Route 30

Maryland State Police in Westminster said they are looking for a man who they believe may be impersonating a police officer in the Route 30 area. A man in a dark-colored, two-door hatchback with a red and blue emergency light pulled over a motorist on Route 91 near Route 30 and took his driver's license Dec. 21, police said. Early Friday, a motorist on Carrollton Road near Houck Road was pulled over by a car with a siren and red and blue strobe light. The suspect drove away when the motorist got out of his vehicle.

Maryland's transportation secretary told Carroll leaders yesterday that the state lacks the money to move forward on road projects that are designed to relieve congestion and improve highway safety in the county. The meeting in Westminster was Transportation Secretary Robert L. Flanagan's latest stop on a tour across Maryland to discuss the state's transportation needs and the $10.5 billion of highway work that has not been funded. It was also the third meeting with Carroll officials in as many weeks to talk about road projects considered important to the county, including the Route 30 bypass around Hampstead and improvements on Route 32 between Eldersburg and the Howard County line.

Forget bypass; extend Interstate 795 to Pa. First we hear Manchester needs a Route 30 bypass; next we learn that Hampstead cannot survive without a Route 30 bypass; and, we all know that Westminster has needed a Route 140 bypass for 40 years. What's the utility of a bypass? It untangles a traffic snarl for a couple of miles, and then just piles it up again somewhere down the road. What's the cause of the traffic jams on the two roads in question? Cars and trucks from Pennsylvania trying to get to/from Interstate 795. The obvious solution then is to simply extend Interstate 795 to Pennsylvania.

At Manchester's monthly town meetings, Mayor Christopher B. D'Amario and the five council members rarely miss a chance to voice their desire for the state to build a bypass around the town, no matter how tangential to the matter at hand. So the mayor was "flabbergasted" when state Transportation Secretary Robert L. Flanagan recently asked whether the town was sticking to a position opposing a bypass. It seems that state highway officials' files contained what they considered the town's most recent official word on the issue - a no vote by the Manchester council more than two decades ago. Now, Manchester officials are taking steps to update their formal position on a bypass - and to be included in talks about state road projects for Carroll County.

Tired of waiting for the state to build a Route 30 bypass around Hampstead, some county and town leaders say they might support assessing tolls on the proposed road as a way to raise money for the project. In a visit to the county last week, state Secretary of Transportation Robert L. Flanagan floated the idea of a toll for commuters as a possible funding solution for the bypass. County officials have long agreed that the bypass is first on their wish list of road projects. "We've studied [adding tolls]

On July 6, 2003, DR. IRVIN W.; beloved husband of June Frock (nee Fox); father of Dennis M. and Timothy D. Frock and Debbie Gemmill, father-in-law of Iris Frock and Butch Gemmill. Also survived by seven grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren. Services at ECKHARDT FUNERAL CHAPEL, P.A., Route 30 and Charmill Drive, Manchester, Friday at 10 A.M. Interment in U.C.C. Cemetery, Manchester. Friends may call Thursday 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 P.M. I desired contributions may be made to Trinity United Church of Christ, PO Box 730, Manchester, MD 21102

Speaker to discuss foundations of republic The Carroll County Taxpayers Association will meet at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow at Westminster Senior Center. The Rev. Gary Buchman, pastor of Taneytown Baptist Church, will discuss "The Christian Foundation of the American Republic." His message is that the founding fathers relied on their biblical faith as a basis for creating the federal system. All property owners are welcome. The senior center is at 125 Stoner Ave. Information: 410- 840-9699.

In their annual meeting with the Maryland Department of Transportation yesterday, Carroll officials lobbied hard for the Hampstead bypass, a road that has been in various planning stages for more than 40 years. State highway officials called for patience and noted budget constraints that could further delay construction of the six-mile route, designed to alleviate congestion on Route 30, Hampstead's Main Street. "If we had $1 million for every year we have waited, we could have this road built," said Republican Sen. Larry E. Haines, leader of Carroll's legislative delegation.