From the Mayor

THURMONT

Mayor John Kinnaird

First, I want to thank everyone who voted for me and for your continued support. My thoughts after the election are that we, as a community, can continue to work toward our common goal of making Thurmont the best it can be, and I look forward to playing a part in that goal.

Here we are heading into December, and I wonder where the year has gone. Christmas is just around the corner. I want to invite everyone to enjoy our Christmas Tree Lighting, street light decorations, Christmas in Thurmont, the displays at Community Park, and especially all the decorations our residents will have up for the season. Kids of all ages will have a wonderful day at Christmas in Thurmont, featuring games, entertainment, refreshments, and prizes! Santa will arrive in the morning for visits with all the good girls and boys, and he will be reading a special story at the Thurmont Regional Library. Our thanks to all the volunteers, the Thurmont Economic Development staff, the Guardian Hose Company, and all the donors for making this special day possible.

We just finished several blacktopping projects and want to thank all the residents and drivers for their patience as several streets were milled and resurfaced. There will be additional roadwork come spring. The new pedestrian bridge across Hunting Creek in Community Park has been opened. This bridge connects West Main Street with the park and offers a convenient way for residents on the West side of town to access the park. The bridge also helps connect our local walking and biking trails within Catoctin Mountain Park and Cunningham Falls Park. Future plans are in place to connect the Thurmont Trolley Trail to Catoctin Furnace, creating a wonderful loop trail from Thurmont to Catoctin Furnace, the State and Federal Parks, and back to Thurmont. Construction continues on the Radio Lane water pumping station. This project will tie together the high- and low-pressure water systems and allow for maintenance of Well 7 and the Eyler Road water tank without causing service interruptions.

As cold weather approaches, please consider making donations of non-perishable food and or cash to the Thurmont Food Bank. With the change in weather, our friends and neighbors will be experiencing layoffs and cuts in their work hours. Many will need the nutritious food provided by the Thurmont Food Bank. The food bank is also in need of personal hygiene items, paper products, baby food, diapers, etc. This winter will be difficult for so many of our family, friends, and neighbors. Please lend a helping hand and help ensure they have enough to eat over the coming months. The Thurmont Clothes Closet needs wearable, warm clothing for all ages. Many children will not have warm shoes, jackets, gloves, and other clothing needed to fight the cold weather. Your donations to the Thurmont Clothes Closet directly benefit the needy in our community, regardless of their age. Those residents having trouble paying their utility bills are encouraged to reach out to our staff for payment options and information for assistance from local organizations.

Questions, comments, or suggestions? I am available by phone at 301-606-9458 and by email at jkinnaird@thurmont.com. Karen and I hope that everyone has a very Merry Christmas and the Happiest of New Year’s!

Emmitsburg

When managing a town, you never know what to expect, and the past month sure didn’t disappoint me. I have a few things to talk about, so let’s get started.

I guess the big news over the last month was the major water line break in the early morning of October 30. Our local fire department responded to a house fire, approximately one mile from the town limits, just across the Mason-Dixon Line. Using the town fire hydrant was necessary, which happens a few times a year. While drawing water from the town system, the main 10-inch line coming from the water treatment plant developed a major leak. Before our staff could shut down the line, the town lost over 300,000 gallons of water. Thankfully, staff had been working on an emergency response plan for such incidents. While still in draft form, we put the plan to work and had water restored in just over 17 hours. I want to thank our citizens for their patience and understanding during this event. We have been meeting to finalize the plan and are prepared to respond better to any future incident.

On a much brighter note, Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater held her annual “State of the County Address” in Emmitsburg. Our town was featured throughout her presentation, and she shared how our partnership with the county has had a positive impact.

I was honored to attend the “ribbon cutting” for the Timothy Trainor School of Health Professions. The state-of-the-art educational facility is in the south wing of the Daughters of Charity complex on South Seton Avenue. The school will offer programs for Master of Science in Applied Behavior Health, as well as a Master of Medical Science-Physician Assistant Program. The programs not only expand the curriculum field for the university but also bring new life to one of the most beautiful facilities in the country. Thank you to the university and the Daughters of Charity for this great partnership.

Just a reminder that winter sports are in full swing at the Mount and Catoctin High School. Please get out and support our local athletes and cheer them on for another successful season.

As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns. I am always good for a conversation over a cup of coffee.

From my family and the entire Town staff, we want to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday Season.

Woodsboro

Burgess Heath Barnes

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving. Remember, not everyone has a family or a place for the holidays. If you can help someone out or do some volunteer work at a shelter or food bank, etc. during this time of the year, or just be nice to someone, people will appreciate it.

Coming up this month, on December 18, is our first town Holiday Decorating Contest. Anyone within the town limits is eligible to participate. At 7:00 p.m. that night, the judges will drive around and judge, so be sure to have your decorations on by that time. There will be prizes awarded to the top three decorated homes.

The park bathrooms have been winterized and closed for the year. They will reopen in the spring. We were able to keep them open later this year, thanks to the warm weather. The pond-dredging project was a success. We were able to get the pond cleaned with grant money that was obtained, which will now allow fishing to happen again next spring. We will also be installing the sign at the town hall in early spring, which will be purchased with grant money.

Santa will be making at least two stops that I know of in Woodsboro. The first one will be on December 2, from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m., at the Woodsboro Lutheran Church Holiday Bazaar for the free community dinner. Santa will also be doing his annual run with the Woodsboro and New Midway Fire Departments. The run will begin at 1:00 p.m. in Woodsboro and end in New Midway around 4:00 p.m. Check either of the fire department’s or my burgess Facebook pages for the route and time.

Last month, I was able to host the quarterly meeting for the Frederick County mayors and the county executive at our new town hall. This was nice, as Woodsboro has not been able to host these in the past since we did not have the facilities, but now we do. We are working on rebuilding the town’s website. We are hoping to have it rebuilt by the end of December, which will allow us to start livestreaming our meetings, which we hope to start doing at the January meeting.

I would like to thank the following people and businesses who helped with the town hall. The following businesses donated toward the town hall furnishings: Hartzler Funeral Homes, Olde Towne Restaurant, Woodsboro Bank, Woodsboro Dental, Laurel Sand and Gravel, and Steve Trout.

Thanks also to the people and businesses for their donations: Former Burgess Donald Trimmer and his wife, Peggy, for the flagpole and bench;          Jason Boyer and Jeff Crum with Woodsboro Craftsmen for building frames for the town offices; Outdoor Solutions for installing flagpoles; Jennifer Ryan and the American Legion Post 282 for the flags; PVI furniture for additional furniture donations; and Thurmont Mayor John Kinnaird and Kinnaird Memorials for his engraving on the front doors.

Please forgive me if I forgot anyone. Last, but not least, thanks to the residents of Woodsboro—this is your building for generations to come.

As always, I encourage everyone to support Glade Valley Community Services (GVCS) if you have clothes or food donations, as they are always in need of items for members of the community. For more information, please contact GVCS by email at gvcs.inc@verizon.net or by calling 301-845-0213.

If you have any questions, concerns, complaints, or compliments, please feel free to reach out to me at hbarnes@woodsboro.org or by phone at 301-401-7164.

Woodsboro town meetings are held on the second Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. In addition, planning and zoning meetings are at 6:00 p.m. on the first Monday of the month, as needed. If you have an item for the agenda, it needs to be submitted 14 days before the P&Z meeting. The current location for meetings is the St. John’s United Church of Christ, located at 8 N. 2nd Street, Woodsboro, MD 21798. The public is always invited to attend.