Roads, property rights, recklessness, four letter words, reservoirs, and ruin
Long version of my Sunday Carroll Eagle column for Sunday, May 11, 2008
By
Writer’s note: A shorter version of this column appears in the Sunday Carroll Eagle on May 11, 2008: Roads, reservoirs, property rights and four-letter words Below please find an earlier – longer draft of the column… KED
Road construction and maintenance has always been a hot topic in
History frequently mentions discussion of funding street maintenance in
In another example, on April 27, 1927, an emergency bill was passed in the Maryland General Assembly that authorized
However, Governor Albert C. Ritchie vetoed it. 1927 was not a good year for
This leads me to a reader’s question from some time ago: why there are so many sharp curves on old county roads. The answer is that the roads went in between and around property lines. In days gone-by, agricultural fields and property rights were far more important than straightening out roads and using eminent domain was totally out of the question.
This brings to mind a question poised by a number of folks in the last several months: has
The short answer is no – never. Eminent domain is a “four letter word” in
In days gone by, our county population was considerably smaller and we were a close-knit community; therefore government was always able to come to mutually agreeable terms when it came to projects involving the good of the greater community.
The long answer is that a number of years ago - in the only example of eminent domain even being discussed was a convoluted road right-of-way dispute in the southern part of the county. A solution was eventually found in which eminent domain was ultimately not used.
Recently, the term, eminent domain, has been used rather recklessly by folks that are obviously not aware of our history and traditions.
Which brings us to the anniversary of another reason eminent domain is so unpopular in
On April 10, 1931, Governor Ritchie signed into law the “Legislative Act of the
Ill feelings about that legislation have long-since become a part of the “personality” of
The legislation said: “The City of
Salt is poured in the wound every time
Okay, now that we have got that little bit of unpleasant history behind us; last week’s Sunday Carroll Eagle history trivia question must have been much harder than I anticipated. I asked: “What American president made a whistle-stop appearance in
It was President Theodore Roosevelt. Only one person got it right. The person who got it right must be hiding in an undisclosed location with Vice-President Dick Cheney as they only identified themselves as “PATMD1950.” Another day – another mystery.
For this week's Sunday Carroll Eagle trivia question for the famed coffee mug, let’s try Civil War history. Who was the legendary Confederate cavalry commander, who was delayed on his way to the Battle of Gettysburg by “Corbit’s Charge,” as his unit came through
Think you know? Drop me a line at kdayhoff@carr.org, and I might just pull your name for the incredible coffee mug. And please put Sunday Carroll Eagle in the subject line. Thanks.
When he is not watching the History Channel with a big bowl of grits,
20080511 Roads, property rights, recklessness, four letter words, reservoirs, and ruin by
