p.m. Sept. 10 with A Jazz Tribute to Duke Ellington, followed by Baltimore rockabilly artist Sean K. Preston, then headliner Katie Deal, the Georgia-based country singer-songwriter who will perform her “Crazy for Patsy Cline” tribute act.
“This has been years in the making,” Blackmon said. “It’s been quite a journey.”
When the firehall was built in the 1940s, fire chief “Sonny” Cannon thought to host concerts and other events in the upstairs space to raise money for the volunteer fire department, which was fully self-funded. He also, apparently, booked most of the shows through the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, bringing the likes of Patsy Cline, Duke Ellington, Roy Clark and Jimmy Dean to town.
Hence the name of the new event space.
“From what I understand, it was even his idea to erect the building,” Blackmon said last week. “He was just a Brunswick local with big dreams.”
In its later years, the space was used primarily for community events — high school dances, proms, Bingo.
When the Blackmons purchased the firehall in 2014 and opened Smoketown Brewing on the ground level, they knew the second floor had to be used for something special — but in the meantime, they used the 8,000-square-foot space primarily for overflow storage for the brewery, its historic stage in the backdrop.
“It was too historical and too beautiful not to do something with it,” Blackmon said. “We have a good amount of seating at the brewery, but for concerts and events, the space is pretty small. We thought the upstairs would be perfect to renovate and turn into an event space once again, restore it to its old glory.”
They ran into hurdles every step of the way, the first of which, Blackmon said, was a strange law.
“There was this random law on the books, probably since Prohibition times, that said in order to open an event space, you had to put $250,000 worth of renovations into the property,” Blackmon said. “It didn’t say it had to be $250,000 worth of safety improvements or anything like that, no specifics. We really wanted to keep most of its natural charm and just update what needed to be updated, and we didn’t have that type of money. It seemed like one of those laws where someone with a million-dollar event space and good connections wanted to make it a little harder for people to open event spaces.”
His father, Smoketown owner David Blackmon, spent a year going through legislation to change the law, eventually succeeding.
They were on track to open in about nine months when they got hit with another roadblock: The sprinkler system would need to be upgraded, at an estimated cost of $250,000.
This was the point when the Blackmons threw up their hands and the white flag and accepted that, despite their efforts, this was not meant to be. “We tabled it,” as Jake Blackmon put it.
Setting aside their dreams for the firehall led them to open a second Smoketown location in Frederick.
“By then, we had a bunch of energy and excitement about expanding,” Blackmon said.
They had to put it somewhere.
Smoketown Creekside opened in Frederick near Carroll Creek Linear Park, and the brewery continues to host small concerts.
Meanwhile, Brunswick Main Street and Brunswick Mayor Nathan Brown helped the Blackmons locate a grant through the State of Maryland for “historical buildings in economically needing areas,” Blackmon said. “We checked all the boxes.”
They were awarded the grant, which allowed them to jump through their final hurdle: installing an upgraded sprinkler system. That work was completed during the pandemic.
With the new system in place, Cannon’s is ready to open with a capacity of 599, making it, Blackmon believes, the largest space of its kind in Frederick County, with the exception of the Weinberg Center for the Arts in Frederick, which has a capacity of 1,183.
Staff wants to bring back gymnastic events and dog shows and roller derby practices, open it up for community dinners, rent it out for weddings and receptions and, of course, host live music.
“The goal is to have bands there every weekend,” Blackmon said. “That’s the dream: live music every Friday and Saturday night.“
Smoketown staff is also busy opening a new brewery in Hagerstown that will also host events, though it will go by a different name. Blackmon estimates a late summer, early fall 2023 opening.
In the meantime, Cannon’s celebrated its soft opening just a few months ago.
“My dad is the reason this whole thing happened,” Blackmon said.
Now, the side of the building facing West Potomac Street says “Smoketown Brewing” and leads into the ground-level brewery, and the brick exterior directly opposite the brewery front says “Cannon’s” in shiny gold, each space complete with its own entrance.
Among the updated walls, exits, restrooms and entrance of Cannon’s are remnants of the building’s storied past: the piano Duke Ellington played is on the stage, memorabilia of past events, old tape from roller derby practices on the hardwood floors.
You have to wonder, what future legends will once again grace its stage? What epic concerts will once again be housed among those old walls? What stories will unfold, what will generations to come experience there?
“It’s hard to believe, but Brunswick was party central to the county back in the day, and this building was a legacy to the county,” said David Blackmon, who moved to Brunswick from Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 2002. “Brunswick needs a catalyst, and I’m hoping this is it.”
Cannon’s Grand Opening
Featuring Katie Deal, Sean K. Preston and A Jazz Tribute to Duke Ellington
Where: Cannon’s Events, 223A W. Potomac St., Brunswick
Tickets: $30 for standing room only; seating available at an additional cost
Info: 240-440-3171, cannonsevents.com
What you need to know in arts and culture news this week.
Jake Blackmon | 2022-09-08T05:02:19Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Smoketown Brewing reopens legendary event space in old firehall | Arts & entertainment | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/arts_and_entertainment/smoketown-brewing-reopens-legendary-event-space-in-old-firehall/article_3bdd9f9e-421c-56e0-970e-b66397ed5f94.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/arts_and_entertainment/smoketown-brewing-reopens-legendary-event-space-in-old-firehall/article_3bdd9f9e-421c-56e0-970e-b66397ed5f94.html |
St. John’s Catholic Prep’s Drew Hutchins runs for a 67-yard touchdown in the first quarter against Winters Mill on Friday night.
Moving Forward: After scary moment during opener, St. John's Catholic Prep football gets tough lesson on responding to adversity
Much like everyday life, there are curveballs in every football season.
Things that can’t be anticipated, no matter how prepared a team might be. Adversity always arises.
And a big part of what defines a season is how teams react to those moments.
St. John’s Catholic Prep coach Nate Marr preaches this often to his players. Although he is a first-year head coach with the Vikings, Marr, 27, has held a number of prominent positions in the college ranks, including running-backs coach, recruiting coordinator and director of football operations for McDaniel College in Westminster.
“You respond to whatever circumstances you are in and whatever situation is put in front of you,” he said.
Last Friday, on what was supposed to be a celebratory night for St. John’s Catholic Prep as it played the first football game in its new on-campus stadium, the Vikings’ players, coaches and school community were put in a situation they never could have imagined.
Greyson Lyons, a junior lineman for the opposing team, Winters Mill, did not get up after a play late in the second quarter.
The situation quickly turned dire. Medical responders performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and chest compressions and used a defibrillator to revive him.
Players from both teams knelt on their respective sidelines and spectators prayed in the stands.
“I’ll be honest, I think all of us were shaking on the sideline. It was just shock,” said Tyler Grove, a senior tight end and linebacker for St. John’s Catholic Prep. “Everybody’s breath went away.”
The game was halted with 1 minute, 53 seconds to play in the second quarter, and later suspended. It will not be made up. St. John’s Catholic Prep, which led 12-7 at the time, will be awarded a victory, according to Marr.
“I would say it was a state of shock,” he said. “I think everybody needed time to go home and be with their families.”
A medical helicopter landed on the field and took Lyons to University of Maryland Shock Trauma, where he is making “positive progress” toward a recovery, according to statements from the Winters Mill football team and the family.
In an online fundraiser to support Lyons, his older brother, Grant, posted that Greyson’s heart had failed on the field and again after he arrived at Shock Trauma.
On Wednesday, the Baltimore Sun reported that an MRI revealed no brain damage, according to Lyons’ mother, Dana.
“That young man could have lost his life that night, and he didn’t, and that’s what we should be focused on,” Marr said. “That’s really positive news for all of us.”
On Monday morning, St. John’s began the difficult task of moving past Friday’s traumatic incident and preparing for its next game Friday on the same field against Francis Scott Key (0-1), while still being as respectful as possible to Lyons’ predicament.
St. John’s students wore gray ribbons in support of Lyons on Tuesday. They have signed dozens of get-well cards that will be sent to the family. Bracelets are being made in the school colors of Winters Mill for them to wear. And the school is asking spectators to wear gray to Friday’s game to create a “Gray Out” to honor Lyons.
“We want to remember and play for him,” Grove said.
Still, the rest of the season must go on, and there are nine more games to play.
“You get them back in a routine as soon as possible,” Marr said of his players. “That’s exactly what we tried to do.”
Ordinarily following a Friday game, the team would report Saturday morning to watch film and lift weights.
But Marr gave his players and staff the day off.
“I didn’t think anyone was in right state of mind, coaches included, to make that productive,” he said. “So, we didn’t.”
Sunday is always an off day for the team. And it did help that it was a holiday weekend.
That allowed the team to come in at 8 a.m. Monday to watch film, conduct offensive and defensive meetings and hold practice.
“Just getting them refocused and centered on the task at hand,” Marr said.
Meanwhile, St. John’s athletic director Stu Wilson conducted a Zoom call with the head of the school, Will Knotek, and Marr to figure out how they were going to move forward while still honoring Lyons.
“I think one of the greatest things our school did is we channeled all that emotion, no matter where it was [in the school community], and directed it to let’s do everything we can for Winters Mill,” Wilson said. “Let’s do what we can to help them in any way.”
When Wilson began his career in athletics 30 years ago, the outcome for Lyons might not have been as good.
“An AED [automated external defibrillator] is an amazing piece of equipment,” he said. “And having CPR training and people that are prepared, just the things we know now, and the things we were able to do as rapidly as possible. Every second counts. Compliments to everyone that was involved.”
On the practice field, the focus is gradually turning toward the next opponent, as difficult as that can be.
“You can tell it’s on a couple of people’s minds still,” Grove said. “It’s just perseverance.” | 2022-09-08T05:02:56Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Moving Forward: After scary moment during opener, St. John's Catholic Prep football gets tough lesson on responding to adversity | High School Sports | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/sports/level/high_school/moving-forward-after-scary-moment-during-opener-st-johns-catholic-prep-football-gets-tough-lesson/article_3a242517-282d-5b2e-a768-8f5f549314f5.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/sports/level/high_school/moving-forward-after-scary-moment-during-opener-st-johns-catholic-prep-football-gets-tough-lesson/article_3a242517-282d-5b2e-a768-8f5f549314f5.html |
Column: Declaring stability at QB in Washington is pure folly
By Barry Svrluga The Washington Post
3. “You talk about a guy not being experienced — I believe in the guys. I believe in ‘em. And I’ve been doing this for a long time. And I put my reputation on these guys that they can play.”
“The one thing — I have heard it but to see it — he is very resilient,” coach Ron Rivera said. “A lot of things kind of just go off his back. He is very hard on himself. He pushes himself, and you can see it. In meetings, you can see it. This is a young man who is very serious about his craft. I think he is a guy that is driven. It has been fun watching him. Every now and then, it is neat to watch him and see something positive and you go, ‘OK, he’s got that.’ He takes a little bit of pride in those things.” | 2022-09-08T05:03:02Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Column: Declaring stability at QB in Washington is pure folly | Professional: All Sports | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/sports/level/professional/column-declaring-stability-at-qb-in-washington-is-pure-folly/article_37231e85-d50e-51d9-b717-8ce5c5e8bb1e.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/sports/level/professional/column-declaring-stability-at-qb-in-washington-is-pure-folly/article_37231e85-d50e-51d9-b717-8ce5c5e8bb1e.html |
Janet Jill Shamberger
Janet Jill Shamberger, 72, of Frederick, Maryland, passed away at Frederick Health Hospital on Aug. 29, 2022. Jill was born in Morgantown, West Virginia, on July 6, 1950, to the late Jack E. Jamison Sr. and Barbara Talbott Jamison.
Jill was a graduate of Morgantown High School and West Virginia University, working as a medical technologist, and later in real estate. Her true devotion was to arts and crafts and her family. She enjoyed all crafts, but especially crochet, needlepoint and counted cross stitch, and she loved to share her crocheted afghans and Christmas stockings with family and friends. Jill left West Virginia in 1973, and spent time living in Texas, California, Arizona, New Jersey and Nevada before finally settling in Maryland in 2012.
Jill is survived by her husband, David Shamberger, of Frederick, Maryland; daughter, Suzanne High and husband Jeffrey, of Middletown, Maryland; son, Steven Shamberger and wife Sarah May, of Newtown Square, Pennsylvania; four grandchildren, Christopher High, Nicholas High, Jack Shamberger and Dylan May; sister, Judy Clemmer and husband Kevin, of Mount Sidney, Virginia; brother, Jack E. “Jay” Jamison and wife Cindy, of Morgantown; and her mother-in-law, Helen Shamberger, of Morgantown.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made in Jill’s memory to Daybreak Adult Day Services in Frederick, Maryland (daybreakadultdayservices.org/donate-here/).
Visitation was held at McCulla Funeral Home, 770 Fairmont Road, Westover, West Virginia, on Friday, Sept. 2, 2022, from 11 a.m. until the funeral service, which began at noon, with Pastor Suzanne Jones officiating. Interment followed at East Oak Grove Cemetery. Online condolences may be extended to the family at mcculla.com. | 2022-09-08T07:12:54Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Janet Jill Shamberger | Obituaries | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/janet-jill-shamberger/article_11930731-2c10-5480-901a-a1099c8baa8e.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/janet-jill-shamberger/article_11930731-2c10-5480-901a-a1099c8baa8e.html |
BOARD of CONTRIBUTORS I Ty Unglebower
I wanted to use this platform today to acknowledge my high school alma mater, St. John’s Catholic Prep.
Last week, during the inaugural football game on their new field, the Vikings hosted the Winters Mill High School Falcons. At one point during the game, one of the Falcons, Greyson Lyons, collapsed on the field, and medical personnel performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and chest compressions in addition to using a defibrillator.
The game was called, the stadium vacated, and Lyons was flown via helicopter to University of Maryland Shock Trauma.
There have been several examples, based on reports that I have read, of the St. John’s community reaching out in support to Lyons’ family, and to the Winters Mill community at large.
Viking players joined visitors in praying on the field, for example. In multiple online locations, the administration expressed support and thoughts, and offered assistance, if at all possible.
In researching for this piece, I discovered a GoFundMe page set up by Lyons’ family to help cover medical expenses. The target goal was reached in less than two days, due in part to the multiple generous donations from members of the St. John’s community. Families, alumni, students, members of the athletic department all contributed to the fund, according to the list of donors page.
Even some of the people I attended St. John’s with myself now send their own kids to the school. They, too, have expressed support via social media posts in my feed.
I mention all of this not because there was any reason to doubt the St. John’s community would act in a compassionate way. Rather, I mention it here because I want to acknowledge noble choices. Even if those choices are easy. Even if those choices are totally expected and proper, they are still choices. Nothing forced the one school community to support the other, aside from the decision to stand up and do so.
From what I hear of high school football dynamics in other parts of the country, I couldn’t say whether every single school out there would make so many noble choices so soon after such circumstances, though I would certainly hope so.
Sports are important to many people. Yet at times like this, it is good to remember, and to see others remember that in the end, it’s all about young students at school.
May Lyons recover fully. May the Winters Mill High School community continue to be strong. And may St. John’s continue to make the noble choices every one should want their own school to make.
Do you telework?
Yes, full time
Yes, a few days a week
No, but I would like to
No, it doesn't work for me | 2022-09-08T07:13:18Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Acknowledging noble choices | Columns | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/opinion/columns/acknowledging-noble-choices/article_2a3f1afa-776f-540f-bd22-dbac32c891e2.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/opinion/columns/acknowledging-noble-choices/article_2a3f1afa-776f-540f-bd22-dbac32c891e2.html |
Frederick Mayor Michael O'Connor gives the State of the City address Thursday morning.
Frederick Mayor Michael O'Connor gives the state of the city address Thursday morning at New Spires Arts Stages.
Frederick to form charter review committee
Frederick will form a committee in the coming weeks to review the city's charter, Mayor Michael O'Connor said Thursday.
The committee's formation will begin the process of updating the charter, which mandates the form of the city's government and the operation of various departments.
O'Connor made the announcement during his annual State of the City speech in downtown Frederick Thursday morning.
Alderman Kelly Russell welcomed the news, saying the city hasn't had a comprehensive review of its charter in close to a decade.
Alderman Derek Shackelford said he hopes the city will use the process to look at how the city government can be more accountable and efficient in serving residents.
Thursday's speech was O'Connor's first State of the City speech since being re-elected in November.
He hailed the recent announcement of construction funding for the widening of U.S. 15 through Frederick as a “lifeline” for the city, and teased several upcoming announcements about city operations.
O'Connor said he expects to announce the addition of a business outreach coordinator to work with women- and minority-owned businesses in the coming weeks, and also hopes to soon announce plans for a new health center on the west side of the city. | 2022-09-08T19:40:52Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Frederick to form charter review committee | Politics & government | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/politics_and_government/frederick-to-form-charter-review-committee/article_5baaa940-d398-5c9a-b85e-b01cc91690d9.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/politics_and_government/frederick-to-form-charter-review-committee/article_5baaa940-d398-5c9a-b85e-b01cc91690d9.html |
FCPS seeking parent volunteers for committee on assessment
Frederick County Public Schools is seeking parents of elementary, middle and high schoolers for its District Committee on Assessment.
The committee is made up of parents, teachers, school administrators and central office leaders, the district wrote in a news release. It reviews and makes recommendations about the district's approach to required assessments across all grade levels.
Over the course of four meetings, the committee reviews the district assessment system, examining the time, purpose and value of required assessments in elementary, middle and high school, the release said.
The meetings will be held virtually. The dates and times are:
Oct. 19, 2022 — 8 to 9:30 a.m.
Nov. 29, 2022 — 3:15 to 4:45 p.m.
Feb. 21, 2023 — 8 to 9:30 a.m.
March 23, 2023 — 3:15 to 4:45 p.m.
Community members interested in joining should complete this form by Sept. 30.
FCPS will contact those interested in early October. | 2022-09-08T23:59:39Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | FCPS seeking parent volunteers for committee on assessment | Education | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/education/fcps-seeking-parent-volunteers-for-committee-on-assessment/article_f124c6d4-067f-5f5c-98d8-802aa5173472.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/education/fcps-seeking-parent-volunteers-for-committee-on-assessment/article_f124c6d4-067f-5f5c-98d8-802aa5173472.html |
Ava Dimmick (center, looking toward right)
Ava Dimmick
After representing her country in international synchronized figure skating competitions around the world, Frederick's Ava Dimmick joined the military to serve in a different way.
Dimmick, who grew up in Jefferson, got into figure skating at 3 years old after her father saw a magazine ad and decided Dimmick and her sister should try it.
Her dad made them try a little of everything, she said, but she fell in love with skating.
“There's grace and dance and these very pretty movements, if you will, but what people often don't realize is that it is really intense and demanding athletically with strength and endurance,” Dimmick said.
As she got better, she had to pick which direction she to go with her skating.
The natural progression is starting with singles, or individual competition. Some people stick with it, she said. Others branch off and go into ice dance or synchronized skating, like Dimmick did.
The team aspect drew Dimmick to synchronized skating and kept her there. She ultimately competed at the highest level with the Haydenettes, a Boston-based synchronized skating team.
“I’ve met some of my absolute best friends, like second family. I will be close to those girls for the rest of my life,” she said.
The Haydenettes are 28-time U.S. national champions, according to their website. They've represented the U.S. at every International Skating Union World Synchronized Skating Championship since 2000, the website said.
Dimmick dreamed of being on the Haydenettes since she saw them compete in the 2013 World Championships in Boston.
Years later, in 2019, Dimmick competed as a Haydenette in the World Championships in Helsinki, Finland.
“I saw my parents and my younger sister waving the American flag as everyone's chanting ‘USA’ and that moment, I usually get teary-eyed, like, saying it, it was just, like, that was the moment that I’d made it,” she said.
The 2022 World Championships were in Canada.
During a practice session in April, Dimmick received a call that she made it into medical school. It was a full-circle moment, she said, but also bittersweet since it would be the last time she would compete.
But this segue in her life made sense, she said.
“It kind of seems like a perfect fit as I transitioned from competing for USA — like, how can I still be a part of something bigger than myself?” she said.
Dimmick said she’s still trying to decide a medical specialty.
She’s interested in women’s health. She loves seeing how women’s health offices can provide a safe space.
“It was really eye-opening to see how little women knew about their bodies or were afraid to talk about things that are considered kind of taboo in society,” she said.
But she has just started her medical career, so she said she’s simply excited to try different things and see where she ends up.
She can see a lot of what she loved about synchronized skating in attending medical school, specifically the Uniformed Services University.
"It all comes back to being a part of something bigger than yourself, and working as a team and kind of leaning on each other, and camaraderie," she said.
She's excited for the next chapter of her life, but Dimmick knows she can never separate herself from the sport she loves. She's thought about coaching.
"I don't think I'll ever fully leave the sport. It has given me so many opportunities, taught me so many lessons, and I got to meet really awesome people," she said. | 2022-09-09T01:55:46Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | From ice to medicine: Frederick skater takes lessons to medical school | Schools | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/education/schools/from-ice-to-medicine-frederick-skater-takes-lessons-to-medical-school/article_8a543f1e-6e28-5d2b-aeec-e9b8d1749c76.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/education/schools/from-ice-to-medicine-frederick-skater-takes-lessons-to-medical-school/article_8a543f1e-6e28-5d2b-aeec-e9b8d1749c76.html |
n Middletown (1-0) at Frederick (1-0): The Cadets seek to avenge the first of their three losses last season. Last week, they were suffocating on both sides of the ball in a 42-0, season-opening road win over Aberdeen. Frederick held the Eagles to one first down, earned by penalty, and -22 total yards. The defense also contributed a pair of touchdowns. The Cadets have not beaten Middletown since a 40-7 home win in 2007. The Knights ran over Tuscarora 48-0 in their season opener last week behind five touchdowns and 114 yards from star running back Carson Smith.
n Walkersville (0-1) at Oakdale (1-0): The Lions are looking for their third straight win over Oakdale. They have won five of the last seven against the Bears overall, dating to their state-championship season in 2017. However, they are coming off a 34-14 home loss to Liberty, during which cramping was a major issue, and will be considerable underdogs in this game. Oakdale, which has one of the most talented rosters in Frederick County, is coming off a 35-13 victory at South Hagerstown last Saturday. Junior quarterback Evan Austin, a first-year starter at the position, accounted for three of the Bears’ touchdowns. He ran for two and passed for one. Oakdale rushed for more than 300 yards and four touchdowns in the game on 47 carries.
n Brunswick (0-1) at Thomas Johnson (0-1): The Patriots are looking for their first win over Brunswick and their former coach, Jerry Smith, since the teams started playing each other regularly in 2020. The Railroaders have won each of the last two meetings by blowout margins, 52-14 in 2020 and 34-3 last season. Brunswick is seeking to score its first points this season after getting shut out 35-0 at South Carroll last week. Meanwhile, Thomas Johnson lost the lead and a close game at North Hagerstown last week, 21-17.
n Westminster (1-0) at Linganore (1-0): The Lancers have dominated Westminster in recent years. They have won eight in a row over the Owls, dating to 2013, and the average margin of victory in those games has been 31 points. Last week, Linganore opened the season with a 50-20 victory at Kenwood, as junior tailback Ethan Arneson rushed for 118 yards and two touchdowns. The defense added a pair of scores on fumble recoveries. On the other hand, Westminster opened its season with a 33-0 victory at South River.
n Urbana (1-0) at Sherwood (1-0): Urbana is hoping to avenge a 31-28 home loss to Sherwood last season. The Hawks were impressive on both sides of the ball last week in a 38-0, season-opening home win over Richard Montgomery. Senior quarterback Keegan Johnson passed for two touchdowns and ran for a score to lead the victory. He also converted all five of his extra-point tries and a 35-yard field goal as the team’s place kicker. Urbana feels it will need another strong performance on offense, defense and special teams to beat Sherwood on the road. The Warriors opened their season last Friday with a 36-0 victory at Wheaton.
n Meade (0-1) at Tuscarora (0-1): These are two teams looking to get on track. Tuscarora lost at Middletown last week, 48-0, while Meade fell at home to Severna Park, 27-20, in its season opener.
n Francis Scott Key (0-1) at SJCP (1-0): The stage was set for the Vikings to have a big night last Friday. They were playing their first game on their new turf field inside of their new on-campus stadium. The crowd was primed for the occasion. They also had a 12-7 lead over Winters Mill late in the second quarter before scary reality intervened. Greyson Lyons, a junior lineman for the Falcons, did not get up after a defensive play and had to be medevaced to University of Maryland Shock Trauma, where his condition has been gradually improving. The medical event left everyone in shock. The game was suspended with 1 minute, 53 seconds to play in the second quarter and the Vikings leading by five. It will go down as a win for St. John’s, as the game will not be resumed. Now, the Vikings will turn their focus to Francis Scott Key, which is coming off a 21-0 home loss to Smithsburg last week.
n MSD (1-1) at Florida School for the Deaf and Blind (2-0): The Orioles are looking to bounce back from a 35-32 home loss to Severn School last week. Ethan Guettler rushed for 132 yards, while Zion Ortiz passed, ran and returned a kickoff for a touchdown to lead MSD. Meanwhile, Florida School for the Deaf has beaten Louisiana School for the Deaf (44-0) and St. John Lutheran (22-13) from Ocala, Florida, so far. | 2022-09-09T03:45:53Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Week 2 High School Football Capsules | High School Sports | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/sports/level/high_school/week-2-high-school-football-capsules/article_9c970073-c781-5c51-a842-cc0584735f06.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/sports/level/high_school/week-2-high-school-football-capsules/article_9c970073-c781-5c51-a842-cc0584735f06.html |
Ron Rivera's teams tend to start slow. These Commanders want to change that.
“I’m fired up for who we can be,” Rivera said. “I like what we’ve seen so far.”
This year, Detroit sold out its opener against Philadelphia — its first standing-room-only game since 2019 — while Washington has offered regular discounts on tickets that are usually among the most in demand.
“It obviously makes for a fun story and all that, but for me, it’s Week 1,” he said. “It’s Week 1. It’s another football game.”
“That first drive is going to be real important for us,” Rivera said. “Hopefully, we go eight, nine, 10 plays ... so we get a pretty good sense about [the matchups].”
Last year, Washington averaged five plays on its opening drive, third-fewest in the NFL, and most were boom or bust. It scored on six — three touchdowns, three field goals — and went three-and-out on eight.
“If we get off on third down, that’s a good start,” cornerback Kendall Fuller said of Week 1. “[The key is] just locking in, knowing the situation, knowing what the offenses are trying to do, then being able to anticipate and just going out there playing fast.” | 2022-09-09T03:46:03Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Ron Rivera's teams tend to start slow. These Commanders want to change that. | Professional: All Sports | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/sports/level/professional/ron-riveras-teams-tend-to-start-slow-these-commanders-want-to-change-that/article_22a13950-484a-5e01-a329-a962b807c4f9.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/sports/level/professional/ron-riveras-teams-tend-to-start-slow-these-commanders-want-to-change-that/article_22a13950-484a-5e01-a329-a962b807c4f9.html |
Reeking with new paint, well-groomed floors and efficient equipment, Frederick’s new mayor’s office has been put into service. With its completion, Mayor Lloyd C. Culler has announced daily office hours to transact the current business of the city. They are: Morning 11 to 12 o’clock; evening, 4 to 5 o’clock. Miss Ethel Beard is the secretary to the mayor in connection with her duties as clerk to the city engineer. The offices are located on the second floor of City Hall.
Yesterday saw a lull in the hot wave that has been gripping the county, but today, the hot weather will return and will continue for a spell, according to both national and local weather sharps. The highest registered temperature yesterday was just 76. Today, the temperatures will mount to a point between 85 and 90 if they climb no higher.
Proposals that all American Legion posts in Maryland offer the services of their personnel to municipal and state officials when more police are needed to check crime waves was made today by Arthur Renouf, newly elected commander of the Maryland Department of the American Legion. “Certainly Maryland in its present difficulty of holding down crime and apprehending fugitives from justice seems to need more police aid,” he said. “If the personnel of the American Legion was thrown into the balance the situation would be markedly improved.”
Frederick County will need to double its current capital improvement allocation if expansion in the county parks system is to keep pace with county planning commission recommendations. The money is needed simply to provide county residents with more park space. “Active parks are overcrowded. Ballparks and picnic facilities are just turning people away, and it’s left up to them to find whatever facility they can use,” said Gilbert Kingsbury, Parks and Recreation Commission director.
Thanks to the skilled hands of a pair of Frederick orthopedic surgeons, Linda Stine hopes to be able to use her left arm again. In an intricate operation, diseased bone tissue was removed from her elbow and replaced with an artificial joint. Drs. Tse-Shiung Wu and Shao-Huang Chiu performed the procedure two weeks ago at Frederick Memorial Hospital — a first at the 80-year-old institution.
When the moment came Sunday, the relatives of the town’s Sept. 11 victims walked to the monument in the center of the circle. It was a circle, outside Pine Grove Chapel, formed of community residents — mostly veterans, town officials, fire-rescue workers and Scouts. One of two monuments on the lawn was erected years ago, listing the town’s dead from the two world wars, Korea and Vietnam. When the south marker was uncovered again on Sunday, it revealed another chapter in history. “September 11, 2001 — Pentagon,” the new inscription begins. It is followed by the names of Army Chief Warrant Officer Bill Ruth and Navy Lt. Cmdr. Ron Vauk.
Police on Sunday were trying to identify and find the driver of a Camaro who led them on a high-speed chase, eluded a roadblock, crashed into two homes in Myersville, and fled on foot late Friday night. The passenger, 18-year-old Jessica Van Sant, of Mount Airy, suffered injuries and had to be dug out of the debris of the second house. She was airlifted to a Baltimore hospital and later released. The Camaro barreled across the white wooden porch of 206 Main St., the George Wunderluch home, and then rammed Margaret Dutrow’s brick house at 208 Main St., police said.
Focus On Philanthropy
Lloyd C. Culler
Miss Ethel Beard
Police Aid
County Parks System
Elbow Replacement
Drs. Tse-shiung Wu And Shao-huang Chiu
Pine Grove Chapel Memorial
Army Chief Warrant Officer Bill Ruth
Navy Lt. Cmdr. Ron Vauk
Myersville Auto Crash | 2022-09-09T05:35:27Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | 20-40-100 Years Ago — Sept. 9 | News | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/20-40-100-years-ago-sept-9/article_a2b3bff9-ebb7-5436-9622-2af9f9afa3db.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/20-40-100-years-ago-sept-9/article_a2b3bff9-ebb7-5436-9622-2af9f9afa3db.html |
Carolyn Gregg
Carolyn M. Gregg, 78, of Hagerstown, Maryland, passed away, Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022, at Meritus Medical Center, Hagerstown. Born Feb. 1, 1944, in Alexandria, Virginia, she was the daughter of the late Marcus L. and Eva M. (Falls) Moore. In addition to her parents, she also was preceded in death by one brother, Alfred Moore. Mrs. Gregg retired as the store manager for Wolf Furniture Store, Hagerstown. She was a member of Christ Lutheran Church, Hagerstown. Mrs. Gregg is survived by two children, Daniel M. Gregg and Dr. Paula M. Brooks (Aaron); four siblings, Mark Moore (Leslie), Dr. Thomas Moore (Carol), Dr. Edwin Moore and Gale Turco (Dr. Ron Turco); three grandchildren, Alexis M. Wallace, Micaela A. Wallace and David M. Wallace Jr.; sister-in-law, Gloria Moore; and many nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews. At Mrs. Gregg’s request, she will be cremated, and a memorial service will be conducted on Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022, at 1 p.m. at Christ Lutheran Church, 216 N. Cleveland Ave., Hagerstown, with the Rev. Kibreab Gudeta officiating. Inurnment will follow in Rest Haven Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be sent to Christ Lutheran Church, Discretionary Fund, at the address above. Rest Haven Funeral Home, Hagerstown, is assisting the family with the arrangements.
Carolyn M. Gregg | 2022-09-09T05:35:33Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Carolyn Gregg | Obituaries | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/carolyn-gregg/article_4ede4930-48f4-5ee9-9c1b-044f9b0149d5.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/carolyn-gregg/article_4ede4930-48f4-5ee9-9c1b-044f9b0149d5.html |
F. Ridgely "Ridge" Cramer II
F. Ridgely “Ridge” Cramer II, 88, of Walkersville, died Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022, at Frederick Health Hospital. He was the husband of the late Joyce Cramer, who died in 2006. They were married for 26 years at the time of her passing.
Born Nov. 7, 1933, in Frederick, Maryland, he was the son of the late Frank R. Cramer and Ellis J. (Mercer) Cramer. He was the last of his immediate family.
He graduated from Walkersville High School and enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, serving as a proud Marine from 1953 to 1957.
Ridge worked for the Phillips 66 Fuel Oil Company after his enlistment and settling down in Walkersville in 1958. He became an Insurance Adjuster in the early 1970’s and worked for Selected Risks, Erie Insurance and the Gay and Taylor Company in Towson in various positions. He retired in 1999. He also worked at Montgomery Ward in Annapolis.
He was an active member for the Walkersville Volunteer Fire Company and Walkersville Volunteer Rescue Company. He was a weekly worker at the joint bingo fundraiser, and sold holder tickets at many rescue company events. His tenure with the fire company started in 1958. He held numerous positions at the fire company, including engine driver, vice president (1963-1965) and board of directors (1967, 2014-2015). He was instrumental in starting the County Fire Police Association in 1969. He was captain of the marching unit from 1963 to 1977.
Ridge was an active community leader and served as a Walkersville town commissioner from 1972-1978, and also served as an election judge. He was the first president of the Kiwanis Club of Walkersville, which was organized in 1973. Additionally, he was an active member of the Shangri-La Detachment of the Marine Corp League of Frederick; an active member of Woodsboro American Legion Post 282; and president of the Glade Town Condo Association for over a decade, serving from 2007-2019.
He is survived by four sons, William Ridgely “Topper” Cramer and wife Cindy, of Walkersville, Jordan Cramer, of Houston, Texas, Marc Cramer and wife Brittany, of York, Pennsylvania, and Bryan Conley, of Weatherford, Texas; a daughter, Courtney Vogenitz and husband Matt, of Stafford, Virginia; 12 grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and a sister-in-law, Eileen Cramer, of Walkersville.
He was predeceased by his former wife, Betty Jean Wise, in 1990; two sisters, Josephine Gilbert and Shirley Stull; and a brother, Richard Cramer.
The family will receive friends from 1-3 p.m. and 5-7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022, at Stauffer Funeral Home, 40 Fulton Ave., Walkersville, with Woodsboro American Legion Post 282 conducting a memorial service at 6 p.m.
A celebration of Ridge’s life journey will take place at 11 a.m. Monday, Sept. 12, 2022, from the funeral home, with the Rev. Tim May officiating.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Walkersville Volunteer Rescue Company, P.O. Box 202, Walkersville, MD 21793, or Woodsboro American Legion Post 282, 101 W. Elizabeth St., Woodsboro, MD 21798.
Joyce Cramer | 2022-09-09T05:35:39Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | F. Ridgely "Ridge" Cramer II | Obituaries | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/f-ridgely-ridge-cramer-ii/article_15a98448-daaf-5ab0-b4c6-4ab29101282c.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/f-ridgely-ridge-cramer-ii/article_15a98448-daaf-5ab0-b4c6-4ab29101282c.html |
Richard H. McKnight
Richard H. McKnight, age 81, of Frederick, Maryland, died Sept. 4, 2022, at Frederick Health Hospital. Born May 29, 1941, in Brunswick, Maryland, he was the son of the late Richard L. McKnight Sr. and Grace Taylor McKnight.
He is survived by his wife, Lynn H. McKnight, and son, Scott R. McKnight and wife Ashley R. McKnight, of Hanover, Maryland; and three grandchildren, Molly O. Drumm, Tucker R. McKnight and Pierce T. McKnight. He is also survived by a brother, Franklin and wife Darlene McKnight; sister-in-law, Cindy McKnight; nieces and families, Christi and Zack Fleagle, and Crystal and Joshua Burns. Deceased family members include: his parents; a daughter, Misty S. McKnight; and brother, James (Jimmy) C. McKnight. He is also survived by his wife’s three brothers and one sister; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Richard loved country music and was the leader of the country music band “The Midnight Express.” He was a member of Mount Carmel United Methodist Church, Md. 144, Frederick, Maryland.
The family will receive friends at Keeney & Basford Funeral Home, 106 E. Church St., Frederick, MD 21701, on Monday, Sept. 12, 2022, from 10 a.m. until the start of the funeral at 11 a.m. Interment will follow at Mount Olivet Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Richard’s name to: Frederick Health Hospice, 1 Frederick Health Way, Frederick, MD 21701, Mount Carmel United Methodist Church, 941 Baltimore Road, Frederick, MD 21704. Online condolences can be shared at keeneybasford.com.
Scott R. Mcknight | 2022-09-09T05:35:51Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Richard H. McKnight | Obituaries | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/richard-h-mcknight/article_d8b3e4d1-9825-56be-9cc2-6c39e14dbfcd.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/richard-h-mcknight/article_d8b3e4d1-9825-56be-9cc2-6c39e14dbfcd.html |
Victor Eugene Wolfe
Victor Eugene Wolfe Sr. (Gene, Pete, Vic), 82, died peacefully at his home in Jefferson, Maryland, on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022, as he had requested following a hard-fought battle with cancer.
Born March 20, 1940, he was the son of the late Clarence C. (Dick) Sr. and Margaret A. Smith Wolfe. He grew up appreciating country music played by his uncles at his grandmother’s house on Sundays. Eventually he would play along at family gatherings for many years. Later in life, he joined his uncle Edward Smith, entertaining at senior functions and nursing homes. He played the guitar, electric keyboard and pedal steel guitar without ever having music lessons.
He attended Walkersville High School and earned his GED while serving in the U.S. Army (1958-1961) as a military policeman in Korea. Following his return, he served as a Frederick city police officer and then a Maryland state trooper, ending his career as a criminal investigator and retiring in 1985 as a sergeant. After retirement from state police, he became a licensed private investigator, working mostly in Washington and Frederick counties. He received the J. Edgar Hoover Award as well as numerous commendations as the best criminal investigator known in this area.
He was a member of the Jefferson Ruritan Club and St. Paul’s Lutheran Church.
One of his greatest joys in life was the time he spent raising a very special deer named Bucky.
He is survived by his former wife and mother of his children, Pearl Spade Ingram; daughter, Monica L. Wolfe Houser; son, Victor E. (Buddy) Wolfe Jr.; grandchildren, Victoria Baugher (Matt), Mauri Adamez (Bryan), Dustin Wolfe and Marlaina Thompson (Conner); and great-grandchildren, Brandon Taylor, Destiny Longerbeam, Nathan Adamez, Nora Adamez, Avalynn Thompson and Alayni Thompson. His surviving siblings are Joyce Lewis (Gene), Pat Wolfe (Sandy) and Clarence (Dick) Wolfe Jr. (Martha). He is also survived by many cousins, nieces, nephews and friends. He was predeceased by his dear friend and companion, Dora Hale.
The family will receive friends at Keeney & Basford Funeral Home, 106 E. Church St., Frederick, MD 21701, on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022, from 9 a.m. until the start of the funeral at 11 a.m. Interment will follow at St. Paul’s Lutheran Cemetery in Jefferson, Maryland.
The family would like to extend its deepest gratitude to the Maryland Oncology Hematology Center of Frederick, Maryland, the James Stockman Center of Frederick, Maryland, and Frederick Health Hospice.
Online condolences can be shared at keeneybasford.com.
Victor Eugene Wolfe Sr.
Pat Wolfe | 2022-09-09T05:35:58Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Victor Eugene Wolfe | Obituaries | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/victor-eugene-wolfe/article_14de6e73-3e81-5183-8b10-3d90ddfbe6b3.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/victor-eugene-wolfe/article_14de6e73-3e81-5183-8b10-3d90ddfbe6b3.html |
William Freeman
William Lloyd Freeman, 74, Frederick, died peacefully surrounded by family on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022, at Somerford House in Frederick. He was the husband of Sandra Argo Freeman.
Born in Washington, D.C., on March 12, 1948, he was a son of the late Donald Hope and Nora Jean Mitchell Freeman. He was employed as a cable splicer with Verizon Communications until his retirement, was active with the Boy Scouts of America, and was a member of the Order of the Arrow. He volunteered and served multiple combat tours in the U.S. Army’s 173rd Airborne Brigade during the Vietnam War.
Surviving, besides his wife, are three children, John Erik Freeman (Sarah Coleman), of Alexandria, Virginia, Kathleen Ann (Eddie) Price, of Frederick, and Michael (Stacey) Mulgrew, of Reedville, Virginia; nine grandchildren, Julia Freeman, Emmaline Freeman, Cole Freeman, John Price, Benjamin Price, Timothy Price, Ryan Mulgrew, Morgan Mulgrew and Amber Radkoff; two brothers, Robert Keith (Pati) Freeman, of Woodsboro, and Donald Andrew (Karen) Freeman, of Hagerstown; and one sister, Diane Hope Freeman Harshman (Vaughn), of Frederick. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Jacquelyn Erin Freeman.
Memorial services will be held 12:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 12 at Donald B. Thompson Funeral Home, 31 E. Main St., Middletown, Maryland. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Vietnam Memorial Veterans Fund, 3033 Wilson Blvd., Suite 300, Arlington, VA 22201.
William Lloyd Freeman | 2022-09-09T05:36:04Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | William Freeman | Obituaries | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/william-freeman/article_56466dd3-1d26-56ed-a181-58f524eb1407.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/william-freeman/article_56466dd3-1d26-56ed-a181-58f524eb1407.html |
Lancers thrive on set pieces in win over Lions
In his first season as Linganore’s girls soccer coach, Mike Heller wants to diversify the Lancers’ attack.
He doesn’t want to rely on one or two players to score all the goals, and he doesn’t want to depend solely on set pieces, which are, by far, the team’s offensive strength at this early juncture of the season.
On Thursday night, that’s how Linganore scored both of its goals in a 2-1 home win over Walkersville.
Junior forward Ava Taylor was in the right place at the right time to knock home a rebound off a Mandy Hill corner kick with just over 10 minutes to play in the first half.
Then, junior center back Georgia Sible put her greatest weapon — her ability to take free kicks — to good use and converted one from 45 yards away with just under 14 minutes remaining to give the Lancers (1-1) the cushion they needed by the end of the game.
“They are really a fun group,” said Heller, who moved over to Linganore, where he works as an art teacher, after coaching at Thomas Johnson last season. “Lot of really positive personalities is probably the best way to say it. They are really supportive of each other. They have really positive outlooks a lot of the time. And they have been very welcoming of me as the new coach of the program.”
The Lancers graduated 13 players from a team that fell by a goal in the Class 3A West playoffs to eventual state semifinalist Oakdale last season.
To maximize this young group’s potential — there are only five seniors on the roster — Heller has switched the team’s formation from a 4-2-2 to a 4-3-3, which slides an extra player forward into the offensive zone from the midfield.
Then, when you factor in Sible’s ability to generate offense with her powerful right leg from the back of the formation, Linganore’s attack suddenly becomes much more versatile.
“It’s a better fit for them,” Heller said. “We have good ball handlers in the middle of the field, and we can possess the ball and build as a group in our attack.
“Right now, we are strong on set pieces. But I don’t want that to be our only [strength]. I want it to be a tool in our tool kit that we have.”
The Lancers cashed in on a set piece against Walkersville after generating back-to-back corner kicks in the latter stages of the first half.
On the second attempt, Hill bent a ball into the box and onto the foot of senior forward Promise Green.
But Walkersville’s sophomore goalkeeper, Ethel Wright, made a point-blank save on Green’s shot, which was struck with some pace.
However, there was a rebound that found its way onto the foot of Taylor for a Linganore goal.
“Right place at the right time,” Taylor said. “I was really excited. I was not expecting it. I kind of just toed it in and hoped for the best.”
Sible, meanwhile, has been taking free kicks for a long time because her leg is so strong. She also does it as a center back for her club soccer team.
“I guess I have a good foot,” she said sheepishly.
When she lined up her free kick from the left hash from 45 yards away against Walkersville, she wasn’t expecting it to go in. She was just trying to create a chance for one of her teammates around the goal.”
“I did my best and it went in,” she said. “I was very happy.”
Walkersville (0-2), which was coming off a loss to Tuscarora, got on the board in the final two minutes on a goal by junior midfielder Rayiah Davis.
“I thought we were good tonight,” Lions coach Paul Bryan said. “We didn’t give them a lot. I think we gave them problems getting forward ... I thought it was a good start.”
Mandy Hill
Georgia Sible | 2022-09-09T05:36:10Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Lancers thrive on set pieces in win over Lions | High School Sports | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/sports/level/high_school/lancers-thrive-on-set-pieces-in-win-over-lions/article_de88dbd1-acab-5f32-a821-ec0910e8787f.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/sports/level/high_school/lancers-thrive-on-set-pieces-in-win-over-lions/article_de88dbd1-acab-5f32-a821-ec0910e8787f.html |
The Eastern white pine is a soft wood pine that is ubiquitous in our area. Numerous species of songbirds and small mammals feed on white pine seeds, while rabbits and deer graze on the needles. The bark, roots and seedlings are also food for gophers.
White pines have five needles per bundle. A good memory bridge for identifying five-needle bundles as those of white pines is that there are also five letters in the word “white.”
Introduction to conifers and a look at pine trees
By Mike Kay,
Forestry Board Special to The News-Post
Trees and shrubs are divided into two groups, based on whether or not they possess complete flowers and fruit (angiosperms) or have naked seeds that are encased in a woody, cone structure (gymnosperms).
Angiosperms are commonly called hardwood or deciduous trees because their wood contains chemicals such as lignin, which makes it hard and heavy, and they shed their leaves in the fall in temperate regions such as Maryland.
Gymnosperms are more commonly referred to as evergreens or conifers since most have needle like leaves that persist year-round, and they bear their seeds in cones. Conifers are a more primitive tree, and they were the dominant tree during the age of dinosaurs.
The dominant conifer canopy was eventually surpassed by hardwoods about the time mammals first appeared on the scene. Explanations for this shift were that evergreens were dependent on wind or gravity to fertilize and distribute their seed, whereas angiosperms had flowers and fruit to attract pollinators along with wind and gravity. This provided more chances for success and enabled more opportunities for cross-pollination in hardwoods.
Deciduous trees could also drop their leaves and enter a state of dormancy when conditions were not especially appealing for growth and survival, such as wintertime or during a prolonged drought, whereas evergreens did not have that advantage. In addition, it normally takes longer for cones to mature compared to fruits, and some cones will remain closed for years unless unusual circumstances occur, such as being exposed to very hot temperatures during a forest fire. As such, hardwoods had a distinct advantage in reproduction and adjusting to changes in climatic conditions compared to the evergreens.
Despite their more primitive nature, conifers are still a major part of our forests, especially in arid regions, high-altitude areas and northern boreal forests, where cool climates prevail. The presence of smaller, waxy needles prevents excessive water loss, so evergreens can inhabit areas where water may be scarce due to dry climate or shorter growing seasons. The internal structure of the woody “tracheid” cells and needle-like leaves also provides efficient means to transport water and nutrients up and down the tree, enabling evergreens to conserve water and efficiently transport it to all parts of the plant.
This same adaptation also allows evergreens to grow to a very large size, especially trees like the giant sequoia, redwood, Western red cedar and sugar pine. Because evergreens don’t shed all their needles at once like deciduous trees, they do not expend as much energy as hardwoods when leafing out in the spring. This adaptation allows evergreens to survive in some soils that might be too barren for hardwoods.
Throughout the globe, conifers are grouped into seven families, and within these families are 68 genera and about 600 species of cone-bearing trees. Some of the more common genera found throughout North America are pine, spruce, fir, hemlock, yew, true cedar, juniper, metasequoia, larch and ginkgo.
The genus Pinus is the largest group of conifers, and it is made up of pine trees. There are nearly 90 species of pine trees found throughout the globe, many of which have value for lumber, pulp, turpentine, oils, pine tar, chemicals and other “naval stores.”
Pine needles are found in groups of two, three and five needles encased in a sheath known as a fascicle. Most pine trees develop in height from a central terminal bud and develop a single group of side branches along their trunk called a whorl. Counting the number of whorls along the trunk of a pine tree is a good way to tell the age of the tree.
Pines have been split into two groups: soft pines and hard pines. The soft pines have a gradual transition from spring to summer wood so that growth rings are not easy to spot. In addition, these trees have softer wood that is lighter in color. Soft pines normally have five needles per bundle, but some have two. The hard pines have a distinct transition between spring and summer wood so that the growth wings are more distinct. Their wood is normally harder and usually has a yellow color. Hard pines normally have two to three needles per bundle. Examples of soft pines include the Eastern white pine, piñon pine, sugar pine and Western white pine. Examples of hard pines include loblolly pine, pitch pine, shortleaf pine, red pine, longleaf pine and ponderosa pine.
One of the most common members of the soft pine family found in Frederick County is the Eastern white pine. This tree is the largest-growing conifer found in the East, attaining a height of around 200 feet. Eastern white pines prefer well-drained soils with a sandy texture. White pine grows naturally in areas like Piney Mountain, north of Thurmont, and some very large trees can be found there.
Eastern white pine was one of the most important timbers used by colonists. The British prized large, straight white pine for ship masts, and the prime trees were branded with the king’s mark, meaning they were reserved for the military. This king’s mark can still be seen on some very old pine trees.
White pine was extensively planted on hillsides for erosion control projects in the 1960s and 1970s in Frederick County. Most of these plantations persist today.
Piñon pine are noteworthy in that they produce an edible nut as a fruit. Piñon pines are scattered around the semiarid sections of the Southwest.
The sugar pine is a Western tree that has the distinction of being the largest member of the pine family growing in North America, with some specimens growing to a height of 230 feet. Sugar pines are fast-growing, wind firm and long-lived, with some individuals attaining an age of 600 years. Sugar pine also have very large cones that range in size from 10 to 30 inches long.
The Virginia and pitch pine are the most common hard pines growing in Frederick County, but sometimes you might come across a shortleaf pine if you are around Sugarloaf or College mountains. Likewise, one might see a Table Mountain pine tree in a rocky area, such as the High Knob area of Gambrill State Park.
Loblolly pine is a common yellow pine found in Southern Maryland and the Eastern Shore. This tree is the most important timber-producing tree in the East. Loblolly pine growing in managed plantations can achieve a merchantable size in 35 years or so.
Other important Southern yellow pines include shortleaf pine, longleaf pine and slash pine. The shortleaf pine has become rare throughout its range, and there are some concerted efforts to reestablish this tree to increase biodiversity. The longleaf pine is unusual in that it has a grass phase where it does not grow very tall, looking more like blades of grass. During the grass stage, the roots of the longleaf pine are developing. Once the roots develop sufficiently, the tree will grow rapidly in height.
The red pine is a dominant pine tree found in the Lake States and to the north. Old-growth red pine was cut in the Lake States and floated down rivers on their way to sawmills in the 1800s. Some of these trees sank and were preserved under the water. In recent times, many of these large logs have been reclaimed from the watery depths to be used for lumber.
The ponderosa pine is a dominant tree found in the Rocky Mountains. One of the oldest living organisms found in North America is the bristlecone pine. Some of these specimens are estimated to be 5,000 years old. Compared to this, a 3,000-year-old redwood is a relative newcomer. | 2022-09-09T07:20:30Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Introduction to conifers and a look at pine trees | Environment | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/environment/introduction-to-conifers-and-a-look-at-pine-trees/article_8f0a75e3-0ba0-54e4-a30f-5414434c9b27.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/environment/introduction-to-conifers-and-a-look-at-pine-trees/article_8f0a75e3-0ba0-54e4-a30f-5414434c9b27.html |
BOARD of CONTRIBUTORS I Chip Jewell
We have all faced issues with customer service during the pandemic. Many businesses, especially restaurants and the hospitality industry, have been hit hard with worker shortages. Some restaurants have reduced hours, some have placed signs at the entrance to be patient as they are short-staffed, and some businesses have failed altogether. I fully understand excessive waiting times and erratic business hours due to being short-staffed. But, the lack of basic customer service is not acceptable.
Recently, my wife and I had experiences of both exceptional and horrendous customer service. Our first negative experience is an ongoing challenge that began last summer when we replaced the sliding glass door in our basement. We should have realized there was something wrong when we heard the crew discussing some kind of issue as they opened the box containing the door and framing. Things progressed until the very end when the crew foreman explained there was a part missing that sealed the door. The crew either knew this part was missing and put the door in anyway, or never checked to see if all parts were in the box.
Fast forward, almost a year later. The door is finally repaired and fully functional, and we are pleased with the door. But, after numerous phone calls, voice mails, emails and even a very negative response to the customer survey, we are still awaiting for a phone call from someone in the company to settle our account. Total lack of customer service.
Another more recent example of lack of customer service was our annual family outing to Ocean City during the Maryland State Firemen’s Association Convention in June. For the past several years, we have rented a condo from the same Realtor that provided excellent service in securing a location and any follow-up issues. The agency was sold to a national rental conglomerate headquartered on the West Coast. Our experience with this new rental mega-company has been horrible. As we entered the condo parking garage, the numbers on the parking spaces did not match the numbers on our parking pass. The new rental company never surveyed the condo to see the spaces were not marked by condo numbers but rather specifically assigned space numbers.
As we walked into the condo, it was apparent the condo was never cleaned. The response from the local Ocean City office was rather lukewarm. They could not send another cleaning crew until Sunday. My daughter would not let our grandchildren take a bath. The next day, we had a difficult time getting through to the service representative, especially when the crew did not show up when we were told. However, the cleaning crew finally came, and they did an excellent job.
Later in the day, my daughter began to wash children’s clothes, only to discover the entire timing mechanism of the washer was missing. Once again, we called the rental company, which advised they were aware of the issue and were awaiting parts. My daughter had already filled the washer with detergent and now had to find a laundromat. With three small children in the condo, it certainly would have been nice to advise us in advance of this issue, especially as we rented a condo to make sure we would have a washer and dryer.
So now, over two months and nearly a dozen calls to Ocean City and Portland, Oregon, we are awaiting some kind of refund for at least the lack of cleaning. We were recently advised it would be at least another four weeks. Another complete lack of customer service. Fortunately, some of the largest and most critical businesses have drastically improved their customer service.
Though just a few miles out of Frederick, cell coverage in our house is sporadic. We still maintain a landline telephone. Recently, without warning, the line suddenly had so much static and noise we could not talk on the phone. Amazingly, by using the Verizon repair service number for hard-wired phones, we called on a technician, who arrived the next morning, immediately discovered the issue and stopped by our house to make sure our phone line was working effectively.
Another major utility, Potomac Edison, was Johnny-on-the-spot with a recent outage due to an electrical storm. The electric power in our area is normally very dependable. When the power went out during a recent storm, the Potomac Edison reporting line was easy to use, and the power was back on within a few hours of reporting the issue. A follow-up phone call verified we had electricity.
I realize the power in major storms may be out for over 24 hours, and the phone company cannot always make repairs so quickly. But, after dealing with two businesses with horrendous customer service, it was certainly refreshing to see that two giants of industry had made great strides in customer service and responded quickly to customer needs.
Clarence “Chip” Jewell is a Frederick native who appreciates good customer service and thanks the Verizon and Potomac Edson line crews for their work during adverse weather.
Should the city of Frederick elect aldermen by district or at large?
A combination | 2022-09-09T07:20:42Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | A little customer service, please | Columns | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/opinion/columns/a-little-customer-service-please/article_ae11f2af-aaa7-5453-8a40-78794eac014a.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/opinion/columns/a-little-customer-service-please/article_ae11f2af-aaa7-5453-8a40-78794eac014a.html |
“As It Turns Out: Thinking About Edie and Andy” chronicles the relationship between Edie Sedgwick and Andy Warhol.
Farrar
By Paul Alexander The Washington Post
From March 1965 until January 1966, New York City was beguiled by an unexpected “it” couple. Andy Warhol — effete, strange-looking with his pallid skin and silver wig — was emerging as the principal practitioner of Pop Art. Edie Sedgwick — waiflike, modern with her pixie haircut and hoop earrings — was described as a debutante, heiress and member of the Boston Brahmins (none of which was actually true).
Edie’s parents, Alice de Forest an d Francis (“Fuzzy”) Sedgwick, were warned by a psychiatrist not to have children. They had eight. Edie was the penultimate. By the time she was born, the family had left a mansion in Cold Spring Harbor on Long Island for a ranch near Santa Barbara. When oil was discovered there, Fuzzy moved his brood to a larger ranch, Rancho La Laguna de San Francisco, where Edie spent her formative years. Her main activity was horseback riding.
So, Edie was anything but an uncomplicated young woman when she was introduced to Warhol on March 26, 1965, at a party hosted by movie producer Lester Persky at his Central Park South penthouse. Warhol was smitten — “Ooooh, she’s so bee-you-ti-ful,” he cooed — and invited her to the Factory, his studio. Unfazed by his celebrity — Edie was dating Bob Dylan — she went the next day, and the pair began a collaboration that produced some of Warhol’s most memorable films, among them “Vinyl,” “Poor Little Rich Girl,” “Restaurant,” “Kitchen” and “Afternoon.”
The zenith of the Warhol-Sedgwick alliance came on Oct. 8, 1965, the night they attended the opening of curator Sam Green’s Warhol retrospective in Philadelphia. A room that held 400 was descended upon by 4,000 excited fans eager to catch a glimpse of the couple. Unbeknown to Edie and others present, Wohl writes, “not even Andy could have sensed it — this was ... the absolute high point of her life and the apotheosis of Edie Sedgwick.” | 2022-09-09T20:02:50Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Edie Sedgwick and Andy Warhol's bond was fleeting. The movies live on. | Lifestyle | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/lifestyle/edie-sedgwick-and-andy-warhols-bond-was-fleeting-the-movies-live-on/article_915d2a01-f330-5f77-8b07-2a32f076c94b.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/lifestyle/edie-sedgwick-and-andy-warhols-bond-was-fleeting-the-movies-live-on/article_915d2a01-f330-5f77-8b07-2a32f076c94b.html |
One of three seclusion rooms at the new Rock Creek School in Walkersville. The rooms are no longer in use.
Special education task force to present recommendations to school board
The Blue Ribbon Task Force, which formed in the wake of a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into the misuse of seclusion and restraint in Frederick County Public Schools, will present recommendations to the Frederick County Board of Education next week.
The DOJ found in December that FCPS had violated state and federal law in its use of the disciplinary practices against students with disabilities. Former Superintendent Terry Alban stepped down shortly after the news broke, and in January, then-Interim Superintendent Mike Markoe announced he was forming a task force to review the district's special education programs.
Twelve parents and community members joined 11 FCPS employees on the task force, which met six times in May and June.
The group emerged from those meetings with a set of 13 recommendations for the school board, which task force co-chair and FCPS Student Services Director Dana Falls will present on Wednesday.
Troy Keller, one of the district's two special education directors, will join Falls in the presentation.
Broadly, the recommendations aim to close gaps in FCPS' current special education offerings, address burnout and boost training among special educators, and provide better support to confused parents, among other goals.
The recommendations are divided into three categories: professional development, special education programming and staffing.
The goal of Wednesday's discussion, Falls said, will be to gather input from the board and from Superintendent Cheryl Dyson about which should be prioritized first.
Falls said he didn't want to identify any of the recommendations or categories as more pressing than any others.
"It would be unfair to the task force for me to apply my lens to their work," he said in an interview Friday. "There was a lot of discussion in regard to how they would be prioritized, and we ultimately landed on the categories that we were putting them in, and then not really ranking them."
During the 2017-18 and 2018-19 school years — the two uninterrupted years that formed the basis of the DOJ's investigation — FCPS far surpassed every other Maryland public school system in its use of seclusion and restraint.
The DOJ found that the district was “systematically and improperly” using seclusion and restraint in non-emergency scenarios, a violation of the law that governs the practices. Across the five semesters in question, FCPS recorded 7,253 cases of seclusion and restraint on 125 students. Thirty-four individual students were secluded or restrained more than 50 times each.
In its budget for fiscal year 2023, the board directed about $9 million toward a category called "additional resources for special education," which included expanded staffing and therapy for affected students.
Board of Education President Brad Young said Wednesday's discussion would be the first step in determining how the body should formulate its next special education budget as the work of reforming the program continues.
"What we're hoping to get is an honest discussion about what is going on, what we've done to correct it and what we can do to make sure we don't end up in that situation again," Young said Friday.
In a video attached to the school board's Wednesday agenda, members of the task force spoke about why they applied and what they thought of the group's work.
Angelique Vigliotti, whose son was secluded and restrained during his time in the Pyramid Program at Lewistown Elementary School, said in the video she applied to "give a voice" to children and parents who hadn't felt represented in FCPS' special education programs.
"Sometimes, it's really difficult for me, because I come to meetings with people that I trusted that had a hand in facilitating some of the abuse with my child," Vigliotti said in the video. "And sometimes I cry after the meetings. But I'm here because I'm trying to advocate for the people that can't be here."
Cara Phillips, another member, said she appreciated the diverse perspectives on the task force and that she felt its leaders approached the role with a sense of neutrality.
"We definitely have a cultural and a systemic issue here at FCPS. I don't think that's a secret," said Phillips, a parent and advocate who used to work for FCPS as its Partners for Success program coordinator.
In that role, she was a liaison between the district and parents, aiming to connect families with resources and help them understand the myriad laws that govern special education.
"I'm going to remain cautiously optimistic that these recommendations will be taken seriously, and that FCPS and our county executives will act quickly to make big changes," Phillips said in the video. "Our most vulnerable students depend on it, and now is our opportunity to ensure this happens." | 2022-09-09T22:56:47Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Special education task force to present recommendations to school board | Seclusion and restraint in FCPS | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/continuing_coverage/seclusion_and_restraint_in_fcps/special-education-task-force-to-present-recommendations-to-school-board/article_d401b850-780d-5bac-aad7-68bcd1432ce9.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/continuing_coverage/seclusion_and_restraint_in_fcps/special-education-task-force-to-present-recommendations-to-school-board/article_d401b850-780d-5bac-aad7-68bcd1432ce9.html |
Miller seeks seat in Annapolis as 'common-sense conservative'
After helping to shape educational policy in Frederick County for eight years, April Fleming Miller hopes to apply her skill for building relationships and a conservative outlook to the Maryland General Assembly in Annapolis.
A local optometrist, Miller is one of three Republicans seeking three seats in the House of Delegates from District 4, along with incumbents Barrie Ciliberti and Jesse Pippy. They'll face Democrats Andrew Duck, Brandon Duck, and Millicent Hall in the Nov. 8 election.
She seeks to bring a conservative but pragmatic approach to the House.
“I'm a common-sense conservative,” Miller said.
After serving two terms on the Frederick County Board of Education from 2010 to 2018, Miller said, many of the comments she hears from voters revolve around education.
“One of the biggest concerns in Frederick County is the direction of education,” she said.
The response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its toll on children's mental and social health has been a concern for parents.
“I think that piece of it really got parents engaged and involved in the school system. ... They really started to see through virtual learning what their kids were actually learning in school. And a lot of parents had some concerns,” she said.
School systems need to get back to teaching math, language arts, science, and social studies to get kids caught up to where they need to be, she said.
Miller hopes to use her Board of Education experience to share a perspective on education with other delegates in Annapolis, so they can understand the consequences of bills on students and teachers.
She wants the General Assembly to reconsider the impact of the Blueprint for Maryland's Future, a comprehensive K-12 education reform bill passed in 2021.
Miller would like the General Assembly to pause implementation of the bill as schools recover from the impact of the pandemic.
“It was all driven by pre-COVID facts and data," she said. "So, legislatively, if we don't make adjustments to that plan — we did a plan that was pre-COVID, we're a post-COVID world. We've had a lot of changes in the last couple years.”
Schools need to focus on getting students back to where they were before the pandemic, addressing falling test scores and other factors before they look at further changes, she said.
The Blueprint bill also creates an accountability board of “unelected bureaucrats” appointed by the legislature that could withhold funding if schools don't meet requirements of the plan, Miller said.
“What we need are people who are going to understand the impact of that and to be able to speak up for the teachers in the classroom, and for the families and the students,” she said.
She would like to bring that approach to other subject areas of General Assembly legislation.
“I plan to figure out what impact does it have on the farmer? What impact do things have on our police officers? What impact does it have on our doctors, our nurses, our health care providers, our small business, our entrepreneurs?
"Anything that's passed in Annapolis has the impact on our entire county. And families don't feel like Annapolis is reflecting their values right now.”
She realizes that as a Republican in Annapolis, her ability to get things done would be limited by the House's Democratic majority, unless she finds ways to work with colleagues from the other party.
It's an approach she said she's familiar with from her time on the Board of Education, where she often worked with people with whom she disagreed politically.
While there are certain core values she won't go against, there's still much that can get done, she said.
“There's so much common ground,” Miller said.
Name: April Fleming Miller
Hometown: Myersville
Occupation: Optometrist
Previous campaigns/offices: Served two terms on Frederick County Board of Education (2010 to 2018)
Social media: Facebook: April Fleming Miller for Delegate
Email: AprilFMiller@comcast.net | 2022-09-10T01:33:25Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Miller seeks seat in Annapolis as 'common-sense conservative' | Election Coverage | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/continuing_coverage/election_coverage/miller-seeks-seat-in-annapolis-as-common-sense-conservative/article_c1a988b8-6ad3-5c73-8883-260f507b39a7.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/continuing_coverage/election_coverage/miller-seeks-seat-in-annapolis-as-common-sense-conservative/article_c1a988b8-6ad3-5c73-8883-260f507b39a7.html |
Of the 950 permits, 857 were awarded to Maryland residents and about 125 of those went to Frederick County residents. Most of the applications (4,269) were from Maryland, 285 were from Pennsylvania, 87 from West Virginia, 37 from Virginia and 29 from Ohio. Other applicants were from Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Michigan, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas, and three from Washington, D.C. Applicants can check the drawing results and find more information about the October bear hunt at dnr.maryland.gov.
Tree Stand Safety Awareness Month
September is the month most hunters start heading back to the woods, and the Tree Stand Safety Awareness Month and the Tree Stand Safety Awareness Foundation, in Roanoke, Virginia, offers the ABCDs of tree stand safety: Always remove and inspect your equipment, Buckle on your full-body harness, Connect to the tree before your feet leave the ground, and Destination — share your stand location before every hunt. TSSA offers other tips for tree stand safety at its website, treestandsafetyawareness.org.
OWL Fall Fun Day
The Outdoor Women’s Life Fall Fun Day takes place 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 1 at the Smith Farm in Taneytown. Activities include archery, using chainsaws, handguns and shotguns, and tomahawk/knife throwing, and dog demonstrations. The cost is $45 for adults, $20 ages 16 and under, and includes all activities and lunch. For more information or to register, email melodys@verizon.net or call 410-756-6579.
Tea room open house
Built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, the tea room at Gambrill State Park, 8346 High Knob Road, Frederick, is a popular venue for showers, family reunions, weddings and business meetings. An open house at the tea room will be held 4 to 7 p.m. Sept. 14 for anyone who is curious about this local landmark. No reservations needed. For more information, call 301-271-3676.
—Sue Guynn
Black Bear Hunt Permits
Wildlife And Heritage Division
Smith Farm
Gambrill State Park Tea Room | 2022-09-10T06:08:26Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Outdoor Notes — Sept. 10 | Travel And Outdoors | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/lifestyle/travel_and_outdoors/outdoor-notes-sept-10/article_32f66af3-1cbd-5361-a903-1553f1c4c74a.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/lifestyle/travel_and_outdoors/outdoor-notes-sept-10/article_32f66af3-1cbd-5361-a903-1553f1c4c74a.html |
Albert D. "Junie" Riffle
Albert D. Riffle “Junie,” 97, of Frederick, Maryland, passed from this life on Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022, at Citizens Care and Rehabilitation Center in Frederick, Maryland. He was the husband of the late Audrey Louise Lewis Riffle.
Born Aug. 3, 1925, in Thurmont, Maryland, he was the son of the late Albert Johnson and Nellie Gertrude (Moser) Riffle.
Junie was a 1942 Graduate of Thurmont High School. He proudly served in the United States Army Air Corps from November 1943 to October 1945 in World War II. He was assigned the Ball Turret position on a B-24 Bomber, flying on 33 missions. Junie was employed by C&P Telephone Co. for over 35 years. He was a life member of Edwin C. Creeger American Legion Post 168 in Thurmont. He also was a member of the Telephone Pioneers of America.
Junie enjoyed visiting friends and family. He also enjoyed taking his “ride-abouts” with his son, Scott. They enjoyed their trips to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the Williamsburg, Virginia, area, the Chesapeake Bay area of Maryland, and the Delmarva beaches. His favorite motto was: “You have wheels? Let’s Go!” In 2021, they enjoyed traveling over 15,000 miles across the country. He enjoyed anything seafood, from eating crab cakes to going to Fords Fish Shack in Leesburg, Virginia, for weekly oysters on the half shell.
He is survived by his son, Scott Douglas Riffle, of Frederick, with whom he lived for four years; his brother, Franklin Riffle and wife Shirley, of Thurmont; and many loving nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his son, Larry; his daughter-in-law, Debbie; and his brothers, Elwood, Leroy and Kermit.
The family will receive friends from 12-1 p.m. Monday, Sept. 12, 2022, at Stauffer Funeral Home (Thurmont), 104 E. Main St., Thurmont, Maryland, where a celebration of Junie’s life journey will take place at 1 p.m. The Rev. James Hamrick will officiate. Interment will be private.
Thank you to Citizen Care staff who took care and provided support.
Memorial donations may be made to Frederick Health Hospice, P.O. Box 1799, Frederick, MD 21702 (hospiceoffrederick.org/Donate-Support.aspx.)
Dress is casual per the family.
Thurmont High School | 2022-09-10T06:08:32Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Albert D. "Junie" Riffle | Obituaries | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/albert-d-junie-riffle/article_b2953a5f-6f10-515c-8117-006a72dda43b.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/albert-d-junie-riffle/article_b2953a5f-6f10-515c-8117-006a72dda43b.html |
Beatrice (Bea) Viger
Beatrice (Bea) Viger, 83, of Frederick, Maryland, passed from this life on Friday, Sept. 2, 2022.
Born on March 19, 1939, in Lyster, Quebec, Canada, she was the daughter of the late Gustave Gagnon and Gertrude (Berard) Gagnon.
She moved to Hyattstown, Maryland, in 1965. Beatrice earned an associate degree from Frederick Community College and pursued a career in the computer field. In 1981, she moved to Bethesda, Maryland, and spent many years working as a computer programmer for ACTI and then at Watson Wyatt in Washington, D.C., where she retired from in 2000. After retiring, she moved to Frederick to be close to family.
Bea enjoyed playing tennis and bridge. She also loved going to the beach with family and friends as often as she could.
She is survived by daughter, Suzanne Viger (Michael Lyons); son, Steve Viger; grandchildren, Bobby, Andrew and Brian Viger, and Kimberly (Pete) Tucker; brothers, Leo Gagnon and Gerard Gagnon; sisters, Therese Gagnon, Henriette Gagnon, Pierette Perron (Jocelyn) and Helene DuBois (Camille); and sister-in-law, Marion Gagnon. She is also survived by two great-grandchildren and 21 nieces and nephews.
She is preceded in death by brothers, Marcel and Maurice; sister, Lucille Joudrey; sisters-in-law, Juliette and Regina; and brother-in-law, Merlyn Joudrey. She is also preceded in death by four nephews.
The family will receive friends from 4-7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022, at Stauffer Funeral Home, 1621 Opossumtown Pike, Frederick, MD 21702.
A memorial Mass will take place at 11 a.m. Friday, Sept. 16, 2022, at St. Katharine Drexel Catholic Church, 8428 Opossumtown Pike, Frederick, MD 21702. The Rev. Keith Boisvert will officiate. Interment will be private.
Memorial donations may be made in her name to Frederick Health Hospice.
Marion Gagnon | 2022-09-10T06:08:38Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Beatrice (Bea) Viger | Obituaries | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/beatrice-bea-viger/article_a6a0f18d-c0d7-58e7-8579-e04b7d28938c.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/beatrice-bea-viger/article_a6a0f18d-c0d7-58e7-8579-e04b7d28938c.html |
Fannie Ridge
It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our beloved Fannie Eleanor Misner Ridge (Meemaw), of Creagerstown, Maryland, on Sept. 7, 2022, at her residence. Fannie was born at home on Mud Cottage Road, Thurmont, on Feb. 10, 1933, to the late Victor Floyd Misner and Ida May (Wolfe) Misner. She was the loving wife of 41 years to Ernest (Bud) Walter Ridge, who predeceased her on March 15, 1993.
Fannie attended Thurmont High School and worked for 26 years at Claire Frock. She was an accomplished seamstress and passed her knowledge on to her daughters. As the years progressed and her health no longer permitted, she greatly missed her garden and preparing the family meals. She was a master cook from scratch and was often told that she should have her own restaurant. Fannie enjoyed listening to gospel music, watching cooking shows, her puzzle books and watching “her stories.”
Fannie was the last of her immediate family and was predeceased by brothers, Floyd, Albert, Keller, James, Lester, Victor, Austin and Harold; her sisters, Edna, Margie and Goldie; and a special niece, Patsy Misner Fritz. She was also preceded in death by two daughters, Mary Ellen and Trudy Ann; a daughter-in-law, Janet; and a granddaughter, Tina Misner Rippeon.
She is survived by her children, Alan Misner, Virginia Buhrman (Greg Sr.) and Robert Ridge Sr. (Chanene); 14 grandchildren; 20 great-grandchildren; numerous great-great-grandchildren; numerous nieces and nephews; a special niece, Carolyn Gray; sister-in-law, Pauline Ridge Grimes; and brothers-in-law, Roy Ridge (Peggy) and Charles Ridge (Ruth). She will also be remembered by a special friend, Rosie Andrew.
Many thanks to Chanene for her special love.
The family will receive friends from 6-8 p.m. Monday, Sept. 12 at Stauffer Funeral Home, 104 E. Main St., Thurmont. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 13 in the chapel of the funeral home. Interment will be in Creagerstown Cemetery.
Fannie Eleanor Misner Ridge | 2022-09-10T06:08:56Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Fannie Ridge | Obituaries | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/fannie-ridge/article_46677123-3279-5665-8832-ac9c479a4df3.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/fannie-ridge/article_46677123-3279-5665-8832-ac9c479a4df3.html |
Grayson Mercer
Grayson Wilson Mercer Jr., 83, of Bonneauville, Pennsylvania, passed away peacefully at his residence on Sept. 5, 2022. He was born Jan. 20, 1939, at Frederick Memorial Hospital to the late Grayson Wilson Mercer Sr. and Helen Louise Mercer.
Grayson grew up in Frederick, Maryland, attended Frederick High School, was a drum major in the marching band, and was a member of Demolay. He joined the U.S. Army and served for two years before starting a career in welding, working for Pratt and Whitney Aircraft Co., Frederick Welding and Supply Co. and Eastalco Aluminum Co. He also taught welding classes at West Frederick Middle School. Grayson owned and operated Tri-State Welding and Machine Co. in Frederick before moving to Pennsylvania, where he sold welding supplies for J.A. Cunningham Inc. and taught welding classes at Harrisburg Area Community College.
He was a member of Evangelical Lutheran Church, Frederick, and the men’s club of the church. He had assisted with collecting and counting the offerings during church services. Grayson was a Master Mason and a member of the Columbia Lodge, No. 58, AF & AM, and a member of the Frederick Civitan Club, where he served on various committees.
He enjoyed spending time at the shooting range, and reloading his ammunition in a work area he setup in his basement. He had a passion for animals, especially dogs, deer, and horses, with a deep admiration for Clydesdales.
Grayson is survived by six children, Mark Mercer and wife Elizabeth, of Frederick, Maryland, Michael (Mike) Mercer and wife Vida, of Merritt Island, Florida, Karen Mercer, of Bonneauville, Pennsylvania, Kevin Mercer and wife Sally, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Brian Mercer and wife Stacey, of Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, and Kathleen Mercer, of Bonneauville, Pennsylvania. In addition, Grayson is survived by 12 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren, and is preceded in death by his wife, Barbara Ann Mercer; and two great-grandchildren.
The family will receive friends at Evangelical Lutheran Church, 35 E. Church St., Frederick, MD 21701, on Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022, from 1-2 p.m., followed by the funeral services and interment at Mount Olivet Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family request donations be made in the memory of Grayson Mercer to: Central PA Horse Rescue, 100 Spangler Road, Lewisberry PA 17339, (centralpahorsesrescue.org) (717) 855-5188. | 2022-09-10T06:09:02Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Grayson Mercer | Obituaries | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/grayson-mercer/article_23606055-5b3c-5b24-9572-306f9d5c2693.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/grayson-mercer/article_23606055-5b3c-5b24-9572-306f9d5c2693.html |
Gregg Catherine McCornack
Gregg Catherine McCornack, age 83, went to be with the Lord on Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022.
Catherine was born Aug. 30, 1938, in Boston, Massachusetts, to the late Willard and Catherine (Kelly) McCornack. For 35 years, Catherine worked on both sides of the aisle with the United States House of Representatives. Catherine would eventually move to California, where she performed many volunteer hours with the American Red Cross and Betty Ford Clinic. Upon moving to Toledo, Ohio, she was a member at the Fairgreen Presbyterian Church, where she also served as an ordained deacon. For those who knew Catherine well, you knew of her love of dogs. She never met one she didn’t like and spent both her time and her treasures in support of their care.
In addition to her parents, Catherine is predeceased by her siblings, Richard K., Margaret F. and Sara B. McCornack.
Catherine is survived by many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
A graveside service is being planned for November at Resthaven Memorial Gardens in Frederick, Maryland.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a memorial contribution to the Fairgreen Presbyterian Church Food Pantry (3220 W Laskey Rd, Toledo, OH 43613) or to Lollypop Farm.
Funeral services have been entrusted to the Walter E. Baird & Sons Funeral Home Inc. in Wayland, New York. To offer online condolences, please visit bairdfuneralhomes.com. | 2022-09-10T06:09:09Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Gregg Catherine McCornack | Obituaries | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/gregg-catherine-mccornack/article_75821af0-91b8-5cf3-934a-96bc1bf08246.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/gregg-catherine-mccornack/article_75821af0-91b8-5cf3-934a-96bc1bf08246.html |
James Anderson, 73, of Mount Airy, Maryland, passed from this life on Monday, Aug. 15, 2022, at MedStar Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C.
Born Feb. 8, 1949, in Frederick, Maryland, he was the son of the late James Anderson and Ethel Clara (Hammett) Anderson.
Jim worked at Geico in Washington, D.C., then in Fredericksburg for 45 years.
He was a car enthusiast, having had several old Mustangs and Corvettes. While in Fredericksburg, he attended car rallies, showing off his cars. He also raised Quaker Parrots and had a knack for growing beautiful orchids. After retiring, he loved to watch old Westerns and Perry Mason reruns.
He is survived by sisters, Jane Browning, with whom he lived, and Betty and husband, Dick of Florida; He is also survived by friend, Jeffrey P. Woytko.
Graveside services and interment were held on Aug. 26, 2022, at Howard Chapel United Methodist Church Cemetery. | 2022-09-10T06:09:15Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | James Anderson | Obituaries | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/james-anderson/article_abdb66a5-cd3b-5dd8-9a74-82115ae480cd.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/james-anderson/article_abdb66a5-cd3b-5dd8-9a74-82115ae480cd.html |
Joyce Lou Anne Rayburn
Joyce Lou Anne Rayburn (nee Dobson) was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. She received her bachelor’s degree at Purdue University, where she became an active lifelong member of Phi Mu. Following college, Lou Anne returned home to Baltimore and became a teacher. It was here where she married the love of her life, Richard Gray Rayburn.
Richard and Lou Anne raised three children while moving seemingly every year from city to city following his career. While Richard ran the railroad, Lou Anne ran the household. She navigated each new community, home and schools, all while creating a new social network in each new town. Lou Anne quickly became as successful at running the business of the family as Richard’s career continued to flourish.
Lou Anne was creative and had an eye for the art of needlepoint, knitting and scherenschnitte. As a natural teacher, she passed these gifts to her friends, students and family. She was a skilled baker whose pies are still a family legend. When she and Richard retired, they moved onto Sunnymeade, their farm in Frederick, Maryland, which became the centerpiece of the Dobson-Rayburn family. She volunteered at the Maryland Historical Society and Schifferstadt Architectural Museum.
Following Richard’s death in 1996, she remained in Frederick until 2012, when she moved to Cleveland, Ohio, to be closer to her grandchildren: Haley, Kirby and Olivia. Although she will miss Haley’s wedding to Timothy Rupprecht, she will be there in spirit.
Lou Anne is survived by her children, Anne (David) Smith, of Austin, Texas, and Thomas (Laura), of Cleveland, Ohio; son-in-law, Richard Lind, of Rio Rancho, New Mexico; three grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, Richard; eldest daughter, Nancy Lind; her parents; and a brother.
Lou Anne will be deeply missed by the countless people whose lives she touched, and her large extended family scattered throughout the U.S. Thank you, Mom, for all you gave us in love, care, guidance and joy.
Donations can be made in remembrance of Lou Anne to the Judson Foundation (judsonsmartliving.org/foundation) or the Phi Mu Foundation (phimufoundation.org).
Anne Rayburn
Lou Anne
Richard Gray Rayburn
Richard Lind | 2022-09-10T06:09:21Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Joyce Lou Anne Rayburn | Obituaries | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/joyce-lou-anne-rayburn/article_fe51275a-23ce-51cd-8627-43711af8a03a.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/joyce-lou-anne-rayburn/article_fe51275a-23ce-51cd-8627-43711af8a03a.html |
Mark Herr
Mark Willis Herr Sr., 83, of Walkersville, Maryland, passed away peacefully in his home on Aug. 24, 2022. He was born Nov. 12, 1938, in Oak Park, Illinois, to the late Leo and Rose Herr.
Raised in Chicago and Florida, Mark received building construction and business administration degrees from the University of Florida. His status as a “Golden Gator” alum was an immense sort of pride for him. He settled in Frederick in 1983, and worked for Castle Homes, which was founded by his late brother, Charles Castle. Over the years, Castle Homes built hundreds of single-family homes and condominiums in the subdivisions of Fairfield, Fredericktowne and Old Farm among others. After stints with John S. Williams architects and GSA, where he managed several renovations for major government buildings, Mark went to work for Frederick County Public Schools as a senior project manager for 13 years, retiring in 2010. Never one to sit around, Mark embarked on a 10-year “career” with ECS Geotechnical and Facilities Engineers, as a fireproofing, waterproofing and roofing inspector, officially “retiring” in 2021.
Mark’s passions included his family, physical fitness and his relationship with Christ. At age 80, he hiked into the Grand Canyon and camped on the Canyon floor. A man of strong faith, he belonged to many congregations, the last of which was Glade Valley Church of the Brethren, where he dedicated much of his time, effort and resources to the advancement of the church of which he was very proud. Through his connection to Glade Valley, Mark was also the project manager for two multi-million-dollar additions to Fahrney Keedy Senior Living Community in Boonsboro, Maryland. Finally, Mark was known as “Santa” in and around Frederick. For many years, he brought joy and gifts to countless children and seniors in hospitals and senior living facilities as St. Nick, the expense of which he covered himself.
Mark is survived by six children, Mark Herr Jr. (children, Stephanie, Mark III, Ashley and Alex), of Walkersville, Kamala Kramer (Scott; child Leiana), of Scottsdale, Arizona, Joe Herr (Leyla; children, Jadon, Cailyn and Jaxon), of Bradenton, Florida, Lyza Rutkowski (Eddie; children, Sam, Oscar and Hollis), of Bradenton, Florida, Richard Haratine (Meghan; children, Elliott, Isaac, Asher and Oliver), of Arlington, Texas, and Sam Haratine (Laura; children, Davis and Hiatt), of Orlando, Florida; as well as six great-grandchildren. In addition, Mark is survived by his very dear friend, Judy Boyer, her son, Chris and wife Paula, and their two children, Michelle Bonasera (Jason; children, Adriana, Amilia, Adalina, Angelo and Anthony) and Brian (Kathleen; children, Kace and Colt).
A time of remembrance will be held at 11:30 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, at Glade Valley Church of the Brethren, 2 Chapel Place, Walkersville.
Mark Herr Jr. | 2022-09-10T06:09:39Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Mark Herr | Obituaries | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/mark-herr/article_496e8892-ace4-5f9f-8892-f48f37933825.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/mark-herr/article_496e8892-ace4-5f9f-8892-f48f37933825.html |
From July to early September, the waters are at their warmest and many insects are hatching. Because of this, dry fly fishing for trout becomes very effective.
Wikimedia Commons, NPS
Nature Notes: Native brook trout
The brook trout is the only native char we have in Frederick County. Brook trout are native to the eastern United States and Canada, extending from Georgia to the Hudson Bay and westward into the Great Lakes states.
Brook trout are also known as speckled trout in Canada, where many of these fish are found in larger lakes and ponds. They are very colorful fish, olive to brownish-back with white, wormlike markings (called vermiculations) across the back. Brookies have whitish sides, often with pink to red dots with a bluish halo surrounding them. The lower fins of these fish may have orange markings on them.
The male trout develops deep reddish to orange color on their flanks during fall spawning season. Brook trout have a square tail that give them their “squaretail” nickname. They require cold, clear, well-oxygenated water that lies within a narrow pH level.
These fish can live in small streams, rivers, lakes and are even found in Lake Superior. Stream inhabitants usually attain a length of 5 to 7 inches, whereas lake run fish can attain a size of 5 pounds or more. Brook trout found in Lake Superior can grow to a size in excess of 10 pounds.
Brook trout are voracious eaters, become mature quickly and have a relatively short life span, usually three to five years. They have a relatively high reproductive potential, with females laying up to 400 eggs. Where they occur together, brook “speckled” trout and lake trout can hybridize to create a fish called a splake.
Because brook trout are very demanding of site conditions, they are a good indicator of stream vitality. Only the cleanest and healthiest of streams can support viable populations of this fish. Their numbers have been declining steadily throughout the East due to urbanization, sedimentation, stream temperature rise, stocking of non-native fish (especially brown trout), acid rain and pollution.
In Frederick County, only a small fraction of our streams continue to support brook trout populations; they are usually at the upper ends of the watershed in small reaches. The Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture, a comprehensive multi-state study and restoration program for brook trout, was initiated in 2005; it was intended to assess brook trout populations, find healthy, breeding populations, and develop strategies for the protection of remaining viable populations and restoration of brook trout into suitable locations. This ongoing project involves many government and private organizations.
The largest concentration of healthy brook trout waters in the U.S. can be found in Maine, which contains nearly 90 percent of the brook trout waters found in the lower 48 states. Brook trout have been stocked outside their native range in the West and throughout the world. In some areas, these fish have become invasive pests harming native trout populations. | 2022-09-10T06:09:45Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Nature Notes: Native brook trout | Frederick County | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/places/local/frederick_county/nature-notes-native-brook-trout/article_88771bb5-0657-5d32-a903-1aab976bdade.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/places/local/frederick_county/nature-notes-native-brook-trout/article_88771bb5-0657-5d32-a903-1aab976bdade.html |
By Patrick Stevens The Washington Post
“He’s exactly the poster child of what you want out of a Terp,” Locksley said. “Here you have your starting tailback running down on kicks and doing all the dirty work and little things that a lot of people don’t want to do. To me, that’s kind of the DNA of what we’re developing as a team, a bunch of guys that are like Roman Hemby when it comes to unselfishness.”
Hemby
Michael Locksley | 2022-09-10T06:09:57Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Roman Hemby made a strong impression for Maryland in his first start | Collegiate | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/sports/level/collegiate/roman-hemby-made-a-strong-impression-for-maryland-in-his-first-start/article_f0288183-31b6-5c0a-8b17-064caddd0512.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/sports/level/collegiate/roman-hemby-made-a-strong-impression-for-maryland-in-his-first-start/article_f0288183-31b6-5c0a-8b17-064caddd0512.html |
Brunswick’s Ben Wells runs through Thomas Johnson defenders Emijahe Addison, left, and Joziah Mckenzie at Thomas Johnson High School on Friday. Wells scored the first touchdown of the game.
Brunswick football goes to Wells often in rout of Thomas Johnson
Finding himself under JT Harich and Devin Philips on Brunswick's running back depth chart last season, Ben Wells didn't get many carries.
He understood.
"They were two seniors, they were in front of me, and I was a sophomore," he said. "They both were doing really well. It was just hard work trying to get in front of them, but I tried my best."
And given the chance to be the Railroaders' feature back in Friday's game against Thomas Johnson, Wells looked well-equipped to handle the job.
Taking 26 of Brunswick's first 27 carries, Wells rushed for 209 yards and two touchdowns. He also scored the game's first touchdown on a 24-yard catch-and-run, helping the Railroaders roll to a 42-23 win over the host Patriots.
This was a bounce-back win for the Railroaders, who were coming off a 35-0 loss to South Carroll in last week's season opener, which came during a week when the Railroaders had seven players out sick at one point.
"We went into last week banged up," Brunswick coach Jerry Smith said. "Yes, South Carroll was a really good team, but I think we definitely have a lot of left to show. And so this week was really about cleaning up our stuff and getting really good at what we do, and each week, we'll just add and add."
After getting blanked in their opener, the Railroaders wasted little time getting on the scoreboard for the first time of 2022, crafting a six-play, 51-yard touchdown drive on their first possession.
Wells finished things off by catching Ethan Houck's short pass and speeding down the left sideline to complete the 24-yard play with 5:23 left in the first quarter. The junior also carried the ball four times for 28 yards on the that drive, setting the tone for a night that saw him rush for more yards than he did all of last season.
"We told Ben we were going to work him," Smith said.
Brunswick Thomas Johnson Football Gallery
Scenes from the Brunswick vs. Thomas Johnson football game at Thomas Johnson High School on Friday.
In photos: Brunswick vs. Thomas Johnson Football
While Wells often used his power to gain additional yards, occasionally dragging a pile of defenders with him, he often found inviting holes created by his linemen.
"The line, they worked so hard this week. I'm thankful for them," said Wells, who seemed to have little trouble identifying holes. "Basically, I just read holes, I read blocks and I just bounce off the back and just go through. It's all instinct, really."
Wells scored on touchdown runs of 18 and 5 yards. The latter, which gave Brunswick a commanding 28-7 lead with 6:43 left in the third quarter, turned out to be the junior's last official carry of the night.
Brunswick then gave freshman Andre Phillips and senior Isaac Herbert some work. Herbert scored on a 28-yard run.
"Ben's more of a power back," Herbert said. "I see a hole and I just hit it real quick, more of a speed back."
Herbert also was a big contributor for Brunswick's defense, making an interception and teaming up with Nathan Nedrow on back-to-back tackles for loss in the first quarter to help set the tone for a first-string defense that enjoyed a solid night.
TJ's only touchdown in the first half came on Emijahe Addison's 90-yard kickoff return at the 11:33 mark of the second quarter.
Brunswick's defense also recovered two fumbles, including one pounced on by Nedrow after Wells (who is a linebacker) made a strip sack in the fourth quarter.
And while the Railroaders pounded the ball most of the night, Houck threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Payton Dean, who hauled in the ball after it sailed just beyond the reach of a TJ defender near the left sideline.
Houck also scored on a 2-yard run in the third quarter.
"I was really proud of our effort," Smith said. "This week we had a better week, not our best, but still a better week, and then we're just going to get ready for Boonsboro next week."
In the fourth quarter, TJ (0-2) got a pair of touchdowns on Mikhai Evans' 1-yard run and Jackson Bittner's 27-yard touchdown pass to Avree Harris.
Jt Harich | 2022-09-10T06:10:03Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Brunswick football goes to Wells often in rout of Thomas Johnson | High School Sports | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/sports/level/high_school/brunswick-football-goes-to-wells-often-in-rout-of-thomas-johnson/article_bc927396-48f9-5a6d-a7ca-eaddf2732cef.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/sports/level/high_school/brunswick-football-goes-to-wells-often-in-rout-of-thomas-johnson/article_bc927396-48f9-5a6d-a7ca-eaddf2732cef.html |
Pryor's breakout fuels Frederick football's rout of Middletown; stadium evacuated after incident in stands
Davian Pryor is a quiet, laid-back, hard-working kid.
He's a good student, too.
"I think he is one of two kids in the program that has straight A's right now," Frederick High football coach Kevin Pirri said.
Given his low-key personality and given that he operates in the rather large shadow cast by talented teammates Travon Neal and Tae Anderson, Pryor has been easy for those outside the team to overlook.
But that figures to change following Frederick's 42-14 home win over Middletown on Friday night that snapped an 11-game losing streak to the Knights (1-1) that dates to 2008.
Emerging from the shadows, Pryor caught eight passes for 225 yards. He caught a couple of short balls from quarterback Brian Mbuthia and turned them into 80 and 57 yard touchdowns, respectively, with his ability to run and elude defenders.
"Playmaker," Mbuthia said with a big smile. "Give him the ball and he is going to make a play."
The only thing that overshadowed Pryor's performance Friday night was a disturbance in the stands that prompted a police response and compelled school officials to evacuate the stadium of spectators.
With Frederick (2-0) leading 29-14 with 3 minutes, 34 seconds to play in the third quarter, the game was delayed 25 minutes and the teams left the field while the stadium was emptied.
As fans left the game, it was announced over the public-address system that there was no eminent danger, and the evacuation seemed to be more of a preemptive action after a fight broke out in the stands.
"They were concerned," Pirri said of his players. "It was kind of a chaotic moment for them. Once we figured out what was going on, we were able to roll them back in and get them back focused. They responded well. Adversity is not new to us."
Middletown coach Collin Delauter said his team responded "decently" to the situation. The Knights retreated to the Frederick High gymnasium while the stadium was cleared.
"It's an experience that none of them have ever experienced before," Delauter said.
Said Travon Neal, a team leader for Frederick who caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Mbuthia late in the second quarter, about the incident, "That was horrible. That was bad by our community. We can't be doing stuff like that."
Neal was decidedly more upbeat about Pryor's performance.
"Davion played like an absolute [stud]," he said. "We have the best receiving corps in the county, hands down."
Neal described Pryor as "a quiet kid that is gonna come and play football. He wants it more than anybody else. He is really going to go after every play. He wants it."
When asked about the impact his performance might have on the rest of the season, Pryor said, "It's going to keep continuing."
Pirri said Pryor's coming-out-party was "a shame" because "now everybody knows about him." He won't catch any opponents by surprise anymore.
He's yet another weapon in Frederick's already loaded offensive attack.
"That's kind of our challenge this year," he said. "We have so many kids and so many athletes and not enough footballs to go around. It's really trying to find who the hot hand is and who we can get the ball to that puts the defense at the biggest disadvantage."
On the other hand, Middletown was too mistake prone.
A week after running over Tuscarora, the Knights turned the ball over twice and botched a punt snap. All three mistakes led to touchdowns for Frederick.
The Knights showed some life right at the start of the second half, as senior Colby Moran returned the kickoff 66 yards, leading to a 2-yard touchdown run by Carson Smith, who tied a school record with five touchdowns last week.
Smith earlier scored after slipping out of the backfield on a 39-yard pass from quarterback Camren Baker. Smith now has seven touchdowns on the season.
"Overall, we came out flat," Delauter said. "I was happy with how we responded in the second half. We made a lot of errors that can't be made against a good football team."
Travon Neal
Tae Anderson | 2022-09-10T06:10:10Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Pryor's breakout fuels Frederick football's rout of Middletown; stadium evacuated after incident in stands | High School Sports | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/sports/level/high_school/pryors-breakout-fuels-frederick-footballs-rout-of-middletown-stadium-evacuated-after-incident-in-stands/article_097be346-9d72-50ab-812c-732fb70aa7f0.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/sports/level/high_school/pryors-breakout-fuels-frederick-footballs-rout-of-middletown-stadium-evacuated-after-incident-in-stands/article_097be346-9d72-50ab-812c-732fb70aa7f0.html |
St. John's Catholic Prep football honors Lyons, falls late against FSK
BUCKEYSTOWN — After a sobering week reminding them of just how fragile life can be, St. John’s Catholic Prep took to its home turf Friday night looking to play its strongest football and show it was able to get over the mental hurdles presented by the past week.
“We just had to lock in,” said senior running back Drew Hutchins, who rushed for 33 yards on 12 carries.
The Vikings did that early, taking a one-score lead in the first half. But the finish lacked a spark, and Francis Scott Key rallied for a 22-14 win.
The contest was dedicated to Winters Mill junior lineman Greyson Lyons, who did not get up after a defensive play late in the second quarter of last week’s contest. Medics performed CPR on Lyons and used an automated external defibrillator after his heart failed.
He was flown to University of Maryland Shock Trauma in Baltimore, where he is making progress in his recovery.
Lyons weighed heavy on the minds of the SJCP players, students and staff all week, and at Friday’s contest, fans from both teams wore gray to honor him. The Vikings’ student section also posted a banner emblazoned with “#GreysonStrong” and his jersey No. 52.
It was then a question of how SJCP’s players would play Friday night after experiencing such a traumatic event.
Though the first drive was inauspicious — the Eagles recovered a turnover on the opening kickoff and scored a touchdown on Dom O’Hara’s 2-yard rush — the rest of the first half was a positive sign for the Vikings (1-1).
They marched 57 yards on the ensuing possession, handing off to Javen Travis for a 5-yard touchdown. SJCP converted the two-point try and took the lead.
The defense then held FSK at bay on four straight drives, scooping a fumble to set up Hutchins’ 1-yard touchdown run that put the Vikings ahead 14-7 entering the break.
“Really proud of the way they responded,” Vikings coach Nate Marr said. “They went through a lot last week, and to see the way we came out the gate firing on cylinders, I’m really proud of how they performed.”
But for as much as that start was impressive in overcoming adversity, the offense faltered in the second half, giving the Eagles (1-1) a chance to come back.
The Vikings only crossed midfield for one brief play in the final 24 minutes, and they barely held the ball thanks to FSK’s grinding rushing attack eating time off the clock. The Eagles knotted the contest at the end of the third quarter with a 1-yard run by Jermaine Dawson, who finished the game with 137 yards on 22 carries.
Then, just as SJCP’s defense came up with its second fourth-down red zone stand a few minutes later, FSK rushed Vikings quarterback Shane Meyer (6 of 15, 46 passing yards) and forced a fumble that turned into a 15-yard defensive touchdown for lineman Gary Bavetta.
“Nothing we weren’t expecting, nothing we weren’t prepared for … they just executed,” Marr said. “They kept our defense on the field. And then we just didn’t make enough plays on the offensive side of the ball. That’s how it goes.”
It was the decisive blow, one that left SJCP frustrated at its squandered opportunities. There were drops, turnovers and bad reads.
But the Vikings were able to take their home field and complete a contest, honoring a compatriot in the process.
“We got to keep our heads up and just push through it,” Hutchins said. | 2022-09-10T06:10:16Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | St. John's Catholic Prep football honors Lyons, falls late against FSK | High School Sports | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/sports/level/high_school/st-johns-catholic-prep-football-honors-lyons-falls-late-against-fsk/article_fbc82576-3e95-5e97-9800-acc5e7f2126c.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/sports/level/high_school/st-johns-catholic-prep-football-honors-lyons-falls-late-against-fsk/article_fbc82576-3e95-5e97-9800-acc5e7f2126c.html |
FILE - Members of the Eritrean and Ethiopian Christian Orthodox community from Tel Aviv stand in the waters of the Jordan River during a baptism ceremony as part of the Orthodox Feast of the Epiphany at the Qasr al-Yahud baptismal site, near the West Bank town of Jericho on Friday, Jan. 19, 2018.
AP Photo/Oded Balilty, File
A cow crosses the Jordan River near Kibbutz Karkom in northern Israel on Saturday, July 30, 2022. Symbolically and spiritually, the Jordan is of mighty significance to many as the place where Jesus is said to have been baptized.
AP Photo/Oded Balilty
Christian pilgrims stand in the waters of the Jordan River during a baptism ceremony as part of the Orthodox Feast of the Epiphany at the Qasr al-Yahud baptismal site, near the West Bank town of Jericho, on Friday, Jan. 19, 2018. Tourists and pilgrims come to the river from near and far, many driven by faith, to follow in Christ’s footsteps, to touch its water, to conjure up biblical events.
By MARIAM FAM Associated Press
ALONG THE JORDAN RIVER (AP) — Kristen Burckhartt felt overwhelmed. She needed time to reflect, to let it sink in that she had just briefly soaked her feet in the water where Jesus is said to have been baptized, in the Jordan River.
"It's very profound," said the 53-year-old visitor from Indiana. "I have not ever walked where Jesus walked, for one thing."
Tourists and pilgrims come to the site from near and far, many driven by faith, to follow in Christ's footsteps, to touch the river's water, to connect with biblical events.
Symbolically and spiritually, the river is of mighty significance to many. Physically, the Lower Jordan River of today is a lot more meager than mighty.
By the time it reaches the baptismal site, its dwindling water looks sluggish, a dull brownish green shade.
Its decline, due to a confluence of factors, is intertwined with the entanglements of the decades-old Arab-Israeli conflict and rivalry over precious water in a valley where so much is contested. Championing the transboundary Jordan's revival without wading into the thicket of the disputes that have fueled its deterioration can be a challenge.
A stretch of the river, for instance, was a hostile frontier between once-warring Israel and Jordan; river water also separates Jordan on its eastern bank from the Israeli-occupied West Bank, seized by Israel in a 1967 war and sought by the Palestinians for a state.
"It's a victim of the conflict, definitely. It's a victim of people, because it's what we did as people to the river, basically, and now adding to all this it's a victim of climate change," said Yana Abu Taleb, the Jordanian director of EcoPeace Middle East, which brings together Jordanian, Palestinian and Israeli environmentalists and lobbies for regional collaboration on saving the river. "So it's a victim in every way."
EcoPeace has said for years that the Lower Jordan River, which runs south from the Sea of Galilee, is particularly threatened by decades of water diversions for agriculture and domestic use and by pollution. Only a tiny fraction of its historical water flow now reaches its terminus in the Dead Sea, not far south from the baptismal site that Burckhartt visited.
That's one reason the Dead Sea has been shrinking.
Standing at the Jordanian baptismal site Bethany Beyond the Jordan, Burckhartt, a Presbyterian, said the river's water felt cold on her skin, offering a respite from the sweltering heat around her. In the jumble of emotions, she grappled with, she could also feel sadness for the river's dwindling.
"I am sure God above is also sad."
The Bible says Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River.
The river's eastern bank, modern-day Jordan, and its western one both house baptismal sites, where rituals of faith unfold, a reflection of the river's enduring religious, historical and cultural allure.
The river holds further significance as the scene of miracles in the Old Testament; after years of wandering the desert, the ancient Israelites are said to have crossed the Jordan on dry ground after the water was stopped for them to pass.
At the Jordanian baptismal site on the eastern bank recently, a woman dipped her feet in the waters and then cupped some with her hands, rubbing it on her face and over her head. Others touched the river and crossed themselves or bent over to fill empty bottles.
Charlie Watts, a tourist from England, submerged a wooden cross -- a gift and a blessing for his Christian mother back home. "I took a video ... so I can show her that it was true," Watts said.
While he is not as religious as his mother, the 24-year-old still considered his visit to the Jordanian site special: "What made it surreal is to think that this is what started the world movement of Christianity."
In an interview, Rustom Mkhjian, director general of the Baptism Site Commission in Jordan, spoke passionately about the Jordanian site's claim to authenticity and its preservation as it was in the time of Christ and John the Baptist. UNESCO has declared it a World Heritage Site "of immense religious significance to the majority of denominations of Christian faith, who have accepted this site as the location where Jesus" was baptized.
"Every year we celebrate interfaith harmony, and among my happiest days in my life is days when I see Jews, Christians and Muslims visit the site and the three of them cry," Mkhjian said. "The present spot where we are is a site with a great message needed: Let us build human bridges of love and peace."
The Jordanian and West Bank sites both give visitors access to the river, where they come face to face, a narrow stretch of the waterbody between them. An Israel flag at the West Bank's Qasr al-Yahud serves as a reminder to those in Jordan that the river is a frontier separating the two worlds.
That site is also billed as where, according to tradition, Jesus was baptized. Jordan and Israel compete for these people's tourism dollars.
Several people in flowing white robes waded in from the West Bank recently, posing in a semicircle for photos. Visitors in another group stood on riverbank steps or in the water itself as two men in black, apparently clerical attire poured river water over their heads.
In the background some sang, their voices heard back on the Jordanian side:
"Oh, Brothers, let's go down. ... Down in the river to pray."
Such serene moments contrast with the military hostilities that have played out on the river's banks as part of the Arab-Israeli conflict. The river's history and its water have been as politically fraught as holy, and for decades land mines have lurked menacingly on banks that were once a war zone.
On the eastern bank, demining of the area where the Jordanian baptismal site now sits began after a 1994 peace treaty between Jordan and Israel.
On the West Bank, a team from The HALO Trust, a British-American charity, has cleared mines from areas housing churches in the vicinity of the Qasr al-Yahud site as recently as 2020. The site itself had opened for the public years earlier after Israel cleared a narrow road to the river, while the churches area remained off-limits and frozen in time for decades.
Work began to clear those mines in 2018, but only after three years of building trust and getting onboard all involved, from Israeli and Palestinian authorities to several Christian denominations that own the churches and lands, said Ronen Shimoni, who was part of the HALO effort.
"Nothing is simple here in the West Bank," Shimoni said.
It's against that turbulent backdrop that EcoPeace Middle East has been urging regional collaboration on the Jordan between rivals who have long had every motivation to squeeze as much water as possible out of the river or its tributaries.
"Any fresh water left in the river would have in the past been seen as empowering the enemy. ... You take everything that you can," said Gidon Bromberg, the group's Israeli director.
"There's legitimate need for the water. ... Water is scarce," he said. "But the conflict creates an incentive to take everything."
The result is that the Lower Jordan's annual discharge into the Dead Sea was estimated at 20 million to 200 million cubic meters compared to a historic amount of 1.3 billion cubic meters, according to a report published in 2013 by a U.N. commission and a German federal institute. Bromberg puts the current figure at no more than 70 million cubic meters.
"Israel, from a historical perspective, has taken about half the water, and Syria and Jordan have taken the other half," Bromberg said. "The pollution that's coming into the river is coming from Jordanian, Palestinian and Israeli sides and a little bit also from Syria."
Water use in the Jordan River basin is unevenly developed, the U.N.-German report said, adding that the Palestinians can no longer access or use water from the Jordan River itself. Syria doesn't have access to the river but has built dams in the Yarmouk River sub-basin, which is part of the Jordan River basin, it said.
For Palestinians in the West Bank, the only way to see the Jordan River is to visit the Israeli-run baptismal site there, said Nada Majdalani, EcoPeace's Palestinian director.
"The Jordan River in the past, for Palestinians, meant livelihoods and economic stability and growth," she said. Now, she added, it has been reduced to an "ambition of statehood and sovereignty over water resources."
The river's decline, she said, is especially disappointing to elderly Palestinians "who remember how the river looked ... and how they used to go fishing, how they used to have a dip in the river."
Bromberg said EcoPeace has been documenting the "lose-lose" nature of the river's deterioration for all parties.
"From a Jewish tradition, you know, the river and its banks are a place of miracles," he said. "Well, it doesn't reflect a place of miracles in its current depleted state."
In late July the Israeli government approved plans to rehabilitate a stretch of the Lower Jordan, a decision described by Environmental Protection Minister Tamar Zandberg as "historic" and the beginning of a correction.
"For decades it was neglected and most of its waters were taken, and it effectively turned into a sewage canal," Zandberg said in a statement. "In an era of climate crisis and a serious ecological crisis, there is double significance to rehabilitating the River Jordan and returning it to nature, the public, and hikers."
Speaking by phone, Zandberg said the plan focuses on a stretch that runs in Israeli territory and reflects Israel's improved water situation given its desalination program, which has left it much less reliant on water it has been using from the Sea of Galilee.
"Now, we're actually more equipped to do it," she said. "We have water."
She added she hopes the decision would showcase the river's potential and pave the way for broader collaboration on the rest of the Lower Jordan as well as send a signal to Jordan that "we are committed ... to our mutual assets," including the river.
"It can provide a success story on that segment, and then it will enable more successful partnerships in the future."
That's something that hasn't always come easily.
"Politics, sometimes, interferes and also budget issues and the trust... between the parties," Zandberg said.
A regional rehabilitation and development master plan announced in 2015 by EcoPeace and others was adopted by the Jordanian government but not by the Israelis or Palestinians due to outstanding "final-status" peace process issues, according to the group.
That plan said the lower part of the Jordan River will require at least 400 million cubic meters of freshwater per year to reach "an acceptable rehabilitation level."
Creation of a trust fund to finance de-pollution projects -- an effort that EcoPeace had viewed as less politically controversial -- stalled after a 2017 diplomatic crisis between Israel and Jordan and amid years of strained ties under the government of former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. There have been signs of improved ties since.
Not everyone in the region welcomes, or trusts, EcoPeace's calls for cooperation.
"Our job is tough. Our messages are challenged," said Abu Taleb, the group's Jordanian director.
"Because of having that, you know, Israeli chapter, we're always accused of being 'normalizers,'" or having normal relations with Israel, Abu Taleb said. That is a contentious topic, unpopular among many ordinary Arabs, citing factors such as Israel's open-ended occupation of lands it captured in 1967 and a lack of a resolution to the Palestinian issue. "The water knows no borders," Abu Taleb said.
Bromberg said he, too, has run into criticism from what he said was a vocal minority in Israel "inappropriately" branding their work as benefiting Jordanians and Palestinians at the expense of Israeli interests. "Sadly, there are people who think that if you're working with the other side, you must be working for the other side exclusively," he said.
Politics aside, the strain on some governments to meet water needs complicates calls to add water to the river.
Jordan, for instance, is one of the world's most water-scarce nations, and its challenges are compounded by a growing population swelled by waves of refugees.
"We are under stress, so we don't have a surplus to add to the Jordan River and to revive it despite the great importance of this to the Jordanians," said Khalil Al-Absi, an official with the Jordan Valley Authority.
"Solutions require concerted (regional) effort and the international community's" help, the Jordanian official said.
"We have many beautiful ideas for the Jordan River but there are limitations."
Climate change threatens to exacerbate such problems. "The impact of the climate change is seriously influencing the water resources," Al-Absi said.
According to the World Bank, the Middle East and North Africa region faces the greatest expected economic losses from climate-related water scarcity, estimated at 6% to 14% of GDP by 2050.
Advocates, like Bromberg, acknowledge that climate change makes a Jordan revival harder-- but argue that restoring the river and its banks offers economic incentives.
"The climate crisis brings home the issue of urgency that rehabilitating the river is perhaps the only way to prevent further instability in the valley," Bromberg said, "because it can create alternative revenues through tourism."
For all the river's challenges, Al-Absi, the Jordanian official, said he remained optimistic. The alternative could be grim.
"If there is no water, people won't come despite (the presence) of religious sites," he said. "Water is life. Without water, there is no life."
Fam reported from Bethany Beyond the Jordan and Amman, Jordan. Associated Press writer Ilan Ben Zion in Jerusalem contributed. | 2022-09-10T08:14:20Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Jordan River, Jesus' baptism site, is today barely a trickle | Culture | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/lifestyle/culture/jordan-river-jesus-baptism-site-is-today-barely-a-trickle/article_c4821bd6-e784-5f32-a7ab-ff0dbed895a3.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/lifestyle/culture/jordan-river-jesus-baptism-site-is-today-barely-a-trickle/article_c4821bd6-e784-5f32-a7ab-ff0dbed895a3.html |
This July 1, 2021, photo shows Emily Shapiro in Asbury Park, N.J. At 23, Shapiro says she doesn’t want to have children. Her decision is in line with dramatically low birth rates in the U.S.
Christen Zorzi via AP
This photo shows Dannie Lynn Murphy at home in Seattle on Aug. 18. At 28, Murphy says she has decided not to raise children. Her decision plays into a dramatic drop in birth rates in the U.S.
Dannie Lynn Murphy via AP
This March 2022 photo shows Alyssa Persson in Chicago. At 31, Persson has decided she will not have children. Her decision is in line with dramatically low birth rates in the U.S.
Alyssa Persson via AP
The graduate student, who works in legal services in Austin, Texas, has a list of reasons for not wanting to give birth: the climate crisis and a genetic health condition among them.
Other women interviewed also cited climate change, along with overwhelming student debt coupled with inflation, as reasons they’ll never be parents. Some younger men, too, are opting out, and more are seeking vasectomies.
“It was in our early 20s when the switch sort of flipped,” Kyah said. “We had moved to California, and we were really just starting our adult lives. I think we talked about having three kids at one point. But just with the economy and the state of the world and just thinking about the logistics of bringing children into the world, that’s really when we started to have our doubts.”
When Kyah’s IUD expires, Walter said he’ll consider a vasectomy, a procedure that was on the rise among men under 30 during the pandemic.
“These timelines that people created for themselves of, ‘I want to accomplish X by three years from now,’ changed. People weren’t necessarily willing to move the goalposts and say, ‘OK, I’m going to forgo these accomplishments and do this differently,’” she said. “People still want to travel. They still want to go to graduate school. They still want to meet certain financial benchmarks.”
Alyssa Persson
Dannie Lynn Murphy | 2022-09-10T08:14:39Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Gen Z, millennials speak out on reluctance to become parents | Lifestyle | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/lifestyle/gen-z-millennials-speak-out-on-reluctance-to-become-parents/article_04f349ca-8484-58e6-b033-1943f60850d6.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/lifestyle/gen-z-millennials-speak-out-on-reluctance-to-become-parents/article_04f349ca-8484-58e6-b033-1943f60850d6.html |
Building a stairway to heaven?
BOARD of CONTRIBUTORS I Dave Elliott
I stared hard at the photo covering my screen. It was amazing — the universe, the far outer edge of it, an image beyond the imagination of even Disney’s professional imagineers.
The picture was one of five taken by the James Webb Space Telescope and shared by NASA scientists at a spectacular show-and-tell a few weeks ago. The $10 billion instrument revealed a vast skyscape nearly 14 billion years old.
Like others around our own little Earth, I was awed and a little discombobulated, too. I felt small before, but now I felt downright insignificant. I was a meaningless speck of dust, something not even a microscope could see.
I fretted. I needed something to grab on to. I was losing my mental balance.
I called my old buddy Cosmo diConsperio, an amateur astronomer who spent a lot of time on his back porch looking at nighttime skies through a long, fancy telescope. He denied, as his wife claimed, that he was actually looking into his neighbors’ windows. He said he was studying the moon.
“Cos,” I said, “what do you think of the Webb photos? What do you make of them? I feel like the ground has collapsed under me.”
“Don’t worry, my friend,” he replied. “I understand how you feel, but there’s no reason to panic.”
Cos is also something of a philosopher, and he has an internal gyroscope that keeps him upright, optimistic and cheerful in the face of anything that challenges his view of reality. He’s one of those people who has an answer for everything. And he’s sure, absolutely sure.
“I’ve been studying this first Webb picture, with my magnifying glass,” he said. “And I’m pretty sure I’ve found it. I’ve found heaven.”
“You’ve found what?”
“Heaven,” he said. “H-E-A-V-E-N. You know, the pearly gates and the golden boulevards. Heaven. Up there. Heaven.”
I was so stunned I couldn’t reply.
Cos sensed my incredulity. “It’s up near the top of the photo, just a little left of center. It looks like one of those Christmas card starbursts.”
I did a quick search and pulled the photo up on my screen.
“There’s a bunch of those things,” I said. “They look more or less alike to me. How do you know which one is heaven?”
“It’s the gold-ish one,” he replied, a little irritated at my apparent doubt. “That should be pretty obvious.”
“Cos, I wouldn’t discuss this with anyone else if I were you,” I said. “Not till you can look into this a little deeper.
“They’re going to get more pictures,” I continued, “and you can study them, too, and see if they confirm you on this. You don’t want to jump to conclusions, like your wife does about you and your telescope.”
“I already sent a letter to NASA,” he said. “An email. I explained it pretty well, I think. I’m waiting to hear back. I‘m sure they’ll appreciate my discovery.”
“Cos,” I said, “maybe you should go back to tracing out the eyebrows on the man in the moon. That was an interesting project, and you were making good progress.”
“No, this is more important, a lot more important,” he replied. “I’m working on finding hell, too.”
“Hell?”
“Yeah, hell. You know, heaven up there, hell down here. Hell.”
“Cos, you better be careful. You better…”
“I sent a note to the Department of the Interior, and they referred me to the National Park Service. I told them I think hell is in Wyoming, under Yellowstone, and Liz Cheney has something to do with it.”
“Cosmo diConsperio, I wish you luck,” I said.
Dave Elliott is a farmer in Hedgesville, West Virginia, who doesn’t own a telescope but likes to sit on his porch and look up at stars on clear nights. | 2022-09-10T08:14:45Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Building a stairway to heaven? | Columns | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/opinion/columns/building-a-stairway-to-heaven/article_4fe51c13-7691-54a6-aff6-aec901b92247.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/opinion/columns/building-a-stairway-to-heaven/article_4fe51c13-7691-54a6-aff6-aec901b92247.html |
Frederick County’s harried commuters, whether they head south on Interstate 270 to Montgomery County and beyond or fight the battle of U.S. 15 within the county, got good news recently.
First, federal authorities gave final environmental approval to Gov. Larry Hogan’s plan to widen parts of the Capital Beltway and I-270 with toll lanes. The project is estimated to cost about $5 billion, and the approval was needed to receive federal funds.
It also means the state can now sign a 50-year contract with a private firm to build and manage the toll lanes, a goal of Hogan’s before he leaves office in January.
Then, the state Department of Transportation included $167.7 million to widen U.S. 15 from I-70 to Md. 26 in its draft six-year capital budget for transportation projects.
Widening the freeway — which is choked with traffic every morning and afternoon, often in both directions at the same time — has been a goal of city and county leaders for years.
Both projects offer hope that in the not-too-distant future, traffic capacity will increase on both roads. Both are desperately needed, but if anyone thinks they will solve the transportation crisis here, they are sadly mistaken.
Widening roads alone will not and cannot solve all of our transportation problems. Only undertaking many projects, as great as more road capacity and as small as better use of park-and-ride lots, will offer us hope of a solution.
Frederick County Executive Jan Gardner said she was excited the U.S. 15 funding was included in the draft plan.
“It has been on the top of our list for most of my time as county executive,” Gardner said.
Frederick Mayor Michael O’Connor echoed her sentiments, saying that funding for the project has been the city’s and county’s top transportation priority for “what feels like decades.”
The project plan would add one lane in each direction, using the median right of way. It would also include interchange improvements. But Gardner emphasized that it would not lead to taking any homes or other concerns she’s heard about.
The U.S. 15 project would appear to have clear sailing, if the Maryland General Assembly approves the six-year transportation plan when the new session begins in January. The I-270 project might face new legal challenges, but Hogan will work hard to get it approved before he leaves office.
Now, with U.S. 15 on track and I-270 getting closer, we need state and local transportation planners to work harder on solutions beyond the roads. Transit improvements are needed everywhere, but especially from Frederick to Montgomery in the I-270 corridor.
We need innovative thinking in other areas, as well.
One of the only positive things to emerge during the pandemic was the widespread option of working from home for many people. The effect was immediate and dramatic. It is a lesson from the horrible pandemic that would be worth keeping.
Other planners have suggested that widespread adoption of a four-day workweek would make a gigantic impact on traffic. If the federal government were to move large numbers of its hundreds of thousands of workers to a four-day schedule, with different days off midweek for all employees, it would increase the capacity of I-270 overnight.
Small improvements also could accrue into big savings. We have previously advocated for requiring remote parking and using more shuttle buses for big employers like Fort Detrick to ease congestion.
Planners need to keep an open mind and be willing to listen to all ideas to make traffic congestion more manageable. We are pleased these projects are moving forward, but we certainly cannot just build our way out of the problem.
I-270 Project | 2022-09-10T08:15:03Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | U.S. 15, I-270 work will ease congestion, but it's one small step | Editorials | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/opinion/editorial/u-s-15-i-270-work-will-ease-congestion-but-its-one-small-step/article_aac4a639-e019-5b83-b9b2-61381222cb17.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/opinion/editorial/u-s-15-i-270-work-will-ease-congestion-but-its-one-small-step/article_aac4a639-e019-5b83-b9b2-61381222cb17.html |
George Smith Frederick
William Bugg, whose letters appear regularly in the News-Post, has done it again. In a letter titled “America is in trouble,” (Page A9, Monday, Sept. 5 edition of The Frederick News-Post), Mr. Bugg blames many, if not all, of our problems on our current president. For example, inflation (which by the way is receding). The president has little or no power to regulate the economy. He did withdraw oil from our strategic reserve, which may have helped gas prices a bit. Our economy (if it can be regulated at all) is being addressed by Jerome Powell and the Fed, with a modicum of success. Immigration is another problem that has faced most of our recent presidents. Some have addressed it more successfully than others. We cannot and should not close our borders but continue to allow legal and controlled immigration. By the way, the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center was not carried out by immigrants, as Mr. Bugg implied. Our Constitution is not being ignored by our current president but by our former president and his MAGA followers. Joe Biden inherited a mess and is doing his best to clean it up. Let’s give him credit where credit is due. | 2022-09-10T08:15:15Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Joe Biden is not to blame for all of our problems | Letters to the Editor | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/opinion/letter_to_editor/joe-biden-is-not-to-blame-for-all-of-our-problems/article_a2f48fce-8f89-5654-a923-998ae20ecce1.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/opinion/letter_to_editor/joe-biden-is-not-to-blame-for-all-of-our-problems/article_a2f48fce-8f89-5654-a923-998ae20ecce1.html |
Some people walking along Market Street in Frederick on Saturday during the In The Streets festival dressed with an Alice in Wonderland theme.
There was plenty of music during the In The Streets festival in downtown Frederick on Saturday.
Shantrell Hamilton, left, and Robin Clayton chat with people about their organization, Stella's Girls of Maryland, at In The Streets on Saturday.
Jaelynn Jennifer West, a dancer at Anam Cara Dance in Frederick, performs at In The Streets on Saturday.
Akilah Mwariama, left, and Jarrett Myers speak with a man about their organization, Suns of ReAwakening, at In The Streets on Saturday.
Jason Flint, the head instructor of Tenshinsho Jigen Ryu Seibukan, spars with a young girl at his organization's booth at In The Streets on Saturday.
A small ensemble played tunes on the sidewalk on Market Street on Saturday during the annual In The Streets festival.
One corner of Market Street in downtown Frederick featured bubble making during the In The Streets festival on Saturday.
Some people who attended In The Streets got an up-close look at a snake.
One display at the In The Streets festival along Market Street on Saturday showed how lumber was turned into a square beam.
There was plenty of music at the In The Streets festival along Market Street in downtown Frederick on Saturday.
Young people got to try their punching skills at the In The Streets festival on Market Street in downtown Frederick on Saturday.
Jason Flint, left, the head instructor of Tenshinsho Jigen Ryu Seibukan, demonstrates Japanese sword arts at In The Streets festival on Saturday.
As Frederick's 'birthday,' In The Streets festival brings crowds downtown
In The Streets is “like Frederick’s birthday party,” said Barbara McLaughlin, who lives blocks away from the festival that consumes the city’s main thoroughfare once a year.
By McLaughlin’s assessment, the city threw another birthday bash Saturday, as crowds flocked downtown for In The Streets.
The festival put city restaurants, retail, entertainment, arts and nonprofit resources on full display for tens of thousands of people who attended.
Between 250 and 300 vendors lined Market Street. At a few intersections, people gathered to watch dancers from studios like Anam Cara Dance perform on platforms inches off the street, and Ocho de Bastos and myriad other bands play on elevated stages.
“We like to bring diversity and all types of musical genres to these types of festivals,” said Milton Rocco, the lead singer for Ocho de Bastos.
The Washington, D.C.-based band has played along the East Coast and other countries. Its members perform covers in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and, for a handful of songs, French.
“If we’re invited again, we’d love to come,” Rocco said.
Jen Martin, executive director of Celebrate Frederick, the nonprofit organization that organizes the festival, said people love the tradition of In The Streets.
In The Streets began in 1983 after major renovations closed Market Street for several months, Celebrate Frederick’s website states. Then-Mayor Ron Young decided to hold a local festival to encourage downtown reinvestment.
The inaugural festival — which drew about 10,000 people, according to Celebrate Frederick’s website — was held in the street.
On Saturday, near Carroll Creek Linear Park, a group demonstrated how to wield a Japanese sword.
They were part of Tenshinsho Jigen Ryu Seibukan, a martial arts school that teaches Japanese sword arts on Mondays at Fox Haven Organic Farm and Learning Center in Jefferson.
For a decade, Jason Flint, the school’s shihan, or head instructor, has led a group teaching Tenshinsho Jigen Ryu, a martial art founded more than 500 years ago in what is now Kagoshima, Japan.
“It’s not something you put on your bucket list, because it’s not something you know even exists,” Flint, an engineer, said of the art form.
Flint’s school is one of a handful in the world teaching Tenshinsho Jigen Ryu.
Flink has practiced martial arts for much of his life. He used to focus on karate and jujutsu, but an injury forced him to shift.
A friend guided him to sword arts. After learning about Tenshinsho Jigen Ryu at a seminar in 2008, he was hooked.
He said he hopes to educate as many people as possible about the Tenshinsho Jigen Ryu style, after numerous visits to the art’s home school in Tokyo.
“The goal has always been, as a student myself, to improve,” Flint said. “But as an ambassador for the ryu, [the goal] is to keep it going.”
Perhaps 100 yards up Market Street, Shantrell Hamilton oversaw a booth for Stella’s Girls, an international nonprofit organization. It aims to educate and empower girls to be leaders and agents of social change in their communities.
A central tenet of Stella’s Girls is The Red Flower Code, through which organization members teach girls and women about period taboos, proper hygiene and how to make safe reusable pads. Stella’s Girls has chapters in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Maryland, according to its website.
The Maryland chapter, founded in 2016 and based in Frederick, offers free one-on-one or group mentoring to help children navigate their adolescent years.
“There’s a deep need in Frederick to mentor our youth,” said Hamilton, the vice president for Stella’s Girls in Maryland.
Stella’s Girls in Maryland provides free after-school coding programs and organizes field trips across the state for mentees and mentors. Hamilton said she wants to offer international trips.
Robin Clayton, the community liaison for Stella’s Girls in Maryland, said In The Streets was an opportunity to attract more mentees and mentors.
“We’re here to fill a void that not everyone is aware of,” Clayton said.
People who are part of the Frederick-based organization Suns of ReAwakening also saw In The Streets as a chance to attract members.
Suns of ReAwakening, founded in 2013, is a community organization that, according to its Facebook page, organizes "our people to defend our class interest and to defeat the counterinsurgency that seeks to continue the systematic attacks against our people.”
Jarrett Myers, a Suns of ReAwakening member, said organization members run charity drives for items like coats and backpacks.
They educate African American people in Frederick about their history in the county, and about possible reparations over slavery.
Members on Saturday shared the group’s mission and reminded visitors about the organization’s roughly four-year campaign to “Take Back Mullinix Park” in Frederick.
“Suns of ReAwakening is petitioning the city of Frederick to return Mullinix Park to the African American community, to whom it was deeded,” a sign on the organization’s tent read. The sign included demands the organization has for the park, too, including the construction of an amphitheater.
After perusing Market Street and accumulating enough items from vendors to fill a small grocery bag, McLaughlin and her “best buddy from college,” Annette Chong, sat on a curb, people-watching, as they ate.
“It’s like Halloween,” but for information and pamphlets, McLaughlin said.
Despite living downtown, it had been a few years since McLaughlin attended In The Streets, the festival she dubbed the city’s birthday.
COVID-19 kept people away in 2020. But with Chong making the trip from Montgomery County, on an overcast but temperate Saturday, McLaughlin joined the party.
“I’m glad I did,” she said.
Barbara Mclaughlin | 2022-09-11T06:06:14Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | As Frederick's 'birthday,' In The Streets festival brings crowds downtown | Frederick County | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/places/local/frederick_county/as-fredericks-birthday-in-the-streets-festival-brings-crowds-downtown/article_5cb2eb72-710e-56de-bd2c-d342b92f0069.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/places/local/frederick_county/as-fredericks-birthday-in-the-streets-festival-brings-crowds-downtown/article_5cb2eb72-710e-56de-bd2c-d342b92f0069.html |
Moving Beyond High School HBCU College Fair
Moving Us Forward will host its inaugural Moving Beyond High School HBCU College Fair from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 17 at the Clarion Inn Frederick Event Center, 5400 Holiday Drive, Frederick.
This event is open to all Frederick County, Washington County and Montgomery County high school students and their parents. The Frederick County Public High School System is an event partner.
HBCU representatives from Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, Virginia State University, Maryland Eastern Shore University, Morris Brown College, Spelman College, Delaware State University, Morgan State University, Lincoln University, West Virginia State University, Bowie State University and other schools will be onsite to speak with students and parents.
Kimberly Scott, founder and president of Moving Us Forward, which is based in Frederick, believes she has a responsibility to ensure high school students in her community are introduced to higher education opportunities that Historically Black Colleges and Universities offer.
Students and parents will also have the opportunity to take part in various workshops.
• College Financial Aid, facilitated by Katrina Delgrosso-Head of Mid-Atlantic Campus and Event Development with College Ave Student Loans, will provide an overview of how the college funding process works, what forms are required, what types of information is collected from families, common deadlines that are important, how colleges put together a financial aid offer for each student and more.
• Paying for College Maryland Financial Aid, facilitated by Kendall Cook-Maryland Higher Education Commission Office of Student Financial Assistance, will provide information on sources and types of state financial aid programs, FAFSA, MDCAPS and state grants and scholarships.
• College Preparedness, facilitated by Vell Lyles, associate vice president for Strategic Enrollment and Innovations at Frederick Community College, will dive into planning process for college, taking the right high school classes to prepare for college, scheduling college visits and tours, taking the right entrance exams, applying for college admission and skills one should have prior to applying to college.
The event also includes guest speaker Josh Plesant of Coached by Plez, and participants will also have the opportunity to engage with several community partners throughout the fair.
Visit movingusforwardinc.com for details. | 2022-09-11T23:26:10Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Moving Beyond High School HBCU College Fair | Education | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/education/moving-beyond-high-school-hbcu-college-fair/article_66168e3b-7ef3-56ac-bb42-4f8176db5e25.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/education/moving-beyond-high-school-hbcu-college-fair/article_66168e3b-7ef3-56ac-bb42-4f8176db5e25.html |
Emmitsburg is a small town with mighty donors
The historic town of Emmitsburg takes up less than 2 square miles and has a population of a little more than 3,000. It sits tucked in the mountains in northern Frederick County.
While it’s generally not considered a bustling area, the town enjoys a strong sense of community. A commitment to the well-being of Emmitsburg and its residents can be seen in several funds created with The Community Foundation of Frederick County.
Robert “Bob” Rosensteel has lived in Emmitsburg his entire life – nearly eight decades. He said he loves the peace and quiet, and describes the beauty as second to none, with mountains and fresh air. “It’s a nice town to raise a family,” he said.
Rosensteel, a retired business owner, created The “Tribute to a Friend” Scholarship Fund with the Community Foundation to help Emmitsburg students reach educational goals.
He said he turned to the Community Foundation because he wanted to have a positive impact in his immediate community, but he didn’t want to manage the money or the application for and awarding of scholarship money.
“I had fundraised money to help people out, but I didn’t want to be involved in the day-to-day management of the project,” Rosensteel said.
The fund was created in memory of several people — David Copenhaver, Greg Hollinger, Tom and Sharon Topper, and Terry Myers.
Rosensteel said he was close friends with them and worked with them at the fire company. He said they all died within a relatively short period and each loss was felt throughout the community.
The Emmitsburg Area Fund was founded by the Emmitsburg Area Business and Professional Association to support local charitable organizations and residents. Allen Knott has worked in Emmitsburg for 17 years and is the fund’s advisor.
“The Emmitsburg Area Business and Professional Association functions kind of like a service organization and they created the fund to do two things,” Knott explained. “The fund basically supports the Emmitsburg food bank and a scholarship fund for students in the 21727 ZIP code.”
In addition to funds created specifically to support Emmitsburg and its residents, the Community Foundation provides grants for local projects and initiatives. The Women’s Giving Circle has supported a program at the Seton Center that provides dental work for low-income women. A strategic grant recently supported a Getting Ahead anti-poverty program.
Emmitsburg is a little town nestled at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, but its donors have shown a strong commitment to community through philanthropic giving.
Emmitsburg Area Fund
Robert Rosensteel | 2022-09-11T23:26:16Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Emmitsburg is a small town with mighty donors | Social issues | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/social_issues/emmitsburg-is-a-small-town-with-mighty-donors/article_a0be8b0c-117d-5891-9ce1-5bad7dd112ad.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/social_issues/emmitsburg-is-a-small-town-with-mighty-donors/article_a0be8b0c-117d-5891-9ce1-5bad7dd112ad.html |
Mount Airy Police Chief Doug Reitz, left, and Commander of American Legion Gold Star Post 191 Todd Morris prepare to lay a wreath in honor of Lt. Cmdr. Ronald Vauk. Lt. Cmdr. Vauk was a resident of Mount Airy, and died on Sept. 11, 2001 while working in the Pentagon.
Firefighter Ivan Browning plays “Amazing Grace” on the bagpipes Sunday during the 20th annual Patriot Day Ceremony at the Pine Grove Chapel and Cemetery in Mount Airy.
Jeremy Myers, commander of Mount Airy’s Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 10076, left, and Matthew Heard, past president of the Mount Airy Volunteer Fire Company and president of Pine Grove Chapel and Cemetery, lay a wreath in honor of Chief Warrant Officer William “Bill” Ruth Sunday during the 20th annual Patriot Day Ceremony at the Pine Grove Chapel and Cemetery in Mount Airy.
Mount Airy honors 9/11 victims during Patriot Day ceremony
During an intimate and solemn memorial service, Mount Airy honored the lives lost during the 9/11 terrorist attacks, including two of its own community members.
The sky was cloudy, but the weather was warm as people circled around the Pine Grove Chapel and Cemetery. An American flag was hanging at half-staff.
Lt. Cmdr. Ronald Vauk, 37, and Chief Warrant Officer William Ruth, 57, both died while serving at the Pentagon on 9/11, said Chad Wright, a speaker at the 20th annual Patriot Day Ceremony.
According to previous reporting, Vauk was working as the watch tower commander at the Naval Command Center in the Pentagon during the time of the attacks, while Ruth, who served in the U.S. Army, was last seen rushing to aid others.
Veteran groups, Boy Scout troops and a number of auxiliary units attended the service, in addition to Mount Airy community members. Vauk’s widow, Jennifer Vauk, also attended the service. She said it’s always reassuring to be a part of a community that makes a point to never forget.
“The kindness and just the spirit of the community that just never forgets, it’s very comforting,” she said.
Mount Airy Mayor Larry Hushour was a guest speaker at the service. He was stoic as he went through what he vividly remembered from that day.
He was staying at a hotel in Long Island at the time, he said, and he remembered seeing the plumes of smoke coming from the World Trade Center towers. He said he turned on his TV shortly after the north tower was hit. Then, on the screen, he saw the south tower get hit.
“That’s when that reality hit us all. That was no accident,” Hushour said.
Now, whenever Hushour flies into Boston Logan International Airport, Dulles International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport, he takes notice of the American flags flying at gates V32, C19, B26 and A17.
“Most passengers are unaware of what occurred at those exact locations, but I know,” he said. “All commercial pilots know, and we cannot walk on those jet bridges without pondering the sinking feeling that our fellow pilots and flight attendants experienced on that day.”
But Hushour acknowledged that many of the youth in attendance probably couldn’t feel the extent of the pain that others who saw 9/11 happen feel. It was the same for him when he was younger, he said.
Hushour’s parents always used to tell him about World War II, he said, but because he didn’t experience it, he could only politely nod and learn.
But he was grateful his parents told him about the war and brought him to meet veterans who fought in it, so he could remember them and what they went through, he said.
That’s why it was so important the youth were here, he said. After the “old-timers” are gone, he said, it would be up to the next generation to continue the solemn remembrance of 9/11, he said.
“I want you to know, we all want you to know, Sept. 11, 2001, is seared in our heads. It might as well be a scar on our bodies,” he said, emotion raw in his voice.
Following the speech, wreaths for Vauk and Ruth were placed in front of two headstones at the front of the chapel.
Firefighter Ivan Browning played “Amazing Grace” on the bagpipes. He marched away as the last, droning note finished.
On the right of the building, a group from the Maryland Patriot Guard Riders created a flag line and bowed their heads. The nonprofit organization of motorcycle riders honor veterans, first responders and fallen military heroes at memorial services, member Mark Krause, 61, said.
They come to these events to honor and respect those who keep Americans safe, he said. It was the first time they were invited to Mount Airy’s service.
“It’s the least we can do,” he said.
Wearing their red garrison caps, the Lance Corporal Deane Detachment Marine Corps League Firing Party lined up and fired three shots. And as the sound of a bugle playing “Taps” pierced the air, a breeze brushed past and waved the hanging flag.
Ronald Vauk
Larry Hushour | 2022-09-12T03:10:24Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Mount Airy honors 9/11 victims during Patriot Day ceremony | Mount Airy | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/places/local/frederick_county/mount_airy/mount-airy-honors-9-11-victims-during-patriot-day-ceremony/article_4e558fbe-0d37-5733-9edb-9e94e3c7d0d4.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/places/local/frederick_county/mount_airy/mount-airy-honors-9-11-victims-during-patriot-day-ceremony/article_4e558fbe-0d37-5733-9edb-9e94e3c7d0d4.html |
Barbara Mann
Barbara Krotchko Mann, of Frederick, Maryland, passed away on Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022, from metastatic cancer.
Barbara was born in 1932. She graduated from Doylestown High School before attending Albert Einstein Medical School in Philadelphia, where she earned a degree from the nursing program. She developed a small core of friends while there and cherished these women her entire life.
She had doodled in one of her nursing textbooks, “Graeme, my magnificent obsession,” so it was inevitable that in 1956 she married Graeme Mann, a recent graduate of the United States Coast Guard Academy who was her high school sweetheart. They had gone their separate ways during college but clearly did not leave each other behind. Shortly after their marriage, she began her life as a military wife. Barbara moved her family from Coast Guard assignment to assignment every three years, and while Graeme was at sea, she taught her children the importance of adaptability and being open-minded, as well as the value of diplomacy.
Her strength, independence and activism were instilled at an early age. Barbara’s house was grape-free in support of Caesar Chavez. As a zoning board member in Stratham, New Hampshire, she sued the town while her husband was a selectman. The local paper had a field day; the headline read “Wife Sues Town.” She worked the polls during every local and national election, and had re-qualified as recently as last month as a poll watcher for the upcoming elections. Trim and fit, she had a fabulous sense of style. Her critical powers remained to the end, and while her health might, fail her eye never did. Her stage whisper was never a whisper. Her family and friends knew she had no edit button, but you always knew where you stood with her.
She was the longtime president of the Stratham Historical Society (New Hampshire) and was instrumental in having its home, the Wiggin Memorial Library, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993. At the annual Stratham Fair, she established and managed the historical society pizza booth, earning thousands of dollars that was donated each year to the Volunteer Fire Department.
Barbara and her husband were dealers in early American antiques. This love was passed down to her children and grandchildren. She was a member of the New Hampshire Antiques Dealers Association from 1972 until the early 2000s, and adored the annual show held every August. She toiled all year to find unusual pieces worthy enough to display. Her booths were always tasteful and bewitching, and her showmanship was a revelation.
She was known as Babsi to family and intimates because she, while fully versed in decorum and etiquette, had a freewheeling sense of fun and abandon. She was always up for anything. Gifted with her hands, she knit, did needlepoint, and was a juried New Hampshire craftsperson of Nantucket baskets. She made Scherenechnitte scissor cut lamp shades of immense beauty and delicacy. At 88, she single-handedly refinished her 8-foot dining room table. She never thought anything was beyond her capabilities.
Upon the death of her husband, Graeme, she moved to Frederick to be close to her son and granddaughters. She was a member of All Saints Episcopal Church, and she was active in the Altar Guild and Flower Guild. She was involved in St. Mary’s Chapter. The annual book sale and Gifts and Greens Christmas Bazaar benefitted from her nonstop energy and organizational skills. She was able to move mountains and quite a few tables well into her late 80s. “No” was anathema to her.
Barbara was a lifelong baker, renowned for her cookies and shoofly pie in particular. Classic Toll House cookies and hermits were on regular rotation, and at Christmas, she went wild. Those who met her and made assumptions based on her small size, kindness and good humor were almost always taken aback by her strength, determination, good sense and clear thinking. She was a force to be reckoned with. Early on, as a military wife, her nickname was Mighty Mouse.
Barbara is survived by her son, Gary and daughter-in-law, Melissa; son, Wilson and partner Dorothy; daughter, Emily and son-in-law Adam; her granddaughter, Rebecca and husband Obens; and granddaughter, Lindsay. She also leaves behind a brother-in-law, Carl Mann and wife Lynn; niece, Erica and husband Jeff, and their children, J.J., Luke and Lily; sister-in-law, Kaye Martell; niece, Jessica and husband Zackary; and nephew, Jeff.
Services will be held at 11 a.m. Sept., 17, 2022, at All Saints Episcopal Church, 106 W. Church St., Frederick, MD 21701, followed by, at a later date, a service at Arlington National Cemetery, where she will be interred with her husband, Capt. Graeme Mann.
In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in Barbara’s name to your favorite charity. Expressions of sympathy may be offered to the family at staufferfuneralhome.com.
Barbara Krotchko Mann
Graeme Mann | 2022-09-12T06:29:15Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Barbara Mann | Obituaries | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/barbara-mann/article_a11dbeba-dab8-5bd1-8a73-75dcbdc9f3fd.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/barbara-mann/article_a11dbeba-dab8-5bd1-8a73-75dcbdc9f3fd.html |
Cana Josephine Paules
Cana Josephine Paules passed gently into the arms of Jesus on Aug. 25, 2022, at 38 weeks old. She was born on Aug. 26, 2022, at 2:32 p.m., weighing 6 pounds, 1 ounce. Cana Jo is the daughter of Ethan and Alexis Paules, and the answer to their prayers as they awaited her arrival with joyful expectation. During her time on Earth, Cana spent each day dancing in her mother’s womb, enjoying music played from her father’s guitar, and listening to the singing voices of her mother and howling dog, Apollo. She was deeply adored by her family and loved ones, and has left an everlasting imprint on the hearts of all who met her. The funeral Mass of Cana Josephine Paules will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 24 at St. Joseph-on-Carrollton Manor Catholic Church in Buckeystown, Maryland.
Josephine Paules | 2022-09-12T06:29:21Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Cana Josephine Paules | Obituaries | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/cana-josephine-paules/article_d800290f-8e09-5add-afa8-07e537614d3a.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/cana-josephine-paules/article_d800290f-8e09-5add-afa8-07e537614d3a.html |
David Gary Sherman
David Gary Sherman, 55, of Clarksburg, Maryland, passed from this life on Sunday, Sept. 4, 2022.
Born Oct. 16, 1966, in Washington, D.C., he was the son of Zella Corrine (Getty) Sherman, of Clarksburg, and the late Arnold Barry Sherman.
David was employed as an electrician by Provident Electric. He was a wonderful musician and songwriter. His stage presence and talent was respected by his peers. It is said when he was on stage, he owned it. He traveled the world as a member of many bands including: Shine, Earthride, Weed is Weed, Pendulum, Wretched, The Obsessed, Spirit Caravan, Galactric Cross, Pillbilly and others.
In addition to his mother, he is survived by his uncle and aunt, Leonard and Selma Sherman; cousins, Abe and Susan Zwany and family; cousin, George D. Getty Jr.; and others.
The family will receive friends from 5-8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15 at Stauffer Funeral Home, 1621 Opossumtown Pike, Frederick, Maryland, and food will be provided.
Funeral services and interment will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday, Sept. 16 at the gravesite located in Mount Olivet Cemetery, 515 S. Market St., Frederick, MD 21701. The gravesite is at the rear of the cemetery, next to the mausoleum. | 2022-09-12T06:29:27Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | David Gary Sherman | Obituaries | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/david-gary-sherman/article_11c2cd74-443a-5254-88d2-bf95ff82c332.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/david-gary-sherman/article_11c2cd74-443a-5254-88d2-bf95ff82c332.html |
Linda Delaughter
Linda Jane Delaughter, 76, of Keymar, died Friday Sept. 9, 2022, at her daughter’s home in Nottingham, Maryland. She was the wife of the late Richard T. Delaughter.
Born in Frederick on May 21, 1946, she was a daughter of the late John and Ethel Delauter Leatherman. She was a member of the Grossnickle Church of the Brethren, Myersville.
She is survived by four children, Penny Aurand and husband Alan, of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Sallie Delaughter, of Hedgesville, West Virginia, Richard T. Delaughter III and wife Dawn, of Abbottstown, Pennsylvania, and Kathy Delaughter, of Nottingham, Maryland; nine grandchildren; several great-grandchildren; a brother, John Wayne (Bubba) Leatherman, of Jefferson; a sister, Kathy Gaver, of Leitersburg; and a sister-in-law, Sherry Taylor, of Monroe, North Carolina.
Funeral services will be held 11 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 15 from the Donald B. Thompson Funeral Home, 31 E. Main St., Middletown. Friends may call one hour prior to services. Interment will be made in Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Middletown.
Ethel Delauter Leatherman
Richard T. Delaughter Iii | 2022-09-12T06:29:39Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Linda Delaughter | Obituaries | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/linda-delaughter/article_6e76bb71-b60a-5625-a327-bb66befb8ae6.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/linda-delaughter/article_6e76bb71-b60a-5625-a327-bb66befb8ae6.html |
Mary C. Sands
Mary C. Sands, of Taneytown, Maryland, entered God’s eternal care Monday, Sept. 5, 2022, at home with her loving family by her side.
Born Sept. 1, 1929, in New Midway, Maryland, she was the daughter of the late Russell L. and Evelyn A. (Biddinger) Creager. Mary was the loving wife of the late Thomas H. Sands, who died Feb. 5, 2001, and with whom she shared 50 years of marriage.
Mary was a 1946 graduate of Walkersville High School, Walkersville, Maryland, and a 1950 graduate of Towson State Teachers College, Towson, Maryland. She earned her master’s degree from Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1967. She was a third-grade teacher in Baltimore County, Maryland, for two years, then was a first-grade teacher, working in Brownsburg, Indiana, for 25 years until her retirement in 1988. She was a member of the Indiana Retired Teachers Association.
Mary enjoyed spending winters in Florida for many years, traveling extensively with family throughout the U.S. and other countries with childhood friends. In school, she loved sports participating in field hockey, basketball, softball and archery. She loved playing bingo, watching all sports, and handicrafts. She was a highly skilled bridge player, sewer and quilter.
Mary is survived by her daughter, Cynthia S. Ogden, of Taneytown, Maryland; two grandchildren, William A. Ogden, of Hyattsville, Maryland, and Kenneth J. Ogden, of Irvine, California; and two brothers, Donald L. Creager, of Thurmont, Maryland, and Richard E. Creager, of Taneytown, Maryland,. She was preceded in death by two sons, Thomas W. Sands and David L. Sands; and two brothers, Charles L. Creager and Paul E. Creager.
A funeral service to celebrate and remember Mary will be held 2 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022, at Kenworthy Funeral Home & Crematory Inc., 269 Frederick St., Hanover, Pennsylvania, with the Rev. Robert E. Cook officiating. Visitations and times to share memories with the family will be held from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022, at the funeral home. Burial will be in St. Paul’s Dubs Church Cemetery, 1958 Dubs Church Road, Hanover, Pennsylvania.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in memory of Mary to the International Myeloma Foundation, 4400 Coldwater Canyon Ave., Studio City, CA 91604, 800-452-CURE, or donate.myeloma.org
Memories and condolences may be shared at kenworthyfh.com. | 2022-09-12T06:29:46Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Mary C. Sands | Obituaries | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/mary-c-sands/article_152fd50e-598f-5e8d-85b7-313464d4da56.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/mary-c-sands/article_152fd50e-598f-5e8d-85b7-313464d4da56.html |
Nancy Carmack Eppley
It is with great sadness that our family and friends are grieving the loss of Nancy Carmack Eppley, who passed away suddenly Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022.
Born on May 17, 1952, in Frederick, Maryland, she was the daughter of the late Marion D. Carmack Jr. and Eileen (Steiner) Carmack.
Nancy graduated from Frederick High School, Class of 1970.
Nancy was a dedicated employee at Safeway, where she had a career for 35 years before retiring.
She was a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, and a member of the Good Samaritan of FHH.
Nancy was blessed to share her journey with the love of her life, Bill Harding, for 25 years. They shared the same passions for life and created many memories traveling around the world. They looked forward to adventures together and always planned to having many more.
Nancy loved spending time at their happy place, their newly remodeled beach house in Ocean City, Maryland, and their gorgeous home in Middletown, Maryland. She took great pride in everything she did and had a talent for decorating with class and style.
She enjoyed fishing and cruising with Bill and friends. She looked forward to vacations on the islands, playing slots and relaxing bubble baths along with a good book. Nancy spent time working in her yard among her beautiful flowers.
In addition to Bill Harding and her large family, she is survived by sons, Jason Eppley and fiancee Teresa Feltner, and Joshua Eppley; grandchildren, Casey and Charlee Eppley; sisters, Faith Hale (Gene) and Terry Lambert (Donnie); brother, Bob Carmack (Linda); and numerous nieces and nephews.
Her pride and joy were her grandchildren, Casey and Charlee Eppley.
We will forever miss her humor, contagious laugh, passion of life and the generous love she gave everyone.
The family will receive friends from 6-9 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022, at Stauffer Funeral Homes, 1621 Opossumtown Pike in Frederick, Maryland.
A celebration of Nancy ‘s life journey will take place at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022, at the funeral home. The Rev. Tim May will officiate. Burial will follow services at Mount Olivet Cemetery, 515 S. Market St., Frederick, MD 21701.
In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made in Nancy’s memory to the Community Foundation of Frederick County, Marion D. and Alice E. Carmack Endowment Fund, 312 E. Church St., Frederick, MD 21701, or to AMVETS Post No. 9, 409 W. Green St., Middletown, MD 21769.
Expressions of sympathy may be offered to the family at www.staufferfuneralhome.com. | 2022-09-12T06:29:52Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Nancy Carmack Eppley | Obituaries | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/nancy-carmack-eppley/article_017b203c-6735-58a9-84f4-447970bbf44b.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/nancy-carmack-eppley/article_017b203c-6735-58a9-84f4-447970bbf44b.html |
Patrick O'Brien Frederick
Recently, there was a local event that was held to remember those who perished from the scourge of heroin and fentanyl. My heart goes out to the devastated families of those whose loved ones have been the victims of this deadly plague. As someone who saw firsthand families and communities crushed by crack cocaine, I can only image the pain and misery caused by something much worse.
On the other side, what makes my blood boil is the do-nothing woke politicians who provide lip service to deal with this epidemic. Elected leaders at the local, state and national level have stood by while hundreds of thousands of young Americans have died, and millions of families have had to deal with heartbreak. These politicians, who speak for hours and say nothing and serve for years and do nothing, know what needs to be done but lack the backbone to do it.
Open borders and easy-on-crime policies have caused the problem to explode. I urge residents to hold these people to account in November. The problem is only going to get worse. Open-source reports indicate that Mexican cartels are now more interested in shipping fentanyl — ingredients for making fentanyl are reportedly imported from China — into the United States than heroin, because fentanyl is cheaper all the way around.
Yet our leaders do nothing. Oh, I forgot, but we are now a nuclear-free city. I’m sure Russia and China will immediately take Fort Detrick off their targeting list.
Patrick O’Brien served for the Frederick Police Department for 26 years. | 2022-09-12T06:30:04Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Do-nothing politicians aren't addressing drug epidemic | Letters to the Editor | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/opinion/letter_to_editor/do-nothing-politicians-arent-addressing-drug-epidemic/article_a5523864-5878-5b0e-9d49-7f727db2c94f.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/opinion/letter_to_editor/do-nothing-politicians-arent-addressing-drug-epidemic/article_a5523864-5878-5b0e-9d49-7f727db2c94f.html |
James Kline Brunswick
I am writing in response to the column: “How the scourge of originalism is taking over the Supreme Court,” in the Sept. 8 edition (Page A11) of The Frederick News-Post. The column was written by Edwin Chimerinsky, the Dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law.
It is frightening that the dean of a major law school has such a negative view of the court. Certainly he is not alone as that is the common sentiment among most progressive law schools — and a sentiment that is surely passed on to the students.
He attacks the Roe decision as well as the decisions concerning the Second Amendment and allowing prayer in school. He states: “The world we live in is vastly different from 1787, when the Constitution was written, or 1791, when the Bill of Rights was adopted, or 1868, when the 14th Amendment was ratified.”
He muses about the threat to basic liberties involving gays along with a litany of other undefined liberties not spelled out in the constitution. He seems to completely ignore the profound significance of the 10th Amendment and the underlying principle that we are a Republic of autonomous states.
His presumed intellectualism seems to blind him to the fact that although the world has changed, the basic belief system of at least a near majority of present-day Americans is identical to the belief system of a majority of the founding fathers. And that belief system is what our Constitution is based on.
James Kline
Edwin Chimerinsky | 2022-09-12T06:30:16Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Nothing new under the sun | Letters to the Editor | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/opinion/letter_to_editor/nothing-new-under-the-sun/article_359886fe-3752-5085-8f49-2194347b77c8.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/opinion/letter_to_editor/nothing-new-under-the-sun/article_359886fe-3752-5085-8f49-2194347b77c8.html |
"Best Years of our Lives."
FLICC honors veterans with ‘The Best Years of Our Lives’ screening and Q&A
The Film Lovers in Carroll County, aka FLICC, will bring attention to the obstacles military veterans face when returning home with screenings of the 1946 World War II drama “The Best Years of Our Lives” at 1 p.m. (captioned) and 7:30 p.m. Sept. 16 at the Carroll Arts Center in Westminster.
A post-screening panel discussion, What Challenges Vets Face Now & Then, will follow the matinee showing. Local veterans and the Veterans Independence Project will talk about the obstacles vets face when they return home, among them PTSD, homelessness and disability, as well as ways in which people can support veterans in their community.
This epic drama follows Fred, Al and Homer, three World War II veterans facing difficulties as they re-enter civilian life. Fred (Dana Andrews) is a war hero who, unable to compete with more highly skilled workers, has to return to his low-wage soda jerk job. Bank executive Al (Fredric March) gets into trouble for offering favorable loans to veterans. After losing both hands in the war, Homer (Harold Russell) returns to his loving fiancée but must struggle to adjust. An engrossing look at the triumphs and travails of war veterans, “The Best Years of Our Lives” has a message that speaks to the overall American experience.
The film runs 2 hours 52 minutes and is not rated. Tickets are $7 for adults; $6 for ages 25 and under and 60 and up. Veterans get free tickets at the door. Tickets are available online or at the box office. Face masks are optional inside the Carroll Arts Center. These health policies may be modified in the future. Read the Carroll Arts Center’s most current health and safety protocols at carrollcountyartscouncil.org/covid-19-policies. Call 410-848-7272 or visit carrollcountyartscouncil.org for more information.
The Best Years Of Our Lives | 2022-09-12T16:44:25Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | FLICC honors veterans with ‘The Best Years of Our Lives’ screening and Q&A | Arts & entertainment | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/arts_and_entertainment/flicc-honors-veterans-with-the-best-years-of-our-lives-screening-and-q-a/article_64257433-781a-543a-95a6-4ce004d99d07.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/arts_and_entertainment/flicc-honors-veterans-with-the-best-years-of-our-lives-screening-and-q-a/article_64257433-781a-543a-95a6-4ce004d99d07.html |
Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey
Sam Gentry
Flying Dog releases limited-edition beer and whiskey to honor founder George Stranahan
To celebrate their shared history and commemorate their founder George Stranahan, Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey and Flying Dog Brewery created two new specialty products for what they call The Osopher project. Having collaborated over the years to share beer mash and barrels, The Osopher project marks the first joint product release for the two companies.
George Stranahan — astrophysicist, writer, photographer, entrepreneur, rancher and philanthropist — founded the Flying Dog Brewpub in Aspen, Colorado, in 1990, a decade after discovering the “flying dog” while on a mountaineering trip to K2, the world’s deadliest mountain. The Flying Dog brand expanded to become one of the top 50 production breweries in the U.S. and continues to produce beer at its brewery in Frederick.
In 2004, George Stranahan and Jess Graber co-founded Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey, Colorado’s first legal distillery since Prohibition, in downtown Denver. The original Stranahan’s Whiskey utilized mash from Flying Dog’s Road Dog Porter.
The limited-edition beer created for The Osopher project is an imperial version of the original Road Dog Porter that has been aged in 10-year-old Stranahan’s Whiskey barrels. Road Dog was also the beginning of Flying Dog’s collaboration with the internationally renowned artist Ralph Steadman, whose art continues to grace Flying Dog labels.
The result of barrel aging the porter is a smooth explosion of chocolate, vanilla cream cocoa beans, toasted pecans, toffee and maple, with added notes of caramel, spice and a hint of tobacco from the whiskey. After the imperial Road Dog Porter had aged in the Stranahan’s barrels, they were returned to Stranahan’s distillery in Colorado.
With the barrels, Stranahan’s created The Osopher, the oldest whiskey Stranahan’s has ever bottled. The Osopher matured for four more months in the same barrels used to age Flying Dog’s Road Dog Porter, in addition to the 11 years it had already carefully aged at the distillery.
“The teams at Flying Dog and Stranahan’s loved the idea of commemorating George in a way that spoke to the art, science and creativity that he instilled in both companies,” said Jim Caruso, CEO at Flying Dog Brewery. “George was a man of many talents [who] considered himself a ‘pilgrimosopher,’ so The Osopher speaks to the idea that you can pursue anything if you’re just crazy enough to try it.”
The Osophers from both brands will feature the original Road Dog artwork by Steadman.
Hand-bottled and packaged in a commemorative box, Flying Dog’s The Osopher (12% ABV) is available in limited-edition 750 ml bottles at retail locations in Maryland. Visit the brewery’s Beer Finder to locate inventory at flyingdog.com for details.
George Stranahan | 2022-09-12T16:44:31Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Flying Dog releases limited-edition beer and whiskey to honor founder George Stranahan | Arts & entertainment | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/arts_and_entertainment/flying-dog-releases-limited-edition-beer-and-whiskey-to-honor-founder-george-stranahan/article_eabf24ce-d0ae-552b-b6a4-a2e3381b85b2.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/arts_and_entertainment/flying-dog-releases-limited-edition-beer-and-whiskey-to-honor-founder-george-stranahan/article_eabf24ce-d0ae-552b-b6a4-a2e3381b85b2.html |
Lend a Hand Art Auction: I Believe in Me
Lend a Hand: I Believe in Me
Artists young and old, hobbyists and professionals, have come together in an effort to benefit local nonprofit I Believe in Me, Inc. for the 11th annual Lend A Hand community art auction.
Lend a Hand was started by artists Courtney Prahl and Whitney Dahlberg and is supported by the partnership of The Muse, a downtown Frederick shop that specializes in handmade goods by local artists.
“We are frequently participating in various charity events, and I really wanted to create one that inspired the community through art,” Dahlberg said.
“This event really gave participants a feeling that they actively did something and were directly linked to the charity,” Prahl added.
Lend a Hand is a unique event that combines community participation with charitable giving.
Each year, Lend a Hand starts with a call for art, in which community members are invited to purchase a canvas to use to create a work of art for the auction. All the completed canvases are then returned to The Muse, where they are exhibited throughout September as a silent auction.
This year, more than 70 canvases were sold. Finished canvases have been returned as artworks in a wide variety of mediums, including paint, collage and fabric.
This year’s added challenge was that the art all had a general theme of “I Believe in Me,” inspired by I Believe in Me’s mission of mentorship to create future community leaders. Participants were encouraged to create art based on whom or what inspires them to believe in themselves.
All money raised from both canvas sales and auction proceeds will go directly to I Believe in Me. I Believe in Me’s mission is to impact the growth and development of young people from the ages of 6 to 16. Functioning as an after school program, the organization offers academic support, mentorship, community outreach and character development, all with the goal of creating impactful future community leaders. Founded in 2016 by Aje Hill, I Believe in Me hopes to help its kids create pathways to a successful future.
The artworks will be on display at The Muse at 19 N. Market St. in downtown Frederick through Oct. 1.
All of the pieces are available for bidding during a silent auction that runs all month-long and concludes at 9 p.m. Oct. 1, during First Saturday. Stop by The Muse to view the exhibit in person, or visit auctria.events/lendahand2022 to view and bid online. | 2022-09-12T20:48:20Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Lend a Hand Art Auction: I Believe in Me | Arts & entertainment | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/arts_and_entertainment/lend-a-hand-art-auction-i-believe-in-me/article_e5e6dd78-6ea4-587a-a138-386fad79972e.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/arts_and_entertainment/lend-a-hand-art-auction-i-believe-in-me/article_e5e6dd78-6ea4-587a-a138-386fad79972e.html |
Five police officers will not be charged in the 2021 death of a Virginia man after a preliminary report from the Office of the Attorney General cleared them, police said.
The Office of the Attorney General’s Independent Investigations Division looked into the incident.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is still trying to determine the exact cause of Holley’s death, the release said, but the report rules out any of the officers’ actions as a cause.
“We are not surprised by the findings, as our department, and the public had the chance to see the body camera footage from this incident," Police Chief Jason Lando said in the press release. "In my review of that footage, I was immediately struck by how professional and calm each officer remained in a tense, rapidly evolving situation. Our officers treated Mr. Holley with dignity and respect and provided expedited and safe medical care for Mr. Holley.”
Lando continued: “In all cases involving an in-custody death, an independent process is critical for police to maintain public trust. Any time an officer is involved in an in-custody death, the investigation weighs heavy on the officers mentally and emotionally.
"Now that the investigation has concluded, I hope our officers are able to take solace in the fact that their actions played no role in Mr. Holley's unfortunate death, as the IID's report merely confirmed what I believed all along: Our officers performed exceptionally well under difficult circumstances. Their actions were impressive and set the standard for how all officers should respond. In short, our officers did exactly what they were trained to do.”
Daniel Michael Holley
We all already knew this. FPD is the real deal. | 2022-09-12T22:41:19Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Report finds Frederick police did not cause man's death; officers won't be charged | Cops And Crime | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/crime_and_justice/cops_and_crime/report-finds-frederick-police-did-not-cause-mans-death-officers-wont-be-charged/article_3bdc58c5-6c21-5acb-9932-188e682f018e.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/crime_and_justice/cops_and_crime/report-finds-frederick-police-did-not-cause-mans-death-officers-wont-be-charged/article_3bdc58c5-6c21-5acb-9932-188e682f018e.html |
A Frederick County man recently bought a $2 million Maryland Lottery ticket from Cork 'N' Bottle in Mount Airy.
Frederick County man wins $2M from lottery
A Frederick County man won $2 million from a Maryland Lottery ticket he bought at a Mount Airy liquor store.
The 64-year-old self-employed man plans to use his winnings as part of his transition to an early retirement, according to a Maryland Lottery news release on Thursday. He also plans to share some of his winnings with family.
The Maryland Lottery did not identify the man. In Maryland, winners can choose to remain anonymous.
“It kind of stunned me,” the winner said, according to the release. “This really came at the right time.”
The news release described the winner as an avid lottery player from eastern Frederick County. In the past, he also won $5,000 and $10,000 prizes, but none quite as high as $2 million.
On the day he won, the man bought some scratch-off tickets, won $500, then went to a golf driving range before buying more tickets.
The lucky $30 ticket was sold at Cork 'N' Bottle at 4305 Ridge Road in Mount Airy, the release said. The retailer will receive $2,000 for the sale.
Tickets for the $2 million Gold Rush scratch-off game were first sold in February. Three top prizes remain, plus six unclaimed $50,000 prizes, according to the Maryland Lottery.
MrSniper Sep 12, 2022 7:48pm
Can I borrow some money?
mrnatural1 Sep 12, 2022 7:58pm
[beam] MrSniper.
I'm sure he's a very close friend of mine... [cool] | 2022-09-13T00:26:09Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Frederick County man wins $2M from lottery | Economy & business | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/economy_and_business/frederick-county-man-wins-2m-from-lottery/article_dd3cbc08-b540-52ee-be50-330286271d1c.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/economy_and_business/frederick-county-man-wins-2m-from-lottery/article_dd3cbc08-b540-52ee-be50-330286271d1c.html |
Brandon Duck would use experience in retail to advantage if elected
First-time political candidate Brandon Duck, who is running to represent District 4 in the Maryland House of Delegates, said his experience working retail has given him a direct line of communication that other politicians do not have to voters.
People are quick to share their beliefs and opinions on a variety of issues with him during transactions, said Duck, who is a sales manager at the electronics store Best Buy.
“It’s just a more populist type of look onto it,” he said. “A man-of-the-people-type thing.”
Duck is among six candidates vying for one of the three open seats in legislative District 4.
Duck came in third place in his Primary Election race, bringing in 31.6% of the vote. He finished behind Andrew Duck and Millicent Hall — his father and sister, respectively.
The other three candidates in the general election are Republicans April Fleming Miller and incumbent delegates Barrie Ciliberti and Jesse Pippy.
Brandon Duck noted that he has similar beliefs to his father and sister, but he was quick to add that they are not carbon copies of each other. Although they are family members, they have different life experiences, which means the way they look at the world varies, Duck said. Their stances on certain policies do, too.
He first learned that some in District 4 don’t have Wi-Fi while working at Best Buy. He was shocked when his customers told him about their struggles to access the internet.
“It literally just never occurred to me that no one could get internet,” he said. “It’s easy not to see the problems you’re not looking for.”
The internet should be treated as a public utility, similar to the telephone system, he said. That would allow the government to be partly involved in determining the location of cell towers and make sure internet lines are equitably distributed across the county, he said.
Inflation, “the big elephant in the room,” is another pressing issue to residents of District 4, Duck said.
The problem of rising prices is complicated and would be difficult to tackle on a district level, Duck said. But bringing more green energy jobs to Frederick County would provide opportunities for higher salaries to residents.
If elected, Duck said, he’d want to help existing solar farms in the area expand, and work to bring green energy start-ups to the county. He’d also consider seeking federal funding for additional solar farms.
He described declining infrastructure and a flawed mental health care system as being among the biggest public safety issues facing District 4 residents.
Crime is easy to make into a “sexy, scary” problem, Duck said.
“But what’s going to be more damaging,” he said, “is if our buildings aren’t up to code, if our bridges aren’t up to code, if our roads are potentially damaging to our vehicles or to our people.”
Duck said that if elected, he’d advocate for directing more money to repairing existing infrastructure, rather than building new bridges and roads. He also stressed the need to de-stigmatize seeking mental health care and make education more affordable for aspiring social workers and therapists.
Although District 4 has more registered Republicans than Democrats, Duck said, the division between parties is more artificial than reality. People may disagree on some issues, but, at the end of the day, they’re more alike than they are different.
“You know your neighbors,” he said. “They may be liberal or conservative, Republican, independent or Democrat. That doesn’t make anybody a bad person. That doesn’t make anybody your enemy. We need to be able to get out of that box.”
Name: Brandon Duck
Occupation: Sales manager at Best Buy
Campaign website: brandonduckfordelegate.com
Social media: Twitter: @bduck4delegate
Email: bduck4delegate@gmail.com | 2022-09-13T00:26:15Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Brandon Duck would use experience in retail to advantage if elected | Delegates | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/politics_and_government/levels_of_government/state/delegates/brandon-duck-would-use-experience-in-retail-to-advantage-if-elected/article_b0288225-1676-5746-bfa2-0a6366cc2d1c.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/politics_and_government/levels_of_government/state/delegates/brandon-duck-would-use-experience-in-retail-to-advantage-if-elected/article_b0288225-1676-5746-bfa2-0a6366cc2d1c.html |
Shawn Demetrious Perry
Shawn Perry
Perry, a former Frederick police officer, is running to be a 'voice for the voiceless'
Shawn Demetrious Perry, a candidate for Maryland Senate, said he would use his experience in the U.S. Army and Frederick Police Department to empathetically serve constituents and be a “voice for the voiceless.”
This is Perry’s first run for political office. If elected, he would represent District 2, which is mostly in Washington County and includes northern Frederick County.
“I’m an ordinary person who cares about people,” he said, “and we need more people in office that care about people instead of their own personal interest.”
Perry, a Democrat, ran unopposed in the primary. His opponent in the general election, incumbent Republican Sen. Paul Corderman, also ran unopposed.
In May, before the July primary, Corderman filed a petition with the Washington County Circuit Court, challenging Perry’s residency in District 2 and asking that he be disqualified.
When Perry initially filed to run in District 2, he listed a Maugansville-area address as his residence, according to The Herald-Mail. Though that house used to be in District 2, it was in District 1 when the new legislative map was enacted.
Perry later changed his residence to a Hagerstown home in District 2 that his fiancée owns. He did so three days before the deadline, according to The Herald-Mail.
Corderman’s legal team argued that Perry could not have two addresses. A circuit court judge on May 27 ruled that Perry took the necessary steps to change his residency to a District 2 address.
Perry’s permanent address is now his fiancee’s home in Hagerstown, he said in an interview on Monday.
“People may have lost some faith in government and politicians,” he said, “but if they give me a chance, I can promise them that I will be true to them, accountable to them, available to them, and I’ll be a senator that they’d be proud to say, ‘We elected him.’”
In 1998, Perry became the first Black officer to be promoted to corporal in the Frederick Police Department’s history, the News-Post has reported.
He later became the first person of color to be sergeant in the department, then lieutenant, according to his website.
Perry was born in 1969, five years after President Lyndon Johnson signed the most extensive civil rights legislation since Reconstruction into effect. His generation of Black Americans was supposed to be the first to have an equal playing field, he said.
Now, people’s rights are being stripped away, he said, pointing, as an example, to a U.S. Supreme Court decision in June that revoked the constitutional right to abortion.
“My soul does not allow me to stand by and allow those protections to be taken away,” he said. “I have daughters, I have a son. I have friends who are gay. I live in a diverse world, and I believe diversity, equity and inclusion is important in everything we do.”
Although abortion is legal in Maryland, he said, he would support enshrining the right to the procedure in Maryland’s constitution.
Perry said access to resources, including food and mental health services, is one of the most pressing issues for District 2 residents. He previously worked as a behavioral specialist and is now an elder abuse victim advocate, which gives him an up-close look at the issue, he said.
To support the mental health of Washington County residents, Perry said he’d advocate to bring a crisis stabilization center to the area, similar to the one coming to Frederick County.
He would also advocate for setting up Safe Stations in the two counties, like the ones that exist in Anne Arundel County. The program allows any local resident struggling with a substance use disorder to go to any police or fire station in the county and ask for help.
Perry recognizes that he doesn’t have all of the answers. He doesn’t know, for example, how to solve the shortage of mental health providers. But he said he prides himself in bringing people together to solve problems.
“Everything I’ve done through my career is involving all stakeholders. Because when you involve all stakeholders as a community, then the community solves the issues.”
Name: Shawn Demetrious Perry
Hometown: Hagerstown
Occupation: Elder abuse victim advocate
Campaign website: shawnperry.org
Social media: Facebook: ShawnPerryforSenate; Instagram: Shawnforsenate
Email: shawnforstatesenate@gmail.com
Paul Corderman | 2022-09-13T00:26:21Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Perry, a former Frederick police officer, is running to be a 'voice for the voiceless' | Delegates | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/politics_and_government/levels_of_government/state/delegates/perry-a-former-frederick-police-officer-is-running-to-be-a-voice-for-the-voiceless/article_bbe58b52-5fe1-5da0-8862-fe28b747cc3f.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/politics_and_government/levels_of_government/state/delegates/perry-a-former-frederick-police-officer-is-running-to-be-a-voice-for-the-voiceless/article_bbe58b52-5fe1-5da0-8862-fe28b747cc3f.html |
"Both will be charged but the charges will vary depending on what they did," spokesman Todd Wivell wrote in an email Monday.
Wivell wrote that the charges are second-degree assault, disturbing school operations, affray (fighting in a public place) and disorderly conduct. Police are deciding which charges will be applied to each girl.
Wivell also wrote that rumors that a gun was flashed during the fight and that someone was hit with a Taser were unfounded. No one was injured, he wrote.
At around 8:08 p.m, the Frederick Police Department was dispatched to assist in evacuating the Frederick High stadium after a fight broke out during a football game, city police spokesman Allen Etzler said Friday night.
Wivell wrote that the fight occurred inside the stadium in front of the grandstands, near the middle of the field.
Over 100 juveniles were watching the fight and trying to record it, he wrote.
A Frederick High School administrator escorted one of the juveniles inside Frederick High School and the other fled the scene, Wivell wrote.
Both were identified, he wrote.
Frederick County Public Schools wrote in an email Saturday that the juveniles were not students of Frederick or Middletown high schools.
Brandon Oland, a spokesman for the county school system, confirmed Monday afternoon that the juveniles were Frederick County public school students.
Eric Louérs-Phillips, another spokesman for the county school system, said the two students went to different schools. They have both been suspended, he said, and will be banned from going to the other person's school once their suspension is over.
Wivell wrote that police are still investigating why the fight started.
After the fight, Frederick High School administration decided to evacuate the stadium and continue the game without spectators.
The stadium was at capacity, around 1,500 to 2,000 people, Oland said. It took about 10 minutes to get everyone out, he said.
Oland said the school system will re-emphasize proper behavior in stadiums and at extracurricular activities. | 2022-09-13T02:12:26Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Two students facing criminal charges after fight at Frederick football game | Cops And Crime | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/crime_and_justice/cops_and_crime/two-students-facing-criminal-charges-after-fight-at-frederick-football-game/article_650a269b-c92b-5e1e-a5f6-441746bd552c.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/crime_and_justice/cops_and_crime/two-students-facing-criminal-charges-after-fight-at-frederick-football-game/article_650a269b-c92b-5e1e-a5f6-441746bd552c.html |
A Ford pickup truck owned by M.T. Laney Company in Eldersburg sits along railroad tracks at Graceham and Seiss roads near Thurmont on Monday after it was hit by a train. No injuries were reported.
Frederick County Sheriff's Deputy Virts walks along railroad tracks after a train hit a pickup truck near Thurmont on Monday afternoon. No injuries were reported.
No injuries reported after train hits pickup truck near Thurmont
As Bradley Gilbert drove over a railroad crossing near Thurmont on Monday afternoon, a train hit the back of the pickup truck he was driving.
Gilbert, 23, of Emmitsburg, was not injured.
Gilbert said he was driving home from work along Graceham Road. He works for M.T. Laney, a paving contractor in Eldersburg.
He was driving the company's red Ford pickup truck, he said.
When he went over a railroad crossing at Graceham and Seiss roads, near the Graceham Volunteer Fire Company, a Maryland Midland Railway train hit the back left side of the truck.
"I heard something, but by then, it was too late," said Gilbert, who was alone in the truck.
The Frederick County Sheriff's Office responded to a report of a crash at around 2:20 p.m.
The railroad crossing has no lights, signs or gates. The track is lined with trees that partially obscure what a driver can see.
Gilbert's mother, Melissa, and M.T. Laney employees were huddled in the nearby parking lot of the fire company as they watched the train pull away from the scene of the crash. The pickup truck was also in the lot, with damage on its left side.
Bradley Gilbert
“The railroad crossing has no lights, signs or gates. The track is lined with trees that partially obscure what a driver can see.” Well. Here’s a mother’s nightmare.
The trains don’t sound their horn as they approach an unguarded rail crossing? They can’t put at least a warning light at the crossing? That is crazy. | 2022-09-13T02:12:38Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | No injuries reported after train hits pickup truck near Thurmont | Public Safety | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/politics_and_government/public_safety/no-injuries-reported-after-train-hits-pickup-truck-near-thurmont/article_fc773f20-a5de-507e-a106-d8cedb1f3c40.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/politics_and_government/public_safety/no-injuries-reported-after-train-hits-pickup-truck-near-thurmont/article_fc773f20-a5de-507e-a106-d8cedb1f3c40.html |
John Miller, burgess of Middletown
The commissioners can rewrite the ordinance as they’d like once they get a recommendation from the Planning Commission, Burgess John Miller said at a meeting Monday night.
The groups have a joint meeting planned for Nov. 7.
The revised rules would seek to make the town’s standards for signs “reasonable, consistent, and non-discriminatory,” according to new language proposed for the ordinance.
The proposals would add or change definitions and standards for various types of signs, such as banners, pennants, and posters.
Changes would also generate rules for what types of signs are allowed by zoning districts and the land uses allowed within those districts.
Existing signs that don’t conform to new standards can remain until there is a “substantial change” in the use of the property, to the primary structure on which the sign is located, or to the nature or character of the sign.
Miller suggested that they walk around downtown during the November meeting with the Planning Commission to look at different types of signage and get ideas for possible changes.
If they decide to change things, it will be important to be specific, Town Administrator Drew Bowen said.
He said he thinks everyone agrees that they don’t want neon signs flashing or large signs everywhere.
But for things such as types or sizes of signs that can be placed in windows, they likely would have to define what a window is, he said.
For instance, would a large window with three separate panes be one window or three?
“It does get very complicated very fast,” Bowen said.
Miller agreed, saying that any court case that arises from the new ordinance would likely hinge on the definitions it contains.
“Definitions carry the day in the ordinance,” Miller said. | 2022-09-13T03:53:27Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Middletown officials, planning commission to discuss sign ordinance | Politics & government | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/politics_and_government/middletown-officials-planning-commission-to-discuss-sign-ordinance/article_ed72c53b-2430-5bdd-a8eb-21989cb8eb5c.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/politics_and_government/middletown-officials-planning-commission-to-discuss-sign-ordinance/article_ed72c53b-2430-5bdd-a8eb-21989cb8eb5c.html |
Part of Frederick’s new hotel, the Francis Scott Key, will be thrown open to the public on October 15, the week of the annual Frederick county fair, John S. Hershey, builder and lessee, last evening reported at a meeting of the board of directors of the Frederick Hotel Company. Because of labor shortage and delayed shipments of material, caused by railroad strikes and tie-ups, work on the hotel has been delayed, and it will be impossible to formally open the whole building to the public by October 1, as it had been originally planned. Two sleeping floors, the third and fourth will be completed. In addition the coffee room and the kitchen will be fully equipped and ready for use by that date.
Last evening marked the opening of the bowling season in Frederick when two teams of the Diamond Alleys, C.F. Cramer, proprietor, met at the Diamond Alleys. Although it was the first of the season, some excellent scores were registered.There is a large crop of acorns which the squirrels with great foresight and industry are harvesting for the cold season. The furry gentry — Mr. Bushytail, Uncle Wiggily, B’er Fox and Jimmy Cottontail — are getting their thick fur coats out for the chilly blasts. Crows have been seen flying in a southerly direction. The breastbone of last Sunday’s goose was red. These few time-honored and many times true weather “signs,” coupled with the well-known fact that coal is almost out of sight in price and scare in the coal bin all point to a mighty hard winter.
Businessmen will be allowed to continue getting tax deductions for those “three-martini lunches,” but the waiters and waitresses serving them will be forced to comply with tougher laws on reporting tips. About $10 billion of the $100 billion to be raised by the new federal tax bill will come from the nation’s waiters and waitresses. Local persons in that line of work are not too happy about it.
The 26th annual Thurmont and Emmitsburg Community Show attracted record attendance and exhibitors to Catoctin High School over the weekend. “It was the best and biggest ever,” said Rodman Myers, chairman of the show. “It seems to grow and attract more people every year.” A record 601 Thurmont and Emmitsburg residents entered 1,887 items.
Roughly 30 men carrying rifles, wearing slouch hats and dressed in Confederate uniforms marched out of the Boonsboro American Legion parking lot Thursday, heading for Fox’s Gap. The scuffed leather boots of the 13th North Carolina Civil War Re-enacting Regiment, and those of a few local recruits, were about to travel the path that Brig. Gen. Samuel Garland’s men followed to their battle at South Mountain on Sept. 14, 1863. “A lot of history is not correct,” says the 13th Rex Hovey, whose great-grandfathers fought on both sides of the War Between the States. He said that too many revisionist historians are obscuring the facts. “We’re trying to present the solider as he was, without all the politics.”
The Wind & Fire Motorcycle Club has been covering a lot of ground lately, honoring fallen firefighters with a weeklong 4,000-mile tour of the U.S. On Thursday, the group rumbled into Frederick. The Frederick County Career Firefighter’s Association provided dinner for the group, for which membership requires being a firefighter and riding a Harley-Davidson, at the Independent Hose Co. on Baughman’s Lane.
Francis Scott Key Hotel
Frederick Hotel Company
Frederick County Fair
Diamond Alleys
Squirrels And Acorns
Animals And Weather Predictions
Taxing Tips
Waiters And Waitresses
Thurmont And Emmitsburg Community Show
Rodman Myers
Boonsboro American Legion
Fox's Gap
13th North Carolina Civil War Re-enactors
Brig. Gen. Samuel Garland
Wind & Fire Motorcycle Club
Frederick County Career Firefighter's Association
Emmitsburg Community Show | 2022-09-13T05:31:28Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | 20-40-100 Years Ago — Sept. 13 | News | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/20-40-100-years-ago-sept-13/article_77dbaf81-f988-58e9-bc70-0ff6ad1c49a5.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/20-40-100-years-ago-sept-13/article_77dbaf81-f988-58e9-bc70-0ff6ad1c49a5.html |
Lewis Earl Smith, 90, of Middletown, died Wednesday Sept. 7, 2022, at Sterling Care at South Mountain, Boonsboro. He was the husband of Mary (Foster) Guyton Smith and was predeceased by his first wife, Dolores (Dodrill) Smith.
Born in St. Marys, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 11, 1931, he was a son of the late Louis and Amelia Marie (Fileshifter) Smith. He was predeceased by two brothers, James and Gerald Smith.
He was employed as program manager with the U.S. Army until his retirement. He was also a veteran and a member of the honor guard when he served in the U.S. Army.
Surviving, besides his wife is his son, Michael Smith and wife Diane, of Durham, North Carolina, and his two grandchildren, Kevin and Nicole Smith.
Donald B. Thompson Funeral Home, Middletown, is in charge of arrangements. | 2022-09-13T05:31:46Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Lewis Smith | Obituaries | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/lewis-smith/article_7bfa2721-68c2-5cd8-98a9-0d4ea1a8be46.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/lewis-smith/article_7bfa2721-68c2-5cd8-98a9-0d4ea1a8be46.html |
Loretta Pennington
Mrs. Loretta Ann Pennington, 67, of Hagerstown, died Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022, at Meritus Medical Center. She was the wife of the late Arland “Nick” Pennington for 38 years.
Born Oct. 28, 1954, in Frederick, she was the daughter of the late Melvin and Virgie Young.
She was also preceded in death by her brothers, Randy Young and Richard Young.
She will be missed by her special friends at the Arc of Frederick County, Camp Claggett Center and Arc of Washington County. Loretta was very independent, loved animals, and collected Hello Kitty.
The family will receive friends from 10-11 a.m. Friday, Sept. 16, 2022, at Keeney & Basford Funeral Home, 106 E. Church St., Frederick. The funeral service will immediately follow at 11 a.m. in the Etchison Memorial Chapel at the funeral home.
Loretta Ann Pennington
Virgie Young | 2022-09-13T05:31:52Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Loretta Pennington | Obituaries | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/loretta-pennington/article_b778fa91-c3fd-5f57-a6f2-cb3ac4847bd6.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/loretta-pennington/article_b778fa91-c3fd-5f57-a6f2-cb3ac4847bd6.html |
BOARD of CONTRIBUTORS I John Jacobs
It’s been four weeks since the start of school, and I have two grandsons in pre-K and one in kindergarten. I got to go to the meet-and-greets where I met their teachers. I also got to visit their classrooms and tour the schools.
It’s been exactly 20 years since my son was in kindergarten, and a lot has changed. Kindergarten is now a full day, and if you’ve seen the curriculum lately, let’s just say it’s a lot. It goes way beyond counting, learning the alphabet and knowing your street address and phone number.
I come from a family of educators. My earliest memories are of basketball practices when my dad was a coach and going to “help” my mom set up her classroom in the summer. When my sister became a teacher, I realized there is a certain type of person who does this vocation.
A person with a lot of patience and a kind heart seems to be a prerequisite for the profession. They go with the flow, changing what grades they teach, what classroom they’re in and what curriculum they follow. All this can happen in a year if the teacher is unlucky.
Some of the concerns that I have for teachers are obvious: They’re overworked and underpaid. Other than your family, and maybe including your family, a teacher may be the person who cares about you the most. They typically have huge hearts and a skewed work/life balance that tilts toward work. For some students, teachers may be the most stable person in their life.
Teachers also don’t have a budget for school supplies. A budget would imply a limit. If they need it, they buy it. Thankfully, that is changing, and you can donate to your teacher through Amazon in a lot of cases.
All of this takes a toll, not just on the teacher but also on the family. Sacrifices are made both monetarily and emotionally, and a lot of times they are not appreciated. It’s hard for a parent to come home to kids after teaching all day. My mom worked in a school without air conditioning, and it never crossed my mind growing up how much of a mental and physical toll it can take on a parent’s patience.
My oldest grandson is on the spectrum, and that can take a lot out of a teacher. I’m sure it will be both difficult and rewarding. I don’t think that I could do it, and I substitute taught before I graduated, and then did long-term subbing for a year after graduating.
If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that a large majority of us don’t want to be stuck inside with our kids while they try to navigate through a virtual school experience. Well, the teachers weren’t too happy about that either. Thankfully things are going back to normal.
If you’ve ever thought about teaching and you have 60 credit hours and can pass a background check, maybe think about becoming a substitute teacher. Right now, there is a shortage of teachers, but the need is as high as ever. Remember, not all heroes wear capes. I hope everyone has a great school year, and thank a teacher.
John Jacobs writes and lives in Frederick County.
Should voters have to present photo ID at the polls?
Yes, always
Only if there is a question about their registration | 2022-09-13T07:05:29Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Thank a teacher | Columns | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/opinion/columns/thank-a-teacher/article_428d59cb-862d-5d62-8060-9ffea2dd2317.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/opinion/columns/thank-a-teacher/article_428d59cb-862d-5d62-8060-9ffea2dd2317.html |
Lura Johnson
Katya Chilingiri and Mehdi Shabeighi
BSO pianist Lura Johnson in concert at the Carroll Arts Center
Steinway artist Lura Johnson is celebrated by critics and audiences for her insightful, emotionally impactful performances. A featured soloist for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and more, Johnson captures, distills and powerfully communicates the spirit and personality of the music she performs.
She’ll present selections from her visionary solo project, “The Art of Prelude and Fugue,” at the Carroll Arts Center at 2 p.m. Sept. 18. This performance is part of the Arts Center’s new Sunday Classics Series, a set of monthly chamber music concerts on Sunday afternoons.
“The Art of Prelude and Fugue” originated in 2017 and is a first-of-its-kind curation of the entire Well-Tempered Clavier of J.S. Bach interspersed with the complete Preludes and Fugues of Dmitri Shostakovich. Many pianists have performed and recorded both the complete Well-Tempered Clavier of Bach and the entire opus of Shostakovich’s preludes and fugues. But no one has performed both monumental cycles in their entirety until now.
Presenting these two works interstitially is both shockingly unorthodox and a most natural partnership. The curation both contextualizes an exceedingly well-known work and brings to greater attention a lesser known masterpiece.
Johnson is known for her ability to effectively engage with and educate her audience. In an informal but authoritative manner, she offers advice on what to listen for and provides context for the works she performs in a way that enriches the concert experience.
Johnson is resident pianist of the Baltimore Symphony and Principal Pianist of the Delaware Symphony, positions which synthesize her finely honed ensemble skills, virtuosity and versatility. She has played principal keyboard for seven albums recorded by the Baltimore Symphony
Performing more than 100 concerts annually as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral pianist, Johnson describes her mission this way: “My goal is to vividly and thoroughly bring to life the essence and true character of the music, the way an actor embodies a role with full commitment.”
Tickets are $25 for adults, $22 for ages 25 and under and 60 and over. The Carroll Arts Center is at 91 W. Main St., Westminster. Get details at carrollcountyartscouncil.org, or call 410-848-7272. | 2022-09-13T18:07:39Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | BSO pianist Lura Johnson in concert at the Carroll Arts Center | Arts & entertainment | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/arts_and_entertainment/bso-pianist-lura-johnson-in-concert-at-the-carroll-arts-center/article_594fc0de-bdb6-593a-8115-51242fd8e9b6.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/arts_and_entertainment/bso-pianist-lura-johnson-in-concert-at-the-carroll-arts-center/article_594fc0de-bdb6-593a-8115-51242fd8e9b6.html |
Alice Neel
Remedios Varo, La llamada (The Call).
National Museum of Women in the Arts, Gift from Private Collection; Photo by Lee Stalsworth
Susan Williamson
History lecture on lesser-known 20th-century female artists who stood on their own
Susan Williamson will present “From the Shadow to the Spotlight,” a new art history lecture focusing on 20th-century female artists, at 1 and 7 p.m. Sept. 20 at the Carroll Arts Center in Westminster. A reception with Williamson will immediately follow the matinee presentation with a second reception preceding the evening presentation at 6 p.m. Admission is free, and no tickets are required.
Williamson’s lecture focuses on six female artists: Alice Neel, Ruth Asawa, Faith Ringgold, Ana Mendieta, Remedios Varo and Susan O’Malley. Most are familiar with prolific female artists like Georgia O’Keeffe and Frida Kahlo, as well as their male counterparts, Edgar Degas and Diego Rivera, but these six female artists come with no male counterpart. Through personal tragedy and sheer determination, they stood on their own.
Williamson received a masters in liberal arts from Western Maryland College (now McDaniel College) in 1996. She then had a variety of arts experiences — teaching high school art and humanities, owning her own pottery studio and traveling to the Netherlands to study 17th-century Dutch painting techniques. Eventually, Williamson became an adjunct lecturer in art history at McDaniel College and Carroll Community college, as well as the visual arts coordinator of the Carroll County Arts Council. She is also one of the founding members of Off Track Art, an artist co-op in downtown Westminster.
With this lecture, Williamson hopes to “pique the audience’s interest to do some searching on their own to find more works by these amazing artists, [and] find more fascinating lives of other women artists who made it on their own.”
Learn more at carrollcountyartscouncil.org or by calling 410-848-7272. | 2022-09-13T18:07:51Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | History lecture on lesser-known 20th-century female artists who stood on their own | Arts & entertainment | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/arts_and_entertainment/history-lecture-on-lesser-known-20th-century-female-artists-who-stood-on-their-own/article_b1f0352c-e5d7-5877-825d-6066e17755aa.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/arts_and_entertainment/history-lecture-on-lesser-known-20th-century-female-artists-who-stood-on-their-own/article_b1f0352c-e5d7-5877-825d-6066e17755aa.html |
Tomlinson is running for one of three seats in legislative District 5, which mostly covers Carroll County, with the exception of Mount Airy in Frederick County.
He is one of three Republicans running unopposed in the Nov. 8 general election. The others are Christopher Eric Bouchat, a Carroll County commissioner, and incumbent Del. April Rose. They have no Democratic opponents.
Tomlinson received the second most votes in a crowded primary election race with eight candidates. He balanced campaigning for his first run for state office with planning for his wedding, which took place a month before the primary.
Tomlinson said his previous experience in Annapolis and understanding of the Maryland executive branch gave him an advantage over some competitors in the primary race.
He’s worked in Gov. Larry Hogan’s administration for the last five years, managing contracts for the Maryland Transit Administration’s Office of State Procurement.
In Annapolis, he said, he plans to propose legislation to improve the state’s procurement process to better ensure residents are getting more “bang for their buck.”
He also plans to propose legislation to improve human resources practices in state government. Every fiscal note attached to a bill should include the number of new employees needed to accomplish the legislation’s goals.
He pointed to plans from Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wes Moore, who has said he wants to revive the Red Line Metro project.
“OK, that’s fine,” Tomlinson said. “Are you prepared to hire a whole bunch of new people? Or, are you going to depend on the same X number of people to get this work done, who are already overloaded?”
He isn’t in favor of a growing government, Tomlinson said, but “if the General Assembly is going to say, ‘You got to do this,’ you need to start providing adequate staff to keep up with the work.”
Tomlinson said he’d also like to pursue legislation making it a crime to sell or distribute heroin or fentanyl that results in somebody’s death. A similar bill that would have made it a felony, with a maximum prison sentence of 30 years, failed in 2015, but Tomlinson expressed hope it would have more of a chance in Annapolis now.
He wants to make running for municipal office easier and more understandable for aspiring local politicians. In Carroll County, he said, few people run for local office.
“One of the problems is that it’s really hard to get that information,” said Tomlinson, who ran for mayor in Manchester in 2015.
It would help if the Maryland State Board of Elections posted information about how to run for municipal office on its website and listed the people who previously held local roles, Tomlinson said.
The state also needs to look at how it conducts elections, Tomlinson said. He understands the intention behind having so many poll stations for early voting and having such a big window for it, he said, but it’s “absolutely absurd” how much money each county spends on early voting.
Tomlinson plans to support legislation limiting the powers of the Maryland State Board of Education.
During the pandemic, the Carroll County Board of Education was often opposed to decisions by the state board of education, including on requiring masking in schools.
“I don’t know why we elect local folks to run our Board of Education, if the state’s just gonna come in and override us every time they don’t like what we’re doing,” Tomlinson said.
Name: Christopher Tomlinson
Occupation: Manager of contracts division at the Maryland Transit Administration's Office of State Procurement
Previous campaigns/offices: Unsuccessful run for mayor in Manchester in 2015
Campaign website: tomlinsonfordelegate.com
Social media: facebook.com/ChrisTomlinsonForDelegate
Email: christophertomlinson1@gmail.com
State House Of Delegates | 2022-09-13T23:40:47Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Tomlinson promises to be pragmatic lawmaker in House of Delegates | Election Coverage | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/continuing_coverage/election_coverage/tomlinson-promises-to-be-pragmatic-lawmaker-in-house-of-delegates/article_2fdc5926-777a-573e-be65-7393918121da.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/continuing_coverage/election_coverage/tomlinson-promises-to-be-pragmatic-lawmaker-in-house-of-delegates/article_2fdc5926-777a-573e-be65-7393918121da.html |
One of the two vehicles involved in a crash on Rosemont Avenue in Frederick on Tuesday afternoon
A Frederick police officer investigates at the scene of a two-vehicle crash on Rosemont Avenue in Frederick on Tuesday afternoon.
Three injured in two-vehicle Frederick crash
One vehicle hit another on the side, he said.
The road was closed for about 45 minutes, then reopened, Etzler said.
Frederick police were called to the scene at about 1:42 p.m. | 2022-09-13T23:40:53Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Three injured in two-vehicle Frederick crash | Cops And Crime | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/crime_and_justice/cops_and_crime/three-injured-in-two-vehicle-frederick-crash/article_a03ed88a-dbac-51ab-b74c-35ca0ec635f1.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/crime_and_justice/cops_and_crime/three-injured-in-two-vehicle-frederick-crash/article_a03ed88a-dbac-51ab-b74c-35ca0ec635f1.html |
Commission holds first hearing on North Market Street project
Frederick residents will have a second chance in October to weigh in on a development project along North Market Street.
On Monday, the city's Planning Commission held the first of two required hearings on a rezoning request from the developer of the Madison on North Market development.
The request is to rezone more than 5 acres in the 1700 block of North Market Street from Neighborhood Commercial to a Mixed Use Floating District.
A second hearing on the project is scheduled for Oct. 10.
If the rezoning and the project's plans are approved, it could add up to 4,000 square feet of non-residential use and up to 60 residential units to the property near the intersection of North Market Street and Schifferstadt Boulevard.
Pam Reppert, a planner with the city, told Planning Commission members on Monday that when considering the application of a floating zone, the Planning Commission, mayor, and aldermen must consider factors including:
how a project would change an area's population
the availability of public facilities,
present and future transportation patterns
compatibility with both existing and proposed development for the area
how the amendment would relate to the city's comprehensive plan.
They must also look at whether a proposal complies with the criteria for a requested floating zone, whether a project is compatible with existing uses in the surrounding area, and whether a rezoning would agree with the comprehensive plan, she said.
Among other requirements for approval, developer New Harbor Development would have to build a protected bicycle lane along the property's frontage of North Market Street.
Commissioner Joan Strawson said she appreciates the willingness to build a bike lane, but questioned whether having one for such a short stretch might be more dangerous than not having one.
Waiting for a bike lane to be built along the entire stretch of road would take too long, said Cherian Eapen, the supervisor of traffic engineering for the city.
There's a hope that building the bike lane up to Schifferstadt Boulevard will motivate the city to extend it up to Md. 26, he said.
“If you don't start somewhere, it's very difficult to get somewhere,” Eapen said.
The project would divide the property into three sections, the first of which would house a one-story, 4,000-square-foot nonresidential building used as office space.
The second section would contain a four-story building on more than two acres, with 60 housing units financed through Low-Income Housing Tax Credits.
The third area would contain more than two acres of forest conservation land occupied by a stream and a floodplain, according to a report prepared by the city's staff.
Using the tax credits, eight of the 60 units would be for low-income residents.
The project is part of work by New Harbor for low-income housing with a special emphasis on remote work and learning opportunities for residents. It includes space for home offices in units, a conference room, and space for Zoom and other remote meetings, said David Severn, an attorney representing New Harbor.
North Market Street
Madison On North Market
New Harbor Development | 2022-09-14T02:06:00Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Commission holds first hearing on North Market Street project | Economy & business | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/economy_and_business/commission-holds-first-hearing-on-north-market-street-project/article_44e9b257-2a7e-5349-ba13-53ccf3ac5893.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/economy_and_business/commission-holds-first-hearing-on-north-market-street-project/article_44e9b257-2a7e-5349-ba13-53ccf3ac5893.html |
Plan for South Street office, warehouse project approved
A project has been approved on Monocacy Boulevard in Frederick that will add two office and warehouse buildings along East South Street.
The city's planning commission voted unanimously on Monday to approve a final site plan for the Frederick Exchange project.
The project, near the intersection of East South Street and Monocacy Boulevard, will have two one-story buildings with 192,975 square feet of office and warehouse space.
The plan consolidates four separate parcels in the northeast quadrant of the intersection of East South Street and Monocacy Boulevard, Gabrielle Collard, the manager of current planning for the city, told the commission Monday.
Once it's consolidated, the lot will be more than 11 acres. The properties were rezoned from Heavy Industrial use to General Commercial in 2017.
The final site plan is the product of about two years of discussions between the property's owner and the city, said David Lingg of Lingg Property Consulting, who represented property owner Frederick Corner LLC.
One of the buildings will be about 43,700 square feet and will face a new public street built as part of the project. The second will be 149,275 square feet and will face Monocacy Boulevard, according to a report prepared by the city's staff.
The project will coordinate with the owners of two adjoining properties to build a new public road stretching from East South Street to Monocacy Boulevard.
The road is part of a larger network of roads included in the city's 2040 long-term plans that would stretch from East Patrick Street to the roundabout on South East Street and possibly on to South Market Street.
The project site will also include a stretch of a 10-foot-wide shared-use path that will run from East Patrick Street to East Street, Lingg said.
Part of the path has already been built along the front of the Gateway East Plaza to the east of Monocacy Boulevard, and will continue across the front of the Bluegrass Self Storage being built across the street from the new complex, according to the staff report.
But because of continued consideration of a safe pedestrian crossing across property owned by the Maryland Transit Administration and a CSX rail line, the last section of about 50 feet of the trail and a proposed crosswalk at East South Street will be removed from the plan. They will be built as a project in the city's Capital Improvement Plan.
Frederick Exchange
Bluegrass Self Storage
Gateway East Plaza | 2022-09-14T02:06:06Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Plan for South Street office, warehouse project approved | Economy & business | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/economy_and_business/plan-for-south-street-office-warehouse-project-approved/article_06b4e853-219b-53ca-8e5c-e2f29131b8bc.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/economy_and_business/plan-for-south-street-office-warehouse-project-approved/article_06b4e853-219b-53ca-8e5c-e2f29131b8bc.html |
Boys Soccer: Densock, Lancers end long winless drought
WALKERSVILLE — Linganore boys soccer coach Kirk Meehan said his team was ready “to take the next step” this season.
And, on Tuesday night, the Lancers took a pretty big one.
After grabbing the lead early in the first half, the Linganore defense held strong and saw it through for a 1-0 road win over Walkersville.
It marked the Lancers’ first victory in more than a year. Last season, they were 0-10-2 after winning just one game the season before that.
“This will be the first bus ride back we get to celebrate and cheer in two years,” junior Brady Densock said.
Densock helped make it happen when he received a pass with some space to operate on the right flank, and then tucked his shot inside the far post with 27 minutes, 7 seconds to play in the first half.
“My guy, Joonas [Veimer], sent me a perfect throughball, and I was able to place it in the back corner,” Densock said. “It was the assist, really. It was awesome.”
So was the Linganore defense, which completely stifled Walkersville in the first half and then turned away a couple of good scoring chances after the Lions (1-1-1) picked up their pace in the second half.
“I thought we came out with a lot of energy,” Meehan said. “We played hard. We played fast. We used our feet. We just took it to them, I thought.”
It was a sharp contrast to Linganore’s first game of the season, a 3-0 loss to Westminster that saw the Lancers fall behind right away.
“I am so impressed with our defense,” Densock said after the win over Walkersville. “We haven’t been able to solidify a strong defensive line like that in a long time.”
It’s a big deal to the Lancers that they are now 1-1. They have a chance to gain confidence and build some momentum that their players, including the 15 seniors on the roster, have rarely experienced.
They are happy to say that they don’t have a losing record at the moment.
“It feels good to get that first win,” Meehan said. “We expect that it is not the last.”
Walkersville, on the other hand, will hope to regroup.
Coach Mark Gaffigan was happy with the way the Lions played in the second half after a sluggish start.
“Little more effort,” Gaffigan said. “I think Linganore came out and really wanted it. They played well. Kudos to them. They brought the effort. They were beating us to the ball.
“But I thought we did some things in the second half where we brought the effort a little bit more and pushed the ball offensively.”
In a tournament at Oakland Mills High School over the weekend, Walkersville beat the host Scorpions 3-0 and then tied Dundalk 1-1. Gaffigan viewed it as an encouraging start.
“We are young,” he said. “Lot of new varsity players. We start three sophomores. But they are really anxious and excited about the game. And they have each other’s backs. So, it’s been a pleasure to coach them.”
Kirk Meehan
Brady Densock | 2022-09-14T04:18:33Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Boys Soccer: Densock, Lancers end long winless drought | High School Sports | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/sports/level/high_school/boys-soccer-densock-lancers-end-long-winless-drought/article_b73c7a16-b360-5cfa-b59a-4ad2ae64a1d9.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/sports/level/high_school/boys-soccer-densock-lancers-end-long-winless-drought/article_b73c7a16-b360-5cfa-b59a-4ad2ae64a1d9.html |
Safety Darrick Forrest was arguably the Commanders’ most impactful defender during Sunday’s win.
Forrest has a ball in his first Commanders start
“I was trying to run home with it. I ain’t going to lie,” Forrest said.
Forrest’s agent, Aston Wilson, said he seemed relaxed Saturday night at the team hotel. But hours later, just before kickoff, Forrest admitted his “adrenaline was rushing. ... I had a little bit of butterflies in my stomach.” In Section 109, Wilson sat with Forrest’s girlfriend, uncle, younger brother and father, Darrick Sr.
Late in the fourth quarter, on third-and-11, Forrest saw wide receiver Christian Kirk running an over route. Forrest started running with Kirk, and after a moment, he peeked back.
“The ball was floating,” he said. “I started running as fast as I could to it. I [saw] the receiver coming to me. [I hit the] toe-tap, and I just ...” He paused. “I was ready to turn up.”
“I’m just super proud of him because I can remember, a year ago, he didn’t know where to go or how to start,” cornerback William Jackson III said. “But now, just to see him go out there and do that ... man, I was just super happy for him.”
But right after the game, as Forrest left to celebrate, Brooks, the equipment manager, left to drive back to team headquarters in Ashburn, Virginia. Later that night, as Brooks unpacked and cleaned, he came across the ball. He had a long night ahead of him, but by the time Forrest arrived at the facility Monday, the ball would be there waiting for him on the red, padded seat of his locker. | 2022-09-14T04:18:45Z | www.fredericknewspost.com | Forrest has a ball in his first Commanders start | Professional: All Sports | fredericknewspost.com | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/sports/level/professional/forrest-has-a-ball-in-his-first-commanders-start/article_9b332e7f-e8be-557a-b1b1-7f45531eda56.html | https://www.fredericknewspost.com/sports/level/professional/forrest-has-a-ball-in-his-first-commanders-start/article_9b332e7f-e8be-557a-b1b1-7f45531eda56.html |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.