Hamrick and Buehrer Win in Unopposed Election
James Rada, Jr.
Thurmont Commissioners Wes Hamrick and Bill Buehrer retained their seats on the Thurmont Board of Commissioners after the town election on October 27, 2015.
A total of 209 residents voted in the town election, and although both men were running unopposed, neither candidate garnered the total support of the votes. Hamrick received 199 votes and Buehrer received 167 votes.
The difference was made up of write-in votes for seven different candidates, including former Thurmont Chief Administrative Officer Bill Blakeslee.
Hamrick and Buehrer were sworn in during the November 3 town meeting.
“I know Wes and I are most appreciative,” Buehrer said of the people who turned out to vote.
He said that he wished more people had turned out to vote, but that at least the turnout wasn’t as low as the town election in Emmitsburg, which also had two commissioners running unopposed.
Buehrer and Hamrick had both posted campaign signs around town in the hopes of encouraging voters to come out and vote, but the commissioners heard after the election that some people had forgotten about the election since there weren’t any major issues or contested races involved. Mayor John Kinnaird said that he would like to set sign boards and banners up for the next election to hopefully avoid the problem of low voter turnout.
This will be Buehrer’s second term on the board and Hamrick’s first full term. Hamrick won the special election to fill the unexpired term of John Kinnaird when he was elected mayor in 2013.
Fall Fundraiser at Lawyer’s Farm a Huge Success
Thanks to all participants who helped to raise $12,238 for the American Cancer Society (ACS) and $776 for the American Brain Tumor Association (ABTA) during the Lawyer’s Farm 2nd Annual Fall Fundraiser on November 1, 2015.
This year, Lawyer’s “Hogan Strong” corn maze was made in the shape of Maryland Governor Larry Hogan’s image. Governor Hogan and his family attended the event. Taylor (Lawyer) Huffman of Lawyer’s Farm said, “We had a beautiful day, and Governor Hogan said that even though a concert by Tim McGraw with a ‘shout-out’ was great, being in a field of corn for a great cause was the highlight of being Governor so far!” He donated $1,500 from the Hogan Strong campaign to the fundraiser.
Frederick County’s Chief Executive Officer Jan Gardner signed a proclamation that November 1 is Jan Lawyer Day in Frederick County! Jan Lawyer is Taylor’s father, who succumbed to brain cancer in December 2013. Jan Lawyer was a driving force behind Lawyer’s Farm operations, and is remembered because of his outgoing, friendly personality and his driven work ethics. Taylor expressed, “That was certainly the highlight of my day! So cool.”
To make donations to these causes, please visit the www.lawyersfarm.com and find the Fall Fundraiser tab, with links to donate to ACS or ABTA.
Thurmont’s Think Pink Raises $10,000 for Patty Hurwitz Fund
Deb Spalding
Thurmont Rocks! The check says $9,407; however, with a few last minute business and personal donations, Think Pink ends up raising a total of $10,000 in the month of October for the Patty Hurwitz Fund at Frederick Memorial Hospital (FMH). All of the funds stay in Frederick County to help people with cancer.
Extended gratitude goes out to all of the participating businesses; customers who patronized the participating businesses; all who turned on a pink light bulb; those who walked, ran, or donated to the Thurmont Think Pink 5K; those who participated in the Think Pink Paint Night; and those who purchased tote bags, cookbooks, decals, or a T-shirt.
The vast community support for Think Pink further demonstrates that Thurmont is a superior municipality in Frederick County, because this is a community that unites for a greater cause!
Thurmont Think Pink Businesses and Organizations: YOU are the core of this program. A thank you seems so insignificant for all of your dedication and contributions for The Patty Hurwitz Fund at FMH, and a Gateway To The Cure, so please know how much you make the difference for this extremely worthy cause.
Thurmont presented a check with proceeds from Thurmont’s Think Pink to the Patty Hurwitz Fund. Pictured from left are Jim Humerick, Thurmont Chief Administrative Officer; Bill Buehrer, Town Commissioner; Vickie Grinder, Thurmont Main Street Manager; Wayne Hooper, Town Commissioner; Mayor John Kinnaird; Patty Hurwitz; Martin Burns, Town Commissioner; Jeff Hurwitz; and Wes Hamrick, Town Commissioner.
Colorfest Donates Nearly $17,000 to Thurmont Organizations
James Rada, Jr.
While the Colorfest event in October over for this year, monetary donations to town organizations were made during the Colorfest annual meeting at Simply Asia in Thurmont on November 9, 2015.
“I think everybody was happy with the weekend. I don’t know what we could have done better,” said Colorfest President Carol Robertson, speaking about October’s Colorfest weekend.
During the weekend, the Town of Thurmont issued 713 permits to vendors, including 552 craft vendors. Robertson also said that on the Monday following the end of Colorfest, she started getting calls from vendors who want to participate in 2016, and on the Wednesday after Colorfest, she started getting applications from returning vendors.
“And it hasn’t stopped yet,” she said.
Many organizations in Thurmont have booths at Colorfest to hold fundraisers, and organizations that have the room also rent spaces to vendors. These create significant income streams for the organizations. In addition, Colorfest, Inc. makes annual donations each year to different organizations.
From December 2014 to November 2015, Colorfest made the following donations:
- $1,500 to Guardian Hose
Company.
- $1,500 to Thurmont Ambulance Company plus $500 worth of vendor space.
- $1,500 to the Thurmont Police Department.
- $2,551.80 to Catoctin High FFA.
- $3,500 worth of Catoctin High scholarships.
- $300 for straw for the Town of Thurmont.
- $80 for the Town Gardens.
- $2,500 to the Thurmont commissioners to hopefully be used for town parks.
- $50 gift card for the Thurmont road crews.
- $1,800 worth of canned hams to the Thurmont Food Bank plus $500 in the spring and $200 in the fall.
- $100 to the Thurmont Regional Library.
- $200 for Thurmont Christmas decorations.
- $150 to Thurmont Main Street.
The grand total of all of the donations was $16,932.80.
Thurmont Mayor John Kinnaird told Robertson, “The entire community has benefitted from your crafters and other crafters in town for Colorfest.”
Catoctin Colorfest President Carol Robertson presents Thurmont Food Bank Coordinator Rev. Sally Joyner Giffin the first of 800 canned hams that Catoctin Colorfest, Inc. donated to the food bank.
Emmitsburg Certified a Sustainable Maryland Community
James Rada, Jr.
Emmitsburg was one of twelve Maryland towns honored at the Sustainable Maryland Awards Ceremony at the Maryland Municipal League’s annual Fall Conference, held in Cambridge at the end of October.
Emmitsburg has been working toward the certification for a year.
“We had many things lined up and done before we even applied,” said Mayor Don Briggs.
Highlights of the things that Emmitsburg did to earn the certification include:
- Completed the replacement of all 330 town-owned streetlights with LED energy-efficient bulbs, cutting streetlight energy use by nearly 70 percent and the town’s overall energy use by 10 percent.
- Installed approximately two megawatts of solar panels to provide 95-100 percent renewable energy to run a new, state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant.
- Hosts a weekly Farmers Market.
- Home to one “Maryland Green School” within its boundaries: Mother Seton School.
- Maintains a small Community Garden for residents.
- Adopted a Green Purchasing Policy for procurement of municipal goods and services.
- Created a network of fifteen miles of natural surface trails, utilizing over 1,000 hours of volunteer work and approximately $300,000 in private donations.
Some of these things are already saving the town money. Briggs said that replacing the town lights with LED lights did not cost anything because of a grant from the Maryland Department of Energy and rebates from Potomac Edison.
“So we immediately were saving 40 percent on the electric costs,” Briggs said. “Also, the old lights had to be replaced every three years. The LED lights are ten-year lights.”
Briggs said that the town applied for the certification to get recognized for their efforts to create a greener community, and to also support a worthy program in the state.
“It also puts us in a better position to take advantage of things to come,” Briggs said.
To achieve certification, municipalities are required to form a Green Team comprised of local residents, community leaders, municipal staff, and officials; complete a variety of sustainability-related actions worth a total of at least 150 points (including two mandatory actions and two of six priority actions); and submit the appropriate documentation as evidence that the Sustainable Maryland Certified requirements have been satisfied.
“We are excited to welcome more municipalities to the growing Sustainable Maryland community,” said Dan Nees, director of the Environmental Finance Center. “This program is a hallmark of our work at the Environmental Finance Center, guiding communities towards healthier, more sustainable futures. Each certification award represents the commitment of local elected officials, municipal staff, and Green Team volunteers in these towns and cities to create a stronger, more resilient Maryland.”
Brunswick was the only other Frederick County community to receive a certification as a Maryland Sustainable Community. Only 19 percent of Maryland municipalities (30) are Sustainable Maryland Certified.
For more information about Sustainable Maryland, visit www.sustainablemaryland.com.
Dave Haller, Emmitsburg Town Manager, and Emmitsburg’s Mayor Don Briggs, are shown at the Maryland Municipal League’s annual Fall Conference.
Scotty’s Ride
This year marked the 10th Annual Scotty’s Ride, held September 26, 2015. Riders departed at 10:00 a.m. from Emmitsburg’s Jubilee parking lot, with approximately two hundred motorcycles roaring west on Route 16 to visit their first stop: Blue Ridge Summit Sportsman’s Club. The ride then continued on to the Mountain House, located in McConnellsburg, Pennsylvania. The ride also stopped at Yianni’s Greenwood Tavern in Fayetteville, Pennsylvania (formally Bobbie A’s), and then circled back to Dave and Jane’s Crab House in Fairfield, Pennsylvania.
All Scotty’s Ride participants reunited at Kerry and Val Shorb’s home in Emmitsburg for the “After Ride Celebration”, along with friends and family from all over who didn’t ride but came out to celebrate the benefit event that evening. Approximately four hundred people attended Scotty’s Ride making this one of the largest turnouts for the celebration. Participants enjoyed live entertainment with the band,”RedLine”, a “Closest to the Pin” contest, Corn Hole tournaments, good food and refreshments. John McCabe of Fairfield, Pennsylvania was the winner of the raffle for a 2016 Indian Scout motorcycle or $10,000.
Kerry Shorb was proud to announce that this year marked the tenth annual Scotty’s Ride and to date has donated approximately $100,000 to families and children with medical needs. Scotty’s Ride thanks all of you who came out to support a great cause. Special thanks to the Frederick County Sheriff’s Department, the Frederick County Fire Police, and the Town of Emmitsburg. Sponsors included: My Father’s Footsteps Hair Design, Jubilee Foods, Big Hook Crane & Rigging, Sons of the American Legion Post 121, Francis X Elder Post 121 American Legion, Ladies Auxiliary Post 121, Mountain Liquors, Inc., Trout’s Supreme Seafood, Steve Bittle Tent Rentals, Gettysburg Elementary School, Main Street Sweets, AMVETS Riders Chapter 172, AMVETS Post 172, Toops Troops, Greene’s Trucking, Heritage Cycles, LLC, M & O Exterior Applicators, Inc., Hobbs Cycle, Hillside Inn, AC & T Co., Gateway Farm Market & Candyland, The Ott House, Harrington’s Equipment Co., State Line Gun Exchange, Silo Hill Exxon, Carleo’s Italian Restaurant, The Carriage House Inn, E Plus Copy Center, Window World of Frederick, Ventura’s Restaurant & Pizzeria, Village Book & Table, Rick’s Power Washing & Connie Few, Baugher’s Country Restaurant & Fruit Market, Redland Embroidery & Desserts, Dougherty Ice Co., Napa Auto Parts, Advanced Auto Parts, Ace Distributing, No Anchovies, Paul’s Pit Stop, Beaver Dam Lumber, LLC, Bollinger’s Restaurant, The Links at Gettysburg, Zurgable Brothers, Inc., Rube’s Crab Shack, LLC, Harley Davidson of Frederick, Battlefield Harley Davidson, Sunrise Soap Company, Mountain View Golf Club, Emmitsburg New-Journal, Shriver’s Meats, Grandma Gems Family Restaurant, Tahiti Sun, VCP Vanessa’s Corner Pub, Tony’s Café and Pizzeria, The Palms Restaurant & Bar, Hernley’s Polaris/Victory, Hobbs Auction, McDonalds, Zales Jewelers, Stouffer’s Custom Cycles, Ernie’s Texas Lunch, Blue Ridge Sportsmen’s Association, Inc., Mountain House, Yianni’s Greenwood Tavern, Dave & Jane’s Crab House, Tim & Pam Duffy, Jim Shorb & Nancy Haines, Ronnie Cool, Darin Fitzgerald, Tony Young, Craig Hahn & Candy Richardson, Doug & Angie Foley, Brian & Kim Stavely, Mike & Cheryl Kulkusky, Doug & Laurie Smith, Moe & Pam Kendall, Tim Wantz, Katherine Dowell, Jeannie Clark, Michael & Kathy McCabe, Chuck and Becky Riggs (In Memory of their daughter Brooke).
