Fans of L.E.D.’s Say This Bulb’s Time Has Come by ERIC A. TAUB July 28, 2008
When the Sentry Equipment Corporation in Oconomowoc, Wis., was considering how to light its new factory last year, the company’s president, Michael Farrell, decided to try something new: light emitting diodes, or L.E.D.’s.
“I knew L.E.D.’s were used in stoplights. I wondered why they can’t be used in buildings,” Mr. Farrell said. “So I went on a mission.”
What Mr. Farrell found was a light source that many of the biggest bulb manufacturers are now convinced will supplant incandescent bulbs and compact fluorescent bulbs.
[…]
L.E.D. bulbs, with their brighter light and longer life, have already replaced standard bulbs in many of the nation’s traffic lights. Indeed, the red, green and yellow signals are — aside from the tiny blinking red light on a DVD player, a cellphone or another electronic device — probably the most familiar application of the technology.
But it is showing up in more prominent spots. The ball that descends in Times Square on New Year’s Eve is illuminated with L.E.D.’s. And the managers of the Empire State Building are considering a proposal to light it with L.E.D. fixtures, which would allow them to remotely change the building’s colors to one of millions of variations.
The nation’s Big Three of lighting — General Electric, Osram Sylvania and Royal Philips Electronics — are embracing a new era of more efficient technologies, like halogen, compact fluorescent and solid-state devices. Encouraged by legislation and the rising cost of energy, as well as concerns about greenhouse gases, consumers are swapping out incandescent bulbs.
The switch is forcing a fast change in strategy, as companies reposition their manufacturing lines. General Electric, for instance, said earlier this month that it was spinning off its unit that makes bulbs.
The bulb makers face a tough problem. Their businesses were built on customers who regularly replaced light bulbs. How do you make a profit when new lighting may commonly last 50 to 100 times as long as a standard bulb? Compact fluorescents, which use less than one-third the power and last up to 10 times as long as standard bulbs, have replaced incandescent bulbs in many homes and offices.
[…]
Read the rest of the article here: Fans of L.E.D.’s Say This Bulb’s Time Has Come by ERIC A. TAUB July 28, 2008
20080728 Fans of L.E.D.’s Say This Bulb Time Has Come by Eric Taub
My Sunday Carroll Eagle column is up…
Westminster's sacred places are shrines of community life
EAGLE ARCHIVE By Kevin Dayhoff Posted on www.explorecarroll.com on 7/25/08
Since this is a Sunday column, I do hope it's fitting to talk about sacred places.
Not necessarily houses of worship, mind you, though those are most often considered sacred places.
I'm thinking of the sacred public places as described in a 1981 book by Dr. Ira Zepp [pictured here in a 1996 file photo] and Marty Lanham, "Sacred Spaces of Westminster."
I thought of the book as I sat in a recent Common Council meeting at Westminster City Hall -- a building that many consider one of the true sacred places in Carroll County.
At the beginning of the meeting, Mayor Tom Ferguson read a proclamation recognizing July as Recreation and Parks Month, and paid tribute to the city's recreation and parks director Ron Schroers, as well as other employees who work tirelessly for our benefit.
One of the recreational facilities that Schroers oversees is the popular Westminster playground in the heart of the city.
The playground is one the first pictures, taken by Lanham, in that 1981 book.
Moreover, toward the end of the book, the authors discuss one of the overlooked sacred landmarks in Westminster: the Memorial Gateway to the Westminster playground off of Center Street.
Zepp and Lanham explain that the "gateway was given to the city by H. Peyton Gorsuch in 1937. Its primary purpose was to acknowledge the community's debt to Carroll Countians who had served in the nation's wars."
The book goes on to highlight public places such as Belle Grove Square, various other parks, gardens, memorials and monuments.
Read the entire column here: Westminster's sacred places are shrines of community life
When he is not watching the ducks at the Westminster Community Pond, Kevin Dayhoff can be reached at kdayhoff@carr.org. Please don't feed the ducks ... or the Dayhoff.
A Reader question about Frederick Douglass visiting Westminster
July 24, 2008
Fredrick Douglass, pictured here in an 1879 photograph by George K. Warren, was born near Hillsboro, Talbot County, Maryland in February 1818.
A reader recently asked if I had ever written about Frederick Douglass visiting Westminster, Maryland.
I briefly mentioned Mr. Douglass’ visit on October 13, 1870 in a Westminster Eagle Article on July 11, 2007:
20070711 The Davis Library part 2
“The continuing odyssey of the Library”
The Davis Library part 2 (See also: 20070627 Davis Library part 1)
Or here: http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/tag/westminster+scrapbook+davis+library
Westminster Eagle
July 11, 2007 © by Kevin Dayhoff (669 words – as filed)
[…]
In the beginning “it was open to the public on Friday afternoons at the Odd Fellow’s Hall” – now known as Opera House Printing Company, at 140 East Main Street.
[…]
A brief word about the Odd Fellow’s Hall. According to Chris Weeks’ book, “The Building of Westminster,” the hall is located on what “was the site of Jacob Mathias’ tanyard, shop, and residence” before he sold it for $375.00 in 1854.
According to Ms. Warner [“Carroll County Maryland – A History 1837-1976,” by Nancy Warner,] the building was dedicated in 1858. At the time, it was “the largest building in town except the court house…”
The Odd Fellow’s Hall is a storied place that is involved with much of Carroll County’s history and tradition of moving the ball forward. Ms. Warner notes that over the years, it has “provided rooms for a printing press, schools, libraries, an oyster saloon, plays, club meetings, concerts, and lectures in the nineteenth century, plus movies and a (sewing) factory in the early twentieth century.”
It is also little known that the famed national leader and orator, Frederick Douglass once spoke at the Odd Fellow’s Hall. Ms. Warner notes an October 13, 1870 “American Sentinel” account of his address in which it would appear that he was well received.
[…]
Read the rest here: 20070711 The Davis Library part 2
20080724 A Reader question about Frederick Douglass visiting Westminster
See also:
20070627 Davis Library part 1
20070711 The Davis Library part 2
2008 CARROLL COUNTY 4-H & FFA FAIR SCHEDULE
Friday July 25, 2008 through Sunday night
Friday: Sunny. Highs in the upper 80s. Southwest winds 5 to 10 mph.
Friday Night: Partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 60s. South winds 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday: Partly sunny. A chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Highs in the upper 80s. South winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40 percent.
Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the mid 60s. South winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30 percent.
Sunday: Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid 80s. Chance of rain 30 percent.
Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the upper 60s. Chance of rain 30 percent.
_____
2008 CARROLL COUNTY 4-H & FFA FAIR SCHEDULEFriday July 25, 2008 through Sunday night
Friday: Sunny. Highs in the upper 80s. Southwest winds 5 to 10 mph.
Friday Night: Partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 60s. South winds 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday: Partly sunny. A chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Highs in the upper 80s. South winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40 percent.
Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the mid 60s. South winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30 percent.
Sunday: Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid 80s. Chance of rain 30 percent.
Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the upper 60s. Chance of rain 30 percent.
_____
Carroll County Times Editorial for Sunday, July 20, 2008: Westminster shutting out the publicLast week's aborted attempt by Westminster officials to circumvent the bidding process for a multi-million dollar roadwork contract was just the latest in a string of questionable actions that should have residents concerned about how their government is being run and whether the city is fiscally sound.
In May, the city advertised as required by law that it would not be lowering the tax rate to maintain a constant yield with rising revenue. As tax and assessment revenues increase, the state says that governments should lower the tax rate to maintain a constant yield. If they don't, they have to advertise the defacto tax increase.
Most municipalities don't decrease taxes, so Westminster not doing so wasn't unusual. What was unusual, however, was that city officials could provide no expense numbers prior to the May constant yield hearing, and they could not explain how they knew they would need additional tax revenue if they didn't have the expense numbers.
To further muddy the picture, the city then produced a "narrative" budget, touting it as easier to follow and good for residents. The narrative, however, did not include a breakdown of revenues and expenses.
Not surprisingly, with no real numbers and scant facts on expenses and revenues available, few people attended the constant yield hearing.
Weeks later, after not holding a public hearing on the budget, and with little discussion of the budget in open sessions, the council approved the current fiscal year's budget.
Officials never could explain why they didn't want to hold a public hearing.
Given the lack of open discussion, as well as the unavailability of real budget numbers, residents may be concerned that either their council voted on something they had no real knowledge of, or the council talked secretly - and illegally - outside public meetings to hash out the details and hid that from residents.
Last week, the city announced it would be firing several employees and consolidating some positions in an effort to save money. The week before, the city had to hold an emergency meeting in order to give the mayor the authority to sign for a $3.5 million loan for road projects. Originally city officials planned to circumvent the bidding process and give the contract to C.J. Miller. But last week they thought better of ignoring the city charter on putting contracts out to bid and removed the rubber stamp approval from the constent agenda.
Juggling the intricacies of a municipal government can be challenging for anyone, and there are sure to be missteps along the way. But what has emerged in Westminster since the beginning of this year's budget process is more than a few simple missteps and more closely resembles a concerted effort to hide the city's finances from public view.
The mayor and council need to return to the basic concept of doing public business at public meetings. They need to stop treating the public as intruders, and they need make a full accounting of the city's finances and why they have thrown up so many barriers to public participation in the budget process this year.
20080720 Carroll County Times Westminster shutting out the public
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Taylorsville United Methodist Church sermons by Pastor Sarah Dorrance July 6, 2008: “Divine Appointments” Isaiah 52: 6-9 ; Romans 10: 9-15
2008-07-06 divine appointments.mp3
July 13, 2008: “God of all Comfort” Psalm 40: 1-5; 1-2; 2 Corinthians 1: 3-7
2008-07-13 God of all comfort.mp3
July 20, 2008: “Blessed to be a Blessing” Genesis 12: 1-5; Romans 4: 13-16
2008-07-20 blessed to be a blessing.mp3
July 27, 2008: “Why am I a Methodist?” Matt 22: 34-40; Ephesians 2: 1-8
4356 Ridge Road
Mt Airy, MD 21771
Tel: 410-875-4101
Office Hours: Mon. & Wed. 9:00 am—Noon
Other Office Hours by appointment
E-mail:taylorsvilleumc@comcast.net
Schedule of Special Events
August 3rd– 6:00 pm Pizza and movie night for youth with Pastor Sarah. Come talk about next year’s plans.
August 24th Church Picnic—All are invited! Worship will be at 10:30 am at the Lions Club Ball Field. We will have worship outside, pot luck lunch, softball, games and more.
Worship—Every Sunday at 11:00 am
Sunday School at 9:45 am
Related: For other posts and information on Taylorsville United Methodist Church see:
religion taylorsville united or Religion Taylorsville United Methodist Church or Religion Taylorsville United Methodist Church
Taylorsville United Methodist Church videos on Kevin Dayhoff’s YouTube account
20080724 Taylorsville United Methodist Church sermons by Pastor Sarah Dorrance
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Nags Head, Outer Banks North Carolina: "The Three Lifeguards"
“There is no better place to be an artist than Carroll County,” exclaimed Kevin Dayhoff of Westminster. “Lots of people have asked me what it is like to grow up an artist here. It’s great. Growing up in Carroll County you learn self-sufficiency, independent thinking and personal responsibility. You learn that the world doesn’t owe you a living because you are a writer and an artist,” he said.
“There is a great sense of artistic collaboration in Carroll County that comes from our agricultural heritage, such as when folks got together and did barn raising,” he said.
“I grew up an artist and a writer. My mom, my dad and my friends were very supportive. My father was a painter and a woodworking artist, creating both art and beautiful furniture out of wood, and mother is a culinary artist,” Dayhoff reflected.
“One of my earliest discoveries with art was drawing cartoons and caricatures. I used to sit in class and draw caricatures of the teachers. Even today, I continue to draw postcard size caricatures of daily events, vacations and people in the news. I make my own vacation ‘mail art’ postcards,” he said, laughing.
“‘Mail art’ opened up the world for me long before the internet. After almost two decades, I still have a collaborative mail art partner in Japan.”
Combination of talents
“My main preoccupations growing up were reading, art, writing short stories, and plants. I was very fortunate to put them all together and make a living. That is how I got into landscaping. After all, landscaping is a 3-D mixed media assemblage with plants,” Dayhoff said.
“I also learned that if I spent hours doing a collage I ended up with a storage problem. But, if I drew a landscape design and did a landscape collage with plants, I got paid for it.” In 1974 Dayhoff started a landscaping, designing and nursery business. That business also gave him time to do art and write.
Dayhoff’s work from the 1980s and 1990s included art created on copying machines, color experimentation, collaging and new technologies.
Since his first art show at the Theatre Project in Baltimore in 1981, Dayhoff has been exhibiting art, including mixed media collages, drawings, sculpture and photography.
“I have had a lifelong interest in color [and] spatial relationships putting together incongruent objects. In recent years I have expanded my use of technology to collage with a digital camera, a scanner and a computer. I was inspired by Sue Bloom, a McDaniel art professor, who uses computers to create art,” he said.
“The collages are about putting seemingly disparate items and qualities together to give them a new meaning and a new purpose,” Dayhoff explained. “A lot of the collages began to come off the page into a much more sculptural element as a result of the inspiration of Wasyl Palijezuk, a now retired art professor at McDaniel College.”
Dayhoff has taught art, horticultural and landscape design as an adjunct faculty member for Carroll Community College.
On display
He has exhibited his art for the Carroll County Arts Council for the past two decades as well as at other venues.
“There are so many opportunities for art and culture to flourish in Westminster,” he said. “Capitalizing upon the successes of Common Ground on the Hill, the McDaniel and Carroll Community College Art community and the Carroll Arts Center Carroll, Westminster is the perfect place for art studios, art galleries and artists to live and work, especially on Pennsylvania Avenue and Main Street.”
“Growing up an artist has always been an advantage in my life as it teaches you to be a collaborative and creative problem solver and think outside of the box,” Dayhoff said.
He can be contacted at
Art, Art – Eye for Art Lyndi McNulty Advocate, Dayhoff bio and disclosures
http://westminsteradvocate.com/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=1&twindow=&mad=&sdetail=3728&wpage=1&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reoption=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=&rebed=&rebath=&subname=&pform=&sc=1322&hn=westminsteradvocate&he=.com
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Grammy and Aunt Betty patrol for dolphins
20080718 Westminster will impose job cuts by Katie Jones for the Westminster Eagle
Westminster will impose job cuts
Layoffs, revision of benefits announced
By Katie V. Jones
Originally Posted on the Westminster Eagle 7/16/08
Westminster Mayor Thomas Ferguson announced Monday the elimination of several jobs within city government as a means to cut the city’s budget in the face of what he called a “challenging year.”
A press release issued Monday said the cuts are needed “to facilitate a balanced budget.”
The city will not fill two vacant positions in the Office of Finance and the Mayor’s Office, and will eliminate the position of Housing Rehabilitation Coordinator and Manager of Planning.
Additionally, the city’s Code Enforcement Officer and Section 8 Housing Inspector positions will be merged into one job, and the City Clerk position will be trimmed from a full-time position to part-time.
Two administrative assistant positions will be cut, but two “staff assistant” positions will be created.
The release said a severance package, including pay and benefits, will be set up for employees whose positions have been eliminated.
In addition, the release announced changes to current city employees’ benefit packages.
Employees will be asked to double their contribution to health care policies from 7 percent to 14 percent.
Also, retirees’ health care benefits will be modified, and employees hired after July 1 of this year will not be eligible for this benefit, the press release stated.
“This has been a challenging year for the city as revenues have declined and expenditures have continued to increase,” said Ferguson in the release.
“Our three-year operating projections do not indicate this situation will improve significantly in the immediate future,” he addded. “Accordingly, I am reluctantly outlining the steps we have taken to adapt to this financial situation.”
Borrowing $3.5 million
The job cuts were not discussed at Monday’s meeting of the mayor and council.At the meeting, though, city officials did discuss how they would spend the $3.5 million loan that the council authorized in a special session July 9.
The bond money is targeted at road overlay projects, and Jeff Glass, director of public works, briefed the council on which streets would be slated for repairs and the possible order of completion.
Glass said that while his office has organized 11 groupings of streets for “some orderly fashion,” the future contractor of the project may have their own suggestions on how the work should proceed.
Glass noted that while plans are to complete all 11 groups, the rising cost of asphalt could prevent all from completion.
At the special session on July 9, Ferguson had noted that if asphalt prices continue to rise, the city may opt to stall the road repair program and return some of the $3.5 million without using it.
Prices, he said at last week’s meeting, are “going due north,” and will already affect the number of projects the city thinks it can accomplish.
The general obligation bond will be with BB&T Bank and is structured for nine years, with a two-year interest-only component. If the city chooses not to use the full amount, there is no penalty for early repayment, officials said.
At Monday’s session, the council agreed to put the overlay project out to bid instead of extending an existing order with C.J. Miller. While this will delay the project, it is necessary, Ferguson said, to get “the best price we can.”
That process will take 30 days, which Glass described as “the fast track.”
“It has to be advertised and the companies have to put their bids together,” he said. “Thirty days is cutting it.”
While Glass was fairly confident that the first two groups of streets would proceed as planned, Ferguson reminded everyone that the proposal was a “plan.”
“This is a plan and it is subject to modifications and change,” he said.
Jim Joyner contributed to this story.
http://www.explorecarroll.com/news/221/westminster-will-impose-job-cuts/
“explorecarroll” website unveiled for the Westminster, Eldersburg and Sunday Carroll Eagle20080626 “explorecarroll” website unveiled for the Westminster, Eldersburg and Sunday Carroll Eagle