20060913 KDDC What part of no parking don’t you understand

What part of no parking don’t you understand?

Posted September 13^th, 2006 by Kevin Dayhoff

Grazing through the web this afternoon, I fell upon a great post on Wonkette in that site’s section called: Metro Section: Dirty Girty Rides Again:

Phototerrorism: Can you identify this young buck who blocked both the hydrant and bus zone with his BMW? [Metroblogging DC]

Curious, I went to the Metroblogging DC site and found: Arrogance Defined, posted by Wayan at 10:39 AM on September 13, 2006

The photo at the top is the photo displayed in the post and belongs to: Photo by DC Metroblogger:

This would be the physical manifestation of arrogance.

Not only is this punk parked in front of a fire hydrant, he is also in a bus zone. And he just had to be driving a Bemmer Beemer Bimmer.

Would all that signify a small mind or a small penis?

The next two photos posted above are from my archives for which I have not a clue as to whom they belong.

I am always amused when I see the cars, which belong to very special people, parked in fire lanes.

In Westminster, it has always been one of my pet peeves that folks park in front on the yellow line in the College Square Shopping Center at the corner of WMC Drive and Rte 140, north of town.

Usually the very important folks who drive these vehicles are running-in to grab carryout food, pick-up clothes at the drycleaners or pick-up a video at Blockbusters.

To park in a fire lane is self-centered. It’s arrogant - - and it is quite unsafe.

Incredibly, many park in the crosswalk, so that as you leave the sidewalk to go to your car; you have to squeeze around the vehicles of these very special people to cross a high traffic lane to get to your car.

It is a wonder that no-one has been hit by a car as pedestrians emerge from beyond these parked cars, belonging to very special folks, to cross the travel lane.

Since your convenience is more important than the safety of others, you probably don’t give a rat’s ass about other folks, so take note of the second photo down from the top.

This is what happens to your car when you park in a fire lane. So if don’t care about the safety of others, at least care about your property.

Of equal incredulity are the really important folks who park in front of fire hydrants.

The bottom picture is what firefighters, fighting a fire, do to your car when you park in front of a fire hydrant.

Of course one of the many responses from the self-centered folks who park in fire lanes and in front of fire hydrants is that if there were to be a fire, they would have plenty of time to move the vehicle.

Wrong. The response time of a fire company like the Westminster Fire Department is a few minutes. And once they get to the scene, every second counts for not only saving property from damage but lives could be in the balance for the want of a couple of seconds.

Of course, one of the many things that I love about fire fighters is that they usually don’t suffer fools and idiots well. Especially when you even remotely get in the way of putting out a fire or saving lives.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA. E-mail him at: kdayhoff@carr.org http://www.thetentacle.com/ Westminster Eagle Opinion and Winchester Report http://www.thewestminstereagle.com/ http://www.kevindayhoff.com/

20060913 KDDC Hoff Memorial Barn ceremonial groundbreaking on October 8, 2006

"The Hoff Barn"
(c) Kevin Dayhoff May 6, 2006

Hoff Memorial Barn ceremonial groundbreaking on October 8, 2006

Posted September 13^th, 2006 by Kevin Dayhoff

Invitations have recently been mailed for the ceremonial groundbreaking of the “Marlin K. Hoff Memorial Log Barn.”

On Sunday, October 8 at 2 p.m., during the annual “Fall Harvest Days” at the Carroll County Farm Museum, our agricultural history and our modern-day celebration of that history will come together for a symbolic groundbreaking ceremony for an important addition to the museum, the “Marlin K. Hoff Memorial Log Barn.”

According to the Carroll County Farm Museum web site: “Fall Harvest Days, the Farm Museum's oldest and second largest event, is held each October to celebrate the arrival of autumn. A fun day for the whole family, the two-day event features traditional autumn happenings which include apple butter making, scarecrow making workshops, threshing and shelling demonstrations, tractor and mule-pulled wagon rides, and much more.”

For more information on Fall Harvest Days, click here.

I have two pieces on the importance of this exciting project. One on KDDC and one in my regular column with the Westminster Eagle: “Hoff Log Barn is on the move to a future role recalling Carroll County's history.”

In the earlier KDDC piece on May 6^th, 2006, titled “Historic Hoff Barn Relocation and Restoration Solicitors Breakfast,” I tried to make as many folks as possible aware of this significant addition to the Carroll County Farm Museum.

“Bright and early Saturday morning, Caroline and I attended a fund raising “Solicitor’s Breakfast” for an important project to relocate and restore an historic circa 1795 old German log bank barn. Perhaps one of only two or three left in the country, the barn is to be relocated to the Carroll County Farm Museum, in Westminster, Carroll County, Maryland and restored.

“The Hoff Barn Project” is a 501(c)(3) corporation and all contributions are tax deductible. Contributions can be mailed to “The Hoff Barn Project,” P. O. Box 124, Westminster, MD 21158. For more information, e-mail me. Put the words, “The Hoff Barn Project” in the subject line.

One of the better articles about the project was written by Mary Gail Hare, a staff writer for the Baltimore Sun, on March 27, 2005.”

You can see Ms. Hare’s article in my May 6^th, 2006 KDDC post here.

In my regular column with the Westminster Eagle: “Hoff Log Barn is on the move to a future role recalling Carroll County's history,” I introduced the August 30^th, 2006 story of the Hoff Barn:

By 1798, the area of western Carroll County - between Big Pipe Creek and Westminster, had 10 brick, 13 stone and 248 log homes, according to Carol Lee's 1982 "Legacy of the Land."

It also had 218 log barns.

One of those log barns was probably what we now know as the "Hoff Log Barn," built between 1785 and 1795 in nearby New Windsor.

The Maryland Historical Trust boasts that Hoff Barn is "One of the most significant farm buildings in Carroll County."

Fast forward more than 200 years, and there are very few log barns left in Carroll County - or the nation, for that matter. Some published accounts report that there are, maybe, three log barns left in Carroll County today.

The present location of the Hoff barn is a farm that has been owned by the Hoff family since 1869.

For the past 40 years, Kathy and the late Marlin K. Hoff have operated one of the largest and most prestigious dairy operations in Maryland on this property.

Before Mr. Hoff passed away Nov. 28, 2004, he had gotten the idea from talking with fellow farmer and community leader, Melvin Baile Sr., that the barn needed to be donated and saved for future generations to appreciate.

What better place to showcase the barn, than re-locating the log structure to the Carroll County Farm Museum?”

Read the rest of my column here.

Even if you have never set foot on a farm in your life, the enjoyment of our Carroll County way of life has it roots in the Hoff Log Barn and this effort is important to you. Please make a financial contribution to help pay for this significant historical investment in our community.

For more information, contact Bob Jones at 410-848-7687 or Melvin Baile Sr. at 410-848-9589. Checks can mailed to: “Marlin K. Hoff Memorial Log Barn,” PO Box 124, Westminster, MD 21158.

Meanwhile, I’ll look forward to seeing you at the Farm Museum on October 8.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA. E-mail him at: kdayhoff@carr.org www.thetentacle.com Westminster Eagle Opinion and Winchester Report www.thewestminstereagle.com www.kevindayhoff.com

Agriculture

Volkmann watch

Hoff Barn - Marlin K. Hoff Memorial Log Barn in Carroll Co. MD,

20060913 KDDC Unofficial Carroll County primary election results

Unofficial Carroll County primary election results

September 13^th, 2006

With all but three of the precinct results in, the results are:

Republicans Michael Zimmer and incumbents Julia Walsh Gouge and Dean L. Minnich will face off against Democrats Dennis E. Beard, Vincent F. DiPietro and Richard F. Solomon in this November’s Carroll County general election for the Carroll County Board of Commissioners.

Incumbent District 5 Senator Larry E. Haines easily defeated challenger Michelle Jefferson, by capturing almost twice more votes - 68 to 38 percent. Senator Haines has represented a portion of Carroll and Baltimore Counties for four terms since 1990.

In the District 5A delegate race, Carroll County voters overwhelmingly opted to return Tanya Shewell and Nancy R. Stocksdale to Annapolis.

In a nail-biter in South Carroll's District 9B delegate contest, incumbent Susan W. Krebs barely defeated challenger Larry Helminiak.

And sitting Circuit Court Judges Tom Stansfield and Barry Hughes were easily affirmed as the choice of Carroll County voters, in a contest that saw a rare challenger. Without a thorough check, apparently the only other challenge to a sitting judge in Carroll County’s history was in 1982 when Delegate Lanny Harchenhorn challenged Judge Luke Burns. Carroll Countians have historically been intolerant to politicizing the judiciary.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA. E-mail him at: kdayhoff@carr.org www.thetentacle.com Westminster Eagle Opinion and Winchester Report www.thewestminstereagle.com www.kevindayhoff.com