Dayhoff: Getting the Community Media Center out of the closet
By Kevin Dayhoff,
Posted http://www.explorecarroll.com/ 4/21/09
Last Friday I had the pleasure of attending the rededication ceremony for the Carroll County Community Media Center.
More than 80 people attended, and it was a reunion for many of us who have watched this great community asset come out of a closet in a basement at what was then Western Maryland College to become a first-rate facility with many talented artists.
Marion Ware, executive director commented that “the rededication was to celebrate five years in this shared community resource… and to recognize all the people and organizations that have made the vision … of community and connections possible.”
Read the rest here: http://tinyurl.com/dj3z8q
http://explorecarroll.com/opinion/2773/dayhoff-getting-community-media-center-closet/
Dayhoff: Getting the Community Media Center out of the closet
Published April 21, 2009 by Westminster Eagle
Thoughts turn to baseball and Jackie Robinson
Published April 17, 2009 by Carroll Eagle, Westminster Eagle
Dayhoff: Recalling Jackie Robinson, the great American experiment
Published April 15, 2009 by Westminster Eagle
20090421 SDOSM snip WE Getting the CMC out of the closet
Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: www.kevindayhoff.net http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/
Kevin Dayhoff Art: www.kevindayhoff.com
Kevin Dayhoff Westminster: www.westgov.net
Kevin Dayhoff Art: www.kevindayhoff.com (http://kevindayhoffart.blogspot.com/)
Showing posts with label Carroll Co Issues. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Carroll Co Issues. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Sunday, January 20, 2008
20080118 Code addition will set stage for police force
Code addition will set stage for police force
01/18/08
The (
The hearing will be at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 31, in Room 003 of the
The proposed chapter specifies the procedure the board must follow to appoint a chief and what the chief's powers and responsibilities will be. It also stipulates duties that county officers will have.
Monday, October 29, 2007
20071029 Carroll County News Briefs from the Westminster Eagle
Carroll County News Briefs from the Westminster Eagle
News Briefs: Parade, trick-or-treating set in
10/25/07
Parade, trick-or-treating set in
The annual Halloween Parade in
The parade begins at 6 p.m. at
For more details, call Junior Fisher at 410-848-1180.
Meanwhile, the Mayor and Common Council have designated the evening of Wednesday, Oct. 31 to be Halloween trick-or-treating night.
Trick-or-treating should be conducted between the hours of dusk and 8 p.m. and restricted to children age 12 and under. Children should be accompanied by parents or adult guardians.
Residents who wish to participate should turn on their outside lights. Children should wear light-colored clothing so as to be more visible, and only visit houses in their neighborhood that have outside lights on.
Motorists are asked to pay special care on the evening of Oct. 31.
For a comprehensive list of other local events in
Monday, October 22, 2007
20071021 Baltimore Sun: “To our readers”
Note: I write for the
baltimoresun.com: October 21, 2007
Beginning with next Sunday's editions, our Carroll County readers will be getting a new publication with expanded coverage of the news, people and events in one of Maryland's fastest-growing counties.
This new tabloid publication will be called the Sunday Carroll Eagle. It will be delivered with your Sunday Sun, and it also will be included in editions purchased at retail locations throughout
The Sunday Carroll Eagle will provide our readers with new and deeper local coverage than is currently contained in The Sun's Carroll section. It will be produced by Patuxent Publishing, part of The Baltimore Sun Media Group, which already publishes the weekly
With the arrival of this new publication, we will no longer publish the current Carroll section in the Sunday Sun.
Of course, our readers can continue to follow news about
Monday, July 16, 2007
20070714 Solid Waste Management Forum at Frederick Community College
The panelists from left to right: David Dunn, Chair, Frederick County Solid Waste Advisory Committee - Moderator; Robert Ernst, Recycling Manager, Harford County, Maryland – “Recycling in Harford County, Maryland”; Lori Scozzafava, Deputy Executive Director, Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) – National Waste Management Perspective”; Pamela Gratton, Recycling Director, Fairfax County, Virginia – “Integrated Waste Management”; Richard Brandes, Chief, Waste Minimization Branch US EPA Office of Solid Waste – “USEPA Waste Management Perspective” Solid Waste Management Forum at Frederick Community College
July 14th, 2007
Solid Waste Management Forum at
The event took place in the Jack B. Kussmaul Theater at
The event was not as well attended as many would have liked but nevertheless, hopefully there were enough folks there to continue a discussion of alternative ways of managing municipal solid waste instead of collecting it and burying it in the ground.
For more information on Waste Management and Waste to Energy issues please click on: Environmentalism Solid Waste Management; Environmentalism Solid Waste Management Waste to Energy; or… Energy Independence or the label, Environmentalism.
####
Thursday, May 31, 2007
20070531 Carroll County opens 'cooling centers'
-----Original Message-----Sent: Thursday, May 31, 2007 12:18 PM
Subject: EAGLE ALERT: County opens "cooling centers"
May 31st, 2007
These stories and other updates are posted on The Eagle Web sites, www.theeldersburgeagle.com and www.thewestminstereagle.com.
May 31, 2007 -
* Citizen Services office building,
* Mount Airy Senior and Community Center,
* North Carroll Senior and Community Center, 2328 Hanover Pike, Greenmount
* South Carroll Senior and Community Center,
* Taneytown Senior and Community Center,
*
Officials said water will be available for those who need it at any of the cooling centers.
The
* Slow down. Strenuous activities should be reduced or rescheduled to the coolest time of the day.
* Wear loose, lightweight, and light-colored.·
* Eat fewer proteins and drink plenty of water.
* Stay in air-conditioning.
For more safety tips, refer to the Citizen's Guide to Emergency Preparedness, available online at http://ccgovernment.carr.org/ccg/pubsafe/emer-prep.pdf, or by contacting the Emergency Management Division at 410-386-2877.
For information about Carroll's senior and community centers, call the Bureau of Aging at 410-386-3800.
####
Monday, March 05, 2007
20070305 Bowling Brook student death ruled a homicide
Former Bowling Brook Preparatory Academy student death ruled a homicideMarch 5th, 2007
Isaiah Simmons, 17, died on Jan. 23, 2007 at Bowling Brook Preparatory Academy[1] in Keymar, Carroll County Maryland.
Today, the Maryland State Medical Examiner’s Office has ruled that Mr. Simmons’ death was the result of “Sudden Death during Restraint.”
Just last Friday, March 2nd, 2007 Bowling Brook announced that it was closing.
In a story by Baltimore Sun reporters Greg Garland and Laura McCandlish on March 2nd, 2007, they wrote:
"Bowling Brook Preparatory School announced today that it intends to cease operations on March 9, 2007, while the investigation into Isaiah Simmons' tragic death continues," the school said in a statement.
"Bowling Brook again expresses its sympathy to the family of Isaiah Simmons. Since the death of Isaiah Simmons, Bowling Brook has cooperated fully with the Department of Juvenile Service and other investigators, and Bowling Brook will continue its cooperation."
The statement said the school, located in Keymar in Carroll County, "remains committed to serving its mission of helping young men make positive changes in their lives and becoming productive citizens" and that it is "proud of its 50-year history of fulfilling that mission."
Many in Carroll County have been both shocked and saddened by the death of the young man and shocked that the 50 year-old academy has closed.
Anecdotally, the reaction of the average person in the street who was even aware of the academy sang praises for the institution that has worked so hard to turn around the lives of so many young men.
Many of us have attended the Union Bridge Town Hall funding breakfasts and witnessed first hand the work of the young men who served food, were so polite and nice to have a conversation.
Upon further inquiry, the reaction was consistent, “What you see is what you get.” That behind the scenes, the teachers and administrators of the school did great work and were committed to maintaining a sterling reputation in a juvenile services program that was essentially considered to be broken throughout the rest of the state.
After the death, many were bewildered that Bowling Brook suffered from a negative political climate in Annapolis so anxious to condemn the facility – while winking and uttering meaningless politically pious platitudes and latitudes about state-run facilities that are broken and are run amok with violence and codified institutional neglect.
Folks who were not even aware of the facility and its good work, much less, to even know where the facility was – were so quick to shake their heads and opportunistically grandstand. All in a misplaced political agenda to capitalize on the death of the young man and paint the facility as an example of everything that was wrong with the juvenile services program in Maryland.
If anything the facility was everything about what is right. About how a juvenile services program can be run well and makes a difference and that bad things happen to good programs.
In an air atmosphere and environment where it is perceived by the elected leadership in Annapolis that big government is the answer to all of our problems, the privately run Bowling Brook Academy is a victim of folks who are still attempting to justify their recent political victory by suggesting a crisis in order to make themselves and their agenda relevant.
To be certain, all signs point in the direction that the state juvenile services program is in crisis – but Bowling Brook was not a part of the crisis.
The death of the young man is tragic and hearts and prayers go out to the young man’s family.
Throwing Bowling Brook under a bus helps relegate so many more young men to a system that is otherwise broken and condemns that many more young men to a lifetime of recidivism – when they could otherwise be lead to a lifetime as a productive citizen.
In an environment like this, one wonders why anyone would want to stick their neck out to attempt to make a difference… _____
Today, the Maryland State Medical Examiner’s Office has ruled that Mr. Simmons’ death was the result of “Sudden Death during Restraint.”
Just last Friday, March 2nd, 2007 Bowling Brook announced that it was closing.
In a story by Baltimore Sun reporters Greg Garland and Laura McCandlish on March 2nd, 2007, they wrote:
"Bowling Brook Preparatory School announced today that it intends to cease operations on March 9, 2007, while the investigation into Isaiah Simmons' tragic death continues," the school said in a statement.
"Bowling Brook again expresses its sympathy to the family of Isaiah Simmons. Since the death of Isaiah Simmons, Bowling Brook has cooperated fully with the Department of Juvenile Service and other investigators, and Bowling Brook will continue its cooperation."
The statement said the school, located in Keymar in Carroll County, "remains committed to serving its mission of helping young men make positive changes in their lives and becoming productive citizens" and that it is "proud of its 50-year history of fulfilling that mission."
Many in Carroll County have been both shocked and saddened by the death of the young man and shocked that the 50 year-old academy has closed.
Anecdotally, the reaction of the average person in the street who was even aware of the academy sang praises for the institution that has worked so hard to turn around the lives of so many young men.
Many of us have attended the Union Bridge Town Hall funding breakfasts and witnessed first hand the work of the young men who served food, were so polite and nice to have a conversation.
Upon further inquiry, the reaction was consistent, “What you see is what you get.” That behind the scenes, the teachers and administrators of the school did great work and were committed to maintaining a sterling reputation in a juvenile services program that was essentially considered to be broken throughout the rest of the state.
After the death, many were bewildered that Bowling Brook suffered from a negative political climate in Annapolis so anxious to condemn the facility – while winking and uttering meaningless politically pious platitudes and latitudes about state-run facilities that are broken and are run amok with violence and codified institutional neglect.
Folks who were not even aware of the facility and its good work, much less, to even know where the facility was – were so quick to shake their heads and opportunistically grandstand. All in a misplaced political agenda to capitalize on the death of the young man and paint the facility as an example of everything that was wrong with the juvenile services program in Maryland.
If anything the facility was everything about what is right. About how a juvenile services program can be run well and makes a difference and that bad things happen to good programs.
In an air atmosphere and environment where it is perceived by the elected leadership in Annapolis that big government is the answer to all of our problems, the privately run Bowling Brook Academy is a victim of folks who are still attempting to justify their recent political victory by suggesting a crisis in order to make themselves and their agenda relevant.
To be certain, all signs point in the direction that the state juvenile services program is in crisis – but Bowling Brook was not a part of the crisis.
The death of the young man is tragic and hearts and prayers go out to the young man’s family.
Throwing Bowling Brook under a bus helps relegate so many more young men to a system that is otherwise broken and condemns that many more young men to a lifetime of recidivism – when they could otherwise be lead to a lifetime as a productive citizen.
In an environment like this, one wonders why anyone would want to stick their neck out to attempt to make a difference… _____
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT
Lieutenant Phil Kasten,
Carroll County Sheriff’s Office
100 North Court Street Westminster, MD 21157
Medical Examiner releases final report”
Mon 3/5/2007 2:56 PM
Westminster, Carroll County, Maryland, March 5, 2006 ----
The Maryland State Medical Examiner’s Office has informed Sheriff’s investigators that an examination into the cause and manner of 17-year-old Isaiah Simmons III death has concluded. While their were no obvious external injuries observed during an initial examination,” the autopsy has concluded that Simmons died from, “Sudden Death during Restraint,” and have ruled his death a homicide. The medical examiners office has shared this information with Isaiah Simmons family.
During the past several weeks, Sheriff’s Investigators have collected more than one hundred pieces of evidence, and in coordination with the Department of Juvenile Services interviewed more than one hundred people, including staff and students. At this stage, the Sheriff’s Office has forwarded the investigative results to the Carroll County States Attorney’s Office for review.
_____
The Carroll County Times has a breaking news alert on their web site written by Justin Palk. Mr. Palk writes:
“A grand jury will determine whether charges should be filed in the January death of Isaiah Simmons at Bowling Brook Preparatory School in Middleburg.”
[…]
“At the press conference where that announcement was made, Kevin Lewis, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s Baltimore division, also announced the bureau would be investigating whether Simmons’ civil rights had been violated.
To hear portions of the 911 tape from the night of Simmons' death, click here.”
You can read the rest of Mr. Palk’s article here.
Footnotes
####
[1] Bowling Brook Preparatory Academy Mission Statement:
To provide quality residential and education services to male adolescent offenders while helping these same young men make positive changes in their lives. We are committed to providing an environment that is conducive to learning. Our results oriented program focuses on education and providing students with the means of creating and sustaining real life changes through behavior modification and life learning skills. This personal achievement will lead students to successful re-integration into the community.
About Bowling Brook
Bowling Brook Prep School is a private, group oriented residential school for court committed young men. Services provided are designed to change behaviors and attitudes, teach life skills and help these young men sustain these changes as he returns to the community.
Bowling Brook Prep School provides a community based alternative to institutional living for troubling young men. Located just outside of Taneytown, Maryland, the campus is a safe, staff secure environment situated on 120 acres in rural Carroll County.
The program is licensed by the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services. Bowling Brook offers a pre-GED or GED curriculum that is certified by the Maryland State Department of Education. The school is accredited by the Association of Independent Maryland Schools.
The Bowling Brook Facility
Bowling Brook Preparatory School is located approximately 40 miles northwest of Baltimore, Maryland and 18 miles southeast of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on a 120 acre site in the rural Carroll County community of Keymar, Maryland. We are currently licensed for 173 students.
The campus consists of three 13 bed cottages, one 24 bed cottage and two 48 bed dormitories. A 28,300 square foot physical education/recreation facility complete with gymnasium, weight room, wrestling room, locker rooms and a health suite was completed in 2000. An education building which houses 8 classrooms, one computer lab and administrative offices on the upper level and a dining hall with food services spaces on the lower level was completed in 2001-2002. The campus also includes a student union area with a television/training room. The administrative/multi-service building houses the library/media center and administrative offices. The campus also boasts an outdoor sports field, track and basketball court and a large garage with a multi-use workshop. Construction is currently underway for a new workforce learning center which will house a barber shop, culinary arts, building trades, masonry, welding, digital print shop and a modern multi-media auditorium and several classrooms.
_____
_____
20070305 A discussion about the legacy of slavery in Carroll County
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Many Rivers CrossedA discussion about the legacy of slavery in
March 5th, 2007
Kelsey Volkmann, writing for the Baltimore Examiner has three great articles in today’s edition of the paper that are compelling “must reads.”
“Carroll County, free at last?”
“A mystery that can be solved”
“Remembering the Dred Scott decision on its 150th anniversary”
Kudos to Ms. Volkmann for once again working hard to bring alive yet another important issue that needs to be further discussed in
In “Carroll County, free at last?,” I am quoted:
“Explaining (the legacy of slavery in
Carroll’s future, Dayhoff said, lies in embracing its diversity.
“In order to go forward, we need to meaningfully address old wounds,” he said. “Done correctly, it can bring us closer together. A meaningful portion of the quality of life we enjoy today in
The column that I have already filed with my editor for the Westminster Eagle for this coming Wednesday will also explore the subject of the legacy of slavery in
On the issue of the Dred Scott decision; if you will recall this was the subject discussed between Maryland Blogger Alliance members Crablaw, Maryland Conservatarian, Soccer Dad and I last November 2006:
“20061115 Taney Taneytown and Tupac Shakur” and “20061120 Crablaw’s stand-up mea culpa.” and “20061122 Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney” and “Thank You to Kevin Dayhoff and MD Conservatarian for Taney Correction.” and “Crablaw’s reflection on Chief Justice Taney” and never mind that Taneytown history stuff…, we got that solved… here and here.”
On March 12th, 2007 there will be a public presentation on the subject of the legacy of slavery in
“Many Rivers Crossed”
Sponsored by the
In Partnership with
the
The Enoch Pratt Library
Carroll Citizens for Racial Equality
Carroll County Public Schools
With Special Guest appearance by Dr. Jesse Glass
A presentation by Enoch Pratt Library regarding:
v Collecting and Organizing Family papers
v Examples of Documents
v Slaves Census
v Immigration Records
v Vital Records
v Preserving Family records
v What to think about when collecting documents
v The role of informal oral history
v Where the library can help
March 12, 2007
7-9 pm
At the Board of
Board Room
####
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
20061121 Yikes
Yikes
November 15th, 2006 – November 21st, 2006
Yikes, I take my eye off the ball for a couple of days and chaos has ensued…
And recently my life has not been my own…
Anyway, about a week ago or so, Crablaw posted a discussion of the unfortunate matter in Taneytown, whereby the city’s elected leadership, by a 3 – 2 vote, if I am not mistaken, have decided to “pass a resolution declaring English its official language but stopped short last night of a proposed change to the city charter,” according to an article in the November 14th, 2006 Baltimore Sun by Laura McCandlish
In the past, I have worked with most of the current elected leadership of Taneytown and they are a great group of folks, who are quite committed to their community and put in long hours.
I do not know Taneytown Councilman Paul E. Chamberlain Jr. In all candor, when Councilman Chamberlain first brought up the “English first” issue, I though it was campaign rhetoric in his bid to be relevant in his bid to unseat the popular Maryland Senator David Brinkley.
I consider Senator Brinkley to be a good friend and I have really enjoyed working with him for a number of years. I have not a clue as to what Councilman Chamberlain was thinking when he decided that he was going to jump from Taneytown councilmember to Maryland State Senator – and unseat Senator Brinkley?
The English First initiative sends the wrong signal to folks outside of Carroll County. Whether the legislation is a “statement” without force of law or just a publicity stunt, it is not a true signal of what we are as a greater community.
It has caused a “media storm” of unwanted attention to Carroll County for all the wrong reasons. We do so many things well in Carroll County. This legislation is a “damn shame.”
Historically Carroll County is a welcoming community.
By way of our roots, either as innkeepers and provisioners to travelers on their way west, or as shopkeepers or as folks looking to expand our economic base in the golden age of Carroll County’s small towns in the first part of the 1900s as communities looked to expand their economic base and attract folks to move to the country. Not too mention Carroll County’s agricultural roots, in which a visitor to the farm in the days before automobiles was a holiday and folks were welcomed with open arms.
Why even when Carroll County used German POWs for agricultural labor during WWII, there are plenty of stories and anecdotes about the German prisoners eating at the family dinner table on the farms…
A solution in search of a problem.
But Councilman Chamberlain’s continued pursuit has presented to those of us who are somewhat familiar with Taneytown, to be a solution in search of a problem.
I have not attempted to talk with Councilman Chamberlain, but I have played phone tag with Councilman James L. McCarron. Councilman McCarron is the gold standard of a locally elected official working hard for what is best for his city. I have served on several Maryland Municipal League committees with Councilman McCarron and we both served on the MML Board together.
I have some insight as to his thinking process when it comes to municipal government and I gotta tell ya, it means something to me when he says, as he as quoted in Ms. McCandlish’s article:
Councilman James L. McCarron denounced the measure. In his more than 22 years on the council, he said, no one ever came forward with a comment or complaint who didn't speak English.
"I have no problem making English the official language of the state of Maryland or even America, but to make it the official language of Taneytown is simply a nonissue," McCarron said. "It's not a unity resolution. It's a disunity one."
When someone is an elected community leader, one of his or her main responsibilities is to see to it that taxpayer dollars are handled as frugally as possible.
Introducing and pursuing municipal legislation, such as “English First” is a waste of taxpayer money and a waste of time for municipal elected and appointed officials.
On October 19th, 2005, I wrote a column in the Westminster Eagle titled, “20051019 WE Politics of personal destruction puts limits on future leaders
In that column I touched upon a number of “civility” matters…
In part: “Martin Luther King said it best; "In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
I guess I’ve been guilty of being silent on this issue. As I mentioned above, I thought it was so much election bluster…
I respectfully disagree with Councilman Chamberlain… Ultimately he need not answer to me. He has to answer to his constituents and provide leadership for Taneytown as he sees fit…
The worst thing that can happen to a community is that everybody thinks the same way all the time. It will be catastrophic if potential leaders are unwilling to step out of the comfortable cocoon of their lives to assume a leadership role or proffer a different point of view for fear of the politics of personal destruction.
Spanish-speaking workers in our community.
Ultimately, we are talking about are fellow human beings who have come to this country - just like us or our ancestors, at some point in time - to make a better life for our families and work hard in a foreign land.
In October 1833, in the area we now know as Carroll County, a vote was taken as to whether or not we should form Carroll County. Did you know that the ballots for that vote were printed in German, and English, for all the non-German speaking citizens?
Our Spanish-speaking workers will learn English, just as German-speaking Carroll Countians eventually did. Perhaps we should extend a helping hand, instead of backhanding them.
Kevin
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