20060525 KDDC 1974 Carroll County Office Building

January 8th, 1974 Carroll County Office Building

Recently Ralph Green, the Director of General Services for Carroll County, sent out an e-mail about a construction project at the Carroll County Office Building at 225 North Center Street, which is going to close the main rear entrance of the building from May 30^th, 2006, for approximately two weeks.

Apparently the ramp and rear entrance are going to be completely replaced?

The e-mail brought back memories as I worked on the Carroll County Office Building when it was first built in 1973-1974.

The picture attached to this post was taken by me on January 8^th, 1974. I worked on the Carroll County Office Building from December 31, 1973 to April 11, 1974. I worked for F&S Masonry as a mason’s tender and one of the jobs I had during that time period was helping set all the cap stones on the building.

Somewhere, I have a bunch of pictures from when I worked on the building – and I have a history of the building written-up. Sometime in my spare time, I’d like to dig those pictures and that information out…

Oh – are you aware that the County Office Building was built on swampland. There was a house there that I remember. I do have a very poor aerial photocopy of a photograph of the area…, which shows the house and the out-buildings. I think that I can get a better copy of the photograph…

As a matter of fact, as I wrote in my January 25^th, 2006 Westminster Eagle column, “Days of swine and ice cream greeted 20th century Westminster:”

Mrs. S. LaRue Crowl recently wrote to share with me that her grandfather, J. David Crowl, "owned and operated an ice cream factory on Center Street - the very spot where the Carroll County Office Building is now located.

"I don't know the exact dates of operation," she said, "but am assuming it was somewhere from 1910 through the 1920s.

"He died in 1931. My father, Ernest Crowl, would often tell how, as a boy, on Sundays he would deliver a half gallon of ice cream to the homes on Willis Street for a quarter."

Folks may be surprised to know – at least as I understand it - that Center Street did not go all the way to Rte 140, when Rte 140 was built.

I was not quite one year old when Rte 140 was dedicated, although I remember “Crowl Town” well. So some of this is from folklore and the memory of a small child.

Center Street only went to Crowl Town, which was a large group of houses between the stream that parallels Rte 140 and Rte 140 itself.

At the stream, there was a wooden bridge that allowed access to Crowl Town, but I do not believe that Center Street went all the way to Rte 140. If anyone remembers this differently, let me know.

Now, does anyone remember the name of the gas station at the corner of Center Street and Rte 140?

Meanwhile I’ll paste the rest of Mr. Green’s e-mail below, for those who need to visit the office building in the next several weeks.

“

The temporary public entrance effective Tuesday, May 30th and during the construction time will be at the lower level at the Public Hearing Room 003/004. Handicap access as well as parking will be designated and signs will be posted for directional purposes. Public parking will also be designated in that area.

Employees with access cards can continue to use all other entrances to enter the building.

The bailiffs will relocate to the lower level entrance and will direct visitors to other areas of the building via the public elevators. Anyone not sure of where they are going or the bailiffs don't know which office to send them to will be directed to the public information desk on the first floor via the public

The existing public parking area can be used by staff during this time so our customers can park and access the temporary entrance to conduct business.

The areas the contractor will be working in and staging materials in will be taped off to accommodate construction needs. Parking is permitted in any area not taped off and can be used by staff as well as visitors to the building. Remember to park in designated parking spaces only so construction equipment and deliveries can access the aisles of the parking lot.

Facilities will be taping off areas and installing temporary directional signs, handicap parking signs, etc., tomorrow afternoon, Friday, May 26^th, in preparation for the construction to begin on Tuesday when you return to work from the Memorial Day Holiday.

Any changes, as well as more information, will be communicated via e-mail to everyone by Tom Rio, Bureau of Building Construction.

I appreciate your cooperation and we will make this inconvenience as short as possible.

Thank you!

20060525 KDDC Willis and Center St circa 1900?

Willis and Center St circa 1900?

Posted above is an undated picture, from my collection, of the intersection of Willis and Center Street looking southeast towards the Court House. Circa 1900? The source of the photograph is unknown and the photographer is unknown. If you are aware of any additional information about this photograph, please be in touch. Meanwhile, please enjoy.

Joe Trippi Fighting for his Eastern Shore home

Joe Trippi Fighting for his Eastern Shore home

From the Baltimore Sun: Fighting for his Eastern Shore home By Rona Kobell Sun reporter May 1, 2006

Political campaigner turns grass-roots environmentalist to protect the Chesapeake Bay

WITTMAN -- Just before the sun sets over Cummings Creek, Joe Trippi ambles over to say hello to Yoda, the one-horned goat, and Mrs. Lucky, one of his favorite ducks.

He seems a world away from where he was three years ago: inhaling Diet Pepsi, stuffing his cheeks with Skoal, and trying to elect an obscure former Vermont governor as president of the United States.

These days, when Trippi's not in Italy advising Romano Prodi's campaign or in Moscow addressing the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, he is here, surrounded by old-growth pines and noisy chickens, trying to safeguard the Eastern Shore's open spaces from fast- encroaching development.

For the past several months, Trippi has quietly been working with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation in an effort to stop the Blackwater Resort, a 3,200-home development slated to be built near Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge and Cambridge. He has joined the board of the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy, an organization dedicated to preserving the Shore's rural landscapes.

But his biggest plans are ahead of him. He wants to coordinate grass-roots gatherings and mass Internet drives in the style of the Howard Dean campaign, this time to rile the public about imminent threats to the bay. Trippi hopes to connect people who care about environmental issues, whether or not they live along the estuary and regardless of their political affiliation, and help them collaborate.

It's a different sort of cause for the inveterate campaigner, who has worked seven presidential runs. This one is not ideological, not focused around a cult of personality, and not likely to end anytime soon. It is, he says, about fighting for his home.

[…]

Trippi, 49, still advises congressional candidates, among them Democrat Kweisi Mfume, who is running for U.S. Senate in Maryland. But he seems to have settled in to life on the Eastern Shore.

In a barn on his 47-acre farm between St. Michaels and Tilghman Island, and just a few creeks away from the weekend homes of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney, Trippi is restoring one of the bay's few remaining two-masted wooden bugeyes. A smaller sailboat is tied to his dock.

There are few signs of the rumpled, mile-a-minute talker who ran himself and his young staff ragged. He looks relaxed in his faded jeans, denim jacket and work shirt.

"The second I get over the Bay Bridge, this big sigh of relief happens, and I let go," Trippi said.

[…]

Trippi's ability to tap into voter anger prompted Republican media consultant Frank Luntz to call him for the job of unseating Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Prodi, the challenger, was looking to refine his message and beat the incumbent billionaire. Prodi won by a hair; Berlusconi indicated that he will resign this week.

During their trips to Italy, Luntz said, Trippi spoke often of his beloved farm.

"His comment was, 'If you saw what I see every morning, you'd live there, too,'" Luntz said. "This is something very special to him. This is part of his definition of quality of life. He lives what he preaches."

[…]

Trippi has experience wrangling with developers. In the late 1990s, he and his wife, Kathleen Lash, fell in love at first sight with a 20-acre waterfront farm near St. Michaels. They bought it that day.

Before long, Trippi said, a developer bought the two large tracts on either side and got Talbot County to upzone all three parcels so his company could build hundreds of houses. By the time Trippi learned what had happened, county officials told him he could do nothing to stop it.

So, when the Cummings Creek farm went up for sale, Trippi offered the developer his farm in exchange. Trippi says his condition was that the company move to the new farm the barn and chicken coop he'd built with his sons. The developer agreed.

Trippi and Lash have settled into their new house, which is actually three structures - a one-room schoolhouse, an old waterman's cottage and a farmhouse fused together. Trippi's longtime friend, Newsweek contributing editor Peter Goldman, said the house is like the man - elements you wouldn't think to put together, but work once they're merged.

"If they try to move me off of this, we'll be seceding from the state of Maryland," Trippi said. "This is where I intend to die. As far as I'm concerned, this is where they're going to bury me."

rona.kobell@baltsun.com

Read the entire article here: Joe Trippi Fighting for his Eastern Shore home

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-te.md.trippi01may01,0,3860993.story?coll=bal-home-headlines
Kevin Dayhoff: www.westgov.net Westminster Maryland Online www.westminstermarylandonline.net http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/

Kevin Dayhoff Art: www.kevindayhoff.com (http://kevindayhoffart.blogspot.com/)

20060520 KDDC The Willis Street New England Bazaar

The Willis Street New England Bazaar

~ I took a number of photos of the day, which I hope to get posted soon…

May 20^th, 2006 by Kevin Dayhoff

On Saturday, May 20^th, 2006, the usually quiet Willis Street in Westminster looked like a New England bazaar as folks packed the street in search of bargains and treasures at the first annual Willis Street Tag Sale.

Willis Street is the neighborhood in Westminster adjacent to City Hall.

What is now known as Westminster City Hall was a large brick mansion, with wide porches on three sides, built by Colonel John K. Longwell in 1842.

The land on which the home was built, and referred to as "Emerald Hill" was Colonel Longwell's home. It was purchased from trustees of the Estate of David Fisher, and was a part of the entire tract, which now comprises West Street, Willis Street, Center Street, North Street, Longwell Avenue and extended to the Railroad Tracks.

When the home was completed, Colonel Longwell called it his "Mansion House," and it was considered one of the finest in the county. A plat of this area surveyed in 1907, referred to it as "Longwell's Addition to Westminster." Subsequently, with changes in ownership, the property became known as "Longwell Place."

Following the death of Colonel Longwell in 1896, the family continued to occupy the mansion until the death of his daughter, Sallie. Col. Longwell’s wife, Mrs. Sarah Longwell had preceded her daughter’s death.

At this time, in 1907, a portion of the property was developed into what we now know as Willis Street, west of Center Street. Several of the homes on Willis were built by the Shriver family.

With the generous cooperation of the Westminster Police Department and the Westminster Street Department, the street was closed from 8 AM through 1 PM to vehicular traffic for a New England style yard sale.

According to one of the Willis Street organizers, Mrs. Kirsten Vandervalk; “in New England, they don’t have “yard sales,” they have “tag sales.”

Apparently, a tag sale is an upscale yard sale.

Whatever one would like to refer to the event, by all reports the day was a huge success.

Various neighbors had different accounts as to why the day was such a great success except everyone said they enjoyed getting out on a pretty spring day and getting to see friends and neighbors after a long winter.

Also mentioned was getting the house cleaned out and most of all, everyone enjoyed raising money for a local community charity.

It was agreed by all the neighbors that they would donate a percentage of the proceeds to Shepherd’s Staff - A Christian Outreach and Support Center Serving the Needy in Carroll County. In the end, almost everyone donated extra beyond the percentage and even some visitors donated money specifically for Shepard’s Staff. Over $400.00 was raised.

Ms. Vandervalk worked in concert with a number of neighbors to organize the tag sale. Neighbors such as Sue Thomas, Nicky Smelser, Chris Fisher, Doris Wisner, Peggy Bair, Madeleine Miller, Joyce Myers, Jean Pacardi and Bonnie Bosley all served on “The Planning Committee.”

Ms Vandervalk said that she was “surprised to have as many visitors ask if this is going to be an annual event.”

Her response was “if there is a lot of interest and we can find a date, I have all the notes, work materials and hopefully it would be easy to do it again.”

The neighborhood sale was a great deal of work. But no one seemed to be complaining. “Everyone has a good time… It was well worth the effort,” said Ms. Vandervalk. “Neighborhoods are full of special people…”

Sue Thomas, one of the organizers of the event, “enjoyed the day.”

“It’s a great neighborhood” and the tag sale was a “nice neighborhood thing to do.” Mrs. Thomas gave most of her proceeds for the day to Shepherd’s Staff.

The Willis Street neighborhood is well known for an annual block party, lining the street with Christmas luminaries and Christmas caroling.

It was “no problem” working with the city to get approval for closing down the street for the day. Westminster Police Officers Tony Ott and Captain Randy Barnes handled most of the coordination.

The police and street department “were very customer service oriented, cooperative and helpful,” praised Ms. Vandervalk.

The day of the event, Lt. Ott showed up at 7 AM to get preparations underway. He promptly offered $1.50 for my farm truck that was used for ferrying tables and supplies for the event.

From antiques to boutiques were sold at the sale. Good used furniture, fine used clothing, stained glass, purses, sporting and gardening equipment, pots and pans and a “Blue’s Clues Thinking Chair.” (Hint: “Blue’s Clues for Parents” is a show on the “Nickelodeon Jr.” television network.)

Apparently folks were “fighting over” the thinking chair, according to Ms. Madeleine Miller, who was also quite happy that she was able to sell a “Jason” hockey costume mask.

At which point, Ms. Vandervalk remarked that “what is one person’s trash is another person’s treasure.”

Jeff Smelser, who, according to rumor, gave up playing golf “for the first time in 43 years,” so that he could attend the sale, was happy that he sold a pair of “vintage 1962 ‘212’ Head racing snow skis.”

He claimed that he was his wife’s “runner,” dutifully responding to ‘Do this,” and “Do that.”

Smart man.

In between assigned tasks, he was happy to get some yard maintenance accomplished during the sale.

Nicky Smelser “sold designer clothing and jewelry.” She was happy to spend time with so many visitors and neighbors and even happened across some of her “1965 classmates from Hampstead Middle School,” who were in the neighborhood yardsale-ing, err, tag sale-ing.

Madeleine Miller was amazed that bargain hunters arrived at 7 a.m. Some came all the way from Southern Maryland. She remarked that she “did not make a lot of money but got the house cleaned out and had a great time meeting a lot of neat people.” One the prizes she sold was a “St. Tropez print.”

Neighbors noted that Ms. Miller even “gift wrapped” many of her sales and even offered “packing service.”

Mrs. Vandervalk sold some pieces of furniture that had been in the family for several generations.

These folks were serious about having a yard sale – err, tag sale.

Ms. Miller said the event “brought back nostalgic memories.” She was "happy to see items go to a good home.”

It was beautiful day and everyone was so nice, several neighbors exclaimed.

It is events and neighborhoods like Willis Street that make Westminster a wonderful place to raise a family. In the end, everyone seems to be the winner. Col. Longwell would have been proud.

Hat’s off to Willis Street.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.

E-mail him at: kdayhoff@carr.org

####

20050526 KDDC Westminster Fire Department Big Money Raffle

Westminster Fire Department Big Money Raffle

Tonight, May 25, 2006 is the annual Westminster Fire Engine and Hose Co. #1 Big Money Raffle. Posted are pictures from last year’s event. This is usually a sold out event – to make plans to attend the 2007 event, contact a member of the Westminster Fire Department.

Harry Sirinakis of Harry’s Main Street Grille in Westminster, Maryland.

Harry Sirinakis of Harry’s Main Street Grille in Westminster, Maryland.

May 2006 by Kevin Dayhoff

20060500 HSirinakis

Kevin Dayhoff www.kevindayhoff.net http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/

Kevin Dayhoff Art http://kevindayhoffart.blogspot.com/

20060521 KDDC Pictures from the Jeff Graham Memorial Ride and Picnic

Pictures from the Jeff Graham Memorial Ride and Picnic

May 21^st, 2006

Over 100 motorcyclists turned out for a beautiful ride through four covered bridges and parts of Frederick County, Carroll County and southern Pennsylvania on May 21^st, 2006.

Back in Westminster, many more folks joined the riders at Dutterer Park in Westminster, Maryland for the Jeff Graham Memorial Ride and Picnic for the benefit of the “The NightTrain Foundation” in memory of Jeff Graham and in honor of the value of friendships.

There was plenty of pizza, hot dogs, hamburgers and cake to go around complimenting the smiles of friends who gathered to honor a Westminster native son and the value of friendships.

Jeff’s sister-in-law, Jalna Brown helped organize the day. If you would like more information about The NightTrain Foundation, contact Jalna Brown at Dutterer Florist at (410) 848-9350.

If you would like to make a contribution to the NightTrain Foundation, you can get in touch with either Ms. Brown or contact the Community Foundation of Carroll County at (410) 876-5505.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.

E-mail him at: kdayhoff@carr.org

####

20060524 KDDC Flower and Jazz Festival pics and posts

Westminster Flower and Jazz Festival

Flower and Jazz Festival pics and posts

Folks have been asking where the Flower and Jazz Festival pictures are posted.

They can be found at:

http://www.kevindayhoff.com/2006/05/20060516-kddc-wster-flower-and-jazz.html

or use this link:

20060516 KDDC Wster Flower and Jazz Festival Pictures

A write-up on the Flower and Jazz Festival has also been posted on the Winchester Report on The Westminster Eagle Web-site.

Or use this link:

http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?pnpID=978&NewsID=721108&CategoryID=18298&show=localnews&om=1

20060524 KDDC And a glass of beer for my dog too

And a glass of beer for my dog too

Hat Tip: Mr. Smurf. Thanks

“

And a glass of beer for my dog too

May 24 - Napa Valley is a region known for its premiere wines and breathtaking vistas. So, it's no surprise that a beer produced in the region has gone to the dogs, literally.

Dog Star Brewing Company makes a specialty beer for dogs. Located in the heart of Napa Valley, founder Jamie Miller says she wanted Kodi, her 120 pound Akita, to be able to let loose and enjoy an icy cold one, but she worried about the negative effects alcohol has on pups. She went about creating a non-alcoholic beer for dogs, Happy Tail Ale.

In addition to being sold online, grocers are stocking the canine beverage on shelves in their pet section.

FEATURED SPEAKER: Jamie Miller, Founder of Dog Star Brewing Company

© Reuters 2006. All rights reserved.

20060523 KDDC BE editorial MD legislators fail basic economics

Baltimore Examiner editorial: MD legislators fail basic economics

An editorial I wish I had written. It was emailed to me and I do not have a hyperlink to the Web-site… Editorial: Maryland legislators fail basic economics

The Baltimore Examiner Newspaper, The Examiner
May 23, 2006

BALTIMORE - A prevailing majority of representatives of “we the people” in Maryland consistently seem to work at proving themselves dopey when it comes to business.

The 2006 Wal-Mart legislation, that forces a single company to provide health care benefits is a case in point. The vast majority of people in the state and the country without health insurance work for small businesses — not the target of the bill. The law forces companies with 10,000 or more employees in the state (Wal-Mart is the only one) to pay at least 8 percent of their payroll toward health benefits.

Behaving that way means one thing — fewer jobs other than the ones fueled by taxes. Don’t you think large companies will have an incentive to move elsewhere once they near the 10,000 employee mark? Or choose elsewhere if they are planning a move to the East Coast?

And it shows that the legislature was more intent on punishing a single company than finding a way to insure more people in the state. Unfortunately, it’s not an isolated incident.

A review of some of their decisions on our behalf:

In 1999 legislators capped electricity prices at Baltimore Gas & Electric Co. for six years at prices 6.5 percent below 1993 rates, squashing electricity competition (who would compete for below market rates?) and paving the way for the looming 72 percent rate hikes.

Legislators are mulling whether to call a special session to reconsider the rate hike and the planned merger of BGE’s parent company, Constellation Energy, with FPL Group — a clear signal once again that business exists at the pleasure of the legislature.

» In December 2004, Gov. Ehrlich called the General Assembly into a special session to take “immediate action ... to ensure the costs of medical malpractice insurance are curtailed and that access to health care is maintained.”

Liability reform is the American Medical Association’s top legislative priority because “America’s patients are losing access to care because the nation’s out-of-control legal system is forcing physicians in some areas of the country to retire early, relocate or give up performing high-risk medical procedures.”

The General Assembly’s response: Maryland Patients’ Access to Quality Health Care act of 2004. The legislation trimmed about 3 percent off malpractice premiums — at a time when rates are rising in the double digits. It also raised taxes on HMOs, making it more difficult for small businesses, who employ the majority of people in the state, to purchase health care for employees. Since 1999, the number of small employers offering plans has declined by 13 percent. The 2004 legislation is not the only reason that many small business owners don’t offer insurance, of course, but it only made it more difficult.

» In January, the General Assembly passed legislation raising the minimum wage $1 to $6.15 per hour. In rich sections of the state where jobs are in short supply, this legislation will do nothing. In poorer sections it will decrease demand for jobs because for some businesses $1 an hour will make the difference between being able to hire someone or not.

Jim Brady, the Secretary of Business and Economic Development under Gov. Glendening, says he does not think that legislators purposely try to be anti-business. “It’s not a cabal, I just don’t think they think through the ramifications of what they do,” he said.

We wish they would.

Don’t you?

To prevent future Wal-Mart, et al laws, the business community must actively recruit candidates who understand economics and withhold support from those who don’t. We don’t need any more lemmings in the General Assembly taking us over an economic cliff.

Examiner

20060523 How Dems Store Their Bribes

How Dems Store Their Bribes

A photoshop that I wish I had done.

You can do whatever you wish with the information, I liked the photoshop art.

Nevertheless.

Does the word, “schadenfreude” come to mind?

Hat tip: Michelle Malkin

_________________

HOW DEMS STORE THEIR BRIBES

By Michelle Malkin · May 23, 2006 10:39 PM

Hot Air affiliate Flip Pidot of Suitably Flip, inspired by the Rep. William Jefferson case, has the photoshop of the day:

http://suitablyflip.blogs.com/suitably_flip/2006/05/a_pictures_wort.html

***

Meanwhile, Roger L. Simon notes Newt Gingrich's tin ear. Denny Hastert's got it, too. Glenn Reynolds has more.

***

Previous:

Foiled again!

20060524 KDDC June 4 Masterworks Chorale Concert.

June 4 Masterworks Chorale Concert

Both Dr. Margie Boudreaux and Westminster Advocate Editorial Assistant Jamie Chapman have reminded me of the upcoming Masterworks Chorale Concert featuring “Carmina Burana.”

The spring concert will be performed at Winters Mill High School at 7 PM on Sunday, June 4^th, 2006.

For additional information, go to the Masterworks website at www.masterworksofcc.org.

For a program note on the featured music, please go to:

http://www.kevindayhoff.com/2006/05/20060524-kddc-1937-carl-orff-carmina.html

or: www.masterworksofcc.org.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Here are the basics that Margie e-mailed me just today. And below, Lois Szymanski, with the Westminster Advocate has the story:

Carl Orff's spectacular choral work, Carmina Burana, will be performed by
the Masterworks Chorale of Carroll County, conducted by Dr. Margaret
Boudreaux, on Sunday, June 4, at 7pm in the Auditorium of Winters Mill HS.

The Westminster Ballet Theater, the Children's Chorus of Carroll County,
and the Westminster HS Percussion Ensemble are collaborating with Masterworks in this performance. The dual pianos will be played by Patti
Jimenez and Melanie Many.

Tickets are $10 if purchased in advance, and $12 at the door.

Depending on ticket availability the night of the performance children and students with ID are admitted free.

Due to limited seating advance purchase of tickets is strongly encouraged. Tickets can be purchased at Coffees Music and Stu's Music, both in Westminster, or from choir members (and from Margie Boudreaux).

For more information contact Margie Boudreaux at 410-857-2558, mboudrea@mcdaniel.edu, or go to the Masterworks website at www.masterworksofcc.org.

_________________

Westminster Advocate

Masterworks Chorale planning collaborative show for June 4
Lois Szymanski 24.MAY.06

“This show is going to be very different from the others we have had in the past,” Joanne Lott said of the Masterworks Chorale of Carroll County’s upcoming show.

Lott knows what she is talking about. She is not only the publicity director for Masterworks; she also sings with them.

On June 4, the group will hold its spring concert, featuring “Carmina Burana,” at 7 p.m. in the auditorium of Winters Mill High School.

The show is conducted by Margaret Boudreaux. The big difference this year is the special guests planned for the show.

The Children’s Chorus of Carroll County, directed by Diane Jones, will be a part of the show, as will the Westminster Percussion Ensemble, led by Mark Lortz.

Perhaps the most intriguing change is the addition of dancers from the Westminster Ballet Theater, adding a whole new dimension to the performance, making it even more of a show. The dancers will be directed by Jeannette Sullivan.

“It’s an incredibly powerful and dramatic work, unmatched by anything else I know of from the 20th century,” Boudreaux said. “It basically is a commentary of the wild fluctuations we all experience in life, from the very highest to the very lowest moments.”

Boudreaux described what has evolved.

Boudreaux said the dancers will enact a love sought, lost and found again while the percussionists will make the performance powerful and add to the story.

Since it also is the 250th anniversary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s birthday, they’ll also have a brief section before “Carmina Burana.”

“That will feature some of Mozart’s rounds that match the mood of Carmina and warm everyone up for the main event,” Boudreaux said. “That section will include two rounds for audience participation, a whole other level of ‘collaborative performance,’ which I really enjoy.”

Lortz, who has worked with Masterworks Chorale for about 10 years, enjoys the collaborative atmosphere of this performance.

“The best part about the production is the collaboration of many different elements in the community,” he said. “It truly is a team effort of amazing talent.”

There will also be two baby grand pianos, played by Melanie Many and Patricia Jimenez.

The musicians have never performed this piece and are excited to learn it all together, Lortz said.

“We’re thrilled to be a part of this monstrous undertaking,” he said.

Boudreaux echoed his excitement.

“Working with the Children’s Chorus of Carroll County, the dancers from the Westminster Ballet and the percussionists from Westminster High School makes this an incredibly rich community event,” she said.

Admission is $10 in advance or $12 at the door for adults. Students with a school ID and children will be admitted free after 6:45 p.m., if space allows.

Advance tickets are on sale at Coffey Music and Stu’s Music and from members of Masterworks Chorale.

If you go

What: “Carmina Burana,” Masterworks Chorale’s spring concert, featuring Children’s Chorus of Carroll County, Westminster Percussion Ensemble and Westminster Ballet Theater

When: June 4 at 7 p.m.

Where: Winters Mill High School auditorium, Gorsuch Road and North Center Street, Westminster

Tickets: $10/advance, available at Coffey Music and Stu’s Music and from Masterworks members or $12/door. Students with ID and children will be admitted free after 6:45 p.m. if space allows.

More information: Call 410-871-3371 or visit http://masterworksofcc.org.

- Special to the Advocate

20060524 KDDC 1937 Carl Orff Carmina Burana Boudreaux

20060524 KDDC 1937 Carl Orff Carmina Burana Boudreaux

Program Notes by Margaret Boudreaux

http://www.masterworksofcc.org/

Carmina Burana (1937)
Carl Orff (1895-1982)

“

Carmina Burana premiered in 1937, between the two world wars and on the rising wave of horrors that defined the 20th century. Orff subtitled the work “Cantiones profanae” (secular cantata), placing it in the realm of worldly life, bewildered by fortune’s whims, yet searching for love and beauty.

Orff used a medieval text found in the monastery of Benediktbeuern in 1803 and attributed to wandering students and goliards (for the most part, defrocked priests).

The text is German and Latin reflecting both the homeland and the education of the writers. The Latin texts parallel sacred texts the writers would have known, but with secular twists reflecting their disillusionment with a world they had ceased trying to understand.

The German texts depict love and springtime, parallel to the troubadour songs of nearby France. The music contains driving rhythms and jarring dissonances that then abruptly melt into beautiful harmonies and calming melodies.

Tonight’s performance interprets those mood swings with dance, a full battery of percussion, two pianos and both adult and children’s choruses. The percussion and pianos bring the timbres originally envisioned by Orff, best known for his percussion methods for teaching children music.

The dance illustrates the search for love, complete with despairing frustration, and finally optimism in the cycle of love and spring’s return. The mix of adult and children’s voices encompass life itself, from the very early to the later stages of our human drama.

Carmina Burana is in three main sections: Spring, In the Tavern and The Court of Love. Two identical “bookends,” the famous “O Fortuna” choruses, frame those three sections.

These address “Fortune” as a deity that arbitrarily rolls the dice of fate. The meaning of those texts is strangely in the shape of a reverse arch.

The first section depicts springtime with beauty, youth, and the promise of love.

The middle section depicts the emptiness and despair found in those who try to drunkenly drown away their perplexing existence.

The music of that section ranges from the hopeless cynicism and abandonment in the baritone solo that opens the section, “Estuans interius” (burning inside), to the bizarre satirical song of the roasted swan, once beautiful and white swimming gracefully on a lake, and now roasted for the feast, to the raucous “In Taberna,” humorously exposing the total mindlessness of the drinking crowd.

The beauty of love’s promise, ever present in the human heart evaporates the darkness of the tavern. The optimistic nature of the final section is underscored with the use of children’s voices reminding us of hope in the future however bleak the moment may appear.

Ultimately love triumphs in the spectacular soprano solo “Dulcissima,” at which point the chorus returns with the opening chorus reminding us of each day’s unpredictability.

Though Orff lived through one of the most terrifyingly challenging eras in history, the message he chose to portray in Carmina Burana is not new.

Consider this biblical passage: “There is a vanity that takes place on earth, that there are righteous people who are treated according to the conduct of the wicked, and there are wicked people who are treated according to the conduct of the righteous. I said that this is also vanity. So I commend enjoyment, for there is nothing better for people under the sun than to eat and drink, and enjoy themselves, for this will go with them in their toil through the days of life that God gives them under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 8:14–15).

Mozart’s contemporary, Voltaire, expressed a similar sentiment at the end of his scathing satire, Candide. After his futile quest for the “best of all possible worlds,” he reminds us that ultimately “we must cultivate our garden.”

The question then remains to each individual—what to do? Give in to despair . . . or . . . find a path to hope, meaning and love for others even in the brutal face of evil and darkness.

”

—Margaret Boudreaux

20060524 KDDC City employees our neighbors too by Lyndi McNulty

City employees our neighbors too by Lyndi McNulty

For more information on the Westminster Mayor and Common Council go to:

http://www.westgov.com/citygovernment/council.asp

and

http://www.westgov.com/citygovernment/mayor.asp

and

http://www.westgov.com/default.asp

“

Commentary: City employees our neighbors, too

May 24, 2006 by Lyndi McNulty

Small towns are great, especially Westminster, where we sometimes forget that elected officials are our friends and neighbors, too.

Recently, local residents asked the City Council and Police Chief Jeff Spaulding to make sure the traffic on Pennsylvania Avenue was obeying the speed limit.

Councilman Greg Pecoraro and Spaulding offered to meet with local citizens early one evening to observe traffic there.

There are not many places in the world that residents of a town can meet with local officials and take a walk with them, discussing traffic and other neighborhood concerns.

Westminster is really not so small now, but these busy city officials did not hesitate to schedule time to listen to residents.

Both Pecoraro and Spaulding pointed out that studies prove that stop signs do not slow traffic. However, a street scape plan is in the works for this street, which will provide bump outs, making the street appear smaller and slowing traffic.

What else do our officials do to better the community? Lots, and many things on their own time.

City Council President Roy Chiavacci works for seniors at Carroll Lutheran Village. He also volunteers for Change, an organization that works for people with developmental disabilities.

Chiavacci also served as the committee chairman of a local Boy Scout troop and served as a coach for baseball and football teams.

You will see other City Council members every day in the community.

Councilwoman Suzanne Albert, member of the Kiwanis Club of Greater Westminster, will again be helping with the bingo tent at the Fallfest celebration.

She is also past chairwoman of the Rape Crisis Center and is also a part-time Carroll Hospice team nurse.

Councilman Kevin Utz was a state trooper and past chief of the Westminster Fire Department, both for 28 years.

He is also a local business owner with a real estate office in downtown Westminster.

Of course, most residents in Westminster know Councilman Bob Wack, who worked endless hours making sure Access Carroll, a medical office that makes medical care available to those who cannot afford it, a reality.

Wack did everything from raising money to painting walls himself.

And who can say enough about Mayor Tom Ferguson?

When he is not dyeing Easter eggs with local children, you might see him picking up donations for the Carroll Lutheran Village auction in his pickup truck or being a fashion model in a fund-raising fashion show for the Arts Council.

He has been in the Rotary for over 31 years and actively works on the board of directors for the ARC.

Currently, he is working with the Community of Shalom to build a Boys and Girls Club in Westminster.

The best thing about our mayor and city council is that you can talk with them anytime about the city and work with them on committees to improve our community.

Your concerns are their concerns, as they make difficult decisions every day to make sure that you and your family have everything from parks to play in to a quality police force.

They were your friends and neighbors before they were elected officials, and they still are.

— Lyndi McNulty owns Gizmos Art in Westminster.”

20060524 KDDC Commissioner Jones honored for public service

Commissioner Jones honored for public service

The Westminster Advocate has the story:

Community Briefs – May 24 – Westminster Advocate

Commissioner Jones honored for public service

Carroll County Commissioner Perry L. Jones Jr. was honored April 27 with his alma mater Linganore High School’s Distinguished Graduate Award for Public Service. A member of the class of 1970, he is only the third recipient of this award.

Jones served on the Union Bridge Town Council for 10 years, from 1980 until 1990, when he was elected mayor. He served as mayor until 2002. That year, he was elected to an at-large seat on the Board of County Commissioners.

In 2005, Jones was selected as Maryland’s sole representative at the County Leadership Institute at New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.

He sits on the board of directors for the Maryland Association of Counties, serving as its treasurer in 2005. He also belongs to the Maryland Mayors Association and served on the Maryland Municipal League board of directors from 1998 to 2002. He was inducted into MML’s Hall of Fame for his public service.

In addition to his public offices, Jones has volunteered with the Union Bridge Fire Company for nearly 30 years. He was captain of the ambulance company and served on the fire company’s board of directors.

He is a member of the Union Bridge Lions Club and an American Community Leadership semi-finalist.

20060522 KDDC Every month is Alcohol Awareness Month for teenagers

Every month is Alcohol Awareness Month for teenagers

May 22^nd, 2006 By Kevin Dayhoff

April was “Alcohol Awareness Month” and I wrote a couple of columns on the subject.

On Wednesday, April 19^th, 2006, my Westminster Eagle column was: “April is for Alcohol Awareness, but issue of underage drinking lives with us daily.” Another link can be found here.

My Winchester Report post for April 25, 2006 was: “Community Leaders take action against underaged drinking .” Another link for that post is here.

For the Winchester Report posting, my Westminster Eagle editor, Jim Joyner, reworked the warning signs box, for which I was very appreciative.

I would think that the prom season is winding down and now many young adults are looking forward to the end of the school year or graduation ceremonies, err – parties.

Again, this brings with it another set of challenges for young adults who may be exposed to alcohol at these parties.

What can be troubling about this cocktail of alcohol and young inexperienced adults, who nevertheless, “know all the answers,” is the fact that a mistake with alcohol can be life altering or worse yet – fatal. When folks are young and think that they are invincible – the danger is even greater.

Pop culture and Hollywood romanticizes alcohol to the point that many young adults are not aware of the unromanticized and unsanitized pitfalls of alcohol abuse.

It does not necessary sink-in when rock stars, hollywood types and artists are all featured in their rock-bio-documentaries of having awkward moments and problems from drug and alcohol abuse.

After-all, young adults are invincible and “it won’t happen to them,”

In my experience, today’s teenagers are wonderful. Fortunately, you can hear this repeated throughout the community often.

From observing the children of our community involved in, for a few examples, scouting, the Children’s Chorus, 4-H and sports; we can confidently look forward to handing over the future leadership of our country to a very capable and responsible generation.

Former Westminster mayor Ken Yowen would sing the praises of today’s youth often in public and it was one of the many leadership attributes that I tried to emulate when I was an elected official.

Now that I have passed the half-century mark, it is asked in many casual conversations, “wouldn’t you like to be younger?” For right now, we’ll overlook that one thing this question means is that some folks think that I am old…

No way.

I grew up in a simpler and far different Carroll County and I would have no interest in trading in my childhood in the Westminster of the 1950s and 60s for all the tea in China. Sure, as a teenager in Carroll County in the 1960s, the community and our world were changing rapidly. There was turmoil. But it was still a wonderful place to grow-up. For example, I actually remember the 1960s.

Today, Carroll County is still a wonderful place to grow-up.

Often, it is fun to ask a teenager, what do you want to be when you grow-up? The answers are encouraging. So often the answers involve wanting to make a difference and contribution and make the world a better place.

With some segments of today’s teenagers, you’ll hear; I want to be an artist, a writer, a rock musician… or even president?

A writer like Dylan Thomas, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jack Kerouac or maybe even Edgar Allan Poe? Recently there was a movie about Truman Capote, which sparked much interest in Mr. Capote’s writings and life.

Who wants to be a star musician when they get older? Like the legendary blues singer, Billie Holiday? Steve Clark, the guitarist with Def Leppard? Or John Bonham, the drummer with Led Zeppelin? Who wants to be Roy Buchanan, the legendary guitar virtuoso and blues musician who lived much of his life right down the road in Washington, DC?

Who wants to be the artist, Jackson Pollock. It is reported that Mr. Pollack visited Clyfford Still in New Windsor on several occasions.

How about aspiring to be a famous actor like Errol Flynn or William Holden?

Maybe you want to be president of the United States, like our fourteenth president, Franklin Pierce?

All the folks just mentioned are some of the most talented individuals in our nation’s history. And they all have one thing in common, their lives and careers, (with the exception of Mr. Still,) were cut short because of alcohol poisoning or alcoholism.

The tragedy of their untimely death is only surpassed by the loss of their talent on the world. Especially in the instances of alcohol poisoning, the death was avoidable, unpleasant and unplanned. Duh.

Alcohol kills. Like - forever dead.

It only takes one bad experience. One bad day. One bad decision… Parental and interested adult attention to the challenges of teen drinking is critical. Keep prominently in mind, that good kids can make bad decisions and alcohol does not care who it kills or what are the extenuating circumstances.

How often have we heard: “I didn’t know there was going to be alcohol at the party.” Or, “I was only going to try a drink or two.” “I was only about a mile from home… I was late and I thought that I could drive that far without a problem.”

Recently there have been deaths at the hands of alcohol that have alarmed the community. This is not a problem “somewhere else.” It is here in Carroll County. “It” can happen to your child, your friend, your sister or brother. The responsibility to prevent a tragedy is no-one’s but yours. You. Me. Everybody’s.

In an article by Westminster Eagle writer, Heidi Schroeder on November 2, 2005, “Survey offers warning in teen trends,” in a December 2004 survey it was revealed; “46.9 percent of Carroll County seniors … said they had used beer or wine coolers in the past 30 days.

“Statewide, 38.5 percent of seniors had used beer or wine coolers in the past 30 days.

Mark Yount, substance abuse prevention coordinator for Carroll County, said that data is consistent with some of the trends they are seeing at Junction, the county's substance abuse treatment facility.

"Data will tell you one thing, but by the time you get the data things are already happening," Yount said.

Two significant trends in the survey that Yount said is reflected in the young people coming through Junction is alcohol and narcotic abuse.

Yount noted that culturally, alcohol is often separated from drugs in the mind of the community. But he warned, "Alcohol is not a benign substance.

"There is no safe level of alcohol for teens," Yount said.

Now, one cannot imagine that a teenager gets up in the morning and says to themselves, I have plans next week or this summer but this evening I am going to get together with some good friends, get wasted and die.

Heck, even if you don’t die from that one bad experience with alcohol, who wants to get together with friends next week or this summer and re-live drinking to the point where you vomit all over your friends all evening. Now isn’t that a special experience.

One of my favorite musicians was “chicken pickin,” blues, slide guitarist, Roy Buchanan – and his 1953 Telecaster guitar, named “Nancy.” Although he was born September 23, 1939 in California, he settled down in the Washington, DC area in the mid-1960s. He was living in Reston, Virginia when he passed away.

He gained a great deal of attention by way of a PBS documentary in the early 1970s called, “The Best Unknown Guitarist In The World.” He played a lot of the clubs in the DC area, often with “The Snakestretchers.” He toured nationally and internationally in the 1970s.

He recorded about 18 albums before his death. A number of albums have been released posthumously. Perhaps my favorite is “You’re Not Alone,” released in 1978 on Atlantic records.

Mr. Buchanan would be still greatly contributing to the music world if he had not had alcohol and substance abuse problems throughout most of his adult life. Apparently, untreated, the problems only got worse and certainly were not helpful in his marriage with his wife, Judy.

On August 13^th, 1988, Mr. Buchanan got into another domestic dispute, after according to the Web-site, “Sweet Dreams of Roy Buchanan,” he came home “from the local bar with some male person, who then along with Roy acted up, so Judy threw them out, then called the cops. The cops picked up Roy and, the county sheriff tells Jim Buchanan, he was jovial when locked up. Sheriff says they didn't even arrest and book him and told him to sleep it off. A routine check supposedly found Roy hanging from his shirt in the cell…”

On August 14^th, 1988, Roy Buchanan, perhaps one of the greatest guitar players ever, died in a police cell.

Next time, you have plans to go out and get wasted, pull out a couple Led Zeppelin CDs and play the "Immigrant Song" from “Led Zeppelin III;” "When the Levee Breaks" from “Led Zeppelin IV,” "Kashmir" or "Misty Mountain Hop."

These are the Led Zeppelin tunes that especially feature the talent of Led Zeppelin drummer, John Bonham.

As you crank it up, keep in mind, John Bonham died on September 25, 1980.

According to numerous published accounts, (I have used Wikipedia’s account because it was convenient and matched some old notes,) Led Zeppelin was rehearsing for the band’s upcoming U.S. tour when John Bonham passed away.

On the way to the recording studio, Mr. Bonham had a breakfast of about sixteen shots of vodka. “He then continued to drink when he arrived at the studio.” That evening, it “was rumored that he had a total of forty shots…” before he was taken to bed.

The next morning, at the age of 32, he was found dead. “The cause of death was asphyxiation caused by choking on his own vomit. A subsequent coroner inquest found no other drugs in Bonham's body.”

Bummer. Just think, this could be you.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.

E-mail him at: kdayhoff@carr.org

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