Community Heros

There are a group of professionals in our community who everday risk their lives to protect us...... they are our community fire, EMS and police officers.... this group of men and women are under appreciated in our society... our paths rarely cross with them unless we are in need of their services... they save our lives, make our communities safe, and allow us to live our lives in relative security.

Who has gone out of their way to say thank you to these dedicated professionals? I'd guess that most have not. I must admit that I have taken them for granted.

In our backyard.. The Skyesville Freedom District Fire Department has protected both Skyesville and Eldersburg since 1933. The department is manned by both paid and volunteer professionals.... the volunteers give up their free time, sleep, and family time to protect us and the professionals are underpaid. They do it because someone has to do it... they do it to protect us.

>>It's difficult to imagine these groups of dedicated volunteers being taken for granted, but sometimes they are. Imagine what our lives would be like if there were no volunteer fire departments....

....Volunteer fire departments are just as important to the livelihoods of our communities as churches and schools, parks and libraries. Investing in them is imperative. (Pittsburgh Tribune)

>> President George W. Bush was in attendance at the 26th Annual National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service Sunday morning, which honored the 87 firefighters who died in 2006

"It takes a special kind of person to be a firefighter. It begins with a different sense of direction. When an area becomes too dangerous for everybody else, you take it over," Bush said. "When others are looking for the exits, our firefighters are looking for the way in. - George W. Bush"

In our society, we too often idolize football players, pop stars, and movie stars....they are not the real heroes..

The next time you see a police officer, EMS, or Fire Department Professional... say thank you...

Highway agency set to start project at Routes 32 and 26

From the Sun:

The State Highway Administration is set to begin an $8.5 million construction project to improve safety and ease congestion for more than 30,000 drivers along Route 32 (Sykesville Road) between Route 26 (Liberty Road) and Macbeth Way/Piney Branch Parkway in Eldersburg.

Weather permitting, the half-mile project should be completed by fall next year.

Looks like a little more traffic in our future.... looking forward to the new Walgreens at this intersection...

Insiders' guide to Eldersburg

A very good article recently posted in the Sun .... "Insiders' guide to Eldersburg".

This really highlights some of the big reasons why we moved to Eldersburg 2 1/2 years ago…. Can’t believe it has already been that long… good schools, great environment, low traffic (yes.. our traffic is a joke), more stores/retail in the near future, great communities…

This year, Money Magazine's annual list of Top 100 Best Places to Live ranked Eldersburg as No. 56

From CNN.com

56. Eldersburg, Md.

Population: 31,800
Median home price (2006): $419,085
Average property taxes (2006): $2,730

Situated 30 miles west of Baltimore, Eldersburg has grown at an impressive clip in recent years, adding a Home Depot, a Wal-Mart and a Kohl's department store. A new "green" shopping center called Main Street Eldersburg - the first of its kind in Maryland - is to be finished in 2008. Yet it's still a small, quiet town, its lush hills dotted with old churches and houses, and the sprawling Liberty reservoir east of town offers hiking trails and gorgeous scenery. On the downside, though, high home prices make it a little exclusive, and the long commute to Baltimore means more jobs are far away. -A.F.

Watch out.. Farmington, Michigan.. next year we are gunning for you.. # 55

Overwhelmed / Co-author

It has been awhile since I’ve last posted on this blog. Family, work, life has been taking the majority if not all of my free time lately. I do have a couple draft posts that I’m hoping to upload shortly.

I would really like to see this blog become more active. The Eldersburg blogosphere is somewhat lacking. If anyone would like to co-author this blog, contact me and let’s chat (eldersburg1976@gmail.com) . I’m mostly focused on local/regional issues but sometimes post on wider items. Ideally, any co-authors should be local to Eldersburg/Carroll County/Marriottsville.

1000 Places to see before you die...

A non-Eldersburg post....

Was surfing the ever growing TV channel list last night and came across the show 1000 Places to See before you die on the Travel Channel.. Only watched the last 10 minutes or so but it got me thinking...

What places do I want to see before I make my last step on this planet... Life is short and as with most goals.. i find it good to put goals in writing..

Places I would like to see (in no particular order):

1. Amderstdam - if only 10% of the stories I've heard are true...this place would be a lot of fun
2. Roswell - UFO mecca
3. Moscow - standing in Red Square would just be cool
4. Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station
5. North Korea
6. Space - think I was born 50 years to early for this one..

there are many more but these come to my mind first..

Interesting related website: http://www.seebeforeyoudie.net/

What would you like to see???

http://www.eldersburgtoday.com/

Googled my blog the other day and came across this page: http://www.eldersburgtoday.com/

This seems like a great page for local news, weather, events, etc... but I want the world to know that I was here first... well, at least, my blog was online first..

sw

Developer seeing green with Eldersburg project

A recent article in the Baltimore Biz Journal details some of the Green Aspects of Mainstreet Eldersburg.... I'm really looking forward to this development in the hope it will bring much needed restaurants and stores to the areas....

Now only if we can get a Best Buy....

Read the Article HERE

"Retail developer Black Oak Associates Inc. will develop a "green" shopping center in Carroll County.

Groundbreaking on the $20 million retail center will begin this summer and will be completed by fall 2008."

Overcrowded/obsolete schools.....

Drive by Carrolltowne Elementary school and you’ll see a line of “temporary” classrooms… AKA trailers next to the building… The trailers have been there for years… even after a recent expansion project that added classrooms for Kindergarten.

This article posted in the sun highlights some of the long, recurring problems at the school…..

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/carroll/bal-ca.carrolltowne25mar25,0,6053806.story?coll=bal-local-carroll

--------------------

“Commissioner Michael D. Zimmer, whose daughter attends Carrolltowne Elementary, said the expensive renovation project is not a priority. But he wants to build security doors to internally lock down the school's open suites, in case of an intruder or fire. "This was an educational fad 30 years ago, so we have to deal with it," Zimmer said. "But the doors, or lack thereof, give me heartburn."

"You don't see open-space classrooms being built anymore, and it's with good reason. We need to fix those classrooms still in existence."

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Open classrooms… it was a FAD in the early-mid 80’s when I was in elementary school. In fact, most elementary schools in my area where converted from “Open Classrooms” to standard/traditional (with walls) while I was in 3^rd and 4^th grade. Is Carroll County so behind the time that it has taken us 20 years to move beyond this failed experiment??

We must do better…..

U.S. Heading For Financial Trouble?

A recent story on 60 minutes scares the hell out of me...

"I would argue that the most serious threat to the United States is not someone hiding in a cave in Afghanistan or Pakistan but our own fiscal irresponsibility,"

"What’s going on right now is we’re spending more money than we make…we’re charging it to credit card…and expecting our grandchildren to pay for it. And that’s absolutely outrageous,"

"If nothing changes, the federal government's not gonna be able to do much more than pay interest on the mounting debt and some entitlement benefits. It won't have money left for anything else – national defense, homeland security, education, you name it,"

Mr Walker is an expert in this field and the majority of leaders and politicans on both sides of the aisle accept his findings....
David Walker's Bio: Wikipedia Link

Similar story on ABC
Another similar story from Newsmax.com
From BBCNEWS

We must pull our heads out of the sand and face these issues... it is unfathomable that we are mortgaging our children's futures... what will they say about us 50 years from now when they look back at our time......

Efficiency of the US Economy

Interesting graph..

Energy intensity is a measure of the energy efficiency of a nation's economy. It is calculated as units of energy per unit of GDP.

What surprised me was how close the US and China are...

Eldersburg mall gets new chance at life

Finally.. there appears to be movement in the plan to redevelop Carrolltowne Mall..

Details are noted in this Examiner Article..

The Developers will be at the next FACC Meeting that is being held on February 22nd... details can be found on their website: http://www.freedomareacitizens.org/

Black Oak Associates, the owner of Carrolltowne Mall is also working on a new development called Eldersburg Marketplace.

Apathy

Apathy:

1. Lack of interest or concern, especially regarding matters of general importance or appeal; indifference.

2. Lack of emotion or feeling; impassiveness.

This seems to be a persuasive problem in our society. This is noted quite well by the low voter turnout in National Elections. We get caught up in the day to day details of our lives we do not devote enough time to larger issues. Whether they are Local, National, or World based issues…

We only become engaged on issues that we feel directly have an impact on our lives or futures.. we are passionate about a select few… whether they are For/Against the War.. or For/Against a development, For/Against Sex Education at school.… we passionately fight for or against our “cause” then fade back into the static of our lives once it has been accomplished. Because of this pattern…we end up Activists on our school boards, commissions, and planning committees who are mainly concerned with their limited agendas. They typically do not speak for the majority of our society even for their limited agenda but because they are energized for their issue… they work themselves into a place of power.

How do we move forward and improve this situation…. We must become a more educated society on issues that directly impact our lives. The silent majority must pull our heads out of the sand and speak up for what we believe in…We must educate ourselves enough and dedicate enough time to have beliefs, opinions, and convictions....

What does Eldersburg need??

What would you like to see in Eldersburg?? Stores, restaurants, etc... What is missing??

Path of life....

Having recently exited my 20’s and enter life in my 30’s.. I’ve been amazed how my life has changed in the last few years. People always joke about growing old or maturing but lately it has really hit home. A few humorous facts:

Common magazine in my bathroom:
5 years ago: Maxim or FHM
Today: Parenting, American Baby or Business Week

Common Friday evening activity:
5 years ago: Happy Hour, then bar hoping (average bedtime: 2:30 AM)
Today: Chasing kids around the house, fall asleep on couch by 10:00 PM

Car:
5 years ago: Sports car
Today: SUV soon to be minivan (fighting this)

Common items you’d find in the backseat of my car:
5 years ago: basketball, gym bag, sleeping bag
Today: Baby seat, diapers, dirty diapers (not funny)

With all of the changes, I would not change a thing about my life. It is amazing how your life changes once you make the jump to parenthood.

Water resources vs sprawl

An interesting dilemma is discussed in this Article in the Baltimore Sun.

“The Maryland Department of the Environment can say we don't have enough water, but that means you have to build those houses out in rural areas, with well and septic, on 1- or 2- or 5-acre lots. That's called sprawl.”

Summit faces issue of water vs. sprawl. A shortage of water in population centers is threatening to undermine the state's pioneering anti-sprawl policies by forcing new homes into previously undeveloped areas, a national exert on water rights said yesterday.

'There seems to be a real disconnect between state water policy and the state Smart Growth policy,' Jesse J. Richardson Jr., an attorney and planning professor at Virginia Tech, said at a water summit in Westminster yesterday. 'The Maryland Department of the Environment can say we don't have enough water, but that means you have to build those houses out in rural areas, with well and septic, on 1- or 2- or 5-acre lots. That's called sprawl.'”

There have been a lot of advances in low flow plumbing fixtures and water conservation technologies. A few facts:

Residential water usage accounts for 47% of all water supplied to communities (75% in urban areas)

The average family of 4 uses approx. 400 gallons/day.

Approx. 40-60% of residential water usage gets “flushed” down the toilet

Conventional toilets use 5 gallons/flush.. Low flush toilets use 1.6 gallons and “dual flush" fixtures use less.

** I installed low flow toilets in my home and they work better than my old standard (5 gallon) fixtures.

A google search or a search of the EPA website will bring up a plethora of different strategies and fixtures to reduce water usage.

Perhaps we should start looking at putting limits on the amount of water new (and maybe existing) developments can use in an effort to limit their affects on our limited natural resources. The Federal Government as minimum requirements but perhaps we should go farther. We should be looking toward areas of the county with severe water shortages for ideas, like Arizona and the Southwest .

With today’s high real-estate costs, we walk a dangerous path if we limit residential construction further. There are a lot of people moving into our area and they do need places to live. It is already difficult for a lot of our public professionals (teachers, police officers, etc) to afford a home in our community. Where will these people live if we allow the building stock to be severely restricted and allow prices to escalate out of control (supply vs. demand). By controlling the amount of water new homes use, we’d be better able to focus development around core areas and limit further sprawl.

I would support mandatory and permanent water usage restrictions if it provided more homes for our communities with less sprawl. The right to have an affordable home is more important then the right to have a green lawn. As long as the water regulations where mandatory across the community, I wouldn’t have to worry about having the only brunt out lawn on the street.

Same story, different location

Traffic vs. development seems to be a recurring problem in our area. A recent article in the Eagle discusses traffic woes in the Mineral Hill area and its relation to a new senior center.

In an ideal world, we would have a master plan in place that would focus developments in key, core areas and limit traffic in more rural/residential areas. Unfortunately, we do not live in an ideal world.

*** Been MIA the past couple weeks. Been down and out with a bad cold and travel for work. Should have a few new posts the next few days.

It's the Environment stupid...

or at least it is one important aspect of the Pro vs Con (Development) debate playing out in Columbia and here in Eldersburg (to a lesser extent).

Steve has a good post on this blog (http://stevefine.blogspot.com/) posted @ 11:25 today... he makes a very good point.

The Freedom Area Alliance held a meeting this past Thursday where two of the County Commissioners spoke about a few hot issues in the area. The majority of the meeting involved a lively discussion dealing with the increases in our water/sewer bills and the fight against further developments in our area.

My personal view is we should spend less time opposing all development and more time planning for controlled growth. If we stick our heads in the sand and continue to say not in our backyard... we will eventually end up with the worst type of development... unplanned



An interesting idea was discussed by Commissioner Zimmer dealing with extending Route 29 through Carroll county by relabeling a few existing highways... details can be found here. Could be an "out of the box" idea for obtaining federal highway funding but all of the ramifications need to be investigated.

Diversity in Eldersburg (and America)

Thought I would change up the posts a bit and focus on an issue that is near and dear to my heart. This issue is Diversity. In today’s Politically Correct Atmosphere, it is not discussed enough and when it is people typically focus on stereotypes.

This article entitled “The Face of Tomorrow” is provides a few good talking points.

“For all the platitudes about melting pots, mosaics, and rainbow coalitions, many regard the "browning" of America as a profoundly disturbing trend. Miscegenation is still regarded as culturally taboo on Main Street. As recently as 20 years ago, some states still had laws in place forbidding interracial marriage.”

As a member of an interracial/cultural marriage.. this really strikes home for me. It is amazing how that in today’s society, some people still focus on skin color. We have not experienced any real negative repercussions …. Though, once or twice when we paid a visit to a more culturally homogenous area (rural Pennsylvania) we were subject to a few stairs/comments. Thankfully, in our area and society, my experience has been that people comment more about the balding of one’s head then the color of their skin… and these comments are good natured …. I’ve found that losing one hair has not as dramatic as I feared it would be when I was younger… but that is a topic for a future post…

But back to the topic of this post… Though, I must admit that Eldersburg is not as diverse as I would like it to be, especially as my children grow and enter the school system. I wonder and hope that their backgrounds will not be a characteristic that separates them from their peers.

I don’t have any numbers on the breakdown of the local schools… perhaps someone else can track them down??

Hollywood appears to be embracing diversity, but are we as a culture? It seems to be the hot item in TV sitcoms and movies…

Results from Census 2000

Nearly 7 Million (2.4 percent) of Americans described themselves as multiracial in the 2000 Census.

Among Americans younger than 18, for example, 4.2 percent were multiracial, compared with 1.9 percent of adults.

Census officials claim that the number of interracial couples more than quadrupled between 1970 and 1995.

Among the 13 states where the Census Bureau has released detailed race information so far, multiracial populations range from less than 1 percent in Mississippi to 4.5 percent in Oklahoma.

Among big counties in those states, Fairfax and Prince William counties in Virginia were among the top 10 with their multiracial populations, about 4 percent.:

Thirty years ago, only one in every 100 children born in the United States was of mixed race. Today that number is one in 19. In states like California and Washington it's closer to one in 10 (Newsweek, May 8, 2000).

In 1997 Interface, a magazine which targets interracial couples conducted a poll, "Best & Worst Cities To Live," with its readers and found the top ten cities for interracial couples (ranked in order of preference):

1. Montclair, NJ

2. San Jose, CA

3. Denver, CO

4. San Diego, CA

5. Washington, DC

6. Seattle, WA

7. Minneapolis, MN

8. Madison, MN

9. Oakland, CA

10. Columbus, OH

***I concur with Washington DC being one of the best places to live for these couples. We moved from suburban Virginia and at least 40% of our friends were mixed couples of some type. It seems the for most in the younger generations, this is a non-issue…

Where do most people in Carroll and Howard Counties fall on this issue?

Power of the Sun

Interesting Article on how solar power has taken off on the West Coast.

" Soaring energy costs, environmental consciousness and financial incentives have combined to make solar panels part of the California housing landscape. "

"It comes down to personal responsibility," he said. "If I can go electricity-neutral on my house, that's that much less coal we have to burn."

Californians Bask In Solar Energy

I wish our state governments would show such forward thinking.

Green building in Columbia

An interesting discussion on Green Buildings can be found on a Columbia blog:

http://hocohayduke.blogspot.com/2007/01/seeing-green.html#links

The economic benefits of building green are starting to appear in the marketplace.

**thanks to Hayduke for the great post.