Emmitsburg
Mayor Don Briggs
The passing of beloved community family doctor, Dr. Alan Carroll, was a deep loss to our community. His practice of forty years is a part of tradition, part of our history. He was such a humble man, whose smile always beat his hand to greet you. It seemed I would always meet him going somewhere, mostly on his way to church. He was a wonderful husband and father of seven children, who filtered through our local schools and shared his and Rita’s graces. For me, there is something that Bishop Fulton J. Sheen had said, “A smile is laughter’s whisper and has roots in the soul,” and that is what you got every time you met the good doctor.
Because of weather and construction delays, the Square dedication scheduled for June 30 has been postponed until the fall.
Welcome to Emmitsburg, Richmond American Homes; your Model Grand Opening in the Brookfield subdivision drew many from near and far—what a gorgeous home that takes full advantage of the green mountain views and compliments the beautiful Brookfield setting.
Lib and I attended the Memorial Day Mass at St. Joseph’s Church and then joined the American Legion Honor Guard for visits to our six cemeteries, Legion Hall, and the Doughboy. It was wonderful to trail along for the solemn, respectful tribute to those who gave their lives, so we could live ours. At each stop, there was a 21-gun salute, a lowering of the Maryland flag respectively to our country’s flag, and the bugle sound of “Taps.”
The American Legion-VFW Honor Guard and the same from Thurmont held the annual Flag Day commemoration on June 14, at Memorial Park. As a tradition, the ceremony rotates location every year with Thurmont.
In June, I attended the Maryland Municipal League (MML) summer conference held in Ocean City, Maryland, and was a presenter for one of the sessions. As described by MML, my topic was “Sustainability According to Mark Twain.” Mark Twain once said, “Common sense is not so common”; however, it should be common sense that we only use what we need and save the rest for future generations. In this session, the Town of Emmitsburg, winners of the 2017 Maryland Green Registry Leadership Award, reviewed what sustainability is, why it’s important, and the various sustainability projects Emmitsburg has completed. It was an honor.
At times challenging, the weather did break open to allow for our pool grand opening on June 2, with DJ music, food goodies, and sodas donated by Spike’s Auto and Tire of Emmitsburg. Thank you to County Executive Gardner and three Veterans of Foreign War (VFW), Commander Marty Williams, Gene Lingg, and Pat Gjerde for joining us. Thank you, again, to our staff for pulling this together.
The grand opening of the new Seton Center is set for Tuesday, July 10, at 3:00 p.m. It’s a very green, green building, with special day lighting along the roofline to take advantage of borrowed light, solar renewable energy, water suppression fixtures, two dishwashers for cups and utensils—instead of using disposable paper cups and plastic utensils—and permeable pavers in the parking lot to reduce site runoff.
Thank you to the eight hundred firefighters from New Jersey who recently visited the National Emergency Training Center Campus for a weekend of Federal training. For about twenty-five weekends a year, we have firemen from different states come in for these trainings.
Welcome, summer!
Thurmont
Mayor John Kinnaird
The past month has been very busy! Thurmont CAO Jim Humerick, CFO Linda Joyce, Main Street Manager Vickie Grinder, Commissioner Wes Hamrick, and I attended the 2018 Maryland Municipal League (MML) Summer Conference in Ocean City, Maryland. The opportunity to participate in seminars and discussion groups with other municipalities makes you realize that—big or small—all of our communities face similar issues. Every time I return from the MML Conference, I am reminded that Thurmont has benefited for many years from the knowledge and understanding we bring back from this worthwhile week. Three weeks ago, I attended the Project Open Space funding meeting for Frederick County Municipalities. Each year, we get together to allocate the State of Maryland POS funds for our communities. This meeting is always a very friendly event, with give and take from each community. I am pleased to say that Thurmont has been awarded $68,106 to help build a third pavilion at the Community Park, and an additional $13,320 to assist with the installation of lights on the Trolley Trail. I expect both of these projects to be completed within the coming year.
This coming month will be filled with lots of events and activities. The Guardian Hose Company Carnival will be held the week of July 9-14. There will be rides, games, great food, live entertainment every night, and bingo. Be sure to get the kids together for the Annual Parade on Thursday, July 12, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Join me for six evenings of fun, friends, and great food! On Friday, July 13, Fox 5 will be in Thurmont for a Zip Trip. Fox 5 will be broadcasting live, four times an hour, from 6:00-10:00 a.m. This will be a great opportunity for people to see our community and learn about what makes Thurmont special. Be sure to tell your friends and family to watch Fox 5 on July 13, and then come out to see the live broadcast. If you have not stopped at the Thurmont Main Street Farmers Market, you are missing out on some great local produce, beef, BBQ ribs, handmade crafts, pork, homemade jams, fresh baked goodies, and lots of other items! The market is held at the Municipal Parking lot on South Center Street every Saturday from 9:00 a.m.-noon. Be sure to stop and pick up some local goodness. The Town of Thurmont is sponsoring a recreation program in the Community Park on July 23-26 and July 30-August 2. The program is open to kids ages five to fifteen and will feature a different focus each day. The program runs from 8:30 a.m.-noon, and costs $10.00 per day or $35.00 per week. Be sure to stop at the Town Office or call 301-271-7313 to register your kids for this fun-filled summer program.
All of our schools are now out on summer vacation, and our children are outside riding bikes, skateboarding, playing ball, and having a great time. The one thing they may not be doing is paying attention to traffic when crossing our streets, chasing balls, or playing with friends. Please be extra careful on our streets and watch for kids playing near the roadway. They may not be aware of you and could run into the street; your additional care while driving could save a life.
The month of July affords the Thurmont Board of Commissioners a summer break from our regular schedule of weekly meetings. The only scheduled meeting of the month will be on July 24, unless an emergency requires an additional meeting.
I hope everyone has a wonderful July! As always, if you have any comments, concerns, or suggestions, I can be reached at 301-606-9458 or by email at
[email protected].
