County Commissioners

In recent days, members of the Board of County Commissioners have given themselves high marks when taking turns mounting the county soapbox. Members have proclaimed themselves successful in keeping campaign promises across the board in their first six months in office — one-eighth of their four-year terms. How enviable it must be to grade one's self. If I had been able to grade myself in high school, I'd have surely graduated cum laude and been offered scholarships from numerous Ivy League colleges, with fraternities competing to have me become a pledge to their house.

Conservatives used to have a good deal of fun with the Baltimore city Council, which, as the city sank into poverty and disrepair, would busy itself with ineffective loony-left measures like resolutions to declare Baltimore a nuclear-free zone. Showboating. Trivializing the public's business.  Perhaps they will be equally amused now that the guardians of the Monoglot White Male Ascendency in Frederick County, the county commissioners (all, I believe, descended from immigrants)

County commissioners to hold community meeting The Carroll County commissioners will hold a series of community meetings around the county to hear comments and listen to resident concerns on issues that affect the county. The next meeting will be at 7 p.m. May 20 at Hampstead Volunteer Fire Company meeting hall, 1341 N. Main St. All residents are welcome. Information: 410-386-2043.

WESTMINSTER - The Board of County Commissioners will host a forum this week on the county's solid waste disposal needs. The forum will be held at Carroll Community College, Building K, room 100, 1601 Washington Road, Westminster, on Tuesday, Feb. 28, beginning at 7 p.m. Residents are invited to attend. The forum will include an overview of current services and demands, as well as future projected needs and options for handling those needs. The commissioners said that although incineration and waste-to-energy will be discussed as options for waste disposal, arrangements made by the prior Board of County Commissioners will not be discussed.

The Carroll County commissioners recently held their 27th annual recognition program for 101 government employees who marked anniversaries and exhibited outstanding performances last year. The Employee Awards Recognition Program included employees marking service milestones with Carroll County government. Honorees included: Five years of service: Thomas Bader, Latisha Mayne, Gail Moscati, Dolores Rhodes, State's Attorney; Dale Baker, Richard Brenner, Karen Brown, Joe Hernandez, Robert Letmate, Melissa Taylor, Sheriff's Department; Beverly Baldwin, Hashawha; Rodney Bupp, Roads Operations; Timothy Burke, Kimberly Millender, Sandra Stultz, County Attorney; Stacy Conaway, Mark Rhoads, Utilities; Jodi Daroja, Housing & Community Development; Verna Lynn Daubert, Rebecca Unglesbee, Accounting/Collections; Jorge David, Facilities; Cindy Eppley, Christopher Letnaunchyn, Engineering; Nancy Grove, Sonia Wimert, Information & Technology Services; Sheree Lima, Budget.

The County Commissioners will hold a public meeting to address proposed improvements to Monroe Avenue in Eldersburg at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the County Office Building.Residents of Monroe Avenue between Liberty and Ridge roads have asked the county to take steps to reduce speeding.A petition has asked for safety measures along a curve and three-way stop signs at Monroe and Sherryl avenues.County Department of Public Works staff has recommended edge marking and center-line delineation to remind drivers to stay in their lane.

ANNAPOLIS -- County commissioners, farmers and citizens jammed an Annapolis committee room yesterday to denounce an administration bill aimed at managing growth and preserving the Chesapeake Bay.While opponents at yesterday's hearing before the Senate Economic and Environmental Affairs Committee agreed the bay needs to be protected, most said the administration's bill infringes on property rights, places undue restraints on rural counties and does not...

Hunters and gun enthusiasts who practice their firearms skills at Carroll County's increasingly popular gun range will soon see improvements to the rough outpost deep inside the county's Northern Landfill.In a unanimous decision, county commissioners voted yesterday spend $36,000 to run power lines to the Hap Baker Firearms Facility off Route 140 just outside Westminster.The electricity will be used to power lighting and ventilation systems needed to improve safety and comfort, said Richard J. Soisson, director of the Department of Recreation and Parks.

The County Commissioners will not oppose a wine festival in Ocean City, even if it comes on the heels of the Maryland Wine Festival, an annual event that draws more than 20,000 to the Farm Museum in Westminster.Worcester County legislators have introduced a bill that would allow the county to sponsor a festival, serving beer and wine, on any weekend other than the dates set for the state event."The Maryland Wine Festival is a big tourist attraction and promotes a state industry," said Richard Soisson, director of the county Recreation and Parks Department, in a meeting with the County Commissioners yesterday.

The Carroll County commissioners said a blueprint presented to them yesterday outlining the future of emergency services is a promising foundation. "This is a comprehensive analysis and serves as a great base," Commissioner Dean L. Minnich said at a meeting with two representatives from the Carroll County Volunteer Fireman's Association. County Chief of Staff Steven D. Powell said that the firefighters' plan will be considered as a resource in updating the public safety section of the county's master plan this summer.

There was barely a whisper about God during a Carroll County-sponsored seminar Friday on the state constitution. The speaker was introduced as Pastor David Whitney to an audience of about 50 county employees in a lecture hall at Carroll Community College, but he made no attempt to proselytize. "I am honored to be with people who care about their country," said Whitney, the pastor of a Pasadena church who frequently lectures for the Institute on the Constitution. "I commend the county commissioners for having the foresight to offer you an opportunity to study the supreme law of the state.

The Board of County Commissioners and the Maryland Open Meetings Compliance Board traded barbs on Wednesday over whether the county violated open meetings law when it held its controversial "PlanMaryland: At the Crossroads" forum in October. In a ruling issued Feb. 1, the state board said the forum, which discussed Gov.Martin O'Malley's smart growth policy, violated Maryland open meeting's statute because a fee of $25 was charged by organizers to help cover costs. "The county board violated the (open meetings)

The Board of County Commissioners are citing a bank mistake for errors in the deposit of customers' payments of water and property tax bills - which county officials said affected some 230 accounts. In a press release dated, Jan. 17, the county said that on Jan. 5, officials deposited checks and cash payments made to the county by property owners for water bills and property tax bills to the county bank, BB&T. On Jan, 6, the bank submitted the checks to the various institutions for payment.

WESTMINSTER — The Board of County Commissioners will discuss the proposed expansion of the Carroll County Regional Airport in a public session on Thursday, Jan. 19, at 1:30 p.m., in the County Office Building, 225 N. Center St., Westminster, Room 311. In September 2011, the Board postponed a decision on the proposed airport expansion in order to allow board members more time to gather information and study the benefits and drawbacks of such...

The weather outside was frightful - actually, just a bit cold and wet - but the lobby of the Carroll County Office Building was delightful on Dec. 6 as the county hosted its eighth annual Christmas tree lighting. The festivities were moved inside to the lobby due to inclement weather. About 50 people attended the celebration, which included a musical performance by the Frances Scott Key Chamber Singers. Led by vocal music instructor Matt Lamb, the FSK singers included Alyssa Albright, Madi Moreland, Audrey Bennett, Michael Slevin, Ben Thompson, Kevin Cook, Joe Coshun, Tayman Baker, Melissa Williams and Annie Douglas.

WESTMINSTER - Carroll County government and donors will host a forum on aspects of the PlanMaryland proposal Oct. 31 from noon to 5 p.m. at the Pikesville Hilton hotel, but the event won't be open to all and will charge a fee for some attendees to cover costs. A press release from the county Oct. 17 read, "To reduce costs, seating will be limited primarily to elected officials, staff, and donors. "A limited number of tickets may be provided to the public on an as available basis at a cost of $25 per ticket.

Everyone from a circuit judge to a Westminster radio announcer hailed state Treasurer Richard N. Dixon, Carroll County's favorite son, as a role model for African-Americans and others.Mr. Dixon, the first black elected to a state constitutional post, was honored by the County Commissioners Thursday for his "13 years of service" as a member of Carroll's State House delegation.The event at Martins Westminster marked one of the rare occasions when the commissioners have honored a resident. About 150 people attended the dinner.

Vicki Serig used to love sitting with a book and throwing open the bedroom drapes in her Carroll County home so she could look at the green sloping fields and little red barn across the road. But now, when she opens those curtains, she sees 380 square feet of metal on top of a fat red pole. Serig and her husband, Troy, are neighbors with a billboard. The Serigs moved to Union Mills four years ago in search of a perfect country setting. And they had found it, until about two weeks ago when they came home from work to find trees and bushes across Route 97 gone and the 20-foot-tall metal pole in place.

On these cool, quiet nights, I can hear the drums echoing throughout western Maryland in the same rhythmic beat, from as far away as Garrett, Allegany and Washington's reservations. But these days, the loudest sounds come from the drums in Carroll and Frederick reservations, whose respective chiefs view Gov. Martin O'Malley and his minions as trespassers in what, heretofore, has been sacred ground: land-use planning. The drums are beating against PlanMaryland, the governor's proposal to monitor, and set guidelines for, growth through the state.

WESTMINSTER - The Board of County Commissioners this week requested more time to review and comment on the Plan Maryland program being considered by state officials. Plan Maryland is a proposal through with the state would consider transportation, job creation areas and natural resources, among other factors, in developing a comprehensive statewide plan for growth and development. Gov.Martin O'Malley discussed Plan Maryland at the recent Maryland Association of Counties conference inOcean City.