New playground coming

VO LUM E 2 , N O. 9 • w w w. wo o d sb o r o t i m e s . c om • se P t e m b e r 2 0 1 4
VO LU M E 4, N O . 9 • W W W. WO O D S B O ROT I M E S . C O M • S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 6
New playground coming
Woodsboro-
Woodsboro Days update
at https://www.woodsborohistoricalsociety.org or in person
The Fall Season will soon be the morning of the race beginupon us and that means it’s time ning at 7:00am. Since this is a
for Woodsboro Days weekend. new course, there will be new reEvents are planned for the week- cords to be established! Contact
end of October 15-16. While Jay Wolfe, Race Director, at 301many of the organized events 676-5312 for more information.
St. John’s United Church of
will be held on Saturday, October 15, there will also be activi- Christ will be hosting a yard sale
ties on Sunday as well as town- and selling baked goods at the
wide yard sales all weekend long. church located at 8 North SecChurch groups and civic or- ond Street, beginning at 8:00am
ganizations throughout Wood- on Saturday, October 15. Consboro have planned a variety of tact Karen Eyler, 410-775-7388,
more playground
information.
activities for visitors
and resiComputer
image offor
proposed
The Woodsboro Evangelical
dents. Planned activities include
a farmers’ market, flea markets, Lutheran Church, located at 101
yard sales, car show, church bake South Main Street, will be hostBy Sherry Greenfield
The Town of Woodsboro
a large yard sale with food
sales/food sales and a 5K walk/ ingwas
awarded the Maryland
Contact
Delauter,
run at theheWoodsboro
WoodsboroRegional
Regionalsales.
Open
Space Robin
Community
Parks
for more
Park. These
highParkactivities
will soonare
have
a new301-845-7389,
and Playgrounds
Grant inforto use
lighted
below. A thanks
Facebook
playground,
to page
a statemation.
for the construction of a new,
The
American
Legion
Post
for the
weekend
https://www.
grant of $129,356.
handicap
accessible
playground.
facebook.com/woodsborodays 282 Auxiliary, located at 101 W.
has also been created to share in- Elizabeth Street, will be open
formation about the weekend. to the general public for lunch
Community groups are encour- and dinner on Saturday, Octoaged to update this page with in- ber 15. Beginning at 9:00am on
formation about their planned Saturday, they will host an outdoor flea market with table space
activities.
available, Oakie Doke farm proActivities Planned To Date:
ByWoodsboro
Sherry Greenfield
the and
streetpumpkin
in front painting
of their housfor
The
Historical So- duce,
Contact
Peggy
Esworciety is hosting the 4th annual children.
es. Each household would receive
at permits.
301-514-7164 for more
“Woodsboro
Town
be- thytwo
elief 5K
could
soonRun”
be coming
information
ginning atto 8:00am
on
Saturday,
the residents living along
“I think there does need to be a
The
Francis
Scott Key
Antique
October
15.
The
Town
Run
is
a
Frederick Street in Walkersville degree
of restricted
parking
down
5k walk/run at the town park – Car Club will have a show at 308
that are upset with people parking there,” said Andy Dewese, the
for this year the race has moved South Main Street beginning at
in front of their houses.
town’s code enforcement officer.
to the town park for safety and 9:00am. Contact Nolie Rife at
The Walkersville
TownrunCom-240-446-1259
“They live down
there, inforso they
for more
convenience.
Walkers and
missioners,
at
their
Aug.
13
should
be
able
to
park
there.”
ners are encouraged to partic- mation.
tentatively
approved
are currentGladesignsValley
Lions
ipate.meeting,
Proceeds
from the
race a TheParking
planthe
to issue
parking Society.
permits toClub
ly posted
in afront
of the
nurswill have
display
at 308
benefit
Historical
Main restricting
Street beginning
at
Participants
can register
online
those residents
living across
fromSouth
ing home
the number
the Glade Valley Nursing and Re- of hours a car can be parked. But
habilitation Center on Frederick the number of parked cars from
Street. Issuing permits would al- nearby Walkersville High School
low those residents to park on and the nursing home has been
Jay Wolfe
T
The playground
is for
9:00am.
Contact structure
Dave Shrodel
ages 5 tofor12.
atchildren
301-845-8466
more inforAfter soliciting design and
mation
pricing
proposalsHistorical
from sevThe Woodsboro
Soeral isrecreation
design
ciety
hosting an
opencompahouse
commissioners
atnies,
the town
Woodsboro
Train votStaed
unanimously
at
their Aug.
tion located at 6 Creagerstown
12 meeting
hireand
playground
Road
on Oct.to 15
16 from
Specialists
Inc.,
of
Thurmont.
10:00am until 2:00pm.
Contact
The
company
will build the
Jay
Wolfe,
301-676-5312.
new
playground
on isthea south
Woodsboro
Days
comside
of
the
Woodsboro
munity-oriented event Regional
designed
Park, east of Israel Creek.
to encourage visitors and lo“The whole purpose of putcals alike to explore the town
ting together this proposal is
of Woodsboro. As the weekend
that we want to start encourdraws near, it’s not too late for
aging usage at this end of the
other community groups to parpark,” said Commissioner Bill
ticipate in the weekend. Each
Rittelmeyer, who handled the
community group participating
bidding process.
in Woodsboro
Days has develThe company has proposed
oped
their
own
ideas fortheevents
designing and building
new
and
their level for
of participation
playground
$126,272.75.–
come
as simple
Theyup
arewith
proposing
to or
useelabthe
orate
a
plan
as
you
wish.
No
remaining $3,083.25 to install
pre-registration or approval is
required to participate. If you
are interested in participating in
some way this year, please plan
your activities and join in the
fun.
Parking problems
R
Editor’s Note: Woodsboro Days
frequent
for residents.
isa far
from problem
an automatic
event.
Woodsboro
Historical
Society
Pres“There’s a lot of issues down
ident
Jay
Wolfe
renewed
this
trathere now,” Dewese said. “It’s
dition
several
years
ago
and
with
not a huge issue, but I think they
the
help be
of able
a small
group
of volshould
to park
there.”
unteers has kept it going for four
Commissioner Gary Baker said
years. Want to keep it? Want to see
permitted parking should be for
more or different events? The only
residents
only.
Restricted parking
limit
is your
imagination.
Thanks
should
continue
to all who support in
thisfront
event.of the
businesses.
“I think the residents will be
happy,” he said.
The council decided to take
a formal vote on the permitted
parking issue when Commissioner Chad Weddle is in attendance.
Walkersville proposed water plant
Middletown bank
merger proposal
rejected
new barbecue grills, volleyball
courts, and benches at the park
- items the town had not originally asked for.
“I asked them not to leave
any money on the table,” Rittelmeyer said.
TheKellar
company has constructed
Ken
playgrounds throughout Frederick
County, including
WoodWoodsboro
Bank shareholdsboro,
Liberty,
North
Frederick,
ers voted to reject the proposMiddletown
Wolfsal to merge Lincoln,
the 117-year-old
ville and Emmitsburg elemenbank with Middletown Valley
tary schools. They have also
Bank. The new bank was to be
built playgrounds for the towns
named First Heritage Communiof Thurmont and Emmitsburg,
ty Bank. The first vote was held
Fort Detrick, the Brunswick
on August 15. A second vote was
Crossing housing development,
held on August 24. Vote counts
and the Middletown Valley
were not available, but the proApartments.
posal
failed each time. MiddleRittelmeyer said the new
town
ValleyatBank
shareholders
playground
the Woodsboro
had voted Park
to approve
the merger
Regional
will not
have
in
early
August.
adult swings or a merry-goThe because
shareholder
was
round
of theelection
wear and
one of the last steps in the approximately 2-year process. State
Weddle, who lives on Frederick
Street, was not at the meeting.
On another note, Dewese
said as the town’s code enforcement
busy
On officer
Augusthe10has
the been
Walkersville
this
year investigating
complaints
Council
voted to introduce
ordifrom
nance residents
2016-07 onto issues
restrictrangaccumulations
of grass
junk and
debris and
ing
from tall
to snow-covbetter
define
non-customary
ered sidewalks. Dewese said outso
door
streets
and260
pubfar
thisstorage
year, heonhas
received
lic and private
property That
within
complaints
from residents.
the Town. Commissioner Russell
number is significantly higher
Winch stated the purpose of the
than the 120 complaints he reordinance is to aid Code Enforceceived
last year.zoning enforcement.
ment Officer
Dewese,
who blamed
A public hearing
will bethe
heldwinprior
ter’s
bad weather
for proposed
the rise inorto a final
vote on the
complaints,
dinance. said the frustration
comes when residents fail to notify their homeowner’s association first, before coming to him.
“They’re still coming in even if
W
leak, thus the proposal to build a
new reverse-osmosis plant.
Reverse osmosis passes high
pressure water down one side of
a fine man-made filter. The filter
allows
some
of development.
the water to pass
fund for
park
through the filter but not con“This project is definitely
taminants. Even the microbes
needed,” Commissioner Debbie
from a sewer spill cannot cross
Zimmerman
“This
will
the
filter. Thesaid.
reverse
osmosis
complete
the
paths.”
technology differs from that sand
Park,it located
filterHeritage
not onlyFarm
because
screens
onmore
Devilbiss
Bridge Road
out
contaminants,
butacross
it alsofrom
purifies
only
a fractionSchool,
of the
Glade
Elementary
water
passing
the filter.
There
already
has a by
9-hole
golf course,
isbaseball
a continuous
flow
of
water
that
fields, softball fields,
did not get filtered. That water
contains the contaminants that
entered the plant but at a slight-
they have a homeowner’s association,” he said. “If somebody has
a complaint about a neighbor’s
grass, go to the [homeowner’s association],”
he said.
have exOne citizen
at “If
thethey
meeting
[anpressed
association]
thatthat
dealsthe
with
it, orconcern
new
dinance
allows
unlicensed
and
it doesn’t
get one
done,
I’ll take vehicle
to be stored under a fitted
care
of it.”
cover.
citizen
the orFailureThe
to cut
grassthought
is a $100
dinance
would
make
things
fine from the town. The fine worse.
is
Commissioner
Winch
assured
posted on the homeowner’s wa- the
citizen the change was in a more
ter bill.
restrictive direction and the town
“We get our money,” Burgess
was shifting from a complaintRalph
Whitmore
driven
system said.
to a proactive sysDewese
said of the 260 comtem.
plaints, all but two have been resolved. The complaint process is
unanimous.
“I’m not getting many dinner
invitations,” he joked. “But it’s
going good.”
Walkersville tackles junk
Heritage park improvement
Mr. Winch explained that the
New technology brings new
current system uses a sand filchallenges
During the August 10 Town ter. All the water that enters
meeting, a Walkersville resident the filter makes it through, and
raised concerns that the new wa- the water is sent on to the cusOccasionally,
the sand
ter plant
mightGreenfield
harm the Foun- tomers.
By Sherry
town meeting,
unanimously
actain Rock Park. Commission- is back washed to flush out the
cepted a bid of $56,750 from
ers assured the resident that impurities it has captured. That
alking
and
jogging Frederick County Paving to
while the Fountain Rock aquifer flush water is sent to the Fredaround
the
Heritage
build
of new
City3,950
sewerfeet
system,
andpaths.
the
would be used there would be no erick
Farm
Park
in
Walkersville
will
Money
for
the
project
will
come
Town is charged a sewer fee prochange to the park.
be easier
town isportional
in parttofrom
the state’s
Open
the amount
of water
A soon
question
wassince
alsotheasked
to expand
theused.
walkingflushed.
Space But
Program.
Theall
town
will
basically
water
aboutplanning
the quantity
of water
goes to $23,135
the customers.
Would
more water be used? The pumped
paths.
contribute
toward
cannot
full answer
is no and Town
yes. The
The Walkersville
Com- The
the sand
project,
withfilter
muchout
of the
that
nasties
associated
with
the
past
Times
followed
up
with
an
emissioners, at their August 13 money coming from a reserve
mail to Commissioner Winch water contaminations associated
who did most of the explaining with a manure spill and a sewage
at the Town meeting.
tear on the rubber surface. A
child swing suspended off the
ground and pushed by an adult
can be built.
“Swings where kids drag their
feet will only tear the surface
up and create a maintenance
problem,” he said. “A merrygo-round where kids run in the
same circle pushing it will wear
and be a maintenance problem
as well.”
Commissioner
Ken Kellar
and
Federal regulatory
advance
said
he
was
disappointed
the as
approval was required as well
playground
will
only
have
todthe preparation of myriad legal
dler
“My only
regret
andswings.
organizational
documents.
is seeing
those
older
swings
The Times reported ongo the
away,” he said. “To me it’s a
proposed merger last January.
loss of adult swings.”
The banks are of approximately
Meanwhile, Rittelmeyer said
the same size with no office overnothing will be built until the
lap. The only planned reduction
town has the grant money in
in staff was at the management
hand. “They won’t order a stick
level with all offices remaining
of equipment until we have the
open. Woodsboro Bank sharegrant,” he said.
holders
would
have owned
about
Trimmer
praised
Rittel45%
of
the
new
bank.
meyer for his work on the bidOne
WoodsborolikeBank
shareholder
process.”I’d
to commend
who
opposed
the
merger
stated,
Bill for doing this,” he said.
“It
felt
more
like
an
acquisition
“He did an excellent job.”
than a merger.”
ly higher concentration because
some of the pure water has been
extracted. So although the Town
will use the same amount of pure
water, in the future there will be
a continuous
unused/unsoccer
fields, flow
two of
covered
pafiltered water. If the Town had to
vilions, playground areas, and
discharge that unfiltered water
into the sewer, the bill would be
prohibitively high. So the plan
Postal Customer
Postal Customer
is to pump the discharged water back into the aquifer from
whencepaths.
it came. The Maryland
walking
Department
of paths
Environment
“I think extended
will
must approve the proposal to rebe a wonderful addition to the
inject the water into the aquifer.
park,” Commissioner Russell
The pending MDE approval is
Winch
a keysaid.
factor that will determine
whether or not the Town proceeds with
the new plant.
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2 | WOODSBORO WALKERSVILLE TIMES | SEPTEMBER 2016
NEWS
From the Editor
Expanded distribution
Starting this issue we are expanding our mailing distribution to include the 400 Post Office boxes in
Walkersville. That raises our direct
mailings to 7243 with hundreds
more set out at businesses and the
Walkersville library. Thanks to the
Walkersville downtown residents
for their patience as the Times has
worked at growing an advertising
base that could support a wider
distribution. And of course many
thanks to the sponsors of the paper. We hope the wider distribution helps your businesses.
County government, a mysterious place
I believe there are some very significant differences between the
two forms of county government:
old commission and new charter.
It’s hard to separate the new charter from the new cast of characters
but I’ll try to keep individuals out
of my analysis.
Under the commission, I had
5 representatives with an official
interest in me and my geographic region. I recall e-mailing the 5
commissioners and getting 3 or 4
replies. All of them could bring
operational issues to the table and
they all had access to county staff.
A president settled differences and
had final say on executive actions.
Now under the charter with 8
people (7 councilmen and one executive) I have only 4 direct representatives (2 at-large, 1 district
and 1 executive). Only 1 has operational knowledge, operational discretion, and the authority to
speak directly to county staff, the
executive.
Under the commission, I could
watch government in action. The
commissioners had direct feedback from staff. Subjects were
openly discussed, debated and acted on, mostly in the public eye.
Under the charter, all I see are
votes cast on legislation that was
developed elsewhere. The executive does not participate in public meetings. The executive aspect
Walkersville Calls for Service
July 2016
Monthly Summary for Police Enforcement & Activities
Criminal &
Miscellaneous Calls
Traffic
Enforcement
Motor Vehicle
Collisions
Alarm
4
Citation
64
Accident Report
2
Assault
0
Warning
77
Non-Reportable
2
Assist other Police
4
SERO
8
Total Collisions:
4
Burglary
0
DUI
1
CDS (narcotics)
0
Total Violations:
150
Disorderly
Other Activities
Community
Policing
10
5
Foot/Bike Patrol
0
Domestic
0
Patrol Check
59
Juvenile Complaint
0
AIRS
156
MDOP
(malicious destruction)
0
Miscellaneous
26
Missing Person
0
Theft / Fraud
4
Trespass
4
Warrant / Summons
3
Total Calls for Service: 50
of our county government is hidden from public view. The executive only emerges when it suits the
executive’s purpose, as opposed to
councilmembers being required
by law to “deliberate” in public.
Two articles in this issue focus
on one subject that may illuminate my concern with the charter set up, the Citizens/Montevue
issue. Councilman Kiry Delauter’s article attempts to provide all
the financial details and considerations of the reacquisition of the
operation. Former Commissioner Paul Smith writes more philosophically on the subject. Both
pieces are a bit lengthy but filled
with details and considerations
that should be useful to those on
either side of the issue.
Woodsboro Walkersville
Times
P.O.Box 502
Woodsboro, Maryland 21798
Office Number 240-446-9797
E-mail: [email protected]
Executive Editor: Ken Kellar
English Editors: Barbara Forrester, Sharon Kellar, and Esther Kline
Advisers: Marg Mills
Advertising: Sharon Graham, Nathan Carmona
Graphic Design and Layout: Joann Foltz
Historian: Daniel Kellar
News and interesting articles are welcome and may be submitted
via regular mail to P.O.Box 502, Woodsboro, MD 21798
or by email to [email protected].
To arrange advertising contact the editor.
Sheriff visits Woodsboro
Sheriff Chuck Jenkins attended Woodsboro’s August 22 Town
workshop. He updated the Town
on a recent burglary on Copper
Oaks Drive. Residents and Commissioners were concerned as the
burglary occurred while the owners were at home. The Sheriff
presented recent statistics which
showed a low level of crime in the
Woodsboro area. So while the recent burglary is disturbing, the
overall crime picture in the Woodsboro region is favorable.
The Sheriff also provided advice
on Town traffic control. There
have been several complaints
about speeding and reckless driving in the Town. Discussions included the possibility of the Town
purchasing radar speed signs as
well as hiring the Sheriff ’s staff for
specific 4-hour shifts to target offenders. No specific action was decided upon at the meeting.
State Delegate Kathy Afzali also attended the meeting. She updated the Town on state funds the
Town had received this year such
as $14,247 Highway User Revenue funds and $36,619 highway
Capital Grants funding. These
funds are usually used for general
street repairs.
Ms. Afzali also offered her advocacy for specific legislative actions
to obtain matching grants from
the state. Jason Boyer, a member
of the Woodsboro Historical Society, discussed the possibility of
obtaining a grant to help finish off
the Town’s train station.
SEPTEMBER 2016 | WOODSBORO WALKERSVILLE TIMES | 3
ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO
100 years ago this month
September 2, 1916
Paper cup order now in effect. The paper cup order issued
by the State Board of Health as
a preventative against the spread
of infantile paralysis—affecting every soda fountain in the
State—went into effect yesterday morning and the thirsty
public in Frederick is now having its ice cream soda served up
in a paraffin cup. Owing to the
shortage of paper and the uncertain situation of the railroads
causing congestion in freight,
numbers of local stores have
not received their supply of paper cups, but expect them within the next few days. One dispenser received his cups, but
they were entirely too large for
the holders. As a result, he has
ordered a supply of new holders rather than risk the delay of
being without suitable cups for
the next several weeks.
The following order has been
issued to all soda dispensers
throughout the State:
“On and after September 1,
1916, no person in this State
shall dispense or sell any soda
water or other soft drinks to be
drunk on the premises unless the
same shall be served in a container which shall be immediately thereafter destroyed.”
The Brunswick Times has this
to say about the order:
“This order has been issued
because of the claim that the
glasses used in the majority of
soda fountains are not thoroughly washed after using and are
therefore insanitary. That may be
true, but what about the spoons
used for eating ice cream in these
same soda fountains? Apparently the State Health Board’s order makes no mention of them.
We believe that these spoons are
more liable to be the bearers of
disease germs than are the glasses used for soda water. Probably the majority of people who
drink soda water at the fountains use the little paper tubes,
called “straws,” instead of touching the glass to the lips. On the
other hand, the spoons used for
ice cream necessarily come in direct contact with the lips of the
user, and are then, after a washing in cold water, which is not
supposed to kill disease germs
passed on to the next consumer.”
Paper containers have been
used entirely at the fountain of
McCardell’s Inc. since the opening of the new store several
months ago.
From Baltimore comes the report that with the proverbial
perversity of humans, numbers
of disgruntled people are objecting violently to being obliged to
drink through straws. At several of the downtown shops yesterday morning, clerks were adamant and insisted upon having
the soda consumed via straws.
More timorous clerks quailed
before the wrath of men who
flung straws back across the
counter. The idea of using straws
is to prevent direct contact of the
lips with the glass.
September 3
Zeppelins raid London’s center. German sky forces attacked
London last night in the greatest
air raid in history.
One of the raiding Zeppelins,
hit squarely by a shell from a
British anti-aircraft gun, plunged
to earth from a great height in a
burst of flames, falling in a vacant lot in the London district.
Thousands of Londoners, witnessed the Zeppelins’ fall—perhaps the most thrilling war spectacle the world has ever known.
Exactly how many Zeppelins took part in the raid and
the exact number of casualties is
not known at this hour. An official bulletin issued by General
French, commander of the home
forces, merely declared that the
raid was the greatest ever made
on London, and that many
bombs were hurled down, striking in widely separated localities.
The long finger of a searchlight picked out one of the Zeppelins and followed it in a race
across the sky. Shells began
bursting about the airship as the
crew vainly maneuvered to escape the glare of light.
Suddenly flames were seen to
burst from the Zeppelins near
the center of the gondola. A tremendous cheer went up from
the crowd. The Zeppelins began crumpling up, staggered and
then rolled over and shot earthward in a sheet of flame. For a
few brief seconds, the whole sky
was aglare.
Long after the burning mass
had disappeared below the tops
of buildings, the crowd was
cheering itself hoarse. There was
absolutely no sign of a panic.
The Zeppelins appeared off
the east coast at about 11:00 pm.
It was their evident purpose to
inflict great damage on London
and the eastern counties.
Anti-aircraft guns immediately engaged the German air forces, but several Zeppelins succeeded in making their way over
London. They dropped many
bombs in widely separated parts
of the city. The raid was still in
progress at midnight.
Because of the large number of
Zeppelins engaged, it is believed
that the attack was the first of
a series of great raids which
the Germans announced several weeks ago had been planned
to strike terror to London during the months of September
and October. Whether any of
the new 780-foot super-Zeppelins took part in the attack is not
known at this hour.
The official statement said that
the raid on London was “beaten off.” General French characterized the attack on London as
“the biggest ever made.”
September 8
Thurmont youths severely
punished for frequent acts of
mischief. Charged with tearing
tents and demolishing property,
Libert Weddle, Roscoe and Reno Eaton, all of Thurmont, were
fined $5 and costs by Justice
Robert Cadow of Thurmont.
The youths went to the Boy
Scout camp about a mile above
Thurmont and tore holes threefeet long in some of the tents
and ransacked desks and everything in sight. Constable Clarence Lidie made the arrests.
As a result of continual misbehavior, Maurice Hahn and Alfred Bell, also of Thurmont, were
committed to the Boys’ Industrial School in Baltimore. The
Hahn boy was arrested last year
on a charge of breaking into a
candy store but was freed on parole. The boys put a wire across
a road causing Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Portner to have a narrow
escape from a runaway. Their
horse stumbled over the wire
and fell receiving bad cuts about
the legs. Mr. Portner managed to
control the horse. The lads have
been in all kinds of mischief for
more than a year and the neighbors entered vigorous protests.
September 16
Track walker averts wreck. A
very serious wreck on the Pennsylvania Railroad was averted yesterday morning, when a
track-walker discovered a cave-in
on the section between Walkersville and Woodsboro, a few moments after the morning train,
bound for Frederick, had passed.
It was found that about 16 feet
of roadbed had sunk, carrying
with it cross-ties and rails. Considerable delay was caused in
train service between Frederick
and points south of Woodsboro,
the train scheduled to arrive here
at 10:22 am not arriving until
about 1 o’clock in the afternoon.
The train due here at 5:50 arrived at about 7 o’clock.
The cave-in occurred at
McAleer’s station, about midway between Walkersville and
Woodsboro. The track-walker,
on his first round, discovered the
cave-in and notified the northbound train in time to prevent
a wreck. The hole was about seven-feet deep. It required three
hours for the wrecking crew to
make the fill-in. Two car loads of
cinders and about 75 cross-ties
were used in making the repairs.
Train service on the entire line
between Frederick and Lancaster was crippled. The cause of the
wash-out was due to sink holes,
which are numerous in that section.
September 22
Tourist lauds county’s farms.
“I’ve heard about Maryland, and
about Frederick, Maryland, but I
never realized that you had such
wonderful scenery here and such
an extensive system of modern
highways.” This is what a New
York tourist told a Frederick garage owner yesterday afternoon
during a short stop in this city
for repairs. The tourist, a man of
perhaps 60 years of age, and who
said that he had traveled extensively, praised Frederick County’s scenery, good roads, and
magnificent farms for greater
part of half an hour.
“That ride from Hagerstown
to Frederick, over a highway that
has no superior, and by modern
farms and well cultivated lands,
was inspiring,” continued the
tourist, directing his remarks to
the garage owner.
The local business man had
heard Frederick County praised
as one of the richest sections in
the United States, but he said
to a reporter for The Post, that
he had never come across a man
who was so persistently enthusiastic over the section.
September 25
Found place where he fell.
Fifty-three years after he was
wounded in the Battle of Gettysburg, W. H. Stem, Boonsboro,
MD, visited Gettysburg within the last few days and found
the spot, near Spangler’s Spring,
where he fell. With another comrade, Mr. Stem, in Gettysburg and after some search
during which, with the aid of a
guide, he traced the movements
of his regiment, he finally located the spot in which he lay until
removed to a hospital.
September 26
Harry Bishop, Walkersville,
injured in accident at Mt.
Pleasant. While riding down a
steep grade near Mt. Pleasant,
Harry Bishop, Walkersville, aged
12 years, accompanied by several companions, was yesterday
morning thrown head-first from
his bicycle, fracturing his skull.
The boys attempted to descend
the hill, and young Bishop, upon
getting about half way down the
hill, lost control of his wheel and
skidded in sand. He was thrown
head first over the handle-bars.
He was taken to the office of Dr.
Walter Price, where it was found
that he had a slight concussion
of the brain. He was very much
improved last night.
September 27
Emmitsburg scene of bold
robbery Tuesday morning early. Emmitsburg residents on
Monday night or Tuesday morning slept through a twentieth
century robbery, which included the use of the latest methods
in scientific house-breaking and
safe cracking. A gang of robbers
inconspicuously drove into Emmitsburg late on Monday night
in an automobile, looked over
the situation, filled their gasoline tank with gas at the supply
station at Hotel Slagle.
With power for a quick geta-way assured, the robbers
turned their attention to the real business of the morning. They
stopped at the meat store of Joseph E. Hoke, West Main Street,
and lifted five cases of eggs, 150
dozen—50 pounds of butter, a
large quantity of meat and a portion of the petty cash.
Well stocked with the ingredients that constitute ham and
eggs, a lunch-room favorite,
the thieves drove from the town
leaving clues that have been puzzling the officers since. At least it
was reported last night from the
county bastile that no arrests had
been in connection with the Emmitsburg robbery.
Emmitsburg residents believe
that the gang has been planning
this robbery for some time. Recently several faithful watch dogs
have been poisoned. There were
no watch dogs on the properties
rifled by the robbers yesterday
morning early.
September 28
Sues for $2,000 for auto
wreck. An aftermath of the automobile collision at the driveway entrance to the summer
home of Noah E. Cramer, north
of Frederick, on the evening of
June 30, in which three machines figured, and three persons were injured has shown up
in the offices of the clerk of the
Circuit court with the filing of
a suit for $2,000 damages by
C. Frank Grimes, Walkersville,
against Franklin Mort, Woodsboro. Grimes is represented by
Frank L. Stoner, through whom
the suit was filed.
Although three automobiles
figured in the crash, but two
were damaged, James H. Cramer, operated the third and undamaged machine, and was driving from his father’s home to
the highway when the Grimes
and Mort cars met with terrific
impact. Revie Kenney, 15 years
old, was tossed twenty feet to the
roadside. LeRoy Grimes, son of
the complainant, was cut and
bruised.
4 | WOODSBORO WALKERSVILLE TIMES | SEPTEMBER 2016
GOVERNMENT
From the desk of County Executive Jan Gardner
Heroin abuse and addiction
have reached epidemic levels in
our community. Heroin has become a scourge to communities
across our county, state and nation. Tragic overdose deaths are
increasing at alarming rates. Already this year, Frederick County has seen more heroin-related
overdoses, both fatal and nonfatal, than during all of 2015.
Heroin and related pain medications, known as opioids, have
resulted in more than 200 overdoses in Frederick County so far
this year (through August 3). In
23 of those cases, a life was lost.
Four years ago, there were six
deaths attributed to heroin. It
is staggering how quickly heroin and prescription opioids are
taking hold in our community.
The problem affects every corner of our county. It is not limited to urban areas. In fact, of
the 23 people who have died this
year, fewer than half were in the
City of Frederick. These statistics do not include cases handled
by Maryland State Police troopers within Frederick County, so
the actual number of overdoses is
likely higher. As one concerned
resident recently wrote to me,
“Our entire community is sick.”
It’s important to remember
that we are talking about people, not just numbers. People addicted to heroin are our neighbors, students, co-workers, and
friends. People from all walks of
life and all parts of our community have been touched personally by this horrible epidemic. The
sense of helplessness felt by those
with addiction and their families and friends can seem overwhelming.
Fortunately, people and families facing the challenges of addiction are not alone. There are
many good people in Frederick
County working together, each
and every day, to help in the
fight. Our weapons are prevention, treatment, and education.
Prevention is our best strategy.
Treatment is key to recovery. Recovery is very tricky and difficult. It can take up to nine tries.
Heroin changes the brain chemistry, which makes treatment and
recovery challenging.
In the Spring of 2015, I formed
a Heroin Consortium so every
agency that is working on this issue – law enforcement, government agencies, human services
nonprofits, Frederick Memorial Hospital, and others – could
collaborate and know what each
other is doing. By meeting regularly, there is better coordination
of resources and services.
So what are we doing?
People are being trained to administer the life-saving drug naloxone, or Narcan, which can reverse an overdose. In addition to
training law enforcement officers
and other emergency responders,
the Frederick County Health Department is training community
members free of charge. Once
certified, a person is provided
with an overdose reversal kit that
includes two doses of naloxone. I
personally took the training and
was surprised by how easily naloxone can be delivered. If someone you know struggles with this
addiction, I encourage you to
become certified. The more people trained in their workplaces,
the more lives will be saved.The
Health Department offers free
training sessions every month.
The next session is scheduled
for September 13th. You do not
need to register. Simply show up
at 300-B Scholl’s Lane in Frederick at 6 p.m.
A significant number of people who end up in our jail have
a substance abuse issue. Inmates
at the Frederick County Detention Center can enroll in a
Medication Assisted Treatment
program, where they receive injections of Vivitrol, a drug that
treats heroin addiction. When
they are released from jail, they
continue to receive treatments
through the Health Department
to avoid relapsing. Approximately 200 people have been served
by this program since it began in
June of 2015. This program was
initiated in Washington County. Governor Hogan made grants
available to implement the Vivitrol program.
Our Health Department has
been on the leading edge in
helping people connect to services through its Peer Recovery
Program. Peer recovery coaches are similar to sponsors in Alcoholics Anonymous. They
have firsthand experience dealing with beating an addiction,
either themselves or through a
close friend or family member.
Peer recovery coaches help people to connect with resources
they need to help them to recover and stabilize their lives. When
the pilot program started to embed a Health Department Recovery Coach in the Emergency
Department of Frederick Memorial Hospital, the goal was to
connect 40 percent of patients
with identified substance abuse
issues to community resources.
The goal was quickly exceeded, with 64 percent of patients
connecting to services. Now Recovery Coach Partnerships are
in place at the detention center,
drug court, and parole and probation offices, as well as with the
Frederick Police Department.
The Health Department has
even added adolescent counselors to expand the Kids Like Us
program in all Frederick County
schools. Coaches are volunteers
who commit to helping others. If
you want to be trained as a peer
recovery coach, send an email to
the Health Department’s Community Organized Recovery Efforts at [email protected]. It’s a great way to
help others.
There is no doubt that our
prevention and awareness efforts
must be expanded and enhanced
to stem this awful tide of heroin
deaths and overdoses. One powerful effort is the Health Department’s award-winning “Take
Back My Life” campaign. The
personal stories from Frederick
County residents are incredibly
compelling. I encourage you to
view them online at www.takebackmylife.org. I’ve met the individuals in these videos. They
are strong advocates who want
their neighbors to hear a message of hope.
Talk to your kids. You are part
of prevention. Let your kids
know how dangerous heroin
is and that some overdoses and
deaths are from first-time experiences. If you have friends or
family battling heroin, talk to
them, as well. Let them know
there are people and programs to
help. If you are not sure where
to turn, call the crisis hotline at
2-1-1. They can connect you to
the help you need. It’s a difficult
journey, but recovery and sobriety are possible!
Spread the News!
Extra copies of the Times are available in Woodsboro at Trout’s Market and in Walkersville at Salon Allure
and the library. Get there early each month.
SEPTEMBER 2016 | WOODSBORO WALKERSVILLE TIMES | 5
GOVERNMENT
From the desk of County Councilman Kirby Delauter
County Executive Jan Gardner
has stated and has put in writing
that Aurora, ( the Nursing Home
operator ) guarantees a minimum
profit to the County of $2.5 Million on an annual basis. This is
false and shows a lack of understanding of basic financial principals. Profit = Total Revenues –
Total Expenses.
A. Aurora has guaranteed nothing.
B. The management agreement ( that Jan Gardner, County Executive agreed to ) states
that the County may terminate
the management agreement, upon 90 days’ notice, if the trailing 12 months EBITDAR for the
Nursing Home only falls below
$2.5 million. This is not a guaranty. This is only for the Nursing Home, and has nothing to
do with Montevue. The financial performance of Montevue is
not addressed or considered anywhere in the Settlement Documents. EBITDAR does not equal
Profit. EBITDAR is Earnings
BEFORE Interest Taxes Depreciation Amortization and Rent.
The Interest on the bonds alone
is over $2 million per year. Best
case, after paying debt service, the
Nursing Home breaks even. Any
loss from Montevue will be a dollar for dollar expense of the tax
payers.
County Executive Jan Gardner states the former BOCC did
not allow enough time for the
new CCRC and Montevue to operate to make a profit and prove
sustainability. Under the County, CCRC and Montevue operated from July 2012 to April 2014.
For the month of March, 2014 ,
CCRC lost $332,204, and Montevue lost $193,532, for a total
loss for one month of $515,736.
This number coincides with the
previous County operated (10 )
years or over $54 Million in taxpayer funded losses under Jan
Gardner’s BoCC terms. In May,
2014 (Aurora’s first month of operations), Aurora made money.
This is because it is impossible
to be profitable under County
ownership, with County benefits, policies, and procedures. In
22 months of operations with
the new building, the County
could not make a profit. I sat in
on meeting after meeting with
the Nursing Home ( Jan Gardner
appointed ) Board of Directors
where time and time again they
could not explain the losses and
they had no plan to right the ship.
You didn’t have to be a Senior
Fellow at the Wharton Business
School to come to the conclusion
that this boondoggle had to come
to an end. The BoCC voted 4:1
to discontinue operations and sell
the Nursing Home.
Jan Gardner falsely claims the
following Value of Assets: (and
has put this in writing)
Building $38 Million
7.5 Acres Parcel of Land $7.5
Million
Accounts Receivable $4.5 Million
Facts: Per the Contractor’s
Application and Certificate for
Payment, dated 12/10/2012,
the total cost to build the New
Nursing Home facility was
$29,292,752.47. Jan’s value of
$38 million is fictitious. Further,
the SDAT shows the assessed value of the building is $27,613,200.
The assessed value of the land is
$1,980,300.
The actual amount of the Accounts Receivable we received on
May 1, 2014, was $3,714,957.64.
Jan stated “accounts receivable
are like cash.” Again, this is false
and shows her complete lack of
understanding of basic business.
I was in those meetings with the
Board of Directors who continued to write of millions of dollars of accounts receivable prior
to May 1, 2014. They wrote it
off because they had no idea how
to collect the outstanding receivables debt. Why did they do this?
The answer is because of poor
business practices of the County prior to Aurora’s involvement.
Aurora did not collect nearly $3.7
million, ( AR Receivables that
the County neglected ) and they
spent months collecting on these
accounts receivable using hundreds of man hours. Again, Jan’s
value of $4.5 million is overstated
and fictitious.
If you use the SDAT assessed
values for Building and Land,
you have $29,593,500; not
$45.5 million as Jan claims. Aurora was paying $30 million,
which is more than the assessed
value. There would have been
NO LOSS ON ASSETS. Matter
of fact, we’d have been $5.4 Million ahead by stopping the annual bleeding campaign. Jan claims
she looked at the assessed value
of nearby properties to make the
comparison and her argument
that the facility was worth $45.5
Million. Why wouldn’t she look
at the assessed value of THIS
PROPERTY, that is the one she
so desperately wants to buyback,
with YOUR tax money. Again,
Jan skewing the facts with halftruths.
Jan claims the following Closing Costs:
Realtor Commission $750,000
Taxes, Legal Fees, Closing
Costs $750,000
Mortgage Payoff $6,700,000
It is true, the County has stiffed
another honest business, which
performed a service for the County. The broker did a tremendous
amount of work, and was paid
nothing by Jan Gardner. Another lesson of beware of doing business with Frederick County with
Jan Gardner at the helm. The
County still has Legal Fees and
Closing Costs associated with this
transaction. I am certain the legal
fees to Venable LLC are well in
excess of $750,000. In addition,
the County paid approximately
$200,000 to the Mediator, a cost
Jan likes to forget about. Citing
this as a savings is dishonest at
best and just a simple reminder of
how Jan Gardner does business.
My understanding is the debt
was refinanced in 2014 and we
now show in the FY16 budget,
$38 Million in taxable bond debt
allocated to the Nursing Home.
Regardless, the County still has
this debt, so citing a savings of
$6.7 million is also incorrect and
dishonest.
Jan also claims Other Costs as
follows:
Continuing Care Agreement
$10.7 million
Accrued Employee Benefits
$367,000
2 years of Taxes and Maintenance $1.6 million
The Continuing Care Agreement (CCA) is for the care of
certain subsidized residents of
Montevue for as long as they are
medically appropriate for assisted living services. $3.5 million
of this was paid, so including this
$3.5 million in Jan’s calculation
of savings is again false and blatantly dishonest. Today, there are
27 subsidized residents at Montevue. This number has remained
constant since mid-March. Based
on the age and physical condition of these 27 residents, we believe the rate of attrition will remain very slow in the coming
years. Under the CCA, Aurora
would have been responsible for
the care of these subsidized residents for years following the last
payment from the County. As it
stands now, the County will again
be paying for the care of these residents as of September 1, 2016.
The net cost to the County (actually the tax payers) for the care
of these 27 residents for one day
will be $2,970, which equates to
$1,084,050. The math for this
cost of care is as follows: $150 per
day (cost of care) less $40 per day
(approximately the amount of social security paid by subsidized
residents. This varies per resident). $110 per day per resident
net cost multiplied by 27 resident. Jan wants to add 13 more
subsidized resident, for a total of
40. The net cost for 40 residents
will be $1,606,000, at today’s expenses. As we all know, the cost of
care goes up every year. Jan also
ignores the fact that Aurora was
taking care of many more subsidized residents for the 22 months
prior to March, 2016. Jan has
said many times the CCA was a
bad deal. The only way to really
know the cost of caring for the
subsidized residents under the
CCA, is to look back after the last
subsidized resident is no longer at
Montevue. This will not happen
for many, many years to come.
The County had a legal obligation to pay the Accrued Employee Benefits regardless of whether there was a sale of not. The
$367,000 would have been paid
to the employees either way. This
is not a savings to the County. As
of September 1, 2016, the County will again be responsible for
the payment of all employee benefits at Citizens and Montevue.
I’m sure the HR department at
the County is just thrilled about
this.
Jan also stated that $1.6 million
for taxes and maintenance over
two years, which is a made up
number. The Real Estate Tax paid
for the period 7/1/15 to 6/30/16
is $536,228.53. A large percentage of that goes back to Frederick County. Further, the County
spent far less than $263,772 per
year on maintenance. Jan failed
to mention that Aurora would
be paying 50% of the real estate
tax in year 3 of the lease, and that
if the sale went through, Aurora
would pay 100% of the real estate
tax. So now we can scrap over half
a million dollars in real estate taxes that once the county takes over
the facility, it will be exempt from
paying. Jan ignores this as well as
the $1,440,000 in rent that Aurora has been paying the County.
I really think she should go back
to Notre Dame and as for a refund, they cheated her on her finance degree.
If the sale had gone through:
A. The County would have retired $30 million in bond debt;
which now costs the tax payers
well over $2 million per year.
B. The County would have collected $536,228 in real estate tax
per year from Aurora. If the sale
had gone through:
C. The County would have no
financial liability related to Citizens and Montevue.
D. The remaining subsidized
residents at Montevue would
continue to receive outstanding
care. A recent report from the
Maryland Health Care Commission this Nursing Home under
Aurora’s Management was rated
at 8.8 out ot a score of 10. One of
the highest in the State.
E. The County would have the
ability to admit needy seniors to
Montevue, and pay a discounted
rate.
Instead of having A-E above,
we have a business that entered
a legal and binding contract with
Frederick County, had the agreement / contract breached by the
decisions of Jan Gardner. Yes, in
Frederick County if we don’t like
the contract we’ve entered, we
just breach it to suit our own selfish interest. Honor and integrity have no place here under Jan
Gardner’s watch. I wonder how
many Astra – Zenecas or Bechtels
will NOT relocate to Frederick County knowing the shafting that Aurora received from Jan
Gardner? They’d be crazy to relocate here under the rule of an
unpredictable County Executive
such as Jan Gardner.
6 | WOODSBORO WALKERSVILLE TIMES | SEPTEMBER 2016
GOVERNMENT
A note from Woodsboro Commissioner Chris Spruill
We have children in Woodsboro who like to ride their bikes
around town, and, since they are
asked not to ride on the sidewalks, they must use the roadways as their only option. We
also have a perennial problem,
especially during the summer,
with speeders throughout town
who seem to like to spin their
wheels leaving stop signs and
drive well in excess of the speed
limit up and down the streets of
our fair town.
Since we cannot afford a police
force of our own due to limited
municipal funds, we must therefore depend on drive-through attention from the Frederick County Sheriff ’s Department. While
we appreciate their presence, the
fact that they use marked patrol
vehicles and must catch perpetrators in the act means that their
success rate is not high enough
to act as an effective deterrent despite their expressed desire to be
able to help us with this problem.
The perpetrators seem aware of
this fact and also seem to envision it as a ‘free pass’ to drive in a
manner that is unsafe and threatens public safety.
The safety of town residents,
especially young residents who
are attempting to enjoy their
summer outdoors, is of paramount importance. The Wood-
sboro Town Council has taken
steps to curb this behavior, including placing speed bumps in
various parts of town and asking
for an increase in deputy patrols.
If you are aware of anyone who is
habitually driving through Woodsboro in a manner as to threaten
public safety, please confront the
behavior. At the very least you can
get information about the cars being driven in such a way that you
can provide to the Town Office
(where you pay your water bills).
Please help us address this continuing problem.
And if you are one of the perpetrators, please stop. If you refuse to comply with speed limit
signs as posted, know that Town
Officials are aware of the problem and are taking steps to alleviate it, and that information
gathered will be shared with the
Frederick County Sheriff ’s Department.
tained by the state. The state
might even cut new creek beds
to follow a better course than the
current route.
The work, if approved by the
Town, is expected to take about
18 months, and we will likely see
a lot of excavation and removal
of existing trees. It may be a year
or so before any work starts.
So what can we gain and what
can we lose from the proposed
project?
We can gain a stable creek
that stays in its new bed and
helps keep the downstream waters clear. The creek would have
a buffer of plantings that would
be natural, not even mowed. The
state will keep invasive species
out of the creek area. I asked if
poison ivy was an invasive species and unfortunately the answer is “no”. Colin Hill, the
SHA project engineer, attended
our August 9 meeting and stated
that humans are the only critters
allergic to poison ivy. Apparently it is great for nature, providing food, stability and shelter to
a variety of animals. So kids will
need to tread carefully when they
play down by the creek. Yes, people will be allowed to get to the
creek after the renovation.
What can we lose? Well the
streambed and its buffer area of
plantings could be pretty wide.
That could encroach on our
sports field and trails. However,
the state and town will enter into
a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that can be used to
address the town’s interests and
concerns. This September we expect the state to present a conceptual design of the project and
a draft MOU. One of the stipulations in the draft MOU is that
if the town backed out at any
time after signing the MOU, the
town would have to pay back all
the money the state committed.
The state is already taking a bit
of risk by paying for surveying
and the conceptual design before
we commit. The Town will negotiate wording of the MOU to ensure our interests are addressed.
Commissioner
Piechowski
recommended we hold a public hearing when the MOU and
conceptual design are delivered.
The rest of the Commissioners
agreed. So keep your eyes/ears
open for a public hearing on the
subject in September or October.
We want to make sure we capture the town’s concerns in the
MOU before we sign it.
I’m researching a couple of
project ideas we could include
with the state restoration, but I
still need to find out enough details to see if they are viable and
then see if the other Town commissioners support them. Interested? Attend our Town meetings and join the fun!
A note from Woodsboro Commissioner Ken Kellar
We may have some big changes coming to Woodsboro. The
State Highway Administration (SHA) has proposed to restore the Israel Creek stream bed
with a $3 million project. Israel
Creek runs down the middle of
our town park. Several sections
have vertical banks the rise maybe 4 feet above the creek. When
we get rain or snow melting, the
creek, confined by those steep
banks, gets deeper, and the water runs faster. Fast water erodes
much more soil than slow water.
Over the years the town had to
pave a new path to divert around
a high erosion bend in the creek.
To improve water quality, the
SHA would like to completely
renovate our creek bed. The basic change would be to cut away
those steep banks and make a
wide gradually rising stream
bank so in the future heavy water flows would spread out and
stay slow, keeping erosion to a
minimum. The new wide creek
bed and bank would be protected with natural plantings main-
SEPTEMBER 2016 | WOODSBORO WALKERSVILLE TIMES | 7
GOVERNMENT
Five reasons why I am running to be your congressman
by Dan Cox
The Olympics just ended,
and if you watched like we did
you heard the Maya Angelou
poem on commercial breaks,
“We are more alike, my friend,
than we are unalike.” That is
true for Congressional District
8 as well, for in our diversity we
are united and share similar desires and needs.
For instance, as parents who
just returned from dropping
our sophomore off at college,
Valerie and I identify with every
parent who believes their child
can accomplish great things.
We all want the next generation to believe that they have a
great purpose, to do good things
in our country and world. We
want them to hope, believe,
dream, work hard and aspire to
accomplish goals.
All this is our common interest, yet it is not guaranteed.
Without freedom, the human
condition goes dry.
That is why I am running to
fill the open seat in Congress in
Maryland’s District 8 and I am
asking for your vote.
All things are possible to
those who believe. That’s what
Jesus said. I believe it, even
though some are billing my
communist-party
supported 1
activist opponent as favored
in this district he helped gerrymander. (Communist Party USA website article dated 8/3/16, posted August 18,
2016; http://www.cpusa.org/
wp-content/uploads/2016/08/
nbreportEDIT82.16.pdf (accessed 8/27/2016).)
But I believe I will win and
here is why: Democrats, Independents and Republicans alike
are tired of corruption by career politicians, and are joined
alike in key issues this election.
I am not a career politician but
I have experience with each of
those key issues that District 8
believes in.
First, our security is in peril
and we must have a strong defense. From Iran to ISIS, we all
agree we should not be afraid
to go to the mall, airports or
crowded venues in our own
country. Approximately every
84 hours the Islamic State has
attacked soft targets including
San Bernadino, Orlando, Paris, Nice, Brussels and numerous other cities. The DC area
is also targeted. In both undergrad and law school I received
national-security training and
have also defended human
rights as a lawyer for the last decade. We must destroy ISIS and
protect our families from infiltrating insurgents as testified to
be a present threat by the FBI
and CIA.
Second, I have pledged to
make widening I-270, I-495,
I-70 and other key commuter
routes a matter of national security to ensure we not only protect our workers and commuters but keep us safe. The delays
and plans of rain tax politicians
like my opponent will crush us.
We must widen our roads today
and keep America working and
happy. This is my priority!
Third, we need more jobs in
this economy. Even if some politicians want to increase taxes
like my opponent does – whose
first issue is passing a “sweeping...tax” - in Congress I can
work to bypass and even overturn these bad local policies and
enact sensible pro-Jobs, lowtax incentives and good growth
policies. For example, if elected
my opponent will urge the President to issue the nearly 3000
pending regulations against
small businesses which are being proposed. Yet that will destroy even more of our jobs. My
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with
us!
For more information, contact WoodsboroEditor@
gmail.com
5
Spread the News!
Extra copies of the Times are available in Woodsboro at Trout’s Market and in
Walkersville at Salon Allure
and the library. Get there early each month.
plan is to grow jobs by protecting against rediculous regulatory burdens and by lowering
the business and individual tax
rates. This is estimated to bring
five million jobs back.
Fourth, our healthcare insurance is diagnosed with heart
failure and needs immediate
surgery. Obamacare has not
made healthcare affordable – we
all agree on this point. I have
proposed we repeal and replace
the proposal with a free-market approach that allows for individual ownership of insurance policies, purchasing across
state lines to increase the competition which will lower rates
and deductibles, while protecting existing plans for people
who want to keep them. We are
smart enough to do this without creating government-run
healthcare.
Fifth, we all agree in the rights
of citizens to make their own
choices and live with the knowledge that all are equal under the
rule of law. The rule of law is
the key to American freedom
and our enjoyment of our great
country. When the law is not
followed, millions die of heroin
overdoses, schools become overcrowded, apartment complexes
blow up like what happened in
Takoma Park/Silver Spring just
this month even though dozens
of complaints were filed, and
violent criminals are released
to harm our families. We can
do better and we must. That’s
why I support Kate’s Law to end
“sanctuary” cities. It is essential that we secure our borders
and protect all of us. My opponent supports legislation to allow illegal aliens to vote and to
use our taxdollars. That hurts,
burdens and endangers citizens.
I will oppose this wrong approach, will continue to defend
the rule of law, and will vote to
secure our border.
These are just five areas showing why I believe I will be elected as your Congressman on November 8 with your support and
vote. We are united and alike
on these points. My office will
be open to you and your family
to help on these issues and others. Please believe with us and
give me your confidence and
vote this fall. Support our campaign at www.coxforcongress.
org, or follow me on Twitter @
dancox4congress. I look forward to representing you, my
friend.
8 | WOODSBORO WALKERSVILLE TIMES | SEPTEMBER 2016
COMMENTARY
Citizens/Montevue resolved?
C. Paul Smith, former County
Commissioner
With the support of Council President Bud Otis, Executive
Gardner had the power to block
the sale of the Citizens/Montevue
facility to Aurora. By invoking the
threat of eminent domain, Executive Gardner and a majority of the
County Council took back from
Aurora both the right to operate
Citizens/Montevue and the land
that Aurora had contracted to buy.
As one who was familiar with
the terms of the sale to Aurora, and
who recognizes that the County
would have to compensate Aurora
millions of dollars for such a taking, I was interested to see how
much the County would pay, and
I was interested to see how Executive Gardner would spin the settlement deal to try to make it look
good financially. Although Gardner said the County would pay
Aurora about $8 million to get
the property back, her spin version was that this saved the County about $10 million because she
said the prior Board had sold the
facility to Aurora for $18 million
less than it was worth. This assertion is false, but with this logic she
claims the re-acquisition saves the
County about $10 million. The
facility was sold to Aurora for its
fair market value. Gardner’s accusation that the facilities were sold
for $18 million less than they were
worth is a baseless misrepresentation. Gardner’s supporters will
have no trouble swallowing her
explanation, just as the Frederick
News Post swallowed the whole
thing—hook, line, and sinker.
However, the simple truth of the
transaction is that the County had
to pay an extra $7.85million to get
the facility back from Aurora.
This $7.85 million expenditure
is a wasteful expense for Frederick
County. But the Citizens/Montevue matter has never been about
money. Although Executive Gardner now characterizes her achievement as an action that saves the
County $10 million, this is not
true—just the opposite; it will cost
the County an additional $7.85
million to keep the albatross called
“Citizens/Montevue.” But Gardner’s supporters do not care about
the cost, and they certainly do not
care to analyze and understand the
errors of Gardner’s fiscal analysis.
This entire issue is not about helping the poor seniors in Frederick
County. The re-acquisition of Citizens/Montevue is about emotion,
about the pride of those invested
in the continued operation of Citizens/Montevue, about raw political power, and about personal animosity. But it is not about being
fiscally responsible, nor is it about
helping all the needy seniors in
Frederick County.
An indication of the animosity
that saturates this entire episode
is the closing question in the lead
editorial in the FNP on May 25,
2016. After praising Gardner for
buying back Citizens/Montevue,
the editors could not resist launching a salvo at the Board of County Commissioners: “And they [the
prior Board of County Commissioners] paid the price, didn’t
they?” The editors intended this
to be a rhetorical question. But
the answer to that question merely underscores the editors’ own biases and misunderstanding of the
entire matter. No! The prior Board
of County Commissioners did not
pay any price for what has transpired. That both Commissioners who voted for the sale to Aurora were re-elected to the County
Council shows that this decision
did not cost them anything politically, and it certainly did not cost
them anything financially—except
what it is costing every taxpayer in
Frederick County to pay the additional $7.85 million to buy the facility back. The closing rhetorical
question of the FNP editors may
have sounded good to them when
they wrote it, but it makes no
sense. Gardner’s re-acquisition of
Citizens/Montevue is an “in your
face” moment for her and her supporters. She can say that she won,
but at what price? It will cost the
County $7.85 million more to do
it. And, unless she allows Aurora
to continue running the place, it
will continue to cost the County millions of dollars each year to
help up to 60 needy seniors each
year.
As one of the four commissioners who supported the sale of Citizens/Montevue to Aurora, I find it
interesting that Executive Gardner
and her supporters have totally ignored the reasons I gave for supporting the sale. They have not refuted my arguments; in fact, they
have not even responded to them.
I did not expect them to do so because I knew they couldn’t win
such an argument. But I did hope
and expect that a conservative
majority County Council would
understand and support my arguments. Conservatives do understand my arguments. But as it
turns out we do not have a conservative majority on the Council.
A summary of my arguments,
supporting the sale of Citizens/
Montevue, is this. The County
should not be in the assisted living business. No other County in
the State is in this business. The
County had been losing about
$4 million/year on the operations
for over a dozen years. The service
model that the County had followed, in attempting to give premier assisted living services to a select few (up to 60) needy seniors
is a great perk for the few seniors
that would get the benefit, but it
is manifestly unfair to single out
only 60 of over 600 needy seniors
and to give them a benefit of approximately $35,000/year, but to
give nothing comparable to the
others. It’s fine for a private charity to pick and choose who it will
benefit, but government should
be fair and equal in handing out
benefits to the poor. In fact, the
mandates of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment demand such equality. But,
as I said from the outset, this is not
about helping the poor; neither is
it about fairness to the poor. This
fight has been motivated by emotion, pride, animosity and battles
for political power. Those who are
really concerned about helping all
of the needy seniors in Frederick
County would support the County in transitioning to a system that
provides benefits for all the needy,
not just for a select few.
The sale of Citizens/Montevue did not impair even one of
the needy seniors who was receiving services at Citizens/Montevue.
The FNP editors are totally in error by stating that the prior Board’s
sale of Citizens/Montevue “destabilized the lives of about 250 poor
and elderly people living in the
two facilities.” This is flat out false.
Actually, I don’t think the FNP ed-
itors know better; they don’t know
what they are talking about. Here
are the facts. There are 245 beds
at the Citizens/Montevue facility.
170 of those beds are at the Citizens’ Nursing Home part of the
facility. The sale to Aurora did not
affect the people in those beds at
all. The Nursing Home part has
always been a for-profit enterprise.
Those 170 people are not poor seniors for whom the County is providing benefits. There is no evidence that any of those people
were “destabilized” at all. Of the
remaining 75 beds in the Assisted Living part of the facility, 15
of those have been for those who
pay the full fare for their use. Only 60 of the Assisted Living beds
were devoted for the poor. And every one of those seniors who was
receiving service when the sale to
Aurora was announced has continued to receive full benefits without
interruption for as long as they live
or choose to remain. There is no
evidence that any of these needy
seniors were ever “destabilized” by
the transfer to Aurora. In fact, Aurora has done a good job in its service to these people. The accusation of the FNP editors is baseless
and false. It evidences their own
biases and undermines both the
integrity and the factual basis of
their own conclusions.
Exec. Gardner criticizes the prior Board for ignoring its commitment to needy seniors. This
is a false accusation. Gardner and
the FNP editors like to characterize the matter in this way, but
this is a lie. As I have explained,
the Citizens/Montevue model of
service to needy seniors is seriously flawed, and is totally unable to
serve most of our needy seniors.
The prior Board followed the
recommendations of the Senior
Needs Study and began to put
more county funding into a program to reach more of the needy
seniors—to attempt to help them
to age in place, and stay in their
homes as much as possible. Gardner and the FNP editors are either
ignorant of this, ignore it, or really don’t care about it. As I said
at the outset, the re-acquisition of
Citizens/Montevue has never been
about helping all the needy seniors
in Frederick County.
If Executive Gardner was really concerned about making sure
that all 60 of those beds in the Assisted Living part were being used
to help needy seniors, then she
would not have made a settlement
deal to pay Aurora as long as Aurora maintains only a 86% occupancy rate in the 245 beds. This provision gives Aurora incentive to not
put needy seniors in 34 of the 60
beds that had been designated for
needy seniors. With this latitude,
Aurora cannot be expected to take
on any new seniors unless they
can pay for the cost of the services. This provision alone confirms
that the re-acquisition of Citizens/
Montevue has nothing to do with
caring for needy seniors.
And what about the 1828 original deed to the 88 acres? The FNP
editors quote a portion of that
deed which states that the 88-acre
parcel is to be used “for the benefit of the poor of said county, and
to and for no other use, intent or
purpose whatsoever.” The FNP
editors seem to think that this language would somehow prevent
the County from transferring the
property to Aurora. But the language does not prevent any transfer. Even if the restricting language
were enforceable, this would not
prohibit the County from transferring the property subject to the
same restrictions. But as a legal
matter, such a restriction is not enforceable because the deed did not
specifically provide that a violation
of the restriction makes the deed
void. The legal challenge that was
launched to block the sale to Aurora would ultimately have failed.
But because Eminent Domain
trumps other real estate rights, the
litigation was stayed to avoid futile expenditures to adjudicate an
issue that would later be made
moot. In addition, the uproar over
the County’s proposed sale of Citizens/Montevue revealed the hypocrisy of the protesters. Prior
to the sale contract with Aurora,
90% of the original 88 acres was
already being used by the County for multiple purposes unrelated
to benefits for the poor. These facilities included the Highway Department, Emergency Communications, Election Board, Parks &
Recreation, Transit, Animal Control Center, Animal Incinerator,
Ag Extension and Weed Control,
Health Center, and the Nursing
Home operations (which is a forprofit enterprise). For many decades the County has evidenced
its understanding that the restrictive usage language in the 1828
deed is not enforceable. For all of
these reasons, it is clear that there
is nothing in the 1828 deed that
would have prevented the sale of
Citizens/Montevue to Aurora.
In summary, it does appear that
Executive Gardner has succeeded
in un-doing the sale of Citizens/
Montevue to Aurora. The County is having to pay an extra $7.85
million to achieve this result. Unless the County has Aurora (or
some other qualified private entity) run the operations, then the
operations will continue to be excessively costly, and they will never provide a service that is made
available in equal benefits and on
equal terms to the hundreds of
needy seniors in the County. Executive Gardner and her supporters
have achieved a Pyrrhic victory, for
which all of the County taxpayers
will pay.
Selling Citizens/Montevue to
Aurora was the right thing to do
both from an economic point of
view and from the point of view
of helping all the needy seniors in
Frederick County. If the County
Council had a conservative majority or a majority who was genuinely concerned for providing the
best benefits for all needy seniors,
then the County would not have
re-acquired the facility.
SEPTEMBER 2016 | WOODSBORO WALKERSVILLE TIMES | 9
COMMENTARY
Natural cure
This and That
Mary T. Klotz
Thought to have originated in
North Africa, Greece and Turkey,
crocus is part of the Iris family, documented as early as the 7th century
BC. Most crocuses are harbingers
of spring, but autumn flowering
crocus are special.
Crocus sativus is an autumn
flowering variety and the source of
saffron. A flavoring and colorant
spice (and dye), saffron is familiar in Spanish cuisines. Many cultures and cuisines over thousands
of years have prized the spice. Saffron’s price matched that of gold at
times, including on the Philadelphia commodities exchange in the
early 1700’s! Children are named
for the spice. (Singer Donovan was
“just mad about Saffron” in Mellow Yellow, 1967.) Wars have been
fought over saffron; fortunes made
and lost. Saffron may have medicinal value (several pharmaceuticals
are saffron based).
Commercial growers are concentrated in Iran (~80%), with minor
production in Spain, India, and
Turkey. Stars and Stripes reports
that saffron in Afghanistan may
be a more lucrative crop than opium poppies. Ariana Saffron Company, in Afghanistan, was founded
in 2011. Rumi Spice, founded by a
team of US military veterans, is an
Afghan public benefit corporation.
Non-commercial growers are
widespread; there is cultivation in
Oregon, Arizona, Pennsylvania,
Vermont (protected in “high tunnels” aka hoop houses), the Swiss
village of Mund, and the English
towns of Croydon (“crocus valley”)
and Saffron Waldon which were
once saffron growing centers. The
“Yellow Dutch” grew saffron west
of Philadelphia for golden saffron
pot pies and soups.
Gathering the three red stigmas
of about 150 flowers yields about
.035 ounce of dried saffron (estimates vary).The harvesting must
be done by hand the day the blossom opens. Price range: $864 to
$6770 per pound, sold at the consumer level in very small packages.
Inexpensive saffron is possibly not
saffron at all, or adulterated with
substitutes such as marigold petals.
The purple blossoms are said to
be wonderfully fragrant. The bulblike “corms” are dormant through
summer and are available by mail
order. Plant them through early autumn for flowering the same year.
Corms multiply and are perennial with a seven year growing cycle;
yields during years three and four
possibly 10 times that of the first
year.
Colchicum autumnal is another autumn blooming crocus used
as a rheumatism remedy first documented in the Ebers Papyrus (1500
BC). Not to be confused nor used
as saffron, all parts of the plant are
considered poisonous; nonetheless, it’s been used continuously as
a gout remedy in many countries
through the present day. Benjamin
Franklin, a gout sufferer, brought
corms to the US when he was ambassador to France.
The active component, colchicine, was first isolated in 1833. My
husband first took colchicine, as a
generic drug, 5 cents per dose. But
the 2006 US Food and Drug Administration Unapproved Drugs
Initiative newly required extensive testing of drugs that were in
use before the FDA came into being, drugs with hundreds (or thousands) of years of use showing their
safety and effectiveness. Pharmaceutical companies could suddenly
get licenses to test, and then patent,
such medicines, even those such as
colchicine, an herbal remedy.
URL Pharma of Philadelphia got
such a license, did the testing, and
subsequently submitted a “New
Drug Application”! The FDA gave
formal approval, and granted them
exclusive rights over colchicine in
2009. URL Pharma was required
to do new tests at an expense of
$100 million dollars (NOTE: $45
million of that was an “application fee” paid to the FDA, which
gave the company three years of
exclusive marketing-hmm). The
FDA ordered generic versions off
the market. Having a monopoly,
the price went from 9¢ per dose
to $4.85 per dose, 53.8 times the
earlier price. Medicare expenses
for the drug went from $1million
to $50 million. Thus, the $45 million dollar fee appears to have been
made back the first year in Medicare payments alone! One patient
reported that it was cheaper to take
a cruise to Mexico and buy 100
pills for $5 there, than to get them
in the US.
The rights are now owned by
Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Asia’s
biggest drug maker which bought
URL Pharma in 2012. Patents expire in 2029. Colchicine is now
marketed as Colcrys at a list price
of $8.49/dose*. As of January
2015, Takeda is permitting Prasco
Labs to sell colchicine as a generic product, at about 33% less than
Colcrys brand ($5.69/dose*, 114
times more than what my husband
used to pay). Discounted prices of
<$3/dose can be found.
The three year exclusive has expired, at least as relating to treatment for gout, but any company
wishing to market a generic version is required to submit (and pay
for) a New Drug Application to the
FDA and foot the bill for testing.
None have done this; they cannot
simple restart production.
What would Ben Franklin, Ansel Adams, Alexander the Great,
Beethoven, Sir Richard Burton,
Grover Cleveland, Da Vinci, Charlemagne, Darwin, John Hancock,
Marx, or Jefferson**, all reputed
to be gout sufferers, make of this?
Might Monsanto genetically engineer their own strain of saffron or
colchicum crocus to patent as “intellectual property”?
Ah, the croci of autumn!
*prices vary depending where you
buy them and what agreements your
insurance has with the dispensary.
**women get gout less often
10 | WOODSBORO WALKERSVILLE TIMES | SEPTEMBER 2016
COMMENTARY
It’s complicated
Family room
Chandra Bolton
It was getting late. The 35 yearold lawyer entered his Georgetown home, closed the door behind him, and settled in for
dinner with his family. An insistent knocking at the door interrupted dinner. An old family
friend had been arrested. Would
it be possible for the lawyer to
accompany an officer to negotiate his release? The matter was
urgent. Could the lawyer come
now? With little thought for the
food growing cold on the table,
Francis Scott Key left with the
officer for the long ride to Baltimore to board the American
truce ship.
It was September 13, 1814.
The War of 1812 had begun 2
years previously. Three weeks before this, the British had burned
Washington D.C. Now they were
heading up the bay to attack Baltimore. Its clipper ships had been
wreaking havoc on British shipping, and they were going to retaliate. Key and the American
officer, Col. Skinner, were cour-
teously welcomed by the British
officers. The prisoner release was
organized over a cordial dinner
aboard ship. The problem arose
when it came time to leave. In
preparation for an attack against
the city, the British ships were
getting ready to bombard Ft.
McHenry, the fort guarding Baltimore Harbor. Since Key, Skinner, and the American prisoners
had seen the British ships and
could pass on their knowledge,
they were forced to remain onboard until after the battle. For
twenty-five hours the bombard
continued. Key alternated between observing on deck and going below to report to the other
Americans. When at last the guns
were silent, the American flag
still flew over the fort, a sign of
American perseverance and British defeat. Being a poet, as well as
a lawyer, Key poured his thoughts
and feelings into a poem, The Defense of Fort McHenry. Within a
week, it was printed in a Baltimore newspaper. Though written as a poem, it was designed to
be sung to the tune from a well-
known song. The Star Spangled
Banner was born.
Born just north of Woodsboro on his family’s farm, Key
himself was a man of contradictions. Despite being born into a
very wealthy family, he decided
against becoming an Episcopal
priest because he didn’t think that
he could support his own children on a clergyman’s salary. He
belonged to a choral society and
wrote hymns that are still sung
today. Yet in spite of his love for
music, he was described by several family members as “tone-deaf.”
The man who wrote our national
anthem couldn’t carry a tune in
a bucket.
Key’s religious faith led him to
oppose the War of 1812. Yet he
was a volunteer with an artillery
unit during 1813, just a year before the Battle for Baltimore. He
wrote songs glorifying military
victories in the Barbary Pirates
War as well as the War of 1812.
Key also became a close advisor of
President Andrew Jackson whose
ruthless military victories during
the War of 1812 and the Indian
Wars of the early 1800’s led to his
election as president.
Fervent faith struggled with
political ambition. As a man of
faith, Francis Scott Key founded churches and two Episcopal
seminaries in Virginia and Maryland; he represented the poor for
free. Political ambition tied him
to Andrew Jackson, a man known
for his bitter, unrelenting hatred
and his rejection of forgiveness
towards his enemies, personal or
political.
Key was most famous, in his
own time, as a lawyer. He argued more than 100 cases before
the Supreme Court of the United
States. His support of Jackson led
to his appointment as U.S. District Attorney for the District of
Columbia, responsible for prosecuting cases involving the Federal
government. It is in his work as
a lawyer that the most vivid examples of his complicated character arise. Key represented slave
owners trying to recover their
run-away slaves. He also represented, without charge, slaves
trying to gain their freedom. He
opposed international slave trafficking while prosecuting abolitionists for “inciting rebellion.”
As the executor of a friend’s
will, which asked him to free the
man’s four hundred slaves and divide the plantation lands among
them, he had to petition the Virginia courts for several years to
fulfill his obligation. Key persevered to the end, ensuring each
human being received that gift of
freedom.
Slavery was the most difficult issue in Key’s life. Beginning
in 1801, he began buying a few
slaves to work his farm in Frederick County. In the1830’s, he began freeing those slaves. Some of
his former slaves stayed on as salaried workers. Key was a founding member of the American
Colonial Society, a group which
bought land in Africa, now the
country of Liberia, as a place
for freed slaves to immigrate, a
new home for those kidnapped
and stolen away to America. He
supported the legal right to own
slaves even as he personally called
it a great evil.
Perhaps Francis Scott Key is
the embodiment of the notion
often heard in politics today, “I
am personally opposed to something but support your legal right
to do it.” Or, “I keep my personal beliefs separate from my public duties.” How much we admire
those who are willing to stand up
for their belief without equivocation. It is easy to judge Mr. Key
because in this generation slavery is universally condemned. It
takes no courage to speak against
something no one supports.
Do you ever wonder what we
will be judged on in another two
hundred years? What is acceptable to us that will be obviously
evil to that generation? I think
that President Jefferson said it
best, “I tremble for my country
when I reflect that God is just;
that his justice cannot sleep forever.”
SEPTEMBER 2016 | WOODSBORO WALKERSVILLE TIMES | 11
ARTS
Children’s theatre at Way Off Broadway welcomes
the return of Disney’s 101 Dalmatians
A large part of The Way Off
Broadway Dinner Theatre’s goal
has been to bring entertainment
for all ages to the Frederick stage.
The area’s only year-round producing theatre has done just that
with its popular Children’s Theatre. Opened in 1996, Way Off
Broadway’s Children’s Theatre
produces shows the entire family can enjoy. In the beginning, it
produced original musical stage
adaptations of classic fairytales.
In 2011, the Children’s Theatre was revamped and began
producing stage versions of
popular children’s movies and
books. The first of these new
shows was Disney’s 101 Dalmatians which was an instant hit.
After almost six years, Pongo,
Perdita, and all their puppies,
along with Cruella De Vil and
her bumbling henchmen, will
be returning to the Children’s
Theatre for a fun fall run beginning September 17th.
Disney’s classic animated tale
of kidnapping villains and courageous puppies is adapted in
this “fur-tastic” musical adventure. Pet owners, Roger and Anita, live happily in London with
their Dalmatians, Pongo and
Perdita, stalwart dogs devoted to
raising their puppies. Everything
is quiet until Anita’s former
classmate, the monstrous Cruella
De Vil, plots to steal the puppies
for her new fur coat. The Dalmatians rally all the dogs of London
for a daring rescue of the puppies
from Cruella and her bumbling
henchmen.
The original animated film
101 Dalmatians was released in
1961, which was itself an adaptation of the novel The Hundred
and One Dalmatians by Dodie
Smith. Disney released a live action version of the film in 1996
starring Glenn Close as Cruella
De Vil, followed by a sequel four
years later.
Disney’s 101 Dalmatians has
music & lyrics by Mel Leven,
Randy Rogel, Richard Gibbs,
Brian Smith, Dan Root, and
Martin Lee Fuller; a book adapted by Marcy Heisler; music
adapted and arranged by Bryan
Louiselle; and is based on the
screen play by Bill Pete. Way Off
Broadway’s production runs September 10th – October 29th and
is under the direction of Jordan
B. Stocksdale.
Children’s Theatre performances are every Saturday afternoon and the 2nd and 4th
Sunday of each month. Doors
open for lunch each day at 11:30
a.m. with the show beginning at
12:30 p.m. Tickets for lunch and
the show cost $17 per person.
To purchase tickets, call the
Box Office at (301) 662-6600.
To learn more about Way Off
Broadway or any of its productions, visit www.wayoffbroadway.com.
The Fredericktowne Players proudly
present Babes in Arms!
Packed with songs you love, including “My Funny Valentine,”
“The Lady Is a Tramp,” “Johnny
One Note,” “Where or When,”
and more!
Don’t miss the opportunity to
select your favorite seats for another great show!
Babes in Arms Friday September 23, 2016 to Sunday October
2, 2016
This quintessential , “Hey,
kids, let’s put on a show!” musical
boasts one of the greatest scores ever written. Set at a summer stock
theatre, the plot concerns a group
of young apprentices and their
conviction to mount the original
revue they’ve created while dodging the underhanded attempts of
the surly theatre owner to squash
their efforts at every turn. Further complications are provided
by the overbearing stage mother of a beautiful ex-child star and
the inflated ego of a hack southern playwright. But of course the
show must go on, and so it does in
a resolution of comeuppance, reconciliation and romance.
Advertise with us!
For more information, contact [email protected]
5
12 | WOODSBORO WALKERSVILLE TIMES | SEPTEMBER 2016
LIBRARY
A Page from Walkersville Library
57 West Frederick Street, Walkersville, MD (301) 845-8880
Sign up for a Library Card –
Win Prizes!
September is National Library
Card Sign-up Month! Frederick
County Public Libraries is celebrating all month long with a raffle for new card holders. If you, or
someone in your family, is without a library card, this is the perfect time to sign up. Everyone who
applies for a card during September will be entered in to a drawing
for a free book and other awesome
prizes. Already have a card? You
can be entered too by referring a
friend who doesn’t have a card.
FCPL offers more than just
books, including Internet access,
digital tools and trained professionals who can help you find any
information you need. The eight
branches and two bookmobiles
feature hundreds of programs and
activities for all ages, and provide
a training ground for students to
expand their knowledge and job
seekers to hone their skills.
For more information, ask
about the program at the circulation desk of your nearest branch or
visit fcpl.org.
A New Library for Walkersville
(article from FCPL Fall 2016
Bookmarks)
From 1968 to 1987, Walkersville residents borrowed books
from the local pharmacy where a
small collection was kept. To their
delight, in 1988 the first Walkersville library opened to the public
with a collection of nearly 7,000
book and other materials. In a
space of just 2,500 square feet,
the collection has grown to over
20,000 items. Each day the library
is bursting with activity as patrons
fill the space for events, storytimes,
and study groups. For many years,
limited space has required the library staff to be creative in finding solutions to accommodate the
crowd of library patrons looking
Artists rendering of the new Walkersville library
to attend events and use limited
resources.
With groundbreaking taking
place this fall, a new Walkersville
library is scheduled to open by
late 2017 or early 2018. Located
on South Glade Road across from
Creamery Park, the much needed,
new 15,000-square-foot facility
will offer an expanded collection,
plenty of parking and a comfortable space to better meet the needs
of the community.
“I can’t wait for Walkersville
to see it! They will be so proud
of their new library,” says Robin
Bowers, Walkersville Branch Administrator. “There will finally be
room for the whole community
to enjoy the library, and we will
be able to offer a variety of new
events that we haven’t been able to
in the past. We’ll also be able to offer quiet spaces for people to study,
something for the community has
been asking for a long time.”
In addition to a new one-stop
service desk, the library will have
all of the resources and technology we’ve come to expect as a standard at FCPL: a large community
meeting room, a STEM lab, computer stations, and of course wi-fi.
“The space will be personalized to
reflect the community it serves,”
says Frederick County Public Libraries Director Darrell Batson.
“The children’s area will be impressive. We know that children
learn through interactive experiences so creating a space that allows parents and caregivers to interact with their children in ways
that enhance their development
and early literacy skills is something that is important.”
More updates on the new Walkersville Library will be included in
future issues of Bookmarks, FCPL’s quarterly magazine.
city didn’t need old fireboats anymore. So the Harvey retired, until a group of friends decided to
save it from the scrap heap. Then,
one sunny September day in 2001,
something so horrible happened
that the whole world shook. And
a call came from the fire department, asking if the Harvey could
battle the roaring flames. In this
inspiring true story, Maira Kalman brings a New York City icon
to life and proves that old heroes
never die.
was very well done and is appropriate for even the softest heart.
Nine, Ten: A September 11 Story by Nora Raleigh Baskin
A touching look at the days
leading up to the tragic events
of September 11, 2001, and how
that day impacted the lives of
four middle schoolers. This book
Towers Falling by Jewell Parker
Rhodes
A powerful story about young
people who weren’t alive to witness this defining moment in history, but begin to realize how
much it colors their every day.
Extremely Loud and Incredibly
Close by Jonathan Foer
Nine-year-old Oskar Schell has
embarked on an urgent, secret
mission that will take him through
the five boroughs of New York.
His goal is to find the lock that
matches a mysterious key that belonged to his father, who died in
the World Trade Center on the
morning of September 11. This
seemingly impossible task will
bring Oskar into contact with survivors of all sorts on an exhilarating, affecting, often hilarious, and
ultimately healing journey. This is
available in book form, or as a feature film.
September Reads
Lest We Forget
The events of September 11,
2001, will forever be embedded
in American history. As difficult
as it was for us to watch news
footage, it is important that we
never forget the events of that
day. Several books in our collection feature the story of the attacks on the Twin Tours in sensitive, yet powerful stories that are
perfect for all ages. As we near
the 15th anniversary of the attacks of September 11th, stop in
and check out one of the following selections:
Fireboat: The Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey
The John J. Harvey fireboat was
the largest, fastest, shiniest fireboat of its time, but by 1995, the
SEPTEMBER 2016 | WOODSBORO WALKERSVILLE TIMES | 13
COMMUNITY
Glade Valley Grange #417
Raymond Crum (Master)
The Glade Valley Grange held
their picnic on Tuesday, August
9, at 6:30 pm at the Walkersville
Community Park with 30 people in attendance. Master Raymond Crum welcomed everyone
and called on Grange Chaplain
Sister Donna Fisher for invocation. Master Crum introduced
the guests that were in attendance:
Maryland State Master Allen
Stileshis and wife, Kay, the Treasurer of State Grange and a member of the executive committee;
Bro Paul Stull, Head of the Agriculture Commission of Maryland
State Grange; Burgess Chad Weddle of Walkersville; Debbie Zimmerman, Head of Parks and Town
Commissioner; and John Zimmerman on the Walkersville Planning and Zoning Board.
The cookies contest was headed by Frances Cecil and the results
were: Adult Class of Muffins, 1st
place Raymond Crum; 2nd place
Susan Jalley; and 3rd place Barba-
ra Crum; Appetizer class: 1st place
Frances Cecil; 2nd place Barbara Crum; and 3rd place Raymond
Crum; Rolled cookies: 1st place
Barbara Ann Barnett; 2nd place
Barbara Eaves; 3rd place Donna
Fisher; Youth Class Muffins: 1st
place Katlyn Summers.
The Guessing Game was headed by Beth Crum and the winners
were: container nuts, June Hawes;
mixed nuts and fruits, Paul Stull;
container 1, Barbara Crum; container 2, Frances Cecil; container 3, Frano; container 4, June
Hawes; container of mints, Ernie
Fisher; and Watermelon, Uriah.
Glade Valley Grange members
and guests brought canned goods
and perishable items for the Glade
Valley Food Bank as a community
service project.
The picnic was enjoyed by everyone present.
Glade Valley will put a display in
the Great Frederick Fair with the
same theme. They will also have
a display in the Frederick County
Pomona Grange 100th Anniversary
and the Maryland State Fair.
The Glade Valley Grange was
invited to the Thurmont Grange
for friendship night on Monday,
August 22 at 7:00 pm at the Thurmont community Park and will
present a short program.
The next regular Grange meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 13 at 6:30 pm at the UCC
Church on Fulton Avenue.
Glade Valley will be collecting empty prescription bottles in
front of the Grange Display at the
Glade Valley Community Show at
the Walkersville High School on
September 28, 29, 30. The bottles are being collected for the Malawi Project for shipping to that
country. This will help families in
a third world country keep their
medicines clean, out of reach of
small children, and safe while they
are being used. To remove the labels, place the bottles in boiling
water until you are able to easily
remove the labels and glue.
14 | WOODSBORO WALKERSVILLE TIMES | SEPTEMBER 2016
COMMUNITY
Walkersville High School Alumni Assoc. holds its annual meeting/banquet.
Patty Green
Walkersville High School Alumni Assoc. awarded scholarships to 2016 graduates at the annual meeting/banquet on June 25, 2016. Pictured recipients front left to right are: Megan Dusci, Alison McGuire, Michaela Zeller, Anna Eyler, and Chelsea Dinterman. Back - Chad Weddle (presenting scholarships), Hanna Houck, McKenzie Mathis, Ariona Johnson, Rachel Cheston, Dakota Monn, and
Brandon Meyer. Alexandra Taylor was not available for the picture.
Walkersville High School Alumni Association, Inc. (WHS) held its
annual meeting/banquet on June
25, 2016, at the New Midway Volunteer Fire Company Firehall with
“50 Years of Growing Older, But
Not Up” theme. Dinner was enjoyed by more than 235 alumni.
Sandy Bartlebaugh Zimmerman,
President, class of 1978, welcomed
everyone and thanked everyone for
attending. The New Midway Fire
Company members provided the
meal for the event. A brief overview
of the WHS Alumni activities that
had taken place during the past
2015-2016 year was presented.
The traditional roll call of WHS
Alumni classes was taken and raffles were awarded.
Chad Weddle presented 12
scholarships, with a total amount of
more than $13,700, to WHS 2016
graduating seniors. Hanna Houck
received the WHS Intergenerational Scholarship. She had parents and grandparents and many
other family members who graduated from WHS. Two William R.
Talley scholarships were presented to Megan Dusci and McKenzie
Mathis to pursue athletic careers. A
Phil Heflin scholarship sponsored
by the Heflin family was presented
to Chelsea Dinterman. Alison McGuire was presented with a Teaching Scholarship sponsored by the
WHS Class of 1965. A designated
STEM scholarship was presented
to Dakota Monn by WHS Alumni. Ariona Johnson was presented a
scholarship in memory of Tommy
Dorsey. Brandon Meyer received
a FCC Scholarship sponsored by
the class of 1965. The WHS Class
of 1966 sponsored three general
scholarships which were presented to Rachel Cheston, Anna Ey-
ler, and Alexandra Taylor. Michaela Zeller received a WHS general
scholarship.
WHS graduates from classes
1938 through 2016 were represented at the meeting/banquet. Everyone was encouraged to invite all
classmates to participate in WHS
Alumni events and to invite others
to reminisce with everyone at future meeting/banquets.
The WHS class of 1966 presented a program to celebrate their 50th
class reunion. The 1966 class provided a very enlightening program
about the activities of their class
that brought back many memories
and laughs. A special presentation
of songs through their high school
years was presented which the audience thoroughly enjoyed, and
some sang along. Special guests
at the dinner included Katherine
Jenks Powell, former teacher, Mrs.
William R. Talley and family, and
former teacher Peggy Trimmer and
husband. A special presentation for
the “WHS Spirit Award” was presented to Alan and Bonnie Heflin
and Sandy Zimmerman for their
continual support to the WHS
Alumni and activities.
The following officers were elected for the upcoming 2016-2017
year: President – Sandy Bartlebaugh Zimmerman (class of 1978);
Vice President – Evon Esworthy
Heflin (class of 1963); Treasurer – Chad Weddle (class of 1988);
Asst. Treasurer – Alan Heflin (class
of 1964); Recording Secretary –
Marsha Burrier Bruchey (class of
1964); Assistant Recording Secretary – Michelle Handley Cunningham (class of 1984); and Corresponding Secretary – Patty Burrier
Green (class of 1970).
Activities to raise funds for
2017 scholarships include a WHS
Alumni Golf Tournament on September 24, 2016, at Glade Valley Golf Club and a Money Bingo
on March 19, 2017, at Lewistown
Firehall. WHS Alumni clothing
with embroidered insignia is still
available for sale. Anyone interested in further information about the
Walkersville High School Alumni Assoc. Inc. should contact current President Sandy Zimmerman at 301/845-8569. Info about
WHS Alumni, including upcoming meeting dates, can be found at
the WHS Alumni section on WHS
website: (http://education.fcps.org/
whs/node/756). Inquiries and updates can also be mailed to WHS
Alumni, PO Box 546, Walkersville,
MD 21793.
Investors can learn much from workers
Next week, we observe Labor
Day, a celebration of the American worker. And there’s a lot to
celebrate, because our workers
have accomplished great things
and, in the process, demonstrated
a variety of impressive character
traits – many of which also can be
useful to investors.
For example:
Perseverance – Have you ever
read about an inventor who failed
dozens of times before finally hitting on a winner? Or a scientist
who studied the same problem
for decades before discovering a
revolutionary solution? All kinds
of workers display this type of
perseverance, in one form or another. As an investor, you, too,
will need this “stick-to-itiveness”
because you will face challenges. Markets will drop, individual
investments may disappoint, tax
laws may change, and so on. But
if you’re patient, and you follow
a long-term strategy that’s based
on your needs, risk tolerance and
time horizon, you can overcome
those obstacles that may be blocking progress toward your goals.
Inquisitiveness – During your
own work, you’ve probably found
that you can improve your effectiveness simply by asking a few
questions or otherwise learning
a little more about your tasks at
hand. As an investor, you’ll also
find that knowledge is power –
because the more you know about
investing and investments, the
better prepared you can be when
making decisions. Sometimes,
this knowledge can help you look
past the so-called experts who
are touting the “next hot stock.”
Other times, your curiosity may
lead you to find new opportunities. In any case, learn as much as
you can, and if you work with a
financial professional, ask questions – as many as necessary. The
investment world is fascinating,
and it can be complex – but it is
also understandable to those who
make the effort.
Flexibility – When something
isn’t working, you may need to
try another approach. Successful
workers know this – and so do
CONTINUED ON PAGE 19
SEPTEMBER 2016 | WOODSBORO WALKERSVILLE TIMES | 15
COMMUNITY
When the whistle blows
Charissa Roberson
“Welcome aboard,” said the
smiling conductor as he waved us
onto the train.
Tickets in hand, we walked up
the ramp and stepped into the first
car. I gazed around me curiously.
For years, I had wanted to ride the
Walkersville Southern Railroad
but somehow, we had never gotten around to it until now.
Beyond the first car, which was
an enclosed carriage with booth
seats, were two open carriages. My
father, my sister, and I edged our
way down the aisle and hopped
over into the next car. Several passengers were already in place, sitting on the wooden benches and
chatting or stopping their tiny children from wandering too
close to the rails of the carriage.
We passed through the second car
all the way to the front where we
found an open bench and seated
ourselves. Our carriage was directly behind the engine. As I leaned
back on the bench, I could feel the
hum and thrum of the engine vibrating through the wood.
More passengers filed onto the
train as the minutes ticked down
to departure time. While I waited, I studied the small train station with its ticket office and museum across the street. The station
was in the middle of the town of
Walkersville: a bit of history preserved, reconstructed, and restored to its original purpose.
The engine shuddered a bit, and
I looked eagerly towards the front
of the train. However, we clearly
weren’t quite ready to go as the engine soon steadied back into its
waiting drone.
At last 2 pm arrived, the last passenger got on board, and the engineer exchanged a few final words
with his man on the ground. Then
a piercing whistle blasted into the
air. We jumped, startled, and with
a clank and a jerk, the train start-
ed moving. I scrambled to my feet
and dashed to the rail. My father
and sister joined me, leaning our
heads out to watch the engine pull
our car down the tracks.
As the train chugged out of the
station, it began to pick up speed.
I clutched the rail, staring down
at the ground zipping beneath the
tracks.
“Look, there’s the park,” my
father called over the roar of the
train. He pointed to Walkersville
Park on our right. I turned and
saw a little group of people standing near the tracks, waving at us.
I waved back. The group quickly
faded into the distance as the train
rolled onwards.
Past the park, we plunged into a shady, wooded tunnel with
thick trees growing up around
the tracks. My sister and I were
reaching out to try to touch the
leaves slipping by us when another round of loud blasts startled us. We peered ahead and saw
a railroad crossing approaching. A
short row of cars was stopped back
from the tracks to let us pass. The
train gave another whistle to warn
the cars that it was coming. As the
carriages rattled over the crossing,
one of the waiting drivers waved
and honked his horn with a light,
Beep, beep!
Obligingly, the engineer sounded his whistle again, answering the
car with a deep, Whoot! Whoot!
Laughing, we waved at the cars
until they were out of sight.
“Tickets, please,” the conductor
called, walking down the aisles of
the carriages. I pulled our tickets
out of my purse. With a glance at
each of them, the conductor tore
off the stub and handed the tickets
back to me. “I hope you enjoy the
ride,” he said pleasantly.
Around a corner, the train pulled
into the sunshine, and warmth
flooded over our car. On our left,
a grassy field had emerged with a
few houses beyond. As I squinted
against the bright light, a brilliant
monarch butterfly flitted up from
the grass and floated alongside the
train. We gestured excitedly as the
delicate creature flew beside us for
a few more feet and then drifted
over the top of the train.
“Whoa!” my sister said suddenly. She was staring forward at the
approaching ground, and I followed her gaze.
“Yikes!” I said, holding onto
the rail a bit tighter. The train was
about to go over a bridge across
a shallow valley and creek. The
bridge was sturdy and solid, made
of thick wooden beams, but that
didn’t stop us from exchanging a
few nervous glances as the solid
ground disappeared from beneath
us.
Soon the tracks returned to secure earth. We rolled through corn
fields, across roads, and under trees
until the train finally squeaked to
a stop.
Whoot! The engineer blew the
whistle, and the caboose took
the lead; the engine now pushing the carriages backwards along
the tracks. My sister, my father,
and I all sat down on the benches
to enjoy the return trip. Lazily, I
watched the trees pass as the tracks
clicked away under me, and the
train steadily bore us along. A cool
breeze swirled through the carriages, rustling the thick green foliage
outside. What a pleasant ride it
had been. For a short time, we had
been able to go back to the days
when trains regularly crisscrossed
the town of Walkersville carrying
cargo and passengers across the
land faster than ever before. Much
had changed since then, but the
delight of the locomotive had not
vanished. When the whistle blew
today, people had still rushed to
watch as the carriages rattled by,
and we had still thrilled with excitement at the chance to “Come
aboard!” and ride the iron horse.
A view from the train
In early July, I was invited to speak
about writing at the Frederick Rescue Mission’s Summer Enrichment
Program for the children in the community. The experience was amazing, and meeting the children there
was a great privilege. After my presentation, I was thrilled to be asked
to come back and hold a mini writing workshop with the kids. I had
“My First Train Ride”
by Susy Salamanca (age 10)
It was my first train ride. When I
got on, I was nervous because I had
never gone on a train before. So we
sat in the booth section. There were
long booths and short booths. I decided to sit on the short booth with
Jen. Then the train started to move.
Then it went faster and faster. We
saw a lot of trees and some houses
and buildings.
When we were on the train,
some of the trees’ branches decided
“The Train Ride”
(or “I Have Fun in
the Train”)
by Jasmin Torres (age 7)
I liked the click-clack of the
train on the track. I liked watching trees go by. I liked going over
the creek on the bridge. I liked riding with my friends. I liked to hear
the whistle blow. I liked seeing the
people wave when we went by. I
liked the smile of the conductor.
I liked the big squeak of the train
when it stopped. I liked it when
we started to go backwards. I liked
the sound of the steam when the
train ride was all done.
Riding the Walkersville Train
was really fun. Everybody should
take a ride on the train.
The End.
just written this article about riding
the Walkersville Southern Railroad,
and I discovered that the kids had
just gone on a field trip on the same
train. Therefore, in our workshop,
they also wrote stories about their
experience riding on the train. Two
stories by two of these young authors
are printed below!
to touch us. So we had to be careful
and not let the branches touch us.
At one point, we saw cows and a
cornfield, and we went on a bridge
and crossed a big lake. Then we
stopped, and they said that we
could move, but we just turned
around because the train went
backwards. Then we crossed the
lake again, and we saw the cornfield and the cows. Then we had
to be careful because the branches would touch us again. Then we
stopped and got off. I had a lot of
fun.
Jasmin Torres working on her story
Columnist Charissa Roberson with young author Susy Salamanca
16 | WOODSBORO WALKERSVILLE TIMES | SEPTEMBER 2016
RELIGION
A note from Pastor Sean
For many people summer is
a time for vacations and travel. Whether you traveled near or
far, experiencing new places and
meeting new people is an excellent way of strengthening our understanding of God’s creation of
all things. The famous American
author, Mark Twain sums it up
very well,
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and
many of our people need it sorely on
these accounts. Broad, wholesome,
charitable views of men and things
cannot be acquired by vegetating in
one little corner of the earth all one’s
lifetime.” – Mark Twain, The Innocents Abroad.
Traveling shows us just how big
the world is and at the same time
how small and how interconnected we are all. The trash that originates from the shores of our lands
eventually ends up on the shores
of distant lands (and vice versa).
The wildlife that becomes extinct
both here and abroad affects us
all. A child’s laughter sounds just
as joyous whether it is on a play-
ground in Woodsboro or in Mexico City. A parent’s tears for the loss
of their child serving in the military is a deep pain that is felt no
matter which country their child
was serving. That is what Mark
Twain is saying when he says that
“travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness….”
And Jesus and his apostles traveled. They talked to, healed, ate,
lodged with all types of people. Even those people who were
deemed “the other”; people who
culturally they were not supposed
to interact with, they did. They
interacted with everyone. They
knew that God’s love is for everyone, and they responded accordingly because of their faith and belief that everyone and everything is
created by God out of God’s love.
So if you have not traveled or if
you have not traveled lately, I hope
that you will. And you do not
have to go far to experience new
cultures and people. The culture
on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia is different from
Frederick. The culture of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, or the ethnic
Baltimore neighborhoods, or the
Appalachian Mountains, all have
their own foods, and accents, and
folk lore, and history, and all are
connected because all are God’s
children.
And when you travel, talk to
people, taste their foods, listen to
their stories. Look up from your
texting and say thank you to the
person who has just cleaned your
hotel room, or brought you your
food in a restaurant, or gave you
directions on the street corner.
Open your eyes and really see the
places and people where you are
traveling, and you just may dis-
cover a new compassion and understanding for yourself and for
those who you have just met. And
maybe you will even find a new
friend. That is what God’s love is
all about.
Join us on Sunday mornings
to hear more about God’s love
and good news for us - worship
is at 9:00 am at 8 North Second
Street, Woodsboro. For information about our service or for other questions about what you read
in this article or about St. John’s
United Church of Christ call
the church phone at 301-8457703 or email Pastor Sean at [email protected]. You may
also visit us at Facebook – stjohnsuccwoodsboro – or at our website – www.stjohnsuccwoodsboro.
org. We welcome you to share
your thoughts.
Jesus Christ: the Word (John 1:1-5) (Part Three)
“In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God.
The same was in the beginning
with God. All things were made
by Him; and without Him was
not anything made that was
made. In Him was life; and the
life was the light of men. And
the light shineth in the darkness;
and the darkness comprehended
it not.”
We are studying our way
through the first five verses of John
1. In the beginning of this three
part series, we covered the truth
that Jesus Christ is the Word that
was with God in the beginning of
all things, and was equal to God.
Last month, we looked at the fact
that Jesus Christ is the Creator
God that made all things, including humanity.
3. The Word is the source of
all life and light (v.4-5)
In addition to the things mentioned above, we must consider
two more truths: that Jesus Christ
is the source of all life and light.
The life presented in verse 4 is not
the life of creation. Instead, it is
spiritual life. It is only through the
Creator God, Jesus Christ, that
we can be born again into God’s
family (John 3:3). Christ Himself
stated that He was the Way, Truth,
and Life, and that no one could go
to the Father, except through Him
(John 14:6).
It has been stated before that
believing in the Person and Work
of Jesus Christ is the only way to
Heaven. It is God’s chosen way,
and our way is not good enough.
No amount of religious works,
church memberships, baptisms,
prayers, or sacraments can earn
us favor with God. No amount
of money can bribe God to allow us into eternity with Him.
Only the way that He made is
enough and accepted, for He has
decreed so! Only by grace are we
saved through faith in Jesus Christ
(Ephesians 2:8-9)!
Just as faith saves, continued
faith allows a person’s life to be
transformed by the work of God’s
Spirit and Word. Faith is not some
feel-good emotion that we temporarily work up! It is looking unto Jesus, and trusting in Him to
keep His Word (Hebrews 11:6;
12:1-2)! As we follow Christ, He
changes us to become more like
Him. The world has its reform
programs, medications, and other methods, but only God’s Word
truly transforms a person (Romans 12:1-2; II Corinthians
5:17; Ephesians 5:1-8)!
Secondly, we find that Jesus
Christ is the source of all light.
Again, this is not speaking of the
sun, moon, and stars, but the witnesses of Creation, Conscience,
and the Word of God. Every person is given some light to follow,
even if they do not hear the Gospel message. In particular, we are
given three. One is Creation. The
wonder of Creation is one that declares to mankind that a Creator
God exists. Truth dictates that the
universe, and all that lies therein, could not be the product of
chance. Man tries to remove God
from the equation, to theorize that
we came about through Chaos,
but that is impossible. The heavens
declare the glory of God, as does
all Creation (Psalm 19)! Even the
honest savage in the darkest parts
of Africa understands this!
In addition, we have the light
of Conscience. Our conscience is
that moral compass that tells us
the difference between right and
wrong. Evolution cannot produce
a conscience, as it states that there
is no right or wrong! So, how do
we know that killing, stealing, and
the like are wrong? The answer is
that we just know, because God
gave us a conscience.
Furthermore, God has given us
His Word. God’s Word is given
to mankind so that we can know
about Him, His Son, His salvation, and ourselves. Without this
Book, we would not know these
things. It is only through the giving of God’s Word that we can
have the faith to be saved (Romans 10:17)!
Jesus Christ is the source of
these three lights; it is our job to
respond to them, by following or
rejecting them. As we follow the
light that we have, God promises
to give us more light until we hear
and receive the Gospel message (I
John 1:5-7). However, if we reject the light, as the Jews did with
Jesus, then we will only dwell in
darkness. The same principles apply to the life of every believer in
Christ Jesus (Matthew 6:19-24).
How are you at following the
light that God has given you? Are
you following it or rejecting it?
I know of a young lady this past
Sunday that grew up in a home
that did not believe in God. However, she came to church with
her grandmother, heard of Jesus
Christ, and chose to believe in
Him so that she could have her
sins forgiven. Why did this happen? It did because she chose to
follow the light that God gave
her instead of rejecting it. She did
not become religious, or join our
church, but made a choice to trust
in Christ. Will you follow that
light today and trust that Christ
is enough to forgive your sins and
give you eternal life? He is, if you
will trust Him (John 3:16).
James Bussard is the pastor of Calvary Bible Church that meets at
2447 Hampstead-Mexico Road in
Westminster, MD. For questions or
comments about this article, please
call (410) 848-1848, or write him
at CalvaryBibleMDPastor@Gmail.
com. For service times and information about the church, please go
to www.Calvary.info or call (410)
848-1848.
SEPTEMBER 2016 | WOODSBORO WALKERSVILLE TIMES | 17
BOOK OF DAYS
Raising of the siege of Vienna
September 12th, 1683
Depressed as the Turks now are,
it is difficult to imagine how formidable they were two hundred
years ago. The Hungarians, threatened by their sovereign, the Emperor Leopold, with the loss of
their privileges, revolted against
him, and called in the Turks to
their aid. An Ottoman army,
about two hundred thousand
strong, augmented by a body of
Hungarian troops, consequently
advanced into Austria, and, finding no adequate resistance, laid
siege to Vienna.
The emperor, quitting his capital with precipitation, retired first
to Lintz, afterwards to Passau,
leaving the Duke of Lorraine at
the head of a little army to sustain,
as he best might, the fortunes of
the empire. All Europe was at gaze
at this singular conjuncture, none
doubting that the Austrian capital
would speedily be in the hands of
the Turks, for it had hardly any defence beyond what was furnished
by a weak garrison of citizens and
students. The avarice of the grand
vizier, Kara-Mustapha, the commander of the Turks, saved Vienna. He had calculated that the
emperor’s capital ought to contain
immense treasures, and he hesitated to order a general assault,
lest these should be appropriated
by the soldiery. This allowed time
for John Sobieski, king of Poland,
to bring up his army, and for the
princes of the empire to gather
their troops. The Janissaries murmured. Discouragement followed
upon indignation. They wrote,
‘Come, infidels; the mere sight of
your hats will put us to flight!’
In effect, when the king of Poland and the Duke of Lorraine descended the Colemberg mountain
with their troops, the Turks retired
without fighting. The vizier, who
had expected to obtain so much
treasure in Vienna, left his own in
the hands of Sobieski and went to
surrender his head to the sultan.
The retreat of his army was so precipitate, that they left behind them
the grand standard of the Prophet
which Sobieski, with practical wit,
sent to the pope.
Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit
The name of Fahrenheit has
been familiarised to a large part of
mankind in consequence of his invention of a thermometer, which
has come into almost universal
use.
Before the seventeenth century, men could only judge of the
amount of heat prevailing at any
place by their personal sensations. They could only speak of
the weather as hot or very hot, as
cold or very cold. In that century,
there were several attempts made,
by tubes containing oil, spirits of
wine, and other substances, to establish a satisfactory means of
measuring heat; but none of them
could be considered as very successful although both Halley and
Newton applied their great minds
to the subject. It was reserved for
an obscure and poor man to give
us the instrument which has since
been found so specially serviceable
for this purpose.
Fahrenheit was a native of Danzig, who, having failed in business
as a merchant, and having a turn
for mechanics and chemistry—
possibly, that was what made him
fail as a merchant—was fain to
take to the making of thermometers for his bread. He at first made
his thermometers with spirits of
wine, but ere long became convinced that mercury was a more
suitable article to be put in the
tube; about the same time, finding Danzig a narrow field for his
business, he removed to Amsterdam. There, about the year 1720,
this patient, humble man completed the arrangement for a mercury-thermometer, very much as
it has ever since been fashioned.
His instruments were speedily
spread throughout the world, everywhere carrying his name along
with them.
The basis of the plan of Fahrenheit’s instrument was to mark on
the tube the two points at which,
respectively, water is congealed
and boiled, and to graduate the
space between. Through a chain
of circumstances, which it would
here be tedious to explain, he put
180° between these two points,
commencing, however, with 32°,
because he found that the mercury descended 32° more, before
coming to what he thought the extreme cold resulting from a mixture of ice, water, and sal ammoniac.
The Royal Society gladly received from Fahrenheit accounts
of his experiments, the value of
which it acknowledged by making him one of its members (a fact
over-looked in all his biographies);
and in 1724, they published a distinct treatise on the subject.
Celsius, of Stockholm, soon after suggested the obviously more
rational graduation of a hundred
degrees between freezing and
boiling points, the Centigrade
Thermo-meter: the Frenchman,
Reaumur, proposed another graduation, which has been accepted
by his countrymen. But with by
far the larger part of civilized mankind, Fahrenheit’s scale is the only one in use, and probably will
be so for a long time to come. To
Next him September marched eke on foot,
Yet was he hoary, laden with the spoil
Of harvest riches, which he made his boot,
And him enriched with bounty of the soil;
In his one hand, as fit for harvest’s toil,
He held a knife-hook; and in th’ other hand
A pair of weights, with which he did assoil
Both more and less, where it in doubt did stand,
And equal gave to each as justice duly scanned.
From The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser
speak, accordingly, of 32° as freezing, of 55° as temperate, 96° as
blood-heat, and 212° as the boiling-point, is part of the ordinary
habits of Englishmen all over the
world. Very true, that the zero of
Fahrenheit’s scale is a solecism,
since it does not mark the extreme
to which heat can be abstracted.
This little blemish, however,
seems never to have been found
of any practical consequence. The
arctic voyagers of the last forty
years have all persisted in describing certain low temperatures as
below zero of Fahrenheit, the said
degrees of temperature being such
as the Amsterdam thermometermaker never dreamed of, as being part of the existing system of
things.
It is a pity that we know so little
of the personal history of this remarkable man. There is even some
doubt as to the year of his death;
some authors placing it in 1740.
18 | WOODSBORO WALKERSVILLE TIMES | SEPTEMBER 2016
FOOD
Backyard gardener
Canning
Ken Kellar
One gardening strategy this year
paid off. I planted enough tomatoes to be able to do some canning. I made a batch of Hungarian
ketchup and some stewed tomatoes. You might recall last year I
planted a large variety of plants
and never reached a “critical mass”
to break out the canning gear.
My idea of the proper amount
of food to justify canning was biased by my childhood experience.
As city dwellers, my mom would
drive my siblings and me out to
her sister’s, my aunt’s, farm and
pay her for my family to pick several bushels of tomatoes from her
garden.
Back at home, my folks would
set up a small canning factory in
our basement where we had a second stove. I remember tables with
picnic table clothes, big pots, the
mortar and pestle-like tomato
sieve, and a bottle capper. I think
my folks canned the Hungarian
ketchup in green beer bottles, recycling the bottles before “recycling” existed. The products were
canned tomatoes, sauce, and Hun-
garian ketchup used almost exclusively to flavor chicken soup at the
dinner table. We canned so much
that during my childhood I never
saw a store-bought can of tomatoes or sauce. Even while attending college and living off campus, I
always headed back to school with
a few quarts of my folks’ canned
tomatoes.
Those canning thoughts reminded me of one of my first
living memories. My mother is
driving our station wagon home
from my aunt’s farm and I am
sitting in the back with a basket of tomatoes and I’m terrified.
Why? Because I looked over at
the basket and sitting on top of a
large tomato is a giant green fivelegged spider. It is perfectly still
so I keep perfectly still. I am not
saying anything to my mother,
either because I am too scared,
or I haven’t learned to speak yet.
I stay still for the whole 20-minute ride hoping the spider won’t
attack. At home, at some point as
my mother unloaded the tomatoes, I realized the “spider” was
merely the green stem of a tomato with its little crown of pointy
leaves. What a relief!
Later in life, my father-in-law
introduced me to a completely
different scale of canning, the single jar. As a salesman on the Connecticut shore, he dabbled in fishing and gardening. A peach tree, a
few strawberry plants, a variety of
vegetables, and an occasional blue
fish. He would make a single jar
of jam or jelly from a few peaches
or something else. I recall once he
caught a blue fish and smoked it.
He also pickled lots of things. His
pickled green tomatoes were not
only tasty but a great way to make
use of those end-of-season tomatoes that were too late to ripen.
I remember him visiting once
and giving us a jar of canned wild
mushrooms; he had picked wild
mushrooms his whole life. I had
three issues with the gift. While
I like mushrooms, canned mush-
Canning extends the satisfaction of gardening into the winter
rooms are a bit on the slimy side.
Next, we all hear stories of people
picking mushrooms and dying.
And finally, that year, I had combated an invasion of giant slugs in
my garden by catching them by
hand, collecting them in a can,
and then salting them to death.
The salt made a slimy mushy mass
of goo and my father-in-law’s jar
of mushrooms had the same coloring as those dying slugs. Twenty years later my gore still rises
thinking about it!
So the mushrooms went in the
trash. I was grateful for the ges-
ture but could not commit to eating them.
Canning on any scale can be rewarding. I don’t “need” to can anything, but the benefits are far beyond the value of the preserved
food.
SEPTEMBER 2016 | WOODSBORO WALKERSVILLE TIMES | 19
COMMUNITY
Investors can learn
much from workers
continued from
page 14
successful investors. Suppose, for
example, you have been trying to
boost your overall return by buying and selling investments. After a while, you may realize that
such behavior is costly – in more
ways than one. You will likely
rack up fees and commissions,
you may incur the highest rate
of capital gains taxes (assessed on
investments held less than one
year), and you will be disrupting
any cohesive investment strategy
you’ve established. Upon recognizing these problems, you could
decide to “switch gears” and follow a long-term, “buy-and-hold”
strategy. That’s flexibility – and
that’s a great attribute for investors.
Vision – Good workers have a
clear picture of what they want
to accomplish – and they know
what they must do reach their
goal. As an investor, you also
need to establish a vision of where
you want to go and how you can
get there. So when contemplating your retirement, try to foresee the lifestyle you hope to lead
– will you travel the world or stay
close to home, pursuing your
hobbies? Then, use this vision to
help guide your actions, such as
increasing your contributions to
your 401(k) or IRA, or changing the investment mix within
these accounts.
Transferring what you learn
from the working world to the
investment arena can help make
investing a less laborious – and
potentially more enjoyable –
process. So put that knowledge
to good use.
This article was written by Edward Jones for use by Laura Beall,
your local Edward Jones Financial Advisor.
Bored? Check out one of the area Renaissance festivals this fall.
Maple Run
Golf Club
Pro Shop
18 hole course
Golf carts available
Online tee time booking
13610 Moser Road, Thurmont, Maryland 21788
(301) 271-7870 | maplerungolf.com
20 | WOODSBORO WALKERSVILLE TIMES | SEPTEMBER 2016
IN THE COUNTRY
From top left:
A disc golfer plans his next shot at the recently expanded disc
golf course at the Woodsboro park.
Spot the golfer? Many of the holes at the Woodsboro park disc
golf course are wooded.
Nature’s handiwork along one of the holes at the Woodsboro
disc golf course
SEPTEMBER 2016 | WOODSBORO WALKERSVILLE TIMES | 21
PETS
ADVERTISE
WITH
US!
For more information, contact
[email protected]
5
22 | WOODSBORO WALKERSVILLE TIMES | SEPTEMBER 2016
EARTH AND SKY
For September 2016, the moon
will be new on September 1. The
waxing crescent moon will pass just
north of Jupiter and Mercury the
following evening, but since they
are only 17 degrees east of the Sun,
binoculars may be needed to spot
this nice grouping. On September
3, the moon passes a degree north
of much brighter Venus in the SW.
The crescent moon next passes 4
degrees north of Saturn on September 8, and is at first quarter the
following evening, passing 8 degrees north of reddish Mars. The
full moon, the Harvest Moon, is
on September 16, and barely grazes
the Earth’s faint penumbral shadow. This eclipse will be over before
moonrise at sunset locally. The autumnal equinox begins fall at 9:21
AM CDT on September 22. The
last quarter moon rises at midnight
on September 23.
While the naked eye, dark adapted by several minutes away from
any bright lights, is a wonderful
instrument to stare up into deep
space far beyond our own Milky
Way, binoculars are better for spotting specific deep sky objects. For
a detailed map of northern hemisphere skies, about August 31 visit the www.skymaps.com website
and download the map for September 2016; it will have a more
extensive calendar, and list of best
objects for the naked eyes, binoculars, and scopes on the back of the
map. Another aid is the wonderful video exploring the September
2016 sky, featuring many different
objects, available from the Hubble
Space Telescope website at: http://
hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/
tonights_sky/.
To the west, Mercury and Jupiter are briefly visible in evening twilight at month’s start, but both are
lost in the Sun’s glare for most of
September; Mercury does return
to the dawn sky at the end of the
month, reaching greatest western
elongation on September 28. Venus is climbing higher in the western sky each evening, and is a brilliant but tiny featureless gibbous
disk in the telescope, still on the far
side of the Sun now. To the south,
Saturn lies about 6 degrees north
of red Antares in Scorpius, while a
little east of it, Mars is fading and
moving rapidly eastward daily from
Scorpius into Sagittarius by the end
of the month.
The Big Dipper rides high in the
NW at sunset, but falls lower each
evening. Good scouts know to take
its leading pointers north to Polaris, the famed Pole Star. For us, it
sits 30 degrees (our latitude) high
in the north, while the rotating
earth beneath makes all the other
celestial bodies spin around it from
east to west. It is this time of year
that an American Indian legend
tells of the Bear and three hunters.
The bowl is the bear, the three han-
dle stars of the dipper the hunters.
The first carries a bow and has shot
the bear in its flanks. The second
optimistically carries a bowl on his
shoulder for bear stew; look closely, and you can see the pot (Mizar,
horse in Arabic, and Alcor its rider
more traditionally). The last hunter carries firewood for the feast.
The wound is minor, and the bear
has not lost a step, but in the fall,
as the bear goes into hiding along
the NW horizon, the wound opens
slightly, and blood oozes out to fall
on the tree leaves and paint them
red this time of year.
From the Dipper’s handle, we
“arc” SE to bright orange Arcturus,
the brightest star of spring. Spike
south to Spica, the hot blue star in
Virgo. Saturn is just NW of Spica,
a little brighter and more yellow in
color. Note that Spica is now low
in the SW, and by September’s
end, will be lost in the Sun’s glare
due to our annual revolution of
the Sun making it appear to move
one degree per day eastward. To
the Greeks, Spica and Virgo were
associated with Persephone, the
daughter of Ceres, goddess of the
harvest. In their version of “Judge
Judy”, the beautiful young daughter falls for the gruff, dark god of
the underworld, Pluto. He elopes
with her, much to the disapproval
of mother Ceres, and they marry
in his underworld kingdom of Hades…a honeymoon in hell…real-
Farmers’ Almanac
“Labor Day is seen as a day of rest for many hardworking Americans.”
James P. Hoffa (1913-?)
MID-ATLANTIC WEATHER WATCH: Remnants of tropical
storms, severe STORMS, heavy rain (1,2,3,4) turning fair and cooler (5,6,7). STORMS and warm (8,9) turning fair and still warm
(10,11,2,13,14) with more STORMS but cooler (15,16); fair and milder (17,18,19,20,21,22) with remnants of tropical storms and heavy rain
(23,24,25,26). Showers, cooler (27,28,29) turning fair and mild (30).
TORNADO WATCH: The Hagerstown Town and Country Almanack says watch for some tornado activity from September 1 to the 3.
FULL MOON: September’s Full Moon is most famously known as
the HARVEST MOON. It is the Full Moon that falls closest to the Autumnal Equinox. During this time, the moon would rise very soon after
the sun would set on several successive days, giving the farmer a few extra hours of ‘light’ and a little more time to finish up their daily chores.
This year, the Autumnal Equinox will occur on Thursday, September
22 and will signal the beginning of autumn. The Full Moon closest to that date will occur on Friday, September 16 and is therefore the HARVEST MOON of 2016.
SPECIAL NOTES: The 2017 Hagerstown Town and Country Almanack will be on newsstands and at popular retailers throughout the Mid-Atlantic Region after September 5. Save some time and go to www.almanack.com, order a copy today, and have it delivered right to your front door! Also, consider taking advantage
of our very popular 3-year subscription. It guarantees no price increase and will deliver The Almanack with
no charge for shipping for the next 3 years. Or become a Friend of The Almanack (FOTA) and get access
to our new on-line digital version of not just one but TWO editions of your favorite almanac, receive great
pricing on hardcopies, and so much more. Great deals for a great almanac!
HOLIDAYS: Labor Day falls on the first Monday of the month, September 5, and Citizenship Day is
observed on Friday, September 16. And we must never forget to remember those who lost their lives on
September 11, 2001 and all of the first-responders who also perished trying to minimize the loss of life.
United We Stand!
THE GARDEN: Buy flower bulbs now to get the best selection and price. Plant them six to eight weeks
before the first frost which will occur on or about October 5. Among the more animal-proof varieties are
allium, daffodils, glory–of-the-snow, hyacinths, scilla, and snowdrops. As nights get longer, your lawn gets
hungry as it prepares for winter. Feed with appropriate fertilizer for your region and water if necessary.
Don’t harvest produce when leaves are wet—doing so can spread disease. For the best flavor, pick green
beans when they are still thinner than a pencil. Pick lettuce when the outer leaves are four to six inches long.
Pick tomatoes 5 to 8 days after color has fully developed. Pick zucchini when it is five to eight inches long.
J. GRUBER’S THOUGHT FOR TODAY’S LIVING
“Pay heed to what one promises when seeking your vote or friendship; it sometimes bears slight resemblance to what you receive after the goal that was sought has been attained.”
ly, he does love her as well, and the
marriage itself works well. But it is
the reaction of Ceres that creates
alarm. Very despondent over the
loss of her young daughter to a fate
as bad as death, Ceres abandons
the crops which wither. Soon famine sets in, and humanity appeals
to Jupiter to save us all. Calling all
together, Jupiter hears that Ceres
wants the marriage annulled, Persephone loves them both, and Pluto
wants his mother in law to stop
meddling. Solomon style, Jupiter
decides to split her up, not literally,
but in terms of time. In the compromise (aren’t all marriages so?),
when you can see Spica rising in
the east in March, it means to plant
your peas. For the next six months,
she visits upstairs with a very happy mama, and the crops will prosper. But now, as Spica heads west
(to the kingdom of death, in most
ancient legends) for six months of
conjugal bliss with Pluto, it is time
to get your corn in the crib. This
simple story, told in some form for
as long as Noah’s flood, was one of
the ways our ancestors 7,000 years
ago knew the solar calendar and
when to plant and harvest. As you
watch Spica fade, thank this star for
agriculture, and in a certain sense,
even our own culture.
To the south, Antares marks the
heart of Scorpius. It appears reddish
(its Greek name means rival of Ares
or Mars to the Romans) because it
is half as hot as our yellow Sun; it
is bright because it is a bloated red
supergiant, big enough to swallow
up our solar system all the way out
to Saturn’s orbit! Saturn sits about
6 degrees north of Antares this fall.
Near the tail of the Scorpion are
two fine open clusters, faintly visible to the naked eye, and spectacular in binoculars. The clusters lie to
the upper left of the bright double
star that marks the stinger in the
Scorpion’s tail. The brighter, M-7,
is also known as Ptolemy’s Cluster,
since he included it in his star catalog about 200 AD.
East of the Scorpion’s tail is the
teapot shape of Sagittarius, which
marks the heart of our Milky Way
galaxy. Looking like a cloud of steam
coming out of the teapot’s spout is
the fine Lagoon Nebula, M-8, easily visible with the naked eye. Many
other clusters and nebulae lie toward
the galactic center, and are shown
on the SkyMap chart and discussed
on its binocular and telescope object
listing on page 2.
The brightest star of the northern hemisphere, Vega, dominates
the NE sky. Binoculars reveal the
small star just to the NE of Vega,
epsilon Lyrae, as a nice double.
Larger telescopes at 150X reveal
each of this pair is another close
double, hence its nickname, “The
Double Double”. This is a fine
sight under steady seeing conditions over 150X with scopes 4” or
larger. Our featured object of the
month lies at the other end of the
parallelogram of Lyra, between the
two bottom stars; the Ring Nebula,
marked “M-57” on the SkyMap,
is a smoke ring of gas and dust
expelled by a dying red giant star
while its core collapsed to a white
dwarf. A similar fate is expected for
our own Sun in perhaps five billion
more years. This photo with an 8”
telescope is by Steve Gomez of the
EAAA. While the ring is visible in
small scopes, the tiny faint white
dwarf shows up well in photos, but
visually is much harder, taking really large scopes to reveal.
To the northeast of Vega is Deneb, the brightest star of Cygnus
the Swan. At the other end of the
“northern Cross” that makes up the
body of Cygnus is Albireo, the finest and most colorful double star in
the sky. Its orange and blue members are well resolved at 20X by any
small scope. To the south is Altair,
the brightest star of Aquila the Eagle, the third member of the three
bright stars that make the Summer
Triangle so obvious in the NE these
clear September evenings. Binoculars should be taken to the deep sky
gazes to sweep the rich portion of
the Galaxy now best placed overhead in this area. They will also reveal the easiest planetary nebula to
see, M-27 in Vulpecula, just south
of Albireo.
For more information on the Escambia Amateur Astronomers, join
us on Facebook under “Escambia Amateur Astronomers”, visit
our website, www.eaaa.net, or call
our sponsor, Dr. Wayne Wooten
at Pensacola State College at (850)
484-1152, or e-mail him at [email protected].
SEPTEMBER 2016 | WOODSBORO WALKERSVILLE TIMES | 23
STORYTIME
Og — Son of Fire
Irving Crump
Dodd, Mead & Co., 1922
Chapter XIII
The wrath of the fire monster
OG off with the wolf cubs,
had a premonition that all was
not well. A strange feeling of impending catastrophe haunted him.
He watched the wolf cubs to see
whether they sensed anything
wrong, but they gave no sign. Og’s
instincts were keener even than
theirs in this emergency, for he
knew that something was amiss.
He tried to shake off the feeling
and go on with his hunting, but,
try as he would, a strange something seemed urging him to return to the canyon that had been
his home now for weeks past and,
almost despite his own will power,
he obeyed.
Back across the pleasant valley he hurried, his fire brand and
stone hammer held in readiness,
and his sharp eyes and keen ears
alert to catch the first sign of trouble. On he pushed as swiftly as his
short legs would carry him, and
that was with incredible swiftness, all things considered. On
his way he passed several groups
of tree people in the tops of palm
trees, and they, too, seemed to be
strangely agitated, seeming to become more disturbed than ever as
he passed with his fire brand.
Og tested the air with his nose.
Something made him pause and
sniff again and again, while his
restless eyes roved the woods and
the meadow, and even the skyline
beyond. There was a strange tenseness about everything, and he saw
a low-hung cloud beyond the tops
of the palm trees that seemed all
too near and very menacing. Yet
even then he could not understand what was happening.
On he hurried, and presently he was picking his way among
the boulders in the canyon toward
the sheltering rocks that he called
home. Everything appeared as he
had left it. His precious tiger skin,
and other trophies were still rolled
in the corner among the rocks, his
pile of sticks was there, too, and so
were his extra stone hammers and
his flint knives. What, then, could
be wrong?
He looked about him. Then
he gave a grunt of surprise and
crossed over to his stone fireplace.
Scar Face had been there. Scar
Face had been there and stolen
some fire from the embers in his
fireplace. Og stooped and picked
up a stone hammer that lay close
to the fire and by this token he
knew all that had transpired in his
absence. It was the hammer that
he had given the leader of the tree
people. Scar Face, as his kind were
wont to do, had dropped it and
left it there, forgetting it in his excitement at having a fire brand of
his own.
Og picked up the hammer and
scrutinized it carefully, then with
it still in his hand, he turned and
looked out across the valley, across
the tops of the trees, to where the
low-hung cloud appeared. It was
much larger now and much nearer and Og could see that it was
not as other clouds in the sky, for
it ballooned upward and outward
in great black billows and here and
there it was shot with tongues of
flame. Og was chilled with fear,
for he knew that Scar Face had
stolen the fire and carried it off
to the bush, and not knowing its
potentialities, had attempted to
build himself a camp fire in the
woods. And, in doing it, he had
set the world on fire — loosed the
wrathful Fire Demon. Og could
see it all, and he trembled as he
thought of the result, for his mind
leapt back to the volcano and the
earthquake when the wrathful Fire
Demon had set the world aflame
once before.
The hairy boy was thoroughly
frightened. So, too, were the wolf
cubs now, for they raised their
sharp muzzles to the wind and
sniffed apprehensively, and whimpering drew closer to their master.
It was a terrible forest fire that
Scar Face had started. A mass of
dirty yellow smoke was rolling
skyward and drifting across the
heavens. Soon it began to obscure
the sun. Og could see the great orb
through the smoke and it looked
sinister and menacing; like a great
ball of fire itself. The air became
heavy and pungent with the odor
of burning vegetation. A great silence seemed to fall over everything, even the birds were still. Yet
a part of this silence it seemed was
an undertone that struck dread
even to the stout heart of the hairy
boy. It was the sinister moan of the
fire, far off it seemed and dreadful, but as it drew nearer this moan
would become a roar as the flames
leapt from tree to tree and tore
through the underbrush devouring everything in their path.
Og began to wonder about his
own safety and the safety of the
wolf cubs. He realized that the
lack of vegetation there in the canyon would prevent the flames from
reaching him. But he realized, too,
that there was sufficient fuel on
the mountainsides above him, and
in the pleasant valley, to bring the
flames uncomfortably close, and
blow billowing smoke clouds into the canyon, that would choke
them to death. What was he to do?
Presently he realized that he was
not the only one who was worried.
A group of tree people appeared
at the mouth of the canyon, all of
them whimpering in terror. They
paused there at the entrance and
looked in at Og as if beseeching
him to help them to safety. Others appeared. They came at first
in family groups of threes and
fours, and they gathered among
the bowlders at the entrance of
the canyon, where they crouched
shivering with fear, and alternately watched the ever-increasing
smoke cloud and the actions of the
hairy boy. Still they came. In larger groups now; sometimes a dozen or a score at a time. Soon the
entire entrance of the canyon was
blocked with the mass of them,
but still they came. Hundreds of
them there were. Og marveled at
their great number.
The fire was increasing to terrific
proportions and drawing steadily
nearer. The undertone that had at
first sounded like a far-off moaning became a steady roar, punctuated now and then by a great snapping and cracking, or a crash as
some mighty tree, its trunk burned
through, crashed to the ground.
The tongues of flame that shot upward and split the rolling smoke
bank like flashes of lightning were
fiercer now, and the air was hot
and heavy and pungent with the
smoke. There was a constant rain
of fine cinders and charred bits of
sticks, some of them still hot and
carrying live sparks of fire. When
these fell among the mass of tree
people squalls of terror arose and
there was a wild scrambling and
milling about in their mad effort
to get out of the way of the dropping ashes.
Soon they began to crowd in
through the mouth of the canyon,
packing themselves into the declivity like a huge flock of sheep.
Og watched them and wondered
what would happen to them when
the leaping fire roared across the
pleasant valley and up the mountain’s sides overhead. Indeed, he
wondered with great fear what
was going to happen to him, too,
when that situation developed.
The smoke was growing dreadfully thick even down there close
to the ground. It was a black pall
across the heavens by this time
shutting out the sun completely
and a draught was drawing thick
billows of it into the canyon. The
tree people began coughing and
spitting and rubbing their eyes.
Some of them were quick to discover that the air was clearer and
fresher close to the ground and
many of them threw themselves
prone among the stones and lay
that way breathing in the meager quantity of smoke-free air that
lingered in crevices between the
rocks.
A terrific wind was roaring
through the canyon. It was a torrid wind, hot and scorching, for
it was created by the fire itself, a
terrific draught that whirled aloft
great chunks of charred and still
smoking wood and dropped them
among the terror-stricken tree
dwellers. Screams of pain and anguish were added to the noise of
the fire and Og shuddered as he
saw some among them clutch at
back or side and shriek with pain.
But the hairy boy was just as
uncomfortable as the tree people
and in almost as much of a panic.
It was all too evident to him now
that he could not live long in the
canyon. The thick acrid smoke
was in his lungs and he was coughing and spitting with the rest of
them. His eyes burned like balls
of fire themselves, for the smoke
had scorched them until they were
raw and painful. He was busy, too,
dodging the rain of charred wood
and hot cinders and more than
one singed his hair and bit deep
into his flesh. It was a terrible situation, and the hairy boy was put
to it to find a way out of the difficulty.
He had clung to his refuge under the shelter of the bowlders
where he had made his home for
days past, but he was fast realizing
now that this was a far from satisfactory place to hide in the face of
this terrible threatening peril. But
where was he to go? In desperation he peered through the smoke
for some better rocky refuge; some
more protected corner of the canyon. And suddenly he found it.
Through a rift in the swirling
smoke bank he beheld the black
opening of the sabre-toothed tiger’s cave. It was an awesome place
to think of venturing into, but
better by far than any refuge the
canyon afforded.
Eagerly Og gathered up his tiger skin, his best knife and hammer, and his still burning fire
brand. Then, calling to the cowering wolf cubs, he started to bolt
through the smoke. But suddenly
he paused. He thought of the tree
people. He knew they would never think of the cave as a refuge nor
have the courage to venture into
it if they did think of it, and they
would all perish there in the canyon. He would show them. He
would lead the way.
He raised his voice in a great
glad shout which some of the ape
men heard even above the roar of
the fire. They looked at him in astonishment, and when they saw
him beckoning and calling them
to follow, one by one they broke
away from the huddling, cringing
mass and trailed him through the
swirling smoke cloud. And presently Og was leading the whole
tribe in the direction that safety
lay.
It was a bold and daring thing
that he was doing, and when Og
reached the yawning entrance
of the great cave he stood before
it irresolutely, with the ape men
cowering behind him and peering into the sinister blackness of
the interior. Not so the wolf cubs,
however. Once they saw the cave
they dashed inside. Og noticed
that they never hesitated, nor did
they utter a single growl of warning. Indeed, it was with a relieved
whimper that they sought this
refuge and Og took heart and
stepped inside, but he slung his
tiger skin back over his shoulders
and clutched his hammer and fire
brand ready for action as he went
deeper into the great cave.
Only a few moments longer did
the tree people hesitate, then with
much squealing and pushing and
shoving the whole tribe crowded inside and began to follow the
hairy boy whose fire brand torch
dispelled some of the blackness
and showed them the way through
narrow passages that led deeper
into the bowels of the mountain
where the air was free from smoke
and cool and damp and delightful
to their singed and badly burned
bodies.
24 | WOODSBORO WALKERSVILLE TIMES | APRIL 2016
UPCOMING EVENTS
August 29 - September 11
Fundraiser – At Trout’s Towne
Restaurant, when you buy an omelet, dessert, milkshake, or Troutware item, they will donate $1 to
the Golden Gears Club.
September 2
Opening School Year Prayer
Service. September 2, 8:40 a.m.,
at Mother Seton School, 100
Creamery Rd., Emmitsburg, MD
21727. Visit www.mothersetonschool.org for more information.
September 5
Labor Day
September 13
Gov’t – Woodsboro Town Meeting 7pm. Hearing subject: zoning
change
September 14
Gov’t - Walkersville Town Meeting 7:30pm
September 16 – October 9
Fundraiser – At Trout’s Towne
Restaurant, when you buy an
omelet, dessert, milkshake, or
Troutware item, they will donate
$1 to FMH Hurwitz
“Breast Cancer.”
September 26
Gov’t – Woodsboro Town
Meeting 7pm
September 27
St. Vincent de Paul Feast Day
Mass. September 27, 10:15 a.m.,
at Mother Seton School, 100
Creamery Rd, Emmitsburg, MD
21727. Visit www.mothersetonschool.org for more information.
September 28
Gov’t - Walkersville Town Meeting 7:30pm
September 28-30
Community Show – The 72nd
annual Glade Valley Community
Show at Walkersville High School
October 4
Blessing of the Animals. October 4, 1:30 p.m., at Mother Seton
School, 100 Creamery Rd, Emmitsburg, MD 21727. In honor
of St. Francis and his love for animals, we invite you to bring your
furry, feathery, scaly, and stuffed
friends to be blessed. The ceremony will begin with a brief opening prayer followed by the blessing. All creatures great and small
are welcome! Visit www.mothersetonschool.org for more information.