Dayhoff Art: Newspapers Westminster Eagle

Labels: Dayhoff explorecarroll opinion, Dayhoff Media Eldersburg Eagle, Dayhoff Media Explore Carroll, Dayhoff Media Sun Carroll Eagle, Dayhoff Media Westminster Eagle, Newspapers Baltimore Sun, Newspapers Eldersburg Eagle, Newspapers Sunday Carroll Eagle, Newspapers Tribune, Newspapers Westminster Eagle

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20080402 Patuxent Publishing Company president Jim Quimby departing

Patuxent Publishing Company president Jim Quimby departing

Quimby led company's expansion into Carroll County

04/02/08 By Jennifer Broadwater

The president of Patuxent Publishing Co., which publishes the Eldersburg Eagle, will leave the company in early May.

Jim Quimby, who has served as president of Patuxent since 2000, will depart May 2 as part of a reorganization of the company, he said March 25.

Patuxent is operated by The Baltimore Sun Co., which, along with Patuxent, is owned by Tribune Co., a Chicago-based company owned by Sam Zell.

(Disclosure: I write for the Westminster Eagle and the Eldersburg Eagle, also owned by “Tribune”. Tribune also owns the Baltimore Sun – and as a matter of fact, I also write for the Sunday Carroll Eagle which is distributed in the Sunday edition of the Baltimore Sun – see: 20071021 Baltimore Sun: “To our readers”)

Sun publisher and CEO Timothy Ryan announced Quimby's departure in a statement. Ryan did not return telephone calls seeking comment on Quimby's departure.

Beginning April 9, Trish Carroll will take over as senior vice president of the Baltimore Sun Media Group's "targeted print" publications, which include those produced by Patuxent and its sister company, Homestead Publishing, in Harford County, and b, a free daily tabloid The Sun intends to launch in mid-April.

Headquartered in Columbia, Patuxent publishes 18 newspapers in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C., metro areas, and several magazines and local telephone directories. Its 275 employees work in offices in Westminster, Columbia, Ellicott City, Laurel and Towson.

Carroll worked for The Sun for 16 years, in a variety of roles before taking a job directing operations and technology at The Olympian, a McClatchy Co.-owned newspaper in the state of Washington.

'A true professional'

Quimby will leave the company after 37 years in the publishing business, including nearly eight years at the helm of Patuxent.

Quimby, 55, of Harford County, described his tenure at Patuxent as a "phenomenal" experience. He said he is unsure of his next step.

"My first words to her were, 'Congratulations, you just got the best job in the whole world,' " Quimby said he told Carroll. "It's a phenomenal opportunity to work at a place like the community newspapers."

His career began in 1970, when he landed a job selling advertising for Harford County-based Susquehanna Publishing, which was purchased by The Baltimore Sun Co. in 1989.

He later worked in operations, press and packaging, circulation and distribution. He helped merge two competing newspapers in Harford County to form Homestead Publishing Co., for which he served as general manager.

In September 2000, he was named president of the Baltimore Sun Community Newspaper Group, which includes Homestead and Patuxent.

During his tenure as president, the company expanded into Carroll County with its purchase of The Eldersburg Eagle from founder David Greenwalt and the creation of The Westminster Eagle. It launched The Sunday Carroll Eagle in 2007.

Patuxent purchased Chesapeake Home magazine in 2005 and the Ellicott City-based The View newspapers in 2007.

Reporter Jay Thompson contributed to this story.

Thursday, March 06, 2008

20080306 Recent Eagle columns

Labels: #‎estonia, Dayhoff explorecarroll opinion, Dayhoff Media Explore Carroll, Dayhoff Media Westminster Eagle, Enviro Solid Waste Man, Enviro Solid Waste Man Recycling, Enviro Solid Waste to Energy, Newspapers Westminster Eagle

Recent Eagle columns

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Thursday, March 06

Trouble with trash is nothing new, but the technology may be
One of the difficult decisions currently facing our community is the trouble with trash.

When the last major decision occurred in 1996 and 1997, I was chair of the county's Environmental Affairs Advisory Board.

At that time, I was impressed with the combination of an aggressive recycling program...
[Read full story]

Don't let 'wrap rage' leave you in stitches
It's been two months since Christmas and, with any luck and the power of prayer, perhaps you have been able to break free most of your family's gifts from the dreaded, adult proof, clamshell plastic "blister" packaging.

This oppression of over-packaging is not only a leading cause of holiday depre...
[Read full story]

Looking at Bowling Brook one year later
More than a year has passed since, on a cold Jan. 23, 2007, Isaiah Simmons III, 17, died after being restrained by staff at Bowling Brook Preparatory School in Middleburg.

Mr. Simmons, from Baltimore, had only been at the facility for a couple of weeks -- since Jan. 10, after a court had sent him...
[Read full story]

'Tech Tax' will have crippling impact on Carroll
The frenzied and frenetic Maryland General Assembly special taxing session has been over for several months, yet the more the layers of this onion are peeled-away, the more it just wants to make you cry.

In a recent phone conversation, Ted Zaleski, Carroll County's director of management and budge...
[Read full story]

It's easy to demonstrate for peace; harder to work for it
Watching the movie, "The Singing Revolution," discussed in last week's column, brought back memories from my trip to Estonia back in Sept. 17-23, 2004.

It was a unique opportunity to represent Westminster in an "assessment and support tour" for the Maryland and Estonia Partner City Partners For Pe...
[Read full story]

More Headlines

How culture and song can save a nation

Dr. Martin Luther King's enduring words

Courthouse history seems to match theatrical flair of current case

Former Carroll County Commissioner Perry Jones, left, takes bids from Fraternal Order of Eagles’ members for the opportunity to toss a pie in the face of the local Aeries’ president, Ralph Goodwin, right, after last Thursday’s meeting at the non-profit’s facility on Airport Drive.

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Friday, February 29, 2008

20080229 Westminster Eagle: “A pie in the face for a good cause,” by Kevin Dayhoff

Labels: Commissioner Perry Jones, Dayhoff explorecarroll opinion, Dayhoff Media Explore Carroll, Dayhoff Media Westminster Eagle, Dayhoff writing essays, Food, Fraternal Order Eagles qv Westminster, Newspapers Westminster Eagle, Non-profits, Westminster File FOEagles Aerie 4378

Westminster Eagle Article

“A pie in the face for a good cause”

February 29, 2008 by Kevin Dayhoff

Photo by Kevin Dayhoff

_____

Westminster - Last Thursday, after the regular board meeting of the Fraternal Order of the Eagles Post 4378 in Westminster, Ralph Goodwin got a pie in the face.

However Goodwin, who is the president of the local Aerie (lodge) on Airport Drive, was all smiles.

Former Carroll County Commissioner, Perry Jones, quickly explained that Goodwin was on the receiving end of the pie as a result of a friendly and very successful contest to raise money for the Eagles’ building fund.

Goodwin acknowledged that he got the pie in the face because Jones had raised more money that he did.

Then Jones opportunistically auctioned off the chance to wield the pie to Brandon Dillon, who energetically outbid a cabal of women in the auxiliary, for the pie-tossing opportunity.

The Fraternal Order of the Eagles (FOE) purchased the former location of Bullock’s Airport Inn on May 31, 2006 after quickly outgrowing their first home base on Main Street in Westminster.

Since the move, membership has doubled in size. The FOE Auxiliary – the fundraising wing of the local lodge - was recently lauded for having the number one gain in new membership of all the Aeries in over 1700 cities across the United States and Canada,

The extraordinary membership growth has come in spite of being “the best kept secret in Carroll County,” said Josie Goodwin, Ralph Goodwin’s wife, and the president of the auxiliary.

As Mrs. Goodwin took a break from cheering on lodge member Dillon, an employee of Finch Services, she detailed with a big smile, “We’re people helping people… That’s our philosophy. In 2007, we donated $9,000 to charities. We take care of our own and we take care of the community.”

Jones, who has been a member for several years, said, “I always wanted to join when I was a commissioner and the Eagles were on Main Street, but I just couldn’t find the time to commit … and do it right… I felt it was a great way to keep working for the community. These are some of the nicest people around – and hardworking too.”

Blaine Brown, a Westminster volunteer firefighter and Aerie member said he joined because he likes the family environment of the local organization. “This lodge helps people and does good things for the community.”

Tim Kyle of Kyle Electric nodded in agreement as he munched on some popcorn. He said that he’s a member “because it is a good American diverse club” that comes together for Carroll County.

As he wiped the pie away from his mouth, Mr. Goodwin proudly concurred. “Our lodge here in Westminster – and our whole Eagles’ organization emphasizes diversity in our membership. We are an inclusive club that looks like our community.”

As Kyle looked around the room, he also pointed out that members come from all walks of life; “from white-collar professionals to laborers.”

“And the FOE just put President John F. Kennedy’s membership card in our national archives in Grove City, Ohio,” added Mr. Goodwin. “Seven U.S. presidents have been FOE members.”

Mr. Goodwin elaborated that the philosophy of the Eagles to share its good fortune as much as possible in the community. The local post contributes annually to several charitable funds throughout its national organization.

These include donations to help fight heart disease, diabetes, cancer, kidney ailments, and spinal cord injury. Then, locally, the Eagles have donated to Junction Inc., Change Inc., Carroll Hospice, the Westminster Public Library and needy families.

Funds donated by the Eagles come primarily through events at the FOE hall, and through raffles, 50/50 drawings, and members' dues. “You name it, we try it," said Mrs. Goodwin, who approved of the growing agitation that “Perry (Jones) should take a pie too.”

1977 Western Maryland College graduate Bill Treherne looked up from his sandwich and said that the lodge is “bunch of good people who support a lot of charities, while we have fun… Very family oriented and good food too…”

And smoke free too, said Gina Greene excitedly from behind the counter as she served up a BLT sandwich. The transition to a smoke free facility was “absolutely no problem. I think it’s brought out more people. The members switched (effortlessly)…”

Since it was first chartered in Westminster on July 21, 1996, the local Aerie has gathered almost 900 members.

“We have lots of members but… there’s always room for more help, and always a lot to do,” said Mr. Goodwin.

Established in Seattle in 1898, the Fraternal Order of Eagles is recognized nationally and internationally for humanitarian, charitable and community service. Each year, the Eagles raise funds to help combat diseases like cancer and diabetes, and support children and older adults in need.

For more information about the Eagles and the Eagles Auxiliary, call Ralph or Josephine Goodwin at 410-848-0668.

Kevin Dayhoff can be reached at kdayhoff@carr.org. Jim Joyner contributed to this article.

Monday, February 25, 2008

20080224 Recent Westminster Eagle columns

Labels: #‎estonia, Dayhoff explorecarroll opinion, Dayhoff Media Explore Carroll, Dayhoff Media Westminster Eagle, Newspapers Westminster Eagle

Recent Westminster Eagle columns

Kevin E. Dayhoff Sunday, February 24 Looking at Bowling Brook one year later
More than a year has passed since, on a cold Jan. 23, 2007, Isaiah Simmons III, 17, died after being restrained by staff at Bowling Brook Preparatory School in Middleburg.

Mr. Simmons, from Baltimore, had only been at the facility for a couple of weeks -- since Jan. 10, after a court had sent him...
[Read full story]

In a recent phone conversation, Ted Zaleski, Carroll County's director of management and budge...
[Read full story]

It was a unique opportunity to represent Westminster in an "assessment and support tour" for the Maryland and Estonia Partner City Partners For Pe...
[Read full story]

How culture and song can save a nation
On Jan. 13, I had the opportunity to travel to the Charles Theater in Baltimore and watch "The Singing Revolution," a documentary by James Tusty and Maureen Castle Tusty about Estonia's nonviolent "singing struggle" -- which ended the brutal Soviet occupation of the tiny Baltic nation on Aug. 20, 19...
[Read full story]

Dr. Martin Luther King's enduring words
American civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., wrote in a book, "Strength to Love," published in 1963:

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence and toughness multipli...
[Read full story]

More Headlines

Courthouse history seems to match theatrical flair of current case

Code addition will set stage for police force

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.

www.kevindayhoff.net

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

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

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

Sunday, January 20, 2008

20080118 Code addition will set stage for police force

Labels: Carroll Co Commissioners, Carroll Co Issues, Dayhoff explorecarroll opinion, Dayhoff Media Explore Carroll, Dayhoff Media Westminster Eagle, Newspapers Westminster Eagle, Police Carroll Co Police Dept

Westminster Eagle News briefs

01/18/08

The (Carroll County) Board of Commissioners last week gave the go-ahead for a public hearing on a proposed chapter to the County Code that will lay the groundwork for creation of a new county police department.

The hearing will be at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 31, in Room 003 of the County Office Building, 225 N. Center St., Westminster.

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.

Friday, January 18, 2008

20080118 Westminster Eagle column: Dr. Martin Luther King's enduring words

Labels: Carroll Co Dist Taneytown, Dayhoff explorecarroll opinion, Dayhoff Media Explore Carroll, Dayhoff Media Westminster Eagle, Diversity Martin Luther King, Immigration Reform, Newspapers Westminster Eagle, Taneytown qv Carroll Co Dist

Dr. Martin Luther King's enduring words

Westminster Eagle

01/18/08 By Kevin E. Dayhoff

American civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., wrote in a book, "Strength to Love," published in 1963:

Those words are as enduring today as when written 45 years ago.

The year 1963 was a long time ago and we, as a society, have come along way toward social justice since the days of legally-sanctioned segregation.

And yet we must be constantly vigilant, as new challenges are always on the horizon.

This is especially true today as our nation continues to wallow in a political tar pit like some bellowing mastodon with a hangover. It seems these days that all issues of community, race relations, the environment and public policy quickly deteriorate into a "red versus blue" coarsening of dialogue promoted by a lack of humanity and the intellectually challenged.

Here's a well-kept secret for you -- the red versus blue thing isn't real, except as promoted by pundits and cable television stations that wish to have their way with you.

Leadership is about bringing folks together -- not promoting division.

We could use a few national leaders like Dr. King these days and it's only appropriate that we set aside time every year to attempt to reacquaint ourselves with the practice of solving our problems by cultivating nonviolence and compassion.

Because I haven't taken enough abuse recently, I'll venture to share my view that the recent discussion about Taneytown not being a "Sanctuary City" would be boring if it didn't give us a massive headache.

Please re-read the first two paragraphs.

The resolution of Taneytown is a stick in the eye for those of us who are trying to promote Carroll County as a welcoming community and family-friendly place to live and prosper.

It does little, if nothing, to address the problems of illegal immigration.

The societal and economic cost of illegal immigration is certainly a fair discussion. I mean, what part of illegal is not understood?

Nevertheless, the overall solution needs to occur in Congress, a body politic that, unfortunately, gives new meaning to "pathological dysfunctia."

Furthermore, the resolution coming at a time of the year when we celebrate Dr. King could not be more ironic.

Take a memo: xenophobia as an approach to solving complicated immigration problems is interesting in the way a septic truck running off the road, through your front flower bed and ending up on your front porch is interesting.

The resulting rhetoric, gnashing of teeth and collective hand-wringing only promotes myths and misinformation that distort meaningful debate and mute the questions that demand carefully thought-out solutions.

At this point, the only "sanctuary" I'm interested in is a sanctuary from stories like this one that will only go down as indictments of community leaders who have spent years offering solutions in search of a problem in an attempt to gain political advantage by populism.

This year we commemorate the life and work of Dr. King on Jan. 21, but he was born in Atlanta on Jan. 15, 1929.

Much of our community will come together to celebrate him this Saturday when the Carroll County NAACP will hold the fifth annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast at Martin's Westminster at 8 a.m. (If you'd like to go, call the NAACP office at 410-751-7667.)

Meanwhile, what I really wanted to write about is a persistent and perennial question from many young readers and new folks in our community:

"Who was Robert Moton?"

If you have any memories about the old Robert Moton School in Carroll County, please share them with me, so that I may include them in a future column.

Considering how angry and passionate folks are about the sanctuary city discussion, my next column may very well be written from an undisclosed location.

Hopefully it is a place that serves grits and has a good stereo system so that I can play Led Zeppelin's remake of Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie's "When the Levee Breaks."

Anybody know what that song has to do with Robert Moton?

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

http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?show=localnews&pnpID=978&NewsID=869869&CategoryID=18317&on=1

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Courthouse history seems to match theatrical flair of current case
The eyes of Maryland were on the Carroll County Courthouse last Friday as oral arguments were heard in the case of Michael D. Smigiel Sr., et al, v. Peter Franchot, et al.

This, of course, is the historic constitutional test case pertaining to alleged constitutional and procedural irregularities i...
[Read full story]

Something we really must talk about
On Christmas Eve, while many friends and families were preparing to get together and celebrate the holidays, the friends, colleagues and loved ones of Smithsburg police officer Christopher Nicholson, 25, gathered to bury him.

On Dec. 19, Officer Nicholson and the stranger he tried to help, Alison ...
[Read full story]

Thursday, January 17, 2008

20080109 Westminster Eagle: Districting plan faces hearing in January by Bob Allen

Labels: Carroll Co 5 Commissioner Dist plan, Carroll Co Delegation to Annapolis, Dayhoff explorecarroll opinion, Dayhoff Media Explore Carroll, Dayhoff Media Westminster Eagle, Newspapers Westminster Eagle

Westminster Eagle: Districting plan faces hearing in January by Bob Allen

Posted January 17, 2008

01/09/08 By Bob Allen

http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?show=localnews&pnpID=978&NewsID=867252&CategoryID=17320&on=1

Bill would create four districts, one at-large

The latest proposal to expand the Board of County Commissioners from three to five members will be open for public comment at a hearing set for Jan. 19 in Westminster.

State Del. Donald Elliott (R-Dist. 4B) said he co-created the plan with State Sen. Allan Kittleman (R-Dist. 9). It calls for four commissioners to be elected by districts with a fifth elected at-large, or county-wide.

The at-large commissioner would serve as president of the Board of Commissioners.

Under the plan, Carroll voters would vote for two commissioner candidates, one running in their district and one at-large.

On the eve of the General Assembly opening in Annapolis this week, Elliott said he believes his proposal has enough bipartisan support to get it through the assembly. A similar plan failed to make it to the floor in 2006, mostly because of disagreement over how and where district lines should be drawn.

"Last (time) a lot of people felt the (commissioner) districts should align with state legislative districts," Elliott said. "This time, that has been done to the extent that it could be done."

The failed proposal also differed in that it called for five commissioners, all elected by district. That's what voters selected in a 2004 referendum.

Elliott said his four-district plan is a compromise that carves out districts as equitably as possible, based on population, a per capita balance between registered Republicans, Democrats and independents and geography.

"The bottom line is, we are trying to make a compromise with this," Elliott said. "I feel very strongly that with this county growing the way it is, a change in governance is in order."

Skeptics have said the new proposal should not go forward because it differs from the five-district plan chosen in the 2004 referendum -- and as a result may eventually be overturned in court.

Elliott says his proposal does not need to go to referendum and is on solid legal ground.

"We're not violating the public's wishes," he said. "We have checked with the Attorney General's office and we have a written opinion from them that this is not in violation of the referendum and that we are not doing anything illegal.

"For some of these people (who oppose his plan), they are using that (argument) as a way to try to kill this bill, as in the past," he added. "There are still people who want three commissioners and others who still want five at-large commissioners.

Janet Jump, former president of the Board of Elections who also served on the committee that drew up the initial districting plan, likes Elliott's revised plan and thinks a commissioner-by-district system is long overdue.

"Carroll County is very diverse; South Carroll is a world away from North Carroll," Jump said. "These (sectional) differences deserve to be honored and recognized in running the county government, and the present system doesn't do this."

"I think creating districts is the only way we can recognize these differences," she said.

Elliott said his plan is modeled after Charles County and it works effectively there.

"I've talked to people in Charles County and other counties (where the board of commissioners has been expanded) and they told me it does make a difference," he said.

The new five-commissioner plan has been submitted to members of Carroll's delegation to Annapolis. The delegation will vote on it sometime after taking public comment at the Jan. 19 hearing.

"If approved by the delegation, it will be dropped in the hopper and be voted on by the Maryland General Assembly," he said. "Hopefully this time we have bipartisan support we need."

The public hearing on the proposed five-commissioner plan and other local bills proposed for the 2008 General Assembly is scheduled for 9 a.m. to noon, Saturday, Jan. 19, in Room 003 of the County Office Building, 225 N. Center St., Westminster.

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Thursday, January 03, 2008

20080102 Recent Westminster Eagle columns

Labels: Dayhoff explorecarroll opinion, Dayhoff Media Explore Carroll, Dayhoff Media Westminster Eagle, Newspapers Westminster Eagle

Recent Westminster Eagle columns

Kevin E. Dayhoff Thursday, January 03, 2007

Christmas comes early for families, and for some secret (trooper) Santas

01/02/08 By Kevin E. Dayhoff Email this story to a friend

On Christmas Eve, while many friends and families were preparing to get together and celebrate the holidays, the friends, colleagues and loved ones of Smithsburg police officer Christopher Nicholson, 25, gathered to bury him.

On Dec. 19, Officer Nicholson and the stranger he tried to help, Alison ... [Read full story]

12/27/07 By Kevin E. Dayhoff Email this story to a friend

On Sunday, Dec. 16, members of the Maryland Troopers Association Lodge 20 were joined at the Westminster Fire Hall by members of the State Police Explorers Post 56, Cub Scout Pack 150 and Carroll County Chapter K of Gold Wing Road Riders to make sure that families on their "most wanted list" had a n... [Read full story]

Reaching out to the troops is a mission with 'evergreen' appeal

12/19/07 By Kevin E. Dayhoff Email this story to a friend

Early this month, on Dec. 1, more than 300 volunteers gathered at the Carroll County Ag Center for Operation Christmas Tree to pack 5,000 live decorated Christmas trees for the troops in Iraq.

I had only been in the 40'-by-60' tent (supplied by Kay-Lyns Party Rental), for minutes when one voluntee... [Read full story]

Greeting the Ghosts of Christmas TV past

12/12/07 By Kevin E. Dayhoff Email this story to a friend

Christmas, as much as any holiday, is a time for childhood memories.

For many baby-boomers, television has always served as an early warning system that the holiday is rapidly advancing. Whether it is the plethora of consumer-oriented commercials or Christmas holiday specials, most everyone's chil...[Read full story]

20080102 Recent Westminster Eagle columns

11/28/07 By Kevin E. Dayhoff Email this story to a friend

On Nov. 17, members of our community packed St. John Catholic Church to hear the talented and beautiful voices of artists who came together and donated their time for our community -- and for a worthy cause.

Musical groups including the McDaniel College Madigal Singers, Old Line Statesmen Barber Shop Chorus (under the direction of Jeff Liebknecht), the Children's Chorus of Carroll County, New Life for Girls Choir, Masterworks Chorale, Westminster Trombone Choir and the Coram Deo performed a benefit concert for Carroll County Domestic Violence Safe House.

Connie Sgarlata, director of the Office of Family and Children's Services, said both the audience and the performers were moved by "the solidarity that the music and words created in our effort to address domestic violence."

Sgarlata's comments were echoed by McDaniel College professor of music Dr. Margie Boudreaux and Diane Jones, the Children's Chorus of Carroll County artistic director. Both noted that the music was wonderful -- the message was clear. [Read full story]

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.

www.kevindayhoff.net

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

Friday, December 28, 2007

20071228 Recent Westminster Eagle columns

Labels: Annual Christmas, Annual Christmas Carroll Co, Dayhoff explorecarroll opinion, Dayhoff Media Explore Carroll, Dayhoff Media Westminster Eagle, Iraq War, Iraq War What to send to the troops, MD Troopers Assoc Lodge #20, Newspapers Westminster Eagle, Public Safety Domestic Violence

Recent Westminster Eagle columns

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Friday, December 28

Christmas comes early for families, and for some secret (trooper) Santas

Reaching out to the troops is a mission with 'evergreen' appeal

Early this month, on Dec. 1, more than 300 volunteers gathered at the Carroll County Ag Center for Operation Christmas Tree to pack 5,000 live decorated Christmas trees for the troops in Iraq.

I had only been in the 40'-by-60' tent (supplied by Kay-Lyns Party Rental), for minutes when one voluntee... Congressman Roscoe Bartlett… [Read full story]

Greeting the Ghosts of Christmas TV past

Christmas, as much as any holiday, is a time for childhood memories.

Reaching out to the troops is a mission with 'evergreen' appeal

Musical groups including the McDaniel College Madigal Singers, Old Line Statesmen Barber S... “With One Voice”… Programs sponsors included organizations such as the GFWC Women’s Club of Westminster, and businesses such as Skyline Network Engineering, Lehigh Cement, PNC and New Windsor State Bank, Stu’s Music, the Law and Mediation Center, Opera House Printing Company, Steven Silberman, the law firm of Cromwell and Unglesbee and Douglas Deming of Zero Balancing and Message Therapy. They all came out in force to make a difference in our community.

… Connie Sgarlata, director of the Carroll County Office of Family and Children’s Services of Central Maryland echoed the remarks of many, including McDaniel College professor of music Dr. Margie Boudreaux and Diane Jones, the Children’s Chorus of Carroll County artistic director… [Read full story]

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Friday, December 21, 2007

20071220 Westminster Eagle columns from Nov 28 through Dec 19

Labels: Annual Christmas, Annual Christmas Carroll Co, Annual Christmas Westminster, Dayhoff explorecarroll opinion, Dayhoff Media Explore Carroll, Dayhoff Media Westminster Eagle, Newspapers Westminster Eagle

Westminster Eagle columns from Nov 28 through Dec 19

Kevin E. Dayhoff Thursday, December 20

12/19/07 By Kevin E. Dayhoff

Early this month, on Dec. 1, more than 300 volunteers gathered at the Carroll County Ag Center for Operation Christmas Tree to pack 5,000 live decorated Christmas trees for the troops in Iraq.

I had only been in the 40'-by-60' tent (supplied by Kay-Lyns Party Rental), for minutes when one voluntee...
[Read full story]

Greeting the Ghosts of Christmas TV past

12/12/07 by Kevin E. Dayhoff

Christmas, as much as any holiday, is a time for childhood memories.

11/28/07 by Kevin E. Dayhoff

Musical groups including the McDaniel College Madigal Singers, Old Line Statesmen Barber S... [Read full story]

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

20071128 Westminster Eagle columns September 19 through November 28 2007

Labels: Dayhoff explorecarroll opinion, Dayhoff Media Explore Carroll, Dayhoff Media Westminster Eagle, Music Gentry Bobbie, Music Ode to Billy Joe, Newspapers Westminster Eagle, People Amedori-Carmen

Westminster Eagle columns September 19 through November 28 2007

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Posted Tuesday, December 11

11/28/07 By Kevin E. Dayhoff

Visiting the CIA for an Iron Chef Thanksgiving

11/20/07 By Kevin E. Dayhoff

Happy Thanksgiving. We have so much for which to be thankful, and of course friends, family -- and food -- come to mind.

Over the recent Veterans Day weekend, Miss Caroline and I ventured to Hyde Park, N.Y., for a two-day conference on "The Presidency and the Supreme Court."

The conference took place at The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and examined the relationship between past presidents and the Supreme Court, the political process of Supreme Court nominations and the court's influence on social issues, civil rights and governmental power in times of war and crisis.

The conference was fascinating. We had the opportunity to meet and chat with a number of published historians and presidential and Supreme Court scholars.

We also met folks like former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, former White House counsels John W. Dean, C. Boyden Gray and Beth Nolan, former U.S. Senator from Maryland Paul Sarbanes and National Public Radio Senior Correspondent Juan Williams.

Legal Affairs Correspondent for National Public Radio Nina Totenberg was the moderator for the event.

However, I must say the highlight of the weekend was catching up with Rudy Speckamp

One more helping of grits, with a Dr. Pepper and a side of fruitcake

11/15/07 By Kevin E. Dayhoff

Most people who know me know that I like to eat.

And regular readers of this column know that one of my favorite foods is grits.

After the Aug. 1 column in The Eagle, "Song of the South: No grits, no glory," I heard from many folks who also like grits.

Mike Shaw of Shaw Farms wrote that he "j...

Jerry Barnes: county state's attorney and veteran

11/07/07 By Kevin E. Dayhoff

As Veterans Day fast approaches -- it's this Sunday, Nov. 11 -- it's appropriate to remember that service to our country is a cherished tradition in Carroll County.

And so it was that in May 1968, Jerry F. Barnes joined the U.S. Army.

Today, we know Mr. Barnes as Carroll County State's Attorney.

But it was back then that the Westminster High School graduate, class of 1966, received his draft notice.

According to a biographical sketch written by Carmen Amedori, Mr. Barnes joined draftees from Carroll County "on a school bus at the (Westminster) Post Office downtown," and headed for Fort Holabird in Baltimore -- and then promptly to Fort Bragg, N.C.

Mr. Barnes noted that fellow Carroll countians Mark Main, Eddie Sensabaugh and Sam Greenholtz were at Fort Bragg at the same time.

Mr. Barnes eschewed being drafted for two years and, instead, enlisted for three years. At first he wanted to be a helicopter pilot, but after a series of events he signed up for Special Forces -- the Green Berets.

Barnes' Vietnam experience is one of a number of profiles by Ms. Amedori appearing in a new publication from the Historical Society of Carroll County, "Tours of Duty: Carroll County and the Vietnam War," by Gary D. Jestes and Jay A. Graybeal. (The book will be released this Sunday at a book signing, 1 to 3 p.m. at the Historical Society, 210 E. Main St., Westminster.)

Billy Bob threw something off the Route 140 bridge

10/31/07 By Kevin E. Dayhoff

It was 40 years ago, the late summer of 1967 that we first learned from "Mama" that the nice young preacher, Brother Taylor "said he saw a girl that looked a lot like you up on Choctaw Ridge. And she and Billy Joe was throwing somethin' off the Tallahatchie Bridge."

I first heard that song, "Ode to Billy Joe," by Bobbie Gentry that summer on WCAO on the AM dial of the car radio.

It was also in this time period that I became firmly hooked on the existential "Southern Gothic" genre of storytelling. (To refresh your memory, the song can be found on the Web at www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZt5Q-u4crc.)

Other examples of authors of the Southern gothic genre of writing include William Faulkner, Carson McCullers, Eudora Welty, Truman Capote and Harper Lee.

Tennessee Williams once described the genre as stories that reflect "an intuition of an underlying dreadfulness in modern experience."

Who can forget: It was the third of June, another sleepy, dusty Delta day. And mama hollered at the back door "y'all remember to wipe your feet."

OK, so who was Herb Ruby?

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09/26/07 By Kevin E. Dayhoff

Resetting a local gem to mark Ruby Field

That's the question we posed last week when we talked about the placement of the Ruby Field sign at Westminster High's football field.

Let's begin this way -- when was the last time you attended a Friday night local high school football game?

We all know that local sports teams are one of the strongest glues that bind our community together. For hot dogs, pizza, entertainment and getting together outside in the fresh air with your family, friends and neighbors, there is hardly anything better than Friday night high school football games.

Well, we have Coach Ruby to thank for our Friday night high school football traditions in Carroll County.

Yep, it all started in 1947 when he became the first high school football coach in Carroll County.

After Coach Ruby graduated from Bridgewater College in 1941, he actually played semi-professional baseball for the Staunton Presidents of the Virginia Baseball League.

Read the entire story here: OK, so who was Herb Ruby?

09/19/07 By Kevin E. Dayhoff