Emmitsburg
Mayor Don Briggs
Congratulations to Mount St. Mary’s University and its women’s and men’s basketball teams on winning bids to NCAA tournaments. They came after decisive wins in their respective NEC championship games. The women’s tournament field includes 31 teams and runs from March 21 through April 4. The tournament will be held in San Antonio, Texas. The men’s 67-team field tournaments will be held in Indianapolis, Indiana, from March 18 through April 5. GO MOUNT! Bring it on.
The American Rescue Plan, AKA the Covid Relief Bill, will include funds for the town. Our first priority is creating working opportunities through water and sewer infrastructure projects. In addition to scheduled underground line repair/ replacements, funds will be used for an $800,000 pump station and $400,000 to complement funds from the state for a water clarifier (water treatment filter).
Vigilant Hose Spring Fling is on. But in a virtual form. If interested, hurry. Contact the fire company for details. Non-Emergency: 301-447-2728. E-mail: info@vhc6.com. The fire company has gone out on several brush fires in March. As a reminder, we need rain.
The Maryland Historical Trust approved another town grant request for downtown façade restoration projects. Going back to 2013, this will be our ninth approval. Approvals are typically for $50,000 in matching funds. For the 2021 cycle, a matching grant of $50,000 is already lined up for disbursement among several private properties. Over the years, the town has received $405,000, resulting in over $1,000,000 in improvements to private properties. If you have an interest in the program for the 2022 grant cycle, please contact Town Planner Zach Gulden at 301-600-6309.
In the Catoctin Cougars football team’s first outing scrimmage with Middletown, the outcome was marred by the serious head injury Cougar lineman Colan Droneburg sustained. From updates, he is up and doing well. The family is overly thankful to the community for the outpouring of support for them and Colan. The Frederick High School game scheduled for March 5 was canceled because Frederick coaches and/or players had failed COVID-protocol testing. As of this writing, games against Thomas Johnson were scheduled for Friday, March 19, at 6:30 p.m., and a close-out game against Brunswick, Friday, March 26, also at 6:30 p.m.
On the Mayor COVID update video series in February and March, guests included County Executive Jan Gardner, Frederick County Sustainability Department Manager Shannon Moore, and Green Builder Mark Lancaster.
From the County Executive’s Office, over 20 percent of county residents have been vaccinated (mid-March). At that point, total COVID-19 cases for the county were at 12,665 and deaths at 256. In the 21727-zip code, we have had 361 cases. While statewide demand for COVID-related hospital bed demand is declining, Frederick County is still at a second surge level. We are getting there.
With COVID, this Lenten season will be remembered as one where we have given a lot, but do not forget all you do for others, as that also is a part of the season. It has been a special Lent.
From Lib and I, we wish everyone a Happy Eastertide.
Thurmont
Mayor John Kinnaird
With the arrival of spring, I invite everyone to visit the Thurmont Main Street Farmers Market at their new indoor location! The Farmers Market is open Saturday mornings from 9:00 a.m. until noon at the Thurmont Plaza Shopping Center at 224 North Church Street. Guests are required to wear a face mask and observe social-distancing guidelines. The vendors offer a wide range of produce and baked goods, including cakes, croissants, donuts, cupcakes, cookies, pies, local Red Angus Beef, eggs, handmade cornhole bags, mushrooms, herbs, dried peppers, potted flowers, goat milk soaps, and other goodies. Stop by and check out the selection; you will not be disappointed! After May 1, the Farmers Market will return to the Municipal Parking Lot on South Center Street.
Thurmont residents are encouraged to follow the Planning and Zoning Commission as they work to update the Thurmont Master Plan. This includes reviewing land use, comprehensive rezoning, updates to the Zoning Regulations, improving the Growth Map, and other items. The meetings are open to the public, and there will be public hearings and open houses to get community input. The Thurmont Planning and Zoning Commission meets on the fourth Thursday of each month at 7:00 p.m.
Thurmont Main Street will be sponsoring Main Street Sweeps on Saturday, June 5, from 9:00-11:00 a.m. Then, Thurmont Green Team, Thurmont Lions Club, YMCA Thurmont Teen Program, and other volunteers will be joining forces to help clean the downtown streets. The cleanup will start on East Main Street, from Thurmont Barber & Styling to the corner at PNC and South Center Street, then onto South Center around to Water Street and back up to the Mechanicstown Square Park. The Thurmont Lions Club will be supplying brooms for the Sweep! Contact Karen Schildt at kschildt@thurmontstaff.com or call her at 240-285-8076 if you would like to help.
I am sure many residents are aware of the issues we have been trying to address at the Recycling drop-off site on Moser Road next to the Regional Library. The recycling facility is located on Town of Thurmont property as a courtesy to Frederick County. The County reimburses the Town for the majority of the cost of dumping the recycling by funding one emptying per week. Any additional emptying is paid for by the Town of Thurmont. In recent months, it seems that almost every weekend people are dropping off recycling when the bin is full. Rather than take the recycling back when there is room in the roll-off, they are throwing it on the ground and making a big mess. The cardboard, paper, and other items blow all over the place, and our staff has to spend several hours on Monday mornings cleaning up the area. What’s worse, is they are dropping off many items that are not recyclable, including styrofoam, trash, construction debris, and plastic bags full of bags of cans-bottles-containers. These items are considered to be contaminants and are refused at the recycling facility. Any load with a noticeable amount of contaminants is refused and sent to the landfill, costing the County additional money. Last week the Town decided to start having the recycling roll-off dumped a second time each week in an effort to reduce the amount of recycling being tossed on the ground. We are funding this and have reached out to the County for financial support for the additional cost involved. We are also posting the property with “No Littering” signs; any items dropped off on the ground at the recycling bin will be considered littering, and those doing so will be fined. It is our hope that the second emptying per week and the No Littering signs will help resolve the situation. The Recycling Drop Off is a valuable asset to the Thurmont Community and the surrounding County residents; we want to do what we can to keep it here for everyone to use.
I hope everyone has a joyful Easter and a pleasant April. As always, I can be reached at jkinnaird@thurmont.com or by phone at 301-606-9458.
