20060514 KDDC May 16, 2006 is the Carroll Non Profit Center Dedication

Tuesday, May 16, 2006 is the dedication the Carroll Non Profit Center

May 10^th, 2006 by Kevin Dayhoff ©

My column in this week’s Westminster Eagle is: “Celebrating the dedication of the county's splendid new guinea pig: Carroll's Non-Profit Center .” Please be aware that the Westminster Eagle does not use permalinks, so if you may need to find the original column in news archives: http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?show=archivelist&pnpID=978&om=1

Below please enjoy the unedited, album-cut long version of the column:

After more than four years in the making, the “Carroll Non Profit Center” in Westminster will have a grand opening dedication on Tuesday, May 16, 2006.

Many have wondered about the $4 million, 40,000-square-foot three-story brick building built by Anverse, Inc., that is located on a 3.15-acre parcel on Clifton Boulevard (near Wal-Mart and the Westminster Post Office.)

Once again, Carroll County, Maryland is on the cutting edge.

The idea seems simple enough; however, multi-tenant nonprofit centers like the Carroll Non Profit Center (Center) are a new concept. There are only one or two other such centers in the country.

As a matter of fact, Marty Sonenshine, the executive director of Anverse calls the project “our guinea pig.”

According to the “Nonprofitcenters Network,” multi-tenant centers increase visibility, lower overhead costs, enable cross-organizational collaboration and synergy and create new hubs of economic activity in the community.

Audrey Cimino, Executive Director of the Community Foundation of Carroll County, Inc. one of the grateful tenants of the Center, expressed it this way:

“The gift that Anverse, Inc. has given our community will have ramifications far into the future. They have provided a platform for growth, enrichment, cooperation and partnerships that we are only beginning to realize. The clients who receive services and benefits, the donors who support our various projects and the general public of Carroll County are the beneficiaries of a most extraordinary good deed.”

Many of the non-profits that are located in the Center receive support for their operations and work in the community from the Community Foundation of Carroll County, Inc.

If you would like to contribute to this great community based organization or learn more about the Center, please call (410) 876-5505 or visit their Web-site at: http://www.carrollcommunityfoundation.org/.

Anverse Inc., a Cartersville Georgia-based foundation was formed in 2000 and purchased the property in 2002 for $690,000. According to published accounts, the foundation reported $871,317 in expenses on its 2002 tax return “for the purchase of land and initial planning for a ‘non-profit center in Westminster.’’’

However, much of this story begins when in around 1984, Prestige Communications began a new era in the quality of life for a coach potato and cable television service in Carroll County was born.

After sixteen years of operation, the company “and its 118,250 subscriber accounts in North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland were sold to Adelphia for about $700 million.” (This, according to a 2003 Baltimore Sun article written by Mary Gail Hare and Jennifer McMenamin.)

Wanting to give back to the community from which it had so profited, Anverse, “the country's eighth-largest grant-making operating foundation in 2001;” was formed from “4,000 shares of stock in Prestige Communications, valued at $191.1 million, according to Anverse's 2001 tax return.” (Baltimore Sun 2003.)

Once the decision to build the Center was made, Anverse hired Mark Krider, who had worked for Anverse family for a number of years to be the mid-wife for the project.

“Mark Krider has been patient, hard working, diligent and effective in making this innovative community investment happen,” complimented Ms. Cimino. “Our community owes Mark a debt of gratitude.”

The Carroll Non Profit Center broke ground in November 2004 and opened its doors to approximately 20 tenants in January 2006.

Some of the tenants include: Carroll Technology Council; Catastrophic Health Planners; Child Care Choices; Community Foundation of Carroll County; Habitat For Humanity; Head Start of Carroll County; Carroll County Branch # 7014 of the NAACP; United Way Community Partnership of Carroll County; and the Joanna M. Nicolay Melanoma Foundation.

The non-profit organizations in Carroll County are the conscious of our community and play a vital functional and leadership role in the social fabric of our society.

Like many areas of the country, non-profits in Carroll County have an increased presence in our community for various reasons including decreased public support for services.

According to an article in the Daily Record, last fall by Kara Kridler: “Maryland nonprofits added more than twice as many jobs as their for-profit counterparts in 2003, part of a five-year run during which the nonprofit sector has largely kept the state's job market afloat, according to a new study.”

“A Johns Hopkins University report found employment growth among nonprofits was nearly 2 percent in 2003, the latest year for which data is available. Meanwhile, the larger for-profit sector, which employs nearly 1.8 million people, grew just 0.1 percent,” wrote Kara Kridler.

Carroll County has always been a generous community and in the past. Much of the generosity was the result of individual community stepping up to the plate to extend a helping hand.

Examples of individual generosity in difficult times are numerous and the stuff of legend in Carroll County.

In the very early 1950s, when the Ward Avenue apartments in Westminster, burned to the ground, local business leader and Westminster city councilman, Scott Bair Sr., let it be known to the displaced tenants that they could go to Mather’s on Main Street and buy clothes - and he paid the bill.

In days gone by, many of the community leaders that were members of the service clubs or the fire company, for example. They were also the captains of local industry and elected officials.

Increasingly, many elected officials, not all to be sure, are disconnected with the rest of the community as they squabble over issues of “inside baseball” and bitter partisan politics which has little relevance to the day-to-day quality of life of Carroll Countians.

“Who said what to whom and when,” “white hats” and “black hats, accusations of “secret meetings” and who has the latest version of some bizarre conspiracy theory fills the pages of the local papers as local families struggle to raise their children, put food on the table, pay their utility bills and provide meaning to their lives.

Ay caramba.

Meanwhile a new leadership class is evolving in Carroll County. It is the folks like the executive director of the Community Foundation of Carroll County, Audrey Cimino; Jeff Sprinkle, director of the Carroll County YMCA; Carroll County Children’s Chorus director, Diane Jones; president of the local NAACP Branch President Charles Harrison, Virginia Harrison, with Carroll Citizens for Racial Equality, the local scout leader, and PTA/PTO president...

But getting back to more of the positive and Carroll’s experiment with a multi-tenant nonprofit center; often real estate is not a core competency for non-profits. Most do not own their own space, which leaves them vulnerable to the vagaries of the real estate market. This eats away at financial resources and impedes the efficiency and effectiveness of the organization.

According to Nonprofitcenters Network, “more than 80% of nonprofits do not own their own space. These organizations typically must allocate 20% (second only to personnel) of their expense budget to rent, thereby exposing over 1/5 of their cash assets to the profit driven fluctuations of the real estate market.”

Carroll County United Way director Pam Zappardino agreed, “In terms of importance, not only does it give the non-profits low cost space for their offices but this allows the organizations plow more money back into the community where it is needed.”

“And the center also gives the non-profits a chance to work together, network and be more effective in delivering even better services to the community. “For the United Way the center provides a much more visible place for us to do our work,” elaborated Dr. Zappardino.

Dr. Zappardino said that she “expected to enjoy the better space but has found it fun to be there.” Instead of being in an isolated office all to herself, she “enjoys talking with the other folks in the hall.” Recently she stayed late into the evening to help another organization. “The people here are just great.”

Charles Harrison, president of the CC Branch of the NAACP #7014 called the Center:

“Terrific. This unifies our efforts. Because we are all volunteers, for many years the local branch operated out of homes and we had meetings where we could. Now we have one place to maintain our files, records and documents. This provides stability and community focused point of contact.

“Everyone in the community knows where we are. This provides credibility as a viable part of the CC community this is evidence by increased memberships community based inquires.

“Being in the Center allows us to network to be around other nonprofits and community leaders who have the same concerns. The NAACP’s issues are the community’s issues. Diversity continues to be a hidden asset in our community and the NAACP is taking a leadership role in exploiting this asset to move the community forward.”

Not only does the Center provide stability, it also facilitates all the advantages of one-stop shopping for targeted populations, increases visibility and allows individual organizations the strength of numbers to work together and accomplish more than they could by themselves.

The Center serves as one big incubator of ideas, efforts and cooperation in order to help other nonprofits throughout the county and ultimately serve the community better.

A written statement provided by Ms. Cimino highlights that “Anverse’s commitment to the nonprofits of Carroll County is not limited to the occupants of the Center.”

“Anverse maintains both the building and the property on which it sits and has provided a Project Manager and Maintenance Engineer who are available daily to the tenants.

“Seminars on various non profit topics are being planned and will be offered to tenants and other Carroll County non-profits as well, to build and improve skills,” wrote Ms. Cimino.

Everyone interviewed for this column raved about the two thousand square foot meeting room and the grant research library for organizations that typically have little access to professional advisers, accountants and lawyers.

The resource library and meeting room are available to all Carroll County non-profit organizations and are already being widely used.

A recent Harvard Business School article discussed “the factors that contribute to successful high-performance social enterprises.” It established “a connection between enterprises that link economic value with social value.”

To take a picture of this success, one need look no farther that the Carroll Non Profit Center at next Tuesday’s dedication - the guinea pig that could.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.

E-mail him at: kdayhoff@carr.org

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20060514 KDDC May June 2006 Downtown Wster MSN

May/June 2006 issue of the Downtown Westminster Main Street News

Stan Ruchlewicz, the administrator of economic development for the City of Westminster has just posted the May/June 2006 issue of the Downtown Westminster Main Street News. You can retrieve it here: http://www.westgov.com/assets/MainStNews051206.pdf

20060514 KDDC As West Wing Leaves Office

As 'West Wing' Leaves Office

Last Will and President

As 'West Wing' Leaves Office, a Last Chance to Debrief the Staff

By Jennifer Frey - Washington Post Staff Writer

May 14, 2006

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/artsandliving/interactives/galleries/westwing/gallery.html

"C.J., Josh, Toby, Sam - the men and women of TV’s "West Wing" arrived in 1999, and Washington greeted them like rock stars. We tried to elbow into their entourage; we yearned to get inside their faux-D.C. bubble. We even managed to make it a bipartisan event.

"Rep. Tom DeLay crowed about plans to add a House majority whip to the cast. Madeleine Albright made a late-night visit to a taping in Georgetown. Alan Greenspan professed his addiction to the program. And Mayor Anthony Williams managed to get his name linked to "The West Wing" by announcing that the show had "pumped $2.6 million into the local economy" in its first season."

Read the rest of the article at:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/artsandliving/interactives/galleries/westwing/gallery.html

It is worth going to the article on the Washington Post web-site for the character descriptions it has available…

More informationon the "West Wing" series can be found here:

http://www.tv.com/west-wing/show/189/episode_guide.html

20060512 Our 2006 Fair Book Ad

20060512 KDDC 2006 CC Fair Weigh In Day Pictures

2006 CC Fair Weigh In Day Part 1 Pictures

Friday, May 12^th, 2006

20060512 KDDC 2006 Carroll County Fair Weigh In Day

2006 Carroll County Fair Weigh In Day

Friday, May 12^th, 2006

Today was the Carroll County 4-H and FFA Fair weigh-in day at the Carroll County Agriculture Center in Westminster, Maryland.

Caroline and I always like to attend the weigh-in to see the animals and especially to spend some time with the 4-Her’ers.

This year we also had to go in to feed the 4-H Therapeutic Riding Program of Carroll County horses. Feeding the horses was relatively uneventful, but they were a bit wary of the all the commotion, especially with all the loud commentary coming from the sheep, pigs and goats.

This year the 109^th Fair will take place July 29 through August 4, 2006 at the Carroll County Agriculture Center, 706 Agriculture Center Drive, in Westminster, Maryland. The Web-site for the Fair is www.carrollcountyfair.com. You can also get Fair information by calling (410) 848-FAIR [(410) 848-3247.]

Last year 80,000 visitors enjoyed the Fair, but the work of the Fair goes on year round. At the goat, sheep and pig weigh-in, the 4-H’ers’ animals are registered, identified and weighed, in anticipation of participating in the upcoming Fair.

There are over 400 volunteers in the Carroll County 4-H Youth Development program working with over 1,000 young adults and future community leaders enrolled in 4-H in Carroll County. Carroll’s 4-H program is the most successful in the state.

Last year, there were over 11,000 entries, from almost 800 youth exhibitors at the Fair; which makes the Fair a much-anticipated event attracting folks from all over the mid-Atlantic region.

The Carroll County Fair is free and the star attractions are the 4-Hers themselves. Many volunteers come together each year to make the Fair a success. The Fair is supported by a raffle, food and concession sales and the annual cake auction. In 2005, the cake auction raised almost $64,000.

The weigh-in is the beginning of a summer full of work for the 4-H’ers’, as they learn life skills that will serve them throughout their lives.

See ya this summer at the Fair.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.

E-mail him at: kdayhoff@carr.org

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20060512 KDDC Mothers Little Helpers

20060512 KDDC Mothers Little Helpers

May 12^th, 2006

Kevin Dayhoff

My most recent Tentacle column is up on the Tentacle website. It is titled: “A Tale a Double Standards.”

Portions of the following introduction was edited out of the piece to bring it under word limit…

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“Mothers Little Helpers”

Recently, two well-known national personalities were in the news for suffering the consequences for misuse of prescription medicines. The two events had different outcomes. You be the judge as to why.

Often when we think of “drug addicts,” visions of either the 1960s hippies or down and out derelicts from lower socio-economic backgrounds come to mind.

The idea of the upper middle class - upwardly mobile white-collar professions from the house next door is not the picture of a drug addict.

The concept of a housewife, a professional or a pillar of the local community being drug dependent did not originally surface into the consciousness of society until the Rolling Stones released “Mothers Little Helpers” on July 2, 1966.

Who can forget: “What a drag it is getting old; Kids are different today; I hear ev'ry mother say; Mother needs something today to calm her down; And though she's not really ill; There's a little yellow pill; She goes running for the shelter of a mother's little helper; And it helps her on her way, gets her through her busy day.”

The popular song explained the plight of a housewife who abuses prescription drugs to "get her through the day."

There are conflicting explanations as to what drug was referred to when the Stones sang of: “There's a little yellow pill.”

When the song came out, reports out of England were that the drug being misuse by housewives was an amphetamine - Dexedrine (dextroamphetamine.)

However, others insist that the drug was a reference to 5 mg. valium tablets, which are colored yellow to distinguish them from other dosages.

Until this song reached number eight on the chart in 1966, there was very little recognition of the abuse of prescription medicine in the medical community. Most of the concern was with misuse of cannabis and even that phenomenon was relatively new at the time.

Nevertheless, fast forward to last several years and the attention of white collar drug abuse prevention professionals has been re-focused on steroids among professional athletes and prescription drugs . These drugs are opioids such as Percodan, OxyContin and Vicodin; central nervous system depressants such as Valium and Xanax; and stimulants such as Ritalin and Adderall.

….

The rest of the piece is relatively intact and can be found at: http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=1598

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.

E-mail him at: kdayhoff@carr.org

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Lyrics for: Mother's Little Helper

By the Rolling Stones

Released in 1966

"Things are different today,"
I hear ev'ry mother say
Cooking fresh food for a husband's just a drag
So she buys an instant cake and she burns her frozen steak
And goes running for the shelter of a mother's little helper
And two help her on her way, get her through her busy day

Doctor please, some more of these
Outside the door, she took four more
What a drag it is getting old

"Men just aren't the same today"
I hear ev'ry mother say
They just don't appreciate that you get tired
They're so hard to satisfy, You can tranquilize your mind
So go running for the shelter of a mother's little helper
And four help you through the night, help to minimize your plight

Doctor please, some more of these
Outside the door, she took four more
What a drag it is getting old

"Life's just much too hard today,"
I hear ev'ry mother say
The pusuit of happiness just seems a bore
And if you take more of those, you will get an overdose
No more running for the shelter of a mother's little helper
They just helped you on your way, through your busy dying day

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20060512 A Memorial Tribute to Jeff Graham

20060512 A Memorial Tribute to Jeff Graham

© Kevin Dayhoff

May 12^th, 2006

Jeffrey W. Graham

May 2, 1962 ~ September 14, 2005

Your memory is our keepsake, with which we’ll never part. God has you in his keeping, we have you in our heart.

Jeff Graham Memorial Ride and Picnic

Sunday, May 21, 2006

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20060512 Re-elect Gov Ehrlich Open the door to another 4 yrs

20060512 ReE Gov Ehrlich Open the Door
(c) Kevin Dayhoff
May 12th, 2006

Re-elect Maryland Governor Robert L. Ehrlich and open the door to another four years of quality of life in Maryland.

20060512 KDDC 20060507to10 AgFirst Dist. RAAW Conference

20060508 Loews Thomas Point
(c) Kevin Dayhoff
20060507 to 10 AgFirst District RAAW Conference Annapolis - Loews Hotel

20060506 Baugher's Restaurant

"The Apple Waitress"
(c) Kevin Dayhoff
May 6th, 2006

20060509 KDDC Kennedy Mills and Limbaugh

A Tale of Double Standards

May 8^th, 2006

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Rush Limbaugh Turns Himself In on Fraud Charges, Reaches Settlement

“Friday, April 28, 2006 WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. —Rush Limbaugh and prosecutors in the long-running painkiller fraud case against him have reached a deal calling for the only charge against the conservative commentator to be dropped if he continues treatment, his attorney said Friday.

“Limbaugh was booked on a single charge that was filed Friday, said Teri Barbera, a spokeswoman for the Palm Beach County Jail. He left about an hour later, after Limbaugh was photographed and fingerprinted and he posted $3,000 bail, Barbera said.

“The radio giant's agreement to enter a diversionary program ends a three-year state investigation that began after Limbaugh publicly acknowledged being addicted to pain medication and entered a rehabilitation program.”

Read the rest at: Rush Limbaugh Turns Himself In on Fraud Charges, Reaches Settlement

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KENNEDY/RUSH DOUBLE STANDARDS

By Michelle Malkin May 08, 2006 09:43 PM

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What's in a Name? Plenty If It's Kennedy

By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, May 8, 2006; C01

“

It's hard to imagine that Patrick Kennedy would have gotten elected to Congress a dozen years ago without his last name.

It's equally hard to imagine that the media would be going wild about his late-night car crash and prescription drug addiction if he weren't a Kennedy.

The only lingering mystery is why national news organizations didn't pounce earlier on the Rhode Island Democrat's long history of alcohol and drug abuse, depression and a series of downright embarrassing incidents.

The answer in large measure is that Kennedy hasn't been a very important House member. But given the journalistic obsession with the Kennedy family and its tragicomic soap opera, he does seem to have gotten an easy ride -- except in the New England press, which has chronicled his every misstep.

While Kennedy, the 38-year-old son of Ted Kennedy, was widely reported to have held a news conference Friday, it was nothing of the sort. He read a statement designed to elicit sympathy, saying he was going into rehab, and took no questions. This amounted to an age-old damage-control technique: changing the subject.

”

Read the rest: What's in a Name? Plenty If It's Kennedy

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Patrick Kennedy & Double Standards

05/05 04:37 PM

By Mark Levin on the Mark Levin Blog, National Review Online

“I don't wish anyone ill, except our nation's enemies. It's a good thing that Patrick Kennedy is going back into rehab. But I am very angry.

“For nearly three years we witnessed the persecution of Rush Limbaugh, who became addicted to painkillers resulting from back and neck problems. We witnessed leaks by prosecutors who spread lies about him being involved in money laundering, drug rings, and doctor shopping. But the media happily repeated them. Some mocked him.”

Read the rest at: Patrick Kennedy & Double Standards

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PATRICK KENNEDY SHOULD RESIGN

By Michelle Malkin May 05, 2006 04:33 PM

Nope, I didn't say it. Here's the call from a commenter at--yes, it's true--The Daily Kos:

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KENNEDY PRESS CONFERENCE

By Michelle Malkin May 05, 2006 03:04 PM

_________________

The Baltimore Sun does not use permalinks. Pasted below is the entire article by Annie Linskey, which appeared in the Baltimore Sun on May 5^th, 2006:

“

Ex-sportscaster Mills sentenced to house arrest

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/crime/bal-mills0505,0,2460455.story?coll=bal-home-headlines

He pleads guilty to stealing prescription painkillers from neighbor

By Annie Linskey

Sun Reporter

Originally published May 5, 2006, 9:58 PM EDT

Former WMAR sportscaster Keith Ross Mills was sentenced Friday to nine months of house arrest for stealing prescription painkillers from his next-door neighbor in Linthicum, a woman with cancer.

Mills, 48, pleaded guilty to first-degree burglary before Anne Arundel County Circuit Judge Joseph P. Manck.

At Friday's hearing, the neigbhbor, Ladye Parsons, testified that Mills' actions had disrupted her sense of security. "I haven't beaten cancer," she said. "I'd like to know that I can die at home and pain-free."

Afterwards, she said the sentence was "more than fair."

Mills, who has been battling addiction to prescription drugs for several years, apologized to Parsons in court, saying he did not mean to make her feel unsafe and adding: "If I need to move out of my house, I will."

After his arrest in January, Mills lost his job at Channel 2, where he had worked for 18 years. Addressing the judge Friday, he said: "I have been humbled by this experience -- embarrassed, humiliated, but humbled more than anything."

Drew Berry, WMAR's general manager, did not return repeated phone calls Friday.

Parsons went to the police in early January to share her suspicions that someone had been stealing money, jewelry and medications from her home since October 2003, according to charging documents.

Parsons said she initially dismissed her own concerns, believing that her treatment for cancer was making her absentminded. She has lost a breast and a kidney to the disease.

After consulting friends and family members, she had a surveillance camera installed in her home and on Dec. 6, 2005, the camera recorded Mills sneaking into the house, emptying pills from a bottle, leaving and the returning to apparently wipe his fingerprints from the bottle, ac cording to Assistant State's Attorney Scott Messersmith.

Police set up a sting, hiding in her bedroom on Jan. 25. They arrested Mills when he entered the house and took nine pills, including OxyContin.

Addiction to prescription pain medications is one of the fastest growing reasons for which abusers are seeking treatment in Maryland, said Bill Rusinko, research director for the Maryland Alcohol and Drug Abuse Administration.

Almost a third of people seeking treatment for painkillers in Maryland come from Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties, and 92% of those in treatment for abusing the drugs are white, Rusinko said.

Immediately after his arrest, Mills attended a monthlong drug treatment program at the Cross roads Centre, an inpatient facility located on Antigua. He is attending sessions at Partners in Recovery, an addiction center affiliated with the Greater Baltimore Medical Center and Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital. He said he attends five Alcoholics Anonymous meetings a week.

"I can't promise that I won't relapse. I can promise that I will work every day and every second to stay on top of this problem," he said in court.

His sentence also included a five-year suspended prison term, five years of probation, random urine tests and no contact with Parsons. Mills may leave his house to seek employment and attend counseling.

In September 2004, Mills was charged in Baltimore County with forging a prescription for a cough medicine that includes the narcotic Hydrocodone. Two months later he received a criminal summons from Anne Arundel County for obtaining prescription drugs by fraud. The cases were consolidated and a Baltimore County judge sentenced him to one year unsupervised probation.
annie.linskey@baltsun.com ”

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20060506 Historic Hoff Barn Relocation and Restoration Solicitors Breakfast

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

Historic Hoff Barn Relocation and Restoration Solicitors Breakfast

May 6^th, 2006

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.

E-mail him at: kdayhoff@carr.org

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. The Baltimore Sun does not use permalinks, so I have pasted her entire article below.

_________________

Raising the money for a 'barn razing'

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/carroll/bal-ca.barn27mar27,1,7454076.story?coll=bal-local-carroll

An 18th-century log barn, built of hand-cut chestnut without nails, pins or pegs, is the focus of an effort to preserve a piece of county history and to realize the dream of the farmer who owned the ...

By Mary Gail Hare
Sun Staff

March 27, 2005

At first glance, the rambling old barn seems unremarkable in a countryside dotted with aging farm buildings. But the sturdy interior of this building at Coldsprings Farms in western Carroll County merits another look. Its log construction is an engineering feat that stands as a testament to 18th-century workmanship.

Its 50-foot beams, made of chestnut logs sawed, hewn and set by hand, have weathered centuries of wind and storms. The logs were notched together to form the walls and ceiling and floor. There is not a nail, peg, hinge or pin anywhere.

"It is as square today as when they built it more than 200 years ago," said Bob Jones, a retired Carroll County farm extension agent. "The logs are put together by notches. The door turned on a pole, not hinges. This is real craftsmanship from people who only had axes and crude saws."

Marlin K. Hoff ran Coldsprings Farms, the largest dairy operation in the county, for more than 40 years until his death in November. His family's ties to the New Windsor land date to 1869, but the barn predates the first Hoffs by more than 75 years.

"It's just a plain-Jane building outside, but you walk inside, and you have never seen anything like it," said Kathleen R. "Kathy" Hoff, Marlin's widow, who operates the farm with her sons. "The top of the roof is stick-straight."

On its lower level, the barn housed dairy cows, which occasionally still meander in from the pasture and peer through its lower windows, Kathy Hoff said. The top tier was often filled with piles of hay that fed the animals.

"This barn was big for its time," said Joe Schwartzbeck, owner of Peace and Plenty Farm in Union Bridge. "I would hate like the devil to have to fill this space with loose hay and a pitchfork."

Although the barn is no longer used, Marlin Hoff knew its worth. He had offered it to the Carroll County Farm Museum and hoped to raise the money to dismantle, move and rebuild the structure on the museum grounds.

"Marlin was a farmer first, not a preservationist," said Melvin Baile Sr., a New Windsor farmer. "But he loved that old barn. He didn't want to sell it off or tear it down."

Hoff once turned down a builder's offer of $40,000 for the chestnut logs.

"It has no real practical use for a modern farmer," said Kathy Hoff. "Most of these barns have fallen down or were sold for the chestnut logs. This one is worth saving. We can figure out a way to move it."

Hoff's family and friends, determined to continue his "barn razing" plans, relied on one of Coldsprings' prized Holstein calves to launch the fund-raising effort. They pooled their resources and bought the pedigreed calf, with the breed's signature bold black-and-lucent-white coloring. Then they donated it back at the annual Carroll County Calf Auction in Westminster.

"I didn't talk to a soul who didn't want to donate to this," said Schwartzbeck. "Everybody loved Marlin. This was a job he didn't get done."

The sale of Coldsprings Lartist 1285F, a June calf, produced $2,050 in seed money for the razing and reconstruction, which could cost about $100,000.

Weighing a respectable 735 pounds, 1285F - cows are recorded by number and no longer named - may have been the biggest calf of the nearly three dozen in the auction. Still, it is lineage, not stature and weight, that matters most.

Kathy Hoff said, "It is who are her mom and dad."

The calf claims a productive heritage, going back through generations of stellar heifers prized for milk and butter fat. Many of its line probably spent their milking hours in the vacant barn.

'Real museum piece'

Jones, Baile, Schwartzbeck and Kathy Hoff met at the barn last week to plan fund raising and marvel at the yeoman construction effort.

"When you look at the logs, you know they must have had to lift them with ropes and pulleys," said Jones.

Baile added, "Neighbors always stepped in to help."

The area's once-abundant chestnut trees are long gone, but the 40-foot-by-50-foot barn has stood since at least 1795 and probably earlier, according to historical documentation. Built on a foundation of fieldstone, the structure rises about 40 feet, an estimate reached by counting 13 logs high - all 50-footers notched together.

"The notches are different, probably made by different people or different axes," said Jones.

Schwartzbeck said, "Good thing they had chestnut. It is a fine-grained wood, durable and strong. How did they keep the cut right?"

Baile answered, "They cut the logs on the ground and then put them up."

Baile, chairman of the farm museum's board of directors, called the barn "a real museum piece, and the only one of its size in Maryland" - and possibly in the country, he said. "West of the Mississippi, they don't even know what a log barn is."

Authentic barn

Hoff's friends want the barn rebuilt exactly the way it stands now. Otherwise, Jones said, "It would be like getting a Model A Ford and putting air conditioning and a 1995 motor in it. This is a historic barn. We can't destroy its integrity."

Research helped authenticate the family's barn lore and push the preservation cause. Ken Short, a former historian for the county, wrote 10 years ago, "As far as integrity, age and rarity, it is one of the most significant farm buildings in Carroll County."

Baile said, "It is like farm ground. Once it's gone, you can't get it back. There is no way to replace a log barn. It could become the museum's signature piece, unmatched anywhere on the East Coast."

The county commissioners said they would accept the barn for the museum but have no funds to relocate it.

"It is a good idea to have this barn preserved, but the county has no money budgeted to move and reconstruct it," said Commissioner Julia Walsh Gouge. "But when people have a goal like this, they usually get it done."

The museum has some experience with barn moving and has a space for the proposed donation, said Dottie Freeman, museum administrator. The Reception Barn, built in the 1800s, was donated and moved there by Amish farmers in the 1960s.

"When Melvin saw that barn, he said, 'I've got one older yet,'" Kathy Hoff said. "That's when he got the idea to donate our barn."

Copyright © 2005, The Baltimore Sun

20060503 KDDC Speak or forever hold your peace

“Speak or forever hold your peace”

April 30^th, 2006

© Kevin Dayhoff

As of May 3^rd, 2006, my latest Westminster Eagle column is up on the Eagle website.

It is more commentary on the Westminster City budget… Recently the City of Westminster (City) announced a proposed budget of $27,334,713.00 for Fiscal Year 2006 - 2007, (FY 2007)...

The proposed budget includes a 6-cent increase in the City’s property tax. This will raise the property tax from 40 cents to 46 cents – a fifteen percent increase, probably the largest in the City’s history.

The Westminster Eagle does not use permalinks, but the current link is.

At a later date, you may need to go to “archives:” Local news archives, to find the piece. Once that page comes up, scroll down and push the radio button by my name.

Below please find the unedited version of my column – the album cut, long version. It contains a great deal more on the subject of the history of taxation in Carroll County. This version is called:

“Speak or forever hold your peace.”

_________________

Perhaps one of the most difficult tasks for any local government is preparation of the annual budget. There just simply is never enough money to go around to do all the things everyone wants to do.

Walking that fine line of balance between an appropriate amount of taxation and government spending has never been easy and in an era of increased demands for service in the face of finite resources, it is easy to trip up and fall.

Property taxes in one form, shape or another have been with us in Maryland since colonial days. And issues concerning taxation have always contentious.

“From the founding of the colony in 1634 to the confiscation of Lord Baltimore's property in 1781, including the period from 1689 to 1715 when Maryland was ruled by Royal governors, the Lords Baltimore collected an annual tax on the land amounting at first to 2 shillings per hundred acres, and then later to 4 shillings per hundred acres…” (Clarence Gould, The Land System in Maryland 1720-1765)

Even before there was a Carroll County, Carroll Countians have never tolerated big government and have always agitated for the lowest taxation rate possible. Perhaps we get it honest. The gentleman for whom the county is named for, Charles Carroll,

In the late 1750s when Catholics in Maryland were faced with a double tax on their property to pay for defense against the French and Indians… Charles Carroll of Annapolis became so angry that he declared he would go "anywhere so long as there be freedom…" (“A brief history of the origins and functions of the Department of Assessments and Taxation.” Drafted by Karen A. Hare, 12 April 2002. Edited and expanded by Dr. Edward C. Papenfuse, 13 May 2002 and Ann C. Van Devanter, ed. "Anywhere So Long As There Be Freedom:” Charles Carroll of Carrollton… The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1975)

“… the first successful taxpayer’s revolt in Maryland occurred in 1765 when Parliament attempted to impose a stamp tax on all the colonies to help pay for the French and Indian War. Cries of 'no taxation without representation,' were heard throughout the land. Led in Maryland by the prominent attorney Daniel Dulany who wrote a persuasive pamphlet on the evils of the tax, and by Jonas Green the publisher of the Maryland Gazette, the colonists burned the tax collector in effigy on a gallows erected near the Liberty Tree on what is today St. John's College campus, and tore down his office.” (“A Brief History…” Hare and Papenfuse)

Thankfully, the budget process has become increasingly transparent and open. The days of byzantine intrigue and no meaningful citizen recourse are hopefully gone, never to return.

This year, Carroll County has completely opened up its budget process with televised hearings and a series of community meetings and everyone has benefited. Additionally, out of respect for the Internet – information age, the proposed budget is on the county’s Web-site.

Such open disclosure and public accountability wasn’t always so. Dr. Jesse Glass reports in his 2004 book, “Carroll County Newspaper Wars,” after the election of 1856, “ a new opportunity presented itself to embarrass the Democratic party.”

Dr. Glass writes, “From 1848 to 1854, Jacob Myerly, the Clerk of the County Commissioners of Carroll County, and Commissioners Jonathan Dorsey (both Democrats) issues a series of spurious County certificates in order to pay off interests on debts incurred by the creation of the County, as well as the building of the County Alms House (now the Carroll County Farm Museum). The false certificates were “sold” to Myerly, Dorsey… Once investigated by State’s Attorney Charles W. Webster, and threatened with legal action, Myerly and Dorsey gave back the money they collected as holders of these certificates, thus admitting their guilt.”

In the 1840s and 1850s, Carroll County’s finances were a wreck. Folklore has it that the county government teetered on insolvency and almost failed before it could get on its feet. This was all to the delight of the many who were against the county being formed to begin with.

Carroll County had the misfortune to be formed at the beginning of the “Panic of 1837, one of many, but arguably one of the worst recessions (depressions) of the 1800s. Carol Lee laments in her book, “Legacy of the Land,” that by 1843, local newspapers “carried an average of twenty insolvency notices per weekly issue…”

In the late 1840s, the roads and transportation structure in Carroll County was essentially in a state of total collapse. Ms. Lee writes, “The county commissioners could do little about road conditions… After 1846, more tax revenue was coming in and road building advanced.”

In March 1791, when George Washington was president, the federal government passed “The Whiskey Tax.”


In a published account by noted local historian Jay Graybeal, “Col. Joshua Gist and the Whiskey Boys” – “farmers were morally outraged by the tax and they led the open revolt in the summer of 1794… public orations and heated discussions led to open warfare on July 16, 1794. Rebels attacked the homes of tax collectors and destroyed the stills of farmers who had obeyed the tax law.”

The rebellion reached Westminster in the summer of 1794.

Miss Mary B. Shellman picks up the story here: "A mob of men, known as the "Whiskey Boys", marched into Westminster, and set up what they called a "Liberty Pole". Becoming alarmed, and knowing the personal bravery of Col. [Joshua] Gist … was sent for, and responded immediately. Riding into town with a drawn sword in his hand, he ordered the pole to be cut down, and dismounting, he placed one foot upon it, and stood there until the pole was cut in pieces, the whiskey boys leaving quietly while it was being done."

The tax was subsequently repealed by President Thomas Jefferson after the rebellion, mostly concentrated in southwestern Pennsylvania, was suppressed. Mr. Graybeal revealed, “Gen. Washington summoned more than 12,000 men and charged Gen. Henry "Lighthorse Harry" Lee with ending the revolt in Pennsylvania. Federal troops arrested 150 rebels on November 13, 1794 and effectively put an end to organized resistance.”

Several years later, when Westminster was first incorporated in 1818, the acts of incorporation were very short and to the point.

Section 5 of “An Act to incorporate Westminster, in Frederick County. Lib. TH. No. 6, fol. 341 - That the three adjoining towns, now called and known by the names of Westminster, New London, and Winter's Addition to Westminster, shall for ever hereafter be called and known by the name of Westminster,” read:

“AND BE IT ENACTED, That the said commissioners shall have full power and authority to enact and pass all laws and ordinances to preserve the health of the town, prevent and remove nuisances; to impose and appropriate fines, penalties and forfeitures, for the breach of their by-laws or ordinances; to lay and collect taxes for opening and extending the back and necessary cross alleys of the said town, provided that the said taxes shall not exceed twenty cents on every hundred dollars worth of taxable property in any one year, which they may collect as county taxes are collected, by such persons as the burgess may see fit to appoint; all ordinances and by-laws to be signed by the burgess.”

Over a hundred years after the Whiskey Rebellion, Westminster experienced a period of unprecedented growth. The incredible gains in commercial and industrial tax base, public infrastructure and quality of life proceeded in spite of the worst depression of the 1800s, the Panic of 1893. One of the reasons can be found in the city’s first directory published on January 1, 1889 – low taxes. “The county tax rate is fifty cents on the $100, the lowest of any county in the State, and the municipal rate is but twenty cents on the $100, five of which are for water.”

Fast forward to the present. After several years of a depressed economy, when tax revenues for Westminster actually decreased in at least one year and the state balanced its ailing budget on the backs of local government, our city government recently announced a budget that included a 6-cent tax increase. Roads need repair, and there continues to be increased demands for services in the face of rapidly escalating costs.

Most importantly, city employees have gone for too many years without an appropriate adjustment in their pay and benefits. Westminster has one of the finest municipal public works, water and wastewater treatment, and police departments in the state. However, now more than ever, they need our support. Fortunately, this budget year is witnessing, a surge in income tax and property tax revenue.

The budget is still excruciatingly tight and our elected officials have no doubt worked hard to trim the budget as best as possible. However, they need our help. It is important that citizens get involved. There is no need to be angry like Charles Carroll or have “Liberty Pole” demonstrations. Get in touch with your elected officials today. Please be friendly, positive and constructive.

After all, our elected officials, who are struggling with their responsibilities, are our friends and neighbors.

Now is the time to “speak or forever hold your peace.”

The history of that anachronistic phrase in a wedding ceremony is clouded in mystery. But perhaps it evolved from a time when most marriages were arranged. According to some old notes, without attribution, “The bride's father had to provide a dowry. If the father had not fulfilled his part of the bargain, that proclamation was an opportune moment for the groom's family to speak up before it was too late.”

In light of the “arranged” marriage that Westminster citizens has with Westminster elected officials - the actionable phrase is “speak up before it is too late.”

Whatever, the City of Westminster ultimately decides; we have to pay the dowry – err, bill.

The City of Westminster is asking residents what they think of the proposed budget for the new year - and its proposed tax rate increase of 15 percent.

My opinion on this matter can be found in The Winchester Report at The Westminster Eagle’s Web site, www.thewestminstereagle.com. Those are my thoughts - where are yours? Let us know what you think by writing to The Westminster Eagle at thewestminstereagle@patuxent.com.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.

E-mail him at: kdayhoff@carr.org

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20060503 Baugher’s Restaurant

Baugher's Restaurant (c) Kevin Dayhoff
May 4th, 2006

Labels: Restaurants, Baugher’s,

Thursday, May 4th, 2006, I had dinner at Baugher’s Restaurant in Westminster Maryland.

To tell you just a little bit about Baugher’s Restaurant I have excerpted the following from my December 1^st, 2004 Westminster Advocate column…

“The Baugher family has a 100-year history of leadership (and risk-taking) in our community, so such involvement is not a surprise. Baugher’s Restaurant is one Westminster landmark easily recognized by folks throughout the state.

Ed and Romaine Baugher were married in 1932. Their son, Allan was born in 1935, delivered at home by Dr. Bare for $12.50. In 1947, they built Baugher’s Restaurant for approximately $75,000.

“According to a family history, when the restaurant opened in January 1948, public opinion was that the restaurant would fail. Indeed, the restaurant did not make money until the 1960’s.

“In the late 1960’s, I would go to Baugher’s with Tom Senseney, Bobby Warner and Scott Bair, Jr. Then, Baugher’s for Breakfast was where community leaders would meet and discuss the pressing issues of the day.

“As a child, I would watch with rapt attention, consumed in observing the intense discussions. Particularly impressive to me was, no matter how much they disagreed, they were always friendly, respectful and courteous.

© Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.

E-mail him at: kdayhoff@carr.org

####

20060503 Baugher’s Restaurant

Baugher's Restaurant (c) Kevin Dayhoff
May 4th, 2006

Labels: Restaurants, Baugher’s,

Thursday, May 4th, 2006, I had dinner at Baugher’s Restaurant in Westminster Maryland.

To tell you just a little bit about Baugher’s Restaurant I have excerpted the following from my December 1^st, 2004 Westminster Advocate column…

“The Baugher family has a 100-year history of leadership (and risk-taking) in our community, so such involvement is not a surprise. Baugher’s Restaurant is one Westminster landmark easily recognized by folks throughout the state.

Ed and Romaine Baugher were married in 1932. Their son, Allan was born in 1935, delivered at home by Dr. Bare for $12.50. In 1947, they built Baugher’s Restaurant for approximately $75,000.

“According to a family history, when the restaurant opened in January 1948, public opinion was that the restaurant would fail. Indeed, the restaurant did not make money until the 1960’s.

“In the late 1960’s, I would go to Baugher’s with Tom Senseney, Bobby Warner and Scott Bair, Jr. Then, Baugher’s for Breakfast was where community leaders would meet and discuss the pressing issues of the day.

“As a child, I would watch with rapt attention, consumed in observing the intense discussions. Particularly impressive to me was, no matter how much they disagreed, they were always friendly, respectful and courteous.

© Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.

E-mail him at: kdayhoff@carr.org

####

20060504 The Six Makes No Cents

"The Six Makes No Cents"
May 3, 2006
(c) Kevin Dayhoff

20060504 Mrs Tractor

"Mrs Tractor" (c) Kevin Dayhoff

May 3, 2006

Mrs. Tractor was drawn for the purpose of being donated for an upcoming Carroll County Maryland 4-H silent auction to raise money for 4-H programs.

20060504 Noonan’s WSJ Column: They should have killed him

Peggy Noonan: “They should have killed him.”

Gee, I sure wish Ms. Noonan could be a bit clearer in what she means. I mean, Peggy, why all the sugar coating?

If you missed Peggy Noonan’s column in the Wall Street Journal Editorial Page, you may want to take a moment to read it. You can find: “They Should Have Killed Him,” here: http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/?id=110008330

The beginning of her piece reads:

PEGGY NOONAN

They Should Have Killed Him

The death penalty has a meaning, and it isn't vengeance.

Thursday, May 4, 2006 12:01 a.m.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP)--Moussaoui said as he was led from the courtroom: "America, you lost." He clapped his hands.

“Excuse me, I'm sorry, and I beg your pardon, but the jury's decision on Moussaoui gives me a very bad feeling. What we witnessed here was not the higher compassion but a dizzy failure of nerve.

“From the moment the decision was announced yesterday, everyone, all the parties involved--the cable jockeys, the legal analysts, the politicians, the victim representatives--showed an elaborate and jarring politesse. "We thank the jury." "I accept the verdict of course." "We can't question their hard work." "I know they did their best." "We thank the media for their hard work in covering this trial." "I don't want to second-guess the jury."

“How removed from our base passions we've become. Or hope to seem.

“It is as if we've become sophisticated beyond our intelligence, savvy beyond wisdom. Some might say we are showing a great and careful generosity, as befits a great nation. But maybe we're just, or also, rolling in our high-mindedness like a puppy in the grass. Maybe we are losing some crude old grit. Maybe it's not good we lose it.

“No one wants to say, "They should have killed him." This is understandable, for no one wants to be called vengeful, angry or, far worse, unenlightened. But we should have put him to death, and for one big reason.

This is what Moussaoui did…”

20060503 A nomination for picture of the year

May 3rd, 2006

This has gotta be one of the early forerunners of picture of the year.

This is the face of an unnecessary 6-cent property tax increase in Westminster, MD.

Look up dyspepsia and you see this photo illustration.

For more information, see: Westminster residents protest tax increase

and/or: http://www.westminsteradvocate.com/

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