Currently viewing the tag: "Thurmont Library"

Silver Fancy Garden Club Presents Books and Blooms at the Thurmont Library

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Members from the Silver Fancy Garden Club are sharing displays of books and related floral arrangements/vignettes at Thurmont Regional Library beginning Wednesday, April 12, and running through April 30.

The garden club is comprised of members from the Emmitsburg and Taneytown areas. In previous years, they have shared their work with their local libraries. They are continuing their service project of making arrangements/vignettes at Thurmont Regional Library. Club members have made floral arrangements/vignettes to represent children’s books, and both the books and arrangements will be given away by a drawing. People may fill out an entry form each time they visit the library. Names will be drawn on Monday, May 1, and winners will be notified by phone.

Washington Revels Jubilee Voices Performs at Harriet Chapel

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The Washington Revels Jubilee Voices performed at Harriet Chapel as part of the Iron Festival which is presented through the dedication of volunteers from The Catoctin Furnace Historical Society, Catoctin State Park, Harriet Chapel, The Thurmont Library, and numerous other community organizations.

The performance was generously sponsored by PNC Bank and centered around the lives of enslaved people who worked in the Catoctin Iron Furnace and helped build many of the structures in the Village of Catoctin Furnace.  The Washington Revels Jubilee Voices ensemble is a professional musical group committed to the preservation of African-American history and traditions—presenting songs and stories of struggle and perseverance, trials and triumphs, expressed through a cappella music, drama, and dance.

Thurmont Addiction Commission (TAC) Events

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The Thurmont Addiction Commission (TAC) has kicked into high gear this summer in its effort to educate the public about the dangers of addiction and to sponsor activities that promote awareness and healthy living.

At the end of May, a showing of the documentary Heroin’s Grip was held at Catoctin High School to a large audience and featured a guest panel discussion.  In June, TAC presented an Overdose Response Training workshop at the Thurmont Library, which also provided instruction to administer Narcan. 

The FUSE Teen Center recently celebrated its one-year anniversary, and what a busy year it’s been. A handful of FUSE’rs traveled to Washington D.C. for a guided tour of the White House. In addition, a FUSE Fun Day took place on June 8 for area teenagers, with a great response from local establishments. 

On July 16, TAC hosted a “Hands on Addictions Advocacy Workshop” in the back room of the Kountry Kitchen in Thurmont. This event was free and open to the community. On July 24, FUSE hosted the ‘Kick-IT for FUSE Kickball Tournament,” in conjunction with Potter Baseball Tour, at the Thurmont Little League field. The event was open to all ages. There was also a movie shown on the baseball field that evening.

Beginning at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, August 3, will be a day of volleyball fun and good times at the “Spike for a Cause” Volleyball Tournament. This event will be held at Libertytown Park. If you are an adult and interested in joining a team, contact Mike Schilling at 301-305-5529.

On August 31, from 7:00-8:00 p.m., there will be an Overdose Awareness Luminary and Program at Mechanicsburg Park in Thurmont. This event is open to the public.

Momentum is building to turn Frederick County Purple in September for National Recovery Month, to bring awareness and understanding of mental health and substance use disorders and to celebrate those living in recovery.  More information can be found at www.frederickcountygoespurple.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/frederickcountygoespurple. There are many opportunities for the public to get involved. We encourage you to get involved and help Turning Frederick County Purple!

TAC is always looking for volunteers or individuals that want to help combat addiction in our communities. Those interested may email ThurmontTAC@gmail.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ThurmontAddictionCommission/.

Thurmont Main Street Center Opens in October

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The Main Street Center will open Saturday, October 10, 2015, from 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. It will then be open during October and November on Saturdays from 11:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. and Sundays from 12:00-4:00 p.m. The new center is located on Water Street in Thurmont in the former Thurmont Library space.

Volunteers have been stepping forward to assist in various ways at the new center; anyone interested in helping out is welcome. Duties include handing out Thurmont business information to visitors to encourage them to spend time in Thurmont.

In December, the Center’s hours will change to include some evenings to accommodate the Festival of Trees, Wreathes, and Gingerbread House displays. People will be able to vote on their favorite tree and gingerbread house, and the wreathes will be auctioned off after Christmas. Anyone can enter a wreath; details will be mailed out in the electric bills. Gingerbread and wreaths are open to anyone, but trees are open only to businesses. All entries must come from within the Main Street Thurmont area.

Vickie Grinder, the Center’s coordinator and Thurmont’s Main Street manager, is soliciting every business in Thurmont, not just Main Street businesses, to have their information displayed in the Center. Businesses (within the parameters of 21788) that want to take advantage of having their information displayed on a permanent basis, please drop off your material(s) to the Thurmont Town Office, attention Vickie.

Art will be displayed in the Center. Local artists are invited to submit their art for consideration.

The Center will also have retail products for sale, including Josh Bollinger’s barbecue sauce, a Main Street label apple butter, Christmas ornaments for the Thurmont Lions Club, wine glasses from the Thurmont Murals, a lip balm made locally, and so on. If you have any locally-made products that you’d like to sell, please call for consideration.

The Main Street Center will facilitate visitors, as well as offer residents fun and educational events, such as paint night, paint lessons, lectures, WiFi, and other cool happenings.

For more information or if you have any questions, please contact Vickie Grinder at 301-748-5876.

thurmont main street

The Main Street Center, located at 11 Water Street in Thurmont, opens October 10, 2015.

Burglary Prevention and Your Business

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Allison Rostad

Imagine locking up your business at the end of the day—closing out the register, shutting off the lights, locking up until the next day. Now imagine that the next day you find your business had been broken into. It is now part of a crime scene.

According to the Thurmont Police Department, the Thurmont area recorded ten commercial burglaries between the months of August and October. For a small town of 4.1 square miles, that’s a lot.

On Thursday, November 6, 2014, the Thurmont Police Department invited business owners to join them at the Thurmont Library to discuss burglary prevention tips in hopes of curtailing future commercial burglaries.

Prevention tips were reviewed by Thurmont’s Police Chief, Greg Eyler. While these tips are not guaranteed to keep a burglary from happening, when utilized, they may help to maximize your protection against a burglary.

There were three big take-a-ways from the prevention discussion: (1)Work as a team with the police; (2) Be proactive; and (3) Always remain calm. Thurmont has a police department comprised of thirteen officers. These officers work split shifts in order to cover 24 hours of every day. A community of active allies who work to enhance the safety and quality of neighborhoods makes for a big help.

Working as a team with the police in your community can dramatically decrease the likelihood of crime in your area. Imagine the force of thirteen officers now aided to well over one thousand, due to the allies of the community. That’s a number sure to deter a possible burglary.

This expansion of allies simply requires that business owners take measures to more securely protect their businesses. Start by taking a look at your business’s physical layout, your employees, and your business’s overall security. Consider installing video surveillance, proper interior and exterior lighting, and a monitored alarm system. Make sure adequate locks are installed on all doors, and consider adding additional hardware that will improve the level of security of your current doors and locks.

Keep windows and counters clear to allow for law enforcement and civilian surveillance. Do not keep cash in register after closing. Monies should be taken straight to the bank or placed in a safe that is anchored to the floor. Always provide training for employees, so they are familiar with security procedures and know your expectations.

Although some of the mentioned security improvements are costly, consider the cost of each improvement you make against the potential savings through loss reduction. Crimes against businesses are usually crimes of opportunity. Failure to take good security precautions invites crime into a business.

Perhaps even after precautionary steps are taken to prevent a burglary, you still become victim, remain calm. Officers and their families will appreciate this more than you know. The last thing anyone would want out of a burglary is injury or the loss of life. No amount of money could replace the worth of an individual’s life. Understand that the way a crime is reported determines the way the police are dispatched to handle the situation. If someone has shoplifted from your business, simply report it as such. Don’t panic and describe matters worse than they are.

Crimes have different classifications. A robbery is handled differently than a shoplifting situation, because a robbery is classified to have some sort of violent or forceful action along with obtaining unauthorized control over property. Shoplifting from a business is to obtain unauthorized control over property but without force or violence. Although there is only a slight difference between the two, it is important to note that an officer dispatched to a robbery is likely to respond with more caution and concern towards the violent action.

Don’t forget, in the event of an emergency, please call 911.

 

Catoctin’s War On Drugs

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Ashley McGlaughlin

More and more families are experiencing the loss of a loved one to drug abuse. The drugs being abused could be street drugs, or even prescribed narcotics from doctors. There is a wide range of reasons why people hurt themselves by doing this. Some intend to experiment ‘just once’, but end up becoming addicted forever. While “high” on drugs, you most likely have a different personality. It is completely horrible for a child, or a parent, to see their family member act differently because they choose to use these drugs. It is heart breaking, especially because this is something the abuser can control. We, meaning each and every one of us, need to take action now!

Peer pressure, personal problems, and even a reliance on something that is supposed to help us—pain killers—can lead a person to turn to drug abuse. We may be related to someone who is already demonstrating the example of substance abuse, we may see it on television, or we may be a friend of someone who is exhibiting the example. Peer pressure shows us that sometimes the people using drugs may appear to be popular or admired, so we try to do the same thing so we can also be admired and popular and accepted by others.

Painkillers are prescribed from a doctor, but the patient could easily take more than what they’re supposed to, trying to ease their pain. This leads to the patient’s painkillers running out, causing them to withdraw. Symptoms of withdrawal from drugs include aching joints, nausea, hot flashes, and even a short temper. The prescription pain pill abuser may feel so disturbed when they run out of their prescription, that they actually go buy illegal substances like heroine to ease their pain and cravings. Sometimes, without even realizing it, this becomes a recurring cycle every time their prescription runs out. Soon, this one mistake leads to a life time of disappointment.

By being addicted to heroin, cocaine, LSD, or even methamphetamine, whole families are impacted. Buying drugs is a waste of money, when the money runs out, the addiction causes financial stress. Soon, the abuser is using the cheap drugs to maintain their high. Street drugs that consist of unnatural materials that we put in our bodies will break down our natural body functions because our bodies don’t know what to do with the pollution we put in it.  Drug abuse is at an all-time high.  Couple that with the fact that the drugs on the streets are more deadly than ever, and we have a huge problem that has some impact on each and every member of our community.

At a Mackenzie’s Light Bereavement and Awareness Support Group meeting at the Thurmont Library in September, a father of a Thurmont girl who died from a heroin overdose said, “It [her death] blind-sided me! I thought she was drinking and I might get a call to come pick her up somewhere. But, I had no idea that she was into anything harder.” His daughter was a talented 20-year-old with a sunny personality. Like this father, your loved ones could be doing drugs without your knowledge. Your children could be taken away if you are a parent or a guardian who is found abusing these drugs. This affects your own children you have raised and the entire family unit.

There are children under the age of ten years old that have seen more drugs around them than what a grown man has seen. These children get placed in unfamiliar places like foster care, which changes their lives forever. Some don’t even get away from the drugs, they grow up thinking drugs aren’t that bad, so they also become addicted. It becomes a way of life and coping for them.

Here in our home towns, there have been multiple cases of heroin overdose, death, and other drug abuses. If you are using drugs, this is the time to stop, and to change your life. You don’t realize it while you’re under the influence, but every decision has a consequence, and it affects more people than you think. All of our lives involve choices and we all make hundreds of choices on a daily basis. Communication, observation, awareness, support, and sometimes even policing are of utmost importance.

Mackenzie’s Light Bereavement and Awareness Support Group meets monthly at the Thurmont Library. People impacted in any way by addiction are invited to attend. At the next meeting, Thurmont’s Police Chief, Greg Eyler, will talk about the statistics of suicide resulting from addiction. Stop by on Monday, October 27, 2014 at 6:30 p.m. Also, during this meeting, a recovering alcoholic parent will talk about grieving the loss of their child who committed suicide related to drug addiction. These are real problems, real losses, real people. Please call 301-524-8064 for more information or check them out on Facebook.

Project Hope in Thurmont, helps youth with positive reinforcement.  They are an anti-drug group with the goal of helping addicts find whatever resources that are available to help them get into recovery.  Project Hope will be there as a support team for anyone who needs help. Check them out on Facebook or read about them in this issue.

Our local health department is another source of help. If the individual is on state insurance through medical assistance in Frederick County, mental health and substance abuse is covered under that policy. Our local rehabilitation center accepts that insurance (i.e. United Health Care, Amerigroup, Riverside, Priority Partners, and Maryland Physicians Care) for inpatient treatment of substance abuse, to educate and assist addicts with the withdrawal process, as well as train them to deal with addiction as an illness.

All walks of life are affected by this disease.