20080428 The Havenator

The Havenator

April 28, 2008

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

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

Soooo, without further adieu – here goes:

_____

“Q” May 10, 2008

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

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

*****

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.

www.kevindayhoff.net

http://www.youtube.com/kevindayhoff

http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/

http://gizmosart.com/dayhoff.html

Kevin Dayhoff’s Facebook photo album

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

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

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

20061121 WE Giving thanks WE

Giving thanks

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

For my past Thanksgiving columns and posts – go here.

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

Attila shares a Psalm for Thanksgiving here.

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

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

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

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

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

_____

Giving thanks for history, and future, of America

11/21/06 By Kevin E. Dayhoff

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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20050907 If technology Available Why Not WiFi?

If technology available, why not Wi-Fi?

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Westminster Eagle

09/07/05 By Kevin E. Dayhoff

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wi-Fi presents unlimited opportunities for Carroll County.

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

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

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

I couldn't agree more.

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

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

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