Currently viewing the tag: "Emmitsburg Mayor Don Briggs"

James Rada, Jr.

The Emmitsburg Boys and Girls Club starts this month on September 3 in Emmitsburg Elementary School.

The club is part of the Boys and Girls Club of Frederick County. It is an after-school program that provides a safe and friendly place for Emmitsburg students to gather, learn, and have fun.

According to Lisa McDonald, executive director of the Boys and Girls Club of Frederick County, a typical day in the club includes a snack, time to complete homework, and an enrichment activity. On occasion, the students will have field trips for different activities.

“Each day is a little bit different,” McDonald said. “We use several outcome-based curriculums to teach things like healthy habits, STEM, and character development.”

The club starts directly after school and continues until 6:00 p.m.

“When school closes early, we open early to accommodate,” McDonald said. Also, on days when school is closed, the club will meet at Christ Community Church in Emmitsburg.

The program, which is funded by a Frederick County Community Partnership Grant, serves 45 students and is open to everyone. The Town of Emmitsburg has also committed around $10,000 to the program, just as they did with the former after-school program.

“We are hoping to grow the program in Northern Frederick County,” expressed McDonald. However, the Emmitsburg Club is currently focusing on students in Emmitsburg Elementary, where a United Way study identified a need for such a program.

Emmitsburg Mayor Don Briggs worked to convince the Boys and Girls Club to come to Emmitsburg.

“Their program is terrific,” said Briggs. “It complements the schools and helps develop a well-rounded person. It’s also another thing for youth in town to do.”

Students can register for the club online at bgcfc.org. The cost of the program is $15 annually and $40 a month for each month school is in session.

The staff and mayor of Emmitsburg, members of the Emmitsburg Business and Professionals Association, and community members gathered to celebrate the official opening of several electric vehicle charging stations located on the back side of the Community Building parking lot on South Seton Avenue in Emmitsburg.

Matt Wade, the CEO of the EVI (Electric Vehicle Institute), the company who helped with the installation of the service, out of Baltimore, gave a demonstration of charging his electric vehicle. He said, “It’s as easy as plugging in and watching the lights on the kiosk progress from red to blue to green.” A full charge can take up to four hours to complete.

County Executive Jan Gardner presented a proclamation to Emmitsburg Mayor Don Briggs during this ceremony. She talked about Frederick County leading the way being the first on the Eastern Seaboard to utilize all-electric buses in its transit system.

Owners of electric vehicles can now plug into one of several convenient charging stations to top off, or fully charge, their electric vehicles. Mayor Briggs said that charging will be free until further notice so that residents can become familiar with the convenience. After the fee-free timeframe, charging will cost a few dollars and can be paid at the charging kiosk with a credit card.

Pictured left to right are Emmitsburg Town Clerk Maddy Shaw, Emmitsburg Mayor Don Briggs, EVI CEO Matt Wade, Frederick County Executive Jan Gardner, Emmitsburg Town Councilman Cliff Sweeney, EBPA Vice-President Michael Cantori, Emmitsburg Town Planner Zach Gulden, EBPA President Wayne Slaughter, Emmitsburg Town Office Manager Terri Ray, and Emmitsburg Town Accounting Tech Reese Fryer.

The Maryland League of Conservation Voters has awarded Emmitsburg Mayor Don Briggs their first President Theodore Roosevelt Award.

“I am humbled to be the first recipient of this important award,” Briggs said. “I love our state and its natural gifts. This tribute says so much about our town staff and community, and our commitment to a sustainable future.”

The award was presented on October 27, 2017, Roosevelt’s birthday. The award is given to recognize “the individual, group, or organization who through a specific action, event, or body of work leaves a positive conservation legacy that mirrors the ethos of President Roosevelt.” Briggs’ award recognizes Emmitsburg’s “remarkable record of progress in publicly beneficial sustainable activities.”

Briggs has been a long-time advocate of making Emmitsburg a greener, self-sustaining community, and, at the same time, saving the town money. The town’s green projects, such as LED lights, solar power arrays, and sonic algae control, have saved the town money during Briggs time as mayor.

“Today, 95 percent of the energy required to power municipal buildings and other facilities in Emmitsburg comes from renewable sources, while the entire effort is overseen by the ‘Emmitsburg Green Team,’ made up of elected officials, town staff, and interested members of the community,” according to a news release from the Maryland League of Conservation Voters.

The Maryland League of Conservation Voters was founded in 1979 as a political group taking stands on environmental issues.

The State of Maryland also awarded Emmitsburg its Maryland Green Registry 2017 Leadership Award earlier this year.

Thurmont Mayor John Kinnaird

This summer has been one we will remember for many years to come, thanks to the efforts of the Thurmont Little League 11-12 All Stars! The outstanding accomplishments of winning the District 2 Championship, followed by the Maryland State Title, then an amazing run at the Eastern Regional Playoffs in Connecticut, was a thing of wonder. It seemed that the majority of local residents were following the team, as they fought through each step of the way. Surprisingly, the team had followers from all over our state and across the nation. In speaking to them after they returned from the regionals, each of them expressed disappointment at the final loss, but all of them handled that outcome with the same grace and sportsmanship that they displayed on the field. We will judge future teams against the 2017 All Stars for seasons to come; but, win or lose, the Little League has taught these fine young men—and those that will come in the following years—that fair play and courtesy are both attributes we should aim for in our lives. It was a pleasure for Karen and I to follow the team in the playoffs, and we were overjoyed to see the support our communities showed them. I asked the team to autograph a dozen balls and two bats. These are being auctioned to the highest bidders. The minimum bid for a ball is $25.00 and the minimum for a bat is $50.00. You can bid by emailing me at jkinnaird@thurmont.com; in the subject line, please indicate whether you are bidding on a ball or a bat. All proceeds will be used to reimburse travel expenses from the playoffs.

This next couple of months will bring us the return to school for our children, the Community Show, and Colorfest. Please be careful while driving; as the children return to school, they may not always be on the lookout for vehicles. School starts on September 5, and with it, comes school buses on our roads. Always stop when a bus is displaying its red lights and watch for kids crossing to get on the bus.

The Community Show will be held the weekend of September 8-10. Be sure to come out to enjoy all the agricultural displays, artwork, home grown vegetables and fruit, great food, and the cake auction, as well as the annual livestock sale.

We are getting ready for Colorfest and for all the visitors that the event brings to Thurmont. Colorfest provides many of our churches, service organizations, and nonprofits with their single-biggest fundraising event of the year. Be on the lookout for updates leading up to Colorfest, outlining any changes to traffic patterns and road closures.

As always, you can reach me at jkinnaird@thurmont.com or by phone at 301-606-9458.

Emmitsburg Mayor Don Briggs

Seems like yesterday we bid farewell to graduating seniors from the Mount and Catoctin High…blink, and now we are welcoming incoming freshmen and returning upper-class students. Alas, the days are getting shorter and there is a changing of the guard of birds at our feeders.

A wonderful summer of youth baseball was provided by both the Cal Ripken League and the Little League. Congratulations to the Thurmont Little League team and coaches! Emmitsburg’s contribution includes Little League President and Coach Ed Lowry, players E.J. Lowry, Joe McMannis, Braden Manning, Donovan Baker, and Braden Bell. The team made it to the Little League Baseball® Mid-Atlantic Regional Tournament Championship game in Bristol, Connecticut, which was televised on ESPN. This is a time capsule event.

Catoctin High fall sports are in full swing, with Cody Staley and Will Bingman on the varsity football team, along with a JV team loaded with the talent and verve of Dylan Click, Jason Howard, Josh Maze, and Collin Martin. In another update, freshman granddaughter Aedan Myles and Kasia Bokinsky made the Catoctin JV volleyball team.

What a summer for town activities. Three Block Parties, a Family Fun Night, our deputies National Night Out, Christ Community Church “Back to School” party, and Community Heritage Day. We have a lot to look forward to next summer, with a new pool, a new dog park, and the completion of town connecting square revitalization-sidewalks project. The bridge will join the effort in late fall 2018.

To our neighbor to the northwest, Ronald J. Harris, Mayor, Borough of Carroll Valley: Congratulations on receiving the 2017 Pennsylvania State Mayors’ Association (PSMA) “Mayor of the Year” award.

A “work well done” pastoral farewell to Father John Holliday of St. Joseph’s Parish from the Emmitsburg Council of Churches and his parishioners. The good padre has been reassigned to be the student-chaplain at St. John’s University in New York. Peace and blessings.

After years of pleading with the county for more public transportation to Frederick City, Thurmont Mayor John Kinnaird and I are working together in a change of tactic, asking for only one additional round trip during the noon hour. One round trip to complement the one existing round trip, down in the morning and back in the evening. The service would be far more attractive to users if they could return within four hours, instead of spending the day waiting for return service. I believe we are earnestly getting some traction this time around.

Quickly coming upon us is 36th Annual National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend on October 7-8, 2017. As in the past, thousands are expected to visit our town. It is an honor to be a part of this tribute, so let’s welcome all for this solemn event.

There they were, seventy-plus cyclists cruising through town during a scorcher of a weekend in late July, toward a respite at the 70th mile marker of their 100-mile trek, the Fire Heritage Center and Fire Museum, on South Seton Avenue. There, Wayne Powell and Frank Schmersahl, again for the fourth straight year, served water and other goodies, provided by the Pleasant Valley Fire Department in Carroll County. Annually, this fire department conducts, as a fundraiser, bike rides of 25 miles, 50 miles, and 100 miles through Western Carroll County and Northern Frederick County. Thank you, Wayne and Frank.

We are getting a lot of positive feedback after receiving the Maryland Green Registry “Leadership Award.” We will be doing more. More “Leadership” is on the way.

With Labor Day falling on the first Monday, the September town meeting will be held Tuesday, September 5, at 7:30 p.m.

Mark the calendar for the 61st Emmitsburg-Thurmont Community Show, September 8-10, at Catoctin High School.

New service to the area: Narcotics Anonymous. If you are recovering or temptations are mounting, you have friends, every Monday night at 7:00 p.m. at Christ Community Church, located at 303 W. Lincoln Avenue.

Emmitsburg Recovery Run 5K is September 16 at Emmitsburg Community Park. “Heroin Lies Recovery Run” contact /information: Recoveryrun5k.com.

Town Election Day is Tuesday, September 26, at the deputies building on East Main Street.

Have a wonderful Labor Day holiday!  Emmitsburg is a great place to live.

Thurmont

Mayor John Kinnaird

I am writing from the Maryland Municipal League Annual Summer Conference in Ocean City. This is my eighth time at the summer conference, and it looks like this trip will be as exciting and informative as all the others. The four days are filled with meetings, discussion groups, and classes, all of which help our elected officials better understand the responsibilities and mechanics of serving our communities. One of the best things I have found is that we get the chance to speak with others and see how they address issues in their communities; but more importantly, we see firsthand that other communities generally have much bigger issues than we have to contend with. The opportunity to meet face-to-face with many of our elected state officials and the heads of State agencies is another advantage of attending these conferences. This gives us a direct line of contact with those that can have a positive impact on how Thurmont fares when dealing on the state level, as well as with the many grants and funding opportunities of which we take advantage. My thanks to Commissioner Hamrick, CAO Jim Humerick, Kelly Duty, and Vickie Grinder for attending this year’s conference and expanding their knowledge of governmental issues and for increasing their networking contacts.

Two weeks ago, I sat down with representatives of seven Frederick County municipalities to help assign Project Open Space (POS) funding to our communities. POS funds are monies granted to counties by the State of Maryland to be used to enhance open space or park lands. Typically the money is split 50-50 between Frederick County and the municipalities. This year, a little over $507,922 in funding was available to municipalities in Frederick County. Of that amount, $126,981 was available for the acquisition of park land and $380,941 was available for improvements to existing parks.  I am happy to announce that Thurmont was able to garner a total of $107,000 for two projects we applied for: $89,000 will be used to help complete the All Inclusive Playground at the East End Park (more about that later), and $18,900 will fund the installation of an ADA-compliant restroom facility at the East End Park. It is always an interesting evening when we get together to discuss the POS funds. As you can imagine, there is never enough funds to satisfy everyone’s requests. This year, there was almost $800,000 in requests from the seven municipalities, so it was obvious to the seven of us that we could only fund 50 percent of the proposals. Given this, it would seem to be a real problem. But as I have seen repeatedly, the municipalities are always willing to take less so that others can get funding for their special projects. This year, the Town of Thurmont benefited from this practice and was awarded almost 30 percent of the money available! In past years, we have cut back on our request during the discussions to assist others, and this year we benefited from that courtesy.

Earlier, I mentioned the All Inclusive Playground at the East End Park. This project is a joint venture between the Town and the Catoctin Area Civitan Club. The Civitans made a proposal to establish an All Inclusive Playground last year, and I am happy to say that with funding from both the town and the Civitans, the project is moving forward. The town portion of the initial funding came from Project Open Space; and now with the recently awarded POS funds, we will be able to move the project closer to completion. The first phase of this amazing park has been dedicated and is now open. Be sure to stop for a look and remember that this playground is designed to be used by children with all levels of physical and emotional capabilities. All the equipment can be accessed by children in wheelchairs and walkers, so they can enjoy the thrill of outdoor fun with their friends and family. I want to thank the Catoctin Area Civitan Club for their vision and help in establishing this playground right here in Thurmont.

I look forward to seeing everyone at the Guardian Hose Company Carnival, and I hope you have a great time watching the Annual Fireman’s Parade!

As always, I can be reached by email at jkinnaird@thurmont.com, by phone at 301-606-9458, or on Facebook.

Emmitsburg

 Mayor Don Briggs

In June, the Town of Emmitsburg received the Maryland Green Registry 2017 Leadership Award. Due to a lot of “sweat equity” from lots of people in a body of work, we are very proud of receiving the reward. “Green” is shorthand for living in a more natural way, with a determination to reduce waste, use renewable energy, and enhance walkability through community connectivity. A simple, workable definition of Green is: “use what you need today and save what you don’t need for future generations.” Green is shorthand for sustainability. Sustainability, boiled down, is to keep, hold, or maintain for an extended period of time. Sustainability is nothing new to the crop farmers working the land around us, who plant, grow, reap, and replenish, to then plant again, all the while taking care of their soil. These farmers, like farmers for thousands of years, are renewable energy reliant on the seasons, sun, and water—surface, ground, or rain, and do everything they can to reduce waste. Now is the time to bring that consciousness to our uses.

As a strong impetus to and validation for our sustainability goals, the town was honored to host on separate days the 4th-grade classes of Mother Seton School and Emmitsburg Elementary School. Our special guests moved in small groups throughout the office to meet with staff in four stations: accounting, receptionist–office manager, the town clerk, and mayor’s office, before moving on to the council meeting room. Every student sat in the mayor’s and/or council member’s seats and introduced themselves over the microphones. A mock hearing was conducted before a visit to the Frederick County Fire Museum and Fire Heritage Center, where they climbed aboard.

Coming up are several town-sponsored events in the park. Please check the town website and Facebook page for descriptions, dates, times, and specific locations. Please note on your calendar Tuesday, August 1, from 5:00-8:00 p.m. for National Night Out (NNO) at the field behind the town office. NNO is an annual event that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make our neighborhoods safer, more caring places to live. This is a new event to Emmitsburg, “but across the nation, different communities host block parties, festivals, parades, cookouts, and various other community events, with safety demonstrations, seminars, youth events, visits from emergency personnel, exhibits, and much more.”

What is the Impact Club? And what is Blessings in a Backpack to Frederick?

Blessings in a Backpack to Frederick was started by educator Hermine Bernstein, who literally stumbled on the problem in Frederick County of over 11,000 children that are on FARM (Free And Reduced Meals). Hermine saw a greater calling in helping these kids, so she started Blessings in a Backpack to Frederick for children in strained family situations.

The Impact Club is a group of people wanting to contribute to the good of the community. Every quarter, Lib and I, along with 230-plus other residents in Frederick County, donate $100. Every quarter, members nominate community causes from which one is selected by membership vote. For this quarter, Blessings in a Backpack to Frederick was selected and received a $23,600 check.

Community Heritage Day 2017: Thank you to the Lions Club, American Legion, Knights of Columbus, Christ’s Community Church, and many businesses and civic organizations in Emmitsburg, for working together to provide a day full of fun and activities, ending with Independence Day Fireworks. Please go to Emmitsburgevents.com for details on a great day of fun.

Finally, the Square revitalization and sidewalk project has begun on the west end of Main Street.

Besides a Catholic Saint who once lived here, Emmitsburg has a famous riflemaker in its history, as well as other artisans. It’s a town heritage that Town Planner Sue Cipperly would like to see developed in the future.

Emmitsburg Mayor Don Briggs and Cipperly told the Emmitsburg Commissioners that an effort was underway to find a place where a statue of riflemaker John Armstrong could be placed. Artist Gary Casteel has expressed an interest in creating the statue.

Armstrong is most famous for the variation of the Kentucky long rifle. His rifles are highly sought-after collector’s items today. However, he is not the only artisan or famous person to come through Emmitsburg.

The Eyster Family had a number of notable clockmakers, and John Hoover was also known for the clocks he made. One of them can be seen in the Maryland Room of the C. Burr Artz Library in Frederick. George Miles, author of the unofficial Confederate National Anthem, came from the town, as well as Stanley Krebs, a noted psychologist. Then there are the authors, artists, and notable graduates from Mount St. Mary’s.

“I would love to try and showcase more of the earlier history of Emmitsburg,” Cipperly said. She said that occasionally people bring artifacts and other pieces of Emmitsburg history into the town office, hoping to find more information about them. “We have a lot of people who know quite a bit about the history of the town.”

While there are already established sites in Emmitsburg connected with its religious history, Cipperly would like to see other areas developed. Depending on what is developed, a walking tour through town could be put together that includes the Elizabeth Ann Seton sites, fire museum, and other significant points of interest.

“There’s not a lot of towns our size that have the amount of history that we have,” said Cipperly.

While the developing Emmitsburg’s cultural history is on her radar, it is not something to pursue in the immediate future. The town has major projects ongoing with the Route 140 bridge, sidewalks, and town square going on right now.

James Rada, Jr.

The Emmitsburg town council meeting room was filled to capacity on August 11, 2016, as citizens sought for a way to band together to fight Emmitsburg’s crime problem.
“Since I moved here, I’ve noticed the quality of life dropping and crime increasing,” one of the group’s founders, Elizabeth Buckman, told the group.

She said that the town needed to unify against crime, and this could happen if its residents get to know each other, start reporting what they see, and become good neighbors by watching out for each other.

“If we’re not successful, Emmitsburg is going to crumble,” stated Buckman.

Emmitsburg Community Deputy Travis Rohrer said that all suspicious activity should be reported and that the call can be anonymous.

“It may be nothing, but if it looks out of place, there’s a good chance that it probably is,” Rohrer said.

Finding out about the suspicious and criminal activity after they have happened only serves to hinder an investigation. He also pointed out that if sometimes nothing immediately seems to happen when suspicious activity is reported, it may be because the problem is part of a larger one that is being investigated. If residents see a situation, they should gather as much information as they can. This could include descriptions, names, license plate numbers, and even pictures. The more information that law enforcement has about the situation, the quicker a resolution can be reached.

While the group got off to a strong start, the test will be to see if it can continue and grow. In the past, Community Watch efforts in town have started and faded. Emmitsburg Mayor Don Briggs even pointed out that a similarly large group had gathered five years earlier in the room after a youngster had been killed. That effort to help the community had also faded.

“It’s the same message, but it’s up to us to do something, to reach out and watch,” said Briggs.

Emmitsburg Cares has set up a Facebook page that they hope will act as a central hub for information about suspicious activity in town. It is the place to start to get involved. Everyone is encouraged to join.