The Westminster Vol. Fire Dept. was honored to have Del. Haven Shoemaker visit the July monthly meeting

The Westminster Vol. Fire Dept. was honored to have Del. Haven Shoemaker to take the time out of his busy schedule to visit the July monthly meeting and present the department with a new Maryland state flag. From left to right: past dept. president Bob Cumberland,  Del. Shoemaker, and current president Jim Bangerd. Thank you Del. Shoemaker. July 6, 2016

Fire CC Depts 03 Westminster, Flag, People Shoemaker-Haven

Carroll County Delegate Haven Q. Shoemaker's Weekly Update

Carroll County Delegate Haven Q. Shoemaker's Weekly Update

Delegate Haven Shoemaker, District 5, Carroll County

Annapolis contact info:    House of Delegates    Room 320    6 Bladen Street    Annapolis, MD 21401    (410) 841-3359 Member Ways and Means Cmte Education Subcmte Finance Resrcs Subcmte Carroll County Delegation Western MD Delegation Veterans Caucus Sportsmen's Caucus Things are moving fast... Well my friends, it’s down to the wire now.  We’ll have marathon sessions on the floor of the House of Delegates tomorrow, Saturday, and Monday.  If we don’t pass a budget by midnight on Monday we’ll have to make use of the extension Governor Hogan granted us via executive order late last week.  Hopefully that won’t be necessary, but if that’s what it takes to get this state on the right track then that’s exactly what we’ll do. Here are a few important bills that are still up in the air…

Carroll County Charitable Gaming Bill Passed the House 139-1 Awaiting passage in the Senate Rain Tax Repeal Passed the Senate unanimously Awaiting passage in the House Small Business Personal Property Tax Break Passed the Senate unanimously Awaiting passage in the House Military Pension Income Tax Exemption Passed the Senate unanimously Awaiting passage in the House Public Charter Schools Passed the Senate 46-1 Awaiting passage in the House Of course this is just a sample of the myriad legislation we’ve seen come through Annapolis this year.  If you have a particular bill you’re interested in please don’t hesitate to contact me and I’ll give you the latest details.  Thanks as always for reading my weekly update.  Have a wonderful day! Haven N. Shoemaker, Jr. State Delegate, District 5, Carroll County

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Baltimore Sun Carroll Eagle: 

http://www.baltimoresun.com/search/dispatcher.front?Query=Dayhoff&target=adv_article

Carroll County Times: http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/search/dispatcher.front?Query=Kevin+Dayhoff&target=article

Westminster Patch: http://patch.com/users/kevin-e-dayhoff?page=1

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevindayhoff

Tumblr: Kevin Dayhoff Banana Stems www.kevindayhoff.tumblr.com/

Kevin Dayhoff is an artist - and a columnist for:

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Kevin Dayhoff's The New Bedford Herald: http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/ = www.newbedfordherald.net


Smurfs: http://babylonfluckjudd.blogspot.com/
Google profile: https://profiles.google.com/kevindayhoff/

E-mail: kevindayhoff(at)gmail.com
My http://www.explorecarroll.com/ columns appear in the copy of the Baltimore Sunday Sun that is distributed in Carroll County: https://subscribe.baltsun.com/Circulation/

See also - Kevin Earl Dayhoff Art www.kevindayhoff.com: Travel, art, artists, authors, books, newspapers, media, writers and writing, journalists and journalism, reporters and reporting, music, culture, opera... Ad maiorem Dei gloriam inque hominum salutem. “Deadline U.S.A.” 1952. Ed Hutcheson: “That's the press, baby. The press! And there's nothing you can do about it. Nothing!” - See more at: http://kevindayhoffart.blogspot.com/#sthash.4HNLwtfd.dpuf

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Haven N. Shoemaker Sr., 75 of Mountain City, Tenn.

Haven N. Shoemaker Sr., 75, of Mountain City, Tenn., formerly of North East, Md., died Monday, Sept. 10, 2012, at home.

He was the husband of Carolyn Shoemaker, his wife of 48 years.

He was an Army veteran and was stationed in Germany, as well as Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He retired from GM and was a committee chairman with UAW for many years.

He enjoyed boxing and was the 1957 Maryland Amateur Featherweight Champion and the Army European Theatre Champion.

Surviving, in addition to his wife, are sons and daughter-in-law Kenny Shoemaker Sr., of Mountain City, and Haven Shoemaker Jr. and wife Patty, of Hampstead; a brother, Percy Shoemaker, of Lincoln, Ala.; and grandchildren Haven Shoemaker III, of Hampstead, and Kenny Shoemaker Jr., of Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Visitation will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. today at Mountain City Funeral Home Chapel, 224 S. Church St., Mountain City.

A funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. Friday at the funeral home. A graveside service, with military honors conducted by the Johnson County Honor Guard, will be held at Clint Gilley Cemetery in North Carolina.

Memorial contributions may be sent to Pleasant Grove Baptist Church Building Fund, 3385 Roan Creek Road, Mountain City, TN 37683. 

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Kevin Dayhoff is an artist - and a columnist for:

Patuxent Publishing Co., The Carroll Eagle: www.explorecarroll.com: http://www.explorecarroll.com/search/?s=Dayhoff&action=GO
The Tentacle: www.thetentacle.com http://www.thetentacle.com/author.cfm?MyAuthor=41

Westminster Patch: http://westminster.patch.com/search?keywords=Dayhoff

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Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://kevindayhoffart.blogspot.com/ or http://kevindayhoffart.com/ = http://www.kevindayhoff.com/
Kevin Dayhoff Westminster: http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/ or http://www.westgov.net/ = www.kevindayhoff.org

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevindayhoffTwitpic: http://twitpic.com/photos/kevindayhoff
Kevin Dayhoff's The New Bedford Herald: http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/ = www.newbedfordherald.net

Tumblr: Kevin Dayhoff Banana Stems www.kevindayhoff.tumblr.com/
Smurfs: http://babylonfluckjudd.blogspot.com/
Google profile: https://profiles.google.com/kevindayhoff/

E-mail: kevindayhoff(at)gmail.com
My http://www.explorecarroll.com/ columns appear in the copy of the Baltimore Sunday Sun that is distributed in Carroll County: https://subscribe.baltsun.com/Circulation/
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TownMall of Westminster celebrates its 25th birthday By Kevin Dayhoff March 11, 2012

The TownMall of Westminster celebrates its 25th birthday

By Kevin Dayhoff March 11, 2012 http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/2012/03/townmall-of-westminster-celebrates-its.html

Labels: Bus Econ, Bus Econ 2012, Bus Econ retail shopping, Carroll Co Bus TownMall, Carroll County Businesses, Dayhoff writing essays Economy, Westminster businesses, People Shoemaker-Haven,

On Friday afternoon, March 2, 2012, local community leaders, led by Bob Mathers of WTTR got together to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the TownMall of Westminster.

Westminster Mayor Kevin Utz and police chief Jeff Spaulding joined Carroll County Commissioners Robin Frazier, Dave Roush, and Haven Shoemaker for the celebration.

Also participating in the event was Julianna M. Albowicz, a representative of U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski, Carroll County Chamber of Commerce President Mike McMullin and the TownMall General Manager Robyn Clark.

Older folks in the greater Carroll community can still remember the excitement when, on Wednesday, March 4, 1987 at 12:45 p.m. the Cranberry Mall, now known as the TownMall of Westminster located on Route 140 at Center Street in Westminster, held a long awaited – and much-anticipated grand opening.

On March 4, 2000, Baltimore Sun writer Jennifer McMenamin reported, “Cranberry Mall was a long time in coming to Carroll County -- a sign planted in farmland flanking Route 140 had boasted that a shopping center was coming soon, but for 15 years nothing happened.

“When a New York-based developer bought the land in 1985 and broke ground for the shopping center, local economic development officials heralded it as a regional attraction that would bring 1,000 jobs and generate $2.6 million a year in sales taxes.”

According to Commissioner Shoemaker, 12,000 tons of steel from South Carolina, 65,000 sq. ft. of marble tile from Italy for the floors, and 50 miles of electrical cable, were used in the $36 million spent on the construction and development of the mall.

On behalf of the Carroll County Board of Commissioners, Commissioner Shoemaker read a county proclamation and shared a few personal observations; including the point that the TownMall also serves as a social gathering place for older folks and not just teenagers…

The mall has seen many changes since it opened as the first and to this day, the only fully enclosed shopping facility in Carroll County.

It was also that year that Carroll County celebrated its 150th anniversary with a schedule of festivities that lasted throughout the year and included a visit by Roy Rodgers on May 30.

In hindsight, as I can best remember, the opening of the regional mercantile center was not necessarily part of the Carroll County birthday festivities that year, although it should have because it actually fits well in the history of county.

In the second-half of the 1700s, especially after the end of the French and Indian War in 1763, Carroll County and the Westminster area quickly gained importance in the central-Maryland and mid-Atlantic area as a regional mercantile center – in particular for pioneers headed west to the then-frontier of western-Pennsylvania, Ohio and beyond.

According to numerous history accounts, including the March 4, 1987 edition of the Gettysburg Times, the grand opening celebration continued until Saturday, March 7 and included entertainment and guest appearances by local community leaders and elected officials.

In 1987 the mall was the first and - twenty-five years later – the only fully enclosed regional shopping center in Carroll County.

Construction had begun in earnest in 1986 on the $36 million, 428,392-retail square foot facility located on Center Street at the intersection of Routes 27 and 140, in the northern end of Westminster. It was reported at the time that it was the sixth mall built in Maryland by the New York-based Shopco Group.

The Gettysburg Times reported that in 1987 the mall created “close to 1,000 jobs … and … generated $9 million in local contracts. Projected tax revenues include $2.6 million in sales taxes, $1.6 million in income taxes and $543,000 in property taxes.”

In March 1987, the mall was built to accommodate 89 stores. At the time of the grand opening, 35 stores were open for business, “with about 60 percent of the space (in the mall) currently leased… including two of the three anchor stores, Caldor and Leggett,” according to the Gettysburg Times.

The third anchor was to have been Hutzler’s department store, which had leased space before the mall opened, but then, unfortunately, it went bankrupt.

However, the space that had been set aside for Hutzler’s was quickly snapped-up by Sears that opened shortly after the opening.

Five-years later, Kerry O’Rourke reported for the Baltimore Sun on March 15, 1992, “Cranberry Mall celebrates its fifth anniversary this month with 94 percent of its space leased and retail sales on the rise. Sales at the shopping mall increased 3 percent from 1990 to 1991, a year when other Baltimore-area centers saw a decline, an industry spokesman said.

“The opening of Montgomery Ward & Co. -- the mall's fourth anchor store -- in November 1990 was a boost for the center... About 2,500 people visit Cranberry Mall on a typical day… The 525,000-square-foot center employs 500 to 600 people… Cranberry Mall is owned by Shearson Shopco Malls Limited Partnership, based in New York. The owners paid $444,759 in property taxes for 1991-1992, county records show… Mall receipts -- excluding sales at the anchors -- were about $30 million last year…”

However the decade of the 1990s were not kind to regional malls and the TownMall was not spared from the vagaries of a changing marketplace. It was important that the mall change with the times.

When I took office as a Westminster councilmember in May 1999, vacancies at the TownMall, according to old mall file documents, had climbed to 25 percent in 1999 after Caldor closed in the 1998-1999 time period. Two years later, in 2001, Montgomery Ward also closed adding to a feeling of ‘emptiness’ at the mall…

A March 19, 2003 article in the Baltimore Sun reported, “The mall has lost major tenants such as Montgomery Ward, Caldor and CVS Pharmacy within the past five years. It lost more than $20 million in value when Cranberry Properties MM Corp. purchased the 525,000- square-foot mall at Route 140 and Route 27 in April 2000 from Shopco Regional Malls for $33.5 million. Shopco (Shearson Shopco Malls Limited Partnership,) had bought the mall in 1988 for $53.8 million.

In the late summer of 2001, the city of Westminster was approached by mall’s representatives to discuss revitalizing the shopping facility. Part of the proposed revitalization required certain zoning changes.

The city of Westminster responded quickly. On November 27, 2001, the management company for the mall thanked the city “for unanimously approving text amendments (for the) TownMall of Westminster’s zoning regulations. Indeed, it is rare for a local government to respond in such a swift manner, which demonstrates the City’s collective vision for revitalizing (the) TownMall. As you know, these text amendments are vital to securing prospective tenants…”

The next spring, on May 9, 2002, it was announced that Boscov’s would take over the area vacated by Montgomery Wards. A May 10, 2002 Baltimore Sun article reported, “The Pennsylvania-based department store will tear down the existing structure and start from scratch, adding a second floor -- and the mall's first escalator -- to become the mall's premier retailer at 178,545 square feet… while creating at least 400 jobs. The mall has 54 tenants besides Boscov's…”

In comparison, the Sun noted, “Sears stands at 70,060 square feet and Belk (Leggett’s) at 65,282 square feet.” The March 19, 2003 Sun article noted that at 178,545 square feet, size of the new Boscov’s store is - almost a third of the mall.

The grand opening for Boscov’s was held on April 6, 2003.

In recent years, as the economy has faltered and retail marketing has been challenged, the worldwide management firm of Jones Lang LaSalle has been called upon to lead the TownMall into the next twenty-five years.

Adapting to constant change has been a persistent marketing necessity in recent years as consumer expectations have changed as quickly as market conditions and the weather.

At celebration ceremonies last Friday, Robyn J. Clark, the mall’s longstanding general manager observed, “Over the years, TownMall has gone through some changes.”

Now that was an understatement. Yet as a testimony to the approach of Ms. Clark, the mall’s leadership and management team, and Jones Lang LaSalle, “The mall currently has 85 merchants and 20 of them were here back in 1987… Zales, American Greetings, Belk, Boardwalk Fries, Claire’s, Deb Shop, Foot Locker, FYE, Gordon’s, Hair Cuttery, Littman’s, Payless Shoes, Piercing Pagoda, Radio Shack, Regal Cinema, Ritz Camera, Sterling Optical, Subway,  Things Remembered & Villa Pizza…”

In recent years, according to the mall’s website, “A 2006 interior and exterior renovation included a new inside color scheme, new mall entrances and in 2007 new pylon and exterior signage and in 2010 the addition of Dick's Sporting Goods.

“Anchored by a two-story Boscov's, Belk, and Sears, TownMall is also complemented by Regal Cinemas, a renovated food area and Dick's Sporting Goods.

“Key retailers at TownMall of Westminster include PacSun, Bath & Body Works, rue21, Christopher and Banks, New York & Company, F.Y.E., Journeys and The Children's Place.”

Today, the TownMall employs over 500 workers – in addition to providing a place for older senior citizens like Commissioner Shoemaker, to have a place to mall-walk, no matter what the weather is like outside.

When he is not hanging-out at the mall with Commissioner Shoemaker and listening to Led Zeppelin, Ozzie Osbourne, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Kenny Chesney, and Carrie Underwood on his iPod, Kevin Dayhoff may be reached at kevindayhoff@gmail.com.

Kevin Dayhoff also spoke at the March 2, 2012 event. In full disclosure, Dayhoff served on several Carroll County development, agriculture and environmental committees during the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, when the TownMall was being developed – and as a Westminster Common Council member from 1999 – 2001 and the mayor of Westminster from 2001-2005.

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I’m a newspaper reporter. I’m pushy, inconsiderate and I do not respect boundaries.

Kevin Dayhoff is an artist - and a columnist for:

Patuxent Publishing Co., The Carroll Eagle: www.explorecarroll.com: http://www.explorecarroll.com/search/?s=Dayhoff&action=GO
The Tentacle: www.thetentacle.com http://www.thetentacle.com/author.cfm?MyAuthor=41

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My http://www.explorecarroll.com/ columns appear in the copy of the Baltimore Sunday Sun that is distributed in Carroll County: https://subscribe.baltsun.com/Circulation/
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Shoemaker: Appeal property tax assessments

Shoemaker: Appeal property tax assessments by Brandon Oland, Times Staff Writer Sunday, January 18, 2009

HAMPSTEAD — With real estate values falling and the amount of foreclosures rising, Hampstead lawyer and Mayor Haven Shoemaker Jr. said property owners should be paying close attention to their property tax reassessments.

“Those of us who have been assessed recently have been paying more than we have to,” Shoemaker said. “That doesn’t sit well with me.”

Shoemaker held a question-and-answer session Thursday for property owners interested in challenging the assessed value of their properties.

Shoemaker and local Realtors offered advice for how property owners can appeal the assessed value of their properties.

Here are common questions people ask about making an appeal of a property assessment.

Read the entire article here: Shoemaker: Appeal property tax assessments

http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2009/01/18/news/local_news/newsstory4.txt

20090118 Shoemaker offers advice on appealing property tax assessments

Kevin Dayhoff www.kevindayhoff.net http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/

Kevin Dayhoff: www.westgov.net Westminster Maryland Online www.westminstermarylandonline.net http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/

PG Police overstep authority by Haven Shoemaker

Prince George's County Police overstep authority by Haven Shoemaker

Hampstead mayor Haven Shoemaker has weighed-in with his take on the home invasion by Prince George’s SWAT officers in the last days of July 2008.

If you will recall; after a small army of heavily armed SWAT team members attacked the home of Berwyn Height’s mayor Cheye Calvo, they tied the mayor and his mother-in-law up and shot and killed his two dogs - - only discover it was all mistake.

No word as to whether or not the SWAT team will get an award or not - as just occurred in a similar situation in Minneapolis, Minnesota, q.v.: 20080729 Minneapolis SWAT Team honored for raiding wrong house.

Mayor Shoemaker is an excellent writer and his recent column, in the “Other Voices” section of the Carroll County Times is a must read:

*****

PG police overstep authority

By Haven Shoemaker, Other Voices Monday, August 25, 2008

On July 29, the Mayor of Berwyn Heights, Cheye Calvo, came home from work and saw a package addressed to his wife sitting on the front porch.

If he's anything like me, he probably assumed his wife had been watching the Home Shopping Network, so he brought the package in and put it on the table.

Unbeknownst to him, the box actually contained 32 pounds of marijuana, one of the few things you can't buy on QVC.

While changing his clothes, Calvo heard his mother-in-law scream. According to media reports, she saw and reacted to police officers rushing the house. The police burst into the home without warning. In the ensuing chaos, officers shot and killed the family's two dogs. According to Calvo, one of two black Labradors was running away from the officers when it was killed.

Apparently, the officers did not believe that Calvo was the Mayor of Berwyn Heights. They kept him handcuffed for two hours, in his boxer shorts, lying next to his dead dogs. As it turns out, Calvo and his family were most likely the random victims of a scheme by real drug dealers.

Apparently, the police have already arrested people behind the plan to smuggle millions of dollars of marijuana via deliveries to unsuspecting citizens. Unfortunately, that little bit of law enforcement intelligence wasn't available to help Calvo or save his dogs.

[…]

But what bothers me the most about the Calvo mess is the dogs. If for the public good it becomes necessary to handcuff me in my briefs for two hours, well, OK. If the police want to take my mother-in-law into custody, I can promise my full cooperation.

[…]

It's not like the anyone was going to flush 32 pounds of dope down the toilet in the time it took for the police to announce the entry. I could add my thoughts on the modern low water capacity toilet, but as the kids today say, TMI, or "Too Much information."

Read Mayor Shoemaker’s entire column here: PG police overstep authority

20080825 PG Police overstep authority by Haven Shoemaker

20080428 The Havenator

The Havenator

April 28, 2008

In a recent phone call to a certain quintessential town in Carroll, I was greeted on the phone by the friendliest and perkiest town official, who put me through to the “MML Employee of the Year.” (“Meoy” – for short. Pronounced ‘meow.’)

As I chatted with Meoy, WAB, I remembered that I have had a number of requests to post the “Havenator Series” on the blog.

Soooo, without further adieu – here goes:

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“Q” May 10, 2008

Hampstead Mayor Havenator Q. Shoemaker and former-Westminster Mayor Kevin Dayhoff share a moment as they reminisce about the “old days.” October 10, 2006 by Kevin Dayhoff (with a Chris Ammann photo.)

“The Operation on Q.” May 13, 2004 Hampstead Mayor “The Havenator” Q. Shoemaker undergoes an “operation at the hands of his family and Westminster Mayor Kevin Dayhoff.

*****

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.

www.kevindayhoff.net

http://www.youtube.com/kevindayhoff

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E-mail him at: kdayhoff AT carr.org or kevindayhoff AT gmail.com

His columns and articles appear in The Tentacle - www.thetentacle.com; Westminster Eagle Opinion; www.thewestminstereagle.com, Winchester Report and The Sunday Carroll Eagle – in the Sunday Carroll County section of the Baltimore Sun. Get Westminster Eagle RSS Feed

“When I stop working the rest of the day is posthumous. I'm only really alive when I'm writing.” Tennessee Williams

20061121 WE Giving thanks WE

Giving thanks

My Westminster Eagle column for Thanksgiving is on the Westminster Eagle web site.

For my past Thanksgiving columns and posts – go here.

Crablaw has George Washington's Proclamation of Thanksgiving from The Massachusetts Sentinel, October 14, 1789 – here.

Attila shares a Psalm for Thanksgiving here.

Maryland Conservatarian is “unabashedly thankful for having the good fortune to be an American.”

The Baltimore Reporter hopes “you have a good one!”

Go here for Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation from Washington, DC—October 3, 1863

And Monoblogue is mumbling something about helicopters, WKRP and flying turkeys.

Hopefully you have spent Thanksgiving with family and loved ones. Please be sure to say a special prayer for all our men and women in uniform, in harms way.

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Giving thanks for history, and future, of America

11/21/06 By Kevin E. Dayhoff

This Thursday, America celebrates the American version of the "Harvest Festival," gathering families together and watching football; though it should be noted that this annual holiday originated as a celebration to give thanks for the annual harvest.

Of course, outside the United States, the Thanksgiving holiday is known as "Thursday," or "Jueves" in Taneytown.

Muchas personas piensan del d’a de acci—n de gracias como una maravillosa celebraci—n, que les permite tener un largo fin de semana disfrutando de una suculenta cena.

Today, there is no holiday that is more quintessentially American than Thanksgiving, according to many people -- including Hampstead Mayor Haven Shoemaker, who shared his comments in English.

Our household has once again extended a warm invitation to Martha Stewart to join us for Thanksgiving. We're happy that she is out of the Big House, as it is imperative that America make room for more congressmen; especially since the last election has provided us with so many more great new prospects for "Club Fed."

In honor of the holiday, homage is paid to Ms. Stewart by delivering each and every paper to your door folded in the shape of a turkey.

(If yours did not arrive this way, call the editor immediately. And tell him I said, "Happy Thanksgiving!")

The layout for the newspaper was made-up of joyous and colorful words cut out of old political ads. To deliver your paper, I got up extra early, around 10 o'clock, and made an exact replica of the first Rural Free Delivery wagon used by Edwin W. Shriver to delivery mail in Carroll County on Dec. 20, 1899.

I constructed it out of scrap wood gathered from leftover stakes for political signs Ð and a glue gun.

I then created a jackass to pull the wagon, using some DNA lying around from the last election.

Thanksgiving in America was actually first observed at Berkeley Plantation, by the Virginia Colony on Dec. 4, 1619.

In the beginning of another American Thanksgiving tradition, 102 Pilgrims left Plymouth, England, in July 1620 to escape religious persecution.

They came to the New World as illegal immigrants to find a better way of life and persecute others who don't believe as they do or speak their language. But essentially they wanted to practice their religion without government interference, and since the ACLU did not exist at the time, they were allowed to do so.

The trip to the New World was planned by a government committee, which meant they arrived in December, without frozen food, Wal-Mart tents, replacement batteries for their laptops or ice cream.

The winter of 1620 to 1621 was unforgiving and half of the original boat-people died.

Although the local native Wampanoag Indians immediately passed a resolution that the illegal immigrants needed to learn the Wampanoag language; other more broad-minded Native-Americans kept the rest of them from perishing.

The pilgrims thanked the Native Americans by giving them smallpox and alcohol.

Later, as the New England colonists continued to annex Wampanoag land and build housing developments, the King Philip's War erupted, 1675Ð76, and the colonists exterminated the Native Americans and seized the rest of their lands.

Today, the tradition of King Philip's War is re-enacted in the form of public hearings in which the personal character and integrity of public officials is exterminated and all rules of civility seized.

Another American tradition began in 1621, when the New England pilgrims celebrated a feast of thanksgiving by giving thanks to God after a successful harvest.

Today, the Lord's Prayer has been replaced in school and public meetings by a moment of silent bewilderment, and any celebration of God has been systematically removed from public discourse and replaced by a greater conversation as to why our great country has lost its moral bearings.

Hopefully, this Thursday, you will spend the day with loved-ones and family.

Let us reach out to the xenophobic and to those in need of food, shelter, common sense and words of hope.

May we also remember our men and women in uniform in harm's way.

And may we ask that we be given patience, understanding, resolve, and wisdom in all that lies ahead for our great nation.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster. E-mail him at: kdayhoff@carr.org.

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20050907 If technology Available Why Not WiFi?

If technology available, why not Wi-Fi?

http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?pnpid=978&show=archivedetails&ArchiveID=1132527&om=1

Westminster Eagle

09/07/05 By Kevin E. Dayhoff

I've been fascinated with public Wi-Fi and all the possibilities it can provide Carroll County.

On Aug. 15, Silver Spring, in Montgomery County, announced that it now has public Wi-Fi - this put my random access memory into overdrive.

Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity) is a wireless high-frequency local area network that provides Internet access.

In June 2004, Newsweek previewed a sampling of 10 places in the world that are currently utilizing Wi-Fi. What caught my attention was the example of Hermiston, Ore., where the service covers 600-square-miles for a population of 13,200.

Can you imagine what it would be like to be anywhere in Carroll County and be able to go online for directions, restaurant menus or just to have access to information about all the exciting shops and businesses in the area?

Or download the latest corrections to your PowerPoint presentation from Bangalore, India, just before a meeting - just by powering up your laptop, Web browser enhanced cell phone, PDA or even a hand-held game device?

With the talent we have in Carroll, I would say that if it can be done in Hermiston, Oregon or Montgomery County, we could do it too.

Montgomery County is in the middle of an aggressive Wi-Fi initiative. The county is starting with the higher population areas first and then steadily expanding the coverage. The same approach would work in Carroll.

Alisoun Moore, Montgomery County Department of Technology Services Chief Information Officer, said that in Silver Spring, 10 unobtrusive antennae located on traffic signals, light poles and buildings provide the Wi-Fi service. This serves all downtown Silver Spring, (which is larger than the Main Street area of Westminster from Washington Road to McDaniel College).

Remember years ago when Silver Spring was a nondescript stretch of bypassed suburbia? Not so anymore. Go visit www.silversprung.com/home.html and see for yourself.

An Aug. 15, a Montgomery County press release stated, "The redeveloped Downtown Silver Spring, known as a hotspot for entertainment, dining and shopping, now is also a hotspot for wireless internet accessÉ

"The Community Wi-Fi initiative is designed to É (provide) no-cost community Internet access where it currently does not exist - in our open-air public places. É This endeavor demonstrates Montgomery County's commitment to the substantial benefits that broadband information access bringsÉ"

When I asked Moore how Montgomery County did it, the first words out of her mouth were music to my ears: "It's a private-public partnership. The county has very little money in it."

Atlantech Online provides the technical component in return for a $1,700 per year fee from the county. Atlantech is a local Internet Service Provider and for them it's a marketing piece.

Moore noted that, "Montgomery County did not want to get anyway near É competing with the private sector." This service is for public areas only.

Montgomery County Executive Doug Duncan said in a release, "The successful revitalization of downtown Silver Spring is a national model for urban redevelopment. After years of delays, I am proud that we were able to break the gridlock and get this project moving.

The area is now an arts and entertainment destination in the Washington, D.C. region, and our Wi-Fi agreement ensures that Silver Spring will remain on the cutting edge."

The consensus of an informal survey conducted locally was, yeah, there are questions to be answered; but let's roll up our sleeves and do it.

Wi-Fi presents unlimited opportunities for Carroll County.

Since the initiative would need to start in Carroll's municipalities, I contacted the Carroll County Maryland Municipal League Chapter President, Hampstead Mayor Haven Shoemaker.

Haven put it best: "I have many questions, but I'm willing to investigate any cost-effective private-public technology initiative that will stimulate economic development and quality of life for our citizens."

Taneytown Mayor Pro Tem Darryl Hale agreed, and Mount Airy Council President John Medve added that, "anything which enhances communication and access to government is a good thing."

I couldn't agree more.

Opportunities multiply once they are seized. The future is here, and Wi-Fi is a great opportunity for Carroll County.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster. E-mail him at: kdayhoff@carr.org.

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20020822 “Mayors consider an area council” By Mary Gail Hare, Sun Staff

20020822 “Mayors consider an area council” By Mary Gail Hare, Sun Staff

http://www.sunspot.net/news/local/carroll/bal-ca.towns22aug22.story?coll=bal%2Dlocal%2Dcarroll

Mayors consider an area council

Board of towns' leaders would work with county; 'Enormous untapped talent'

By Mary Gail Hare, Sun Staff, August 22, 2002

Representatives of Carroll's eight towns, buoyed by their solidarity on growth management, are looking to form a council of town governments to work directly with the county commissioners on regional issues such as transportation, development and education.

The proposed countywide council would include mayors; town council members; school officials; and representatives from police, fire and emergency services agencies.

"We have enormous untapped talent on our councils, and we represent one-third of the county's population," said Westminster Mayor Kevin E. Dayhoff. "A council would allow us input above and beyond the quarterly mayors' meeting."

The commissioners meet with the mayors four times a year, usually late in the afternoon. Often, job demands - nearly all the mayors have careers outside of town hall - keep town leaders from these daytime meetings.

"What gets accomplished in those meetings is up to the mayors," said Commissioner Robin Bartlett Frazier. "The agendas are largely fixed by the towns. We use the meetings as an opportunity to share information. We are always open to their concerns."

Hampstead Councilman Haven Shoemaker Jr., president of the Carroll chapter of the Maryland Municipal League, said he would use the league's framework to expand the mayors' meetings into a county council. The sessions - which would include other county departments and would be held more often and in the evenings - would operate as an arm of the league.

"It is wiser to build on MML," said Westminster Councilman Damian L. Halstad. "This is an organization with clout, stature and credibility."

Dayhoff introduced the concept Monday as town officials gathered to formally endorse growth-control measures that call for limiting or curtailing building permits in areas coping with water shortages or with crowded schools and roads.

But town officials decided that the council issue would be diffused if they included it in a letter to commissioners meant to detail their growth-control proposals. They decided to wait until next month to tackle the proposal.

The monthlong delay will give the mayors time to discuss the issue with their town councils and gather support.

"I think everybody will go for it," said Sykesville Mayor Jonathan S. Herman. "But, if it is not effective, people will lose interest. The effectiveness of this council is more important [than] what it is."

Mount Airy Town Council President Frank Johnson developed the towns' six-point growth-management strategy, which insists that the county plan with the towns in mind. He won support for the strategy from the other seven towns and from the Finksburg and Freedom area residents councils.

"We brought the county together on this issue that affects everybody," Johnson said. "We demonstrated the importance of corroboration, cooperation and standing together. The next step is long-term problem-solving."

Johnson told his municipal colleagues the next step is a county council that would include the county staff.

"We are all part of the same county," Johnson said. "What happens in one part of this county does have an effect on other parts. There is much more of a connection and a need for ongoing communication, a problem-solving approach that brings everybody to the table."

Halstad said that the towns have not had the best relationship with the county commissioners and that selling them on the idea could be difficult. Several candidates for county commissioner are members of the municipal league and were present at the signing.

"We need a board of commissioners that is sensitive and willing to listen," Halstad said. "This organization could fly once we have that. We can get ahead of the growth curve and participate in policy planning."

Shoemaker said he will add the council proposal to the league's meeting in Union Bridge on Sept. 19.

"This is an idea that is definitely worth exploring," Shoemaker said.

Labels: Carroll Co. Council of Govts COG, People Carroll Co. Shoemaker – Haven Shoemaker, MD Municipal League Carroll Co. Chap., Westminster Mayor 200105 200505 Kevin E. Dayhoff, Dayhoff press clippings, MD Municipal League