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Heritage park improvementBy Sherry Greenfield

Walking and jogging around the Heritage

Farm Park in Walkersville will soon be easier since the town is planning to expand the walking paths.

The Walkersville Town Com-missioners, at their August 13

town meeting, unanimously ac-cepted a bid of $56,750 from Frederick County Paving to build 3,950 feet of new paths. Money for the project will come in part from the state’s Open Space Program. The town will contribute $23,135 toward the project, with much of that money coming from a reserve

fund for park development.“This project is definitely

needed,” Commissioner Debbie Zimmerman said. “This will complete the paths.”

Heritage Farm Park, located on Devilbiss Bridge Road across from Glade Elementary School, already has a 9-hole golf course, baseball fields, softball fields,

soccer fields, two covered pa-vilions, playground areas, and

walking paths.“I think extended paths will

be a wonderful addition to the park,” Commissioner Russell Winch said.

New playground coming

By Sherry Greenfield

The Woodsboro Regional Park will soon have a new

playground, thanks to a state grant of $129,356.

The Town of Woodsboro was awarded the Maryland Open Space Community Parks and Playgrounds Grant to use for the construction of a new, handicap accessible playground.

The playground structure is for children ages 5 to 12.

After soliciting design and pricing proposals from sev-eral recreation design compa-nies, town commissioners vot-ed unanimously at their Aug. 12 meeting to hire playground Specialists Inc., of Thurmont. The company will build the new playground on the south side of the Woodsboro Regional Park, east of Israel Creek.

“The whole purpose of put-ting together this proposal is that we want to start encour-aging usage at this end of the park,” said Commissioner Bill Rittelmeyer, who handled the bidding process.

The company has proposed designing and building the new playground for $126,272.75. They are proposing to use the remaining $3,083.25 to install

new barbecue grills, volleyball courts, and benches at the park - items the town had not origi-nally asked for.

“I asked them not to leave any money on the table,” Rit-telmeyer said.

The company has constructed playgrounds throughout Fred-erick County, including Wood-sboro, Liberty, North Frederick, Middletown Lincoln, Wolfs-ville and Emmitsburg elemen-tary schools. They have also built playgrounds for the towns of Thurmont and Emmitsburg, Fort Detrick, the Brunswick Crossing housing development, and the Middletown Valley Apartments.

Rittelmeyer said the new playground at the Woodsboro Regional Park will not have adult swings or a merry-go-round because of the wear and

tear on the rubber surface. A child swing suspended off the ground and pushed by an adult can be built.

“Swings where kids drag their feet will only tear the surface up and create a maintenance problem,” he said. “A merry-go-round where kids run in the same circle pushing it will wear and be a maintenance problem as well.”

Commissioner Ken Kellar said he was disappointed the playground will only have tod-dler swings. “My only regret is seeing those older swings go away,” he said. “To me it’s a loss of adult swings.”

Meanwhile, Rittelmeyer said nothing will be built until the town has the grant money in hand. “They won’t order a stick of equipment until we have the grant,” he said.

Trimmer praised Rittel-meyer for his work on the bid process.”I’d like to commend Bill for doing this,” he said. “He did an excellent job.”

Computer image of proposed playground

Parking problemsBy Sherry Greenfield

Relief could soon be coming to the residents living along

Frederick Street in Walkersville that are upset with people parking in front of their houses.

The Walkersville Town Com-missioners, at their Aug. 13 meeting, tentatively approved a plan to issue parking permits to those residents living across from the Glade Valley Nursing and Re-habilitation Center on Frederick Street. Issuing permits would al-low those residents to park on

the street in front of their hous-es. Each household would receive two permits.

“I think there does need to be a degree of restricted parking down there,” said Andy Dewese, the town’s code enforcement officer. “They live down there, so they should be able to park there.”

Parking signs are current-ly posted in front of the nurs-ing home restricting the number of hours a car can be parked. But the number of parked cars from nearby Walkersville High School and the nursing home has been

a frequent problem for residents.“There’s a lot of issues down

there now,” Dewese said. “It’s not a huge issue, but I think they should be able to park there.”

Commissioner Gary Baker said permitted parking should be for residents only. Restricted parking should continue in front of the businesses.

“I think the residents will be happy,” he said.

The council decided to take a formal vote on the permitted parking issue when Commission-er Chad Weddle is in attendance.

Weddle, who lives on Frederick Street, was not at the meeting.

On another note, Dewese said as the town’s code enforce-ment officer he has been busy this year investigating complaints from residents on issues rang-ing from tall grass to snow-cov-ered sidewalks. Dewese said so far this year, he has received 260 complaints from residents. That number is significantly higher than the 120 complaints he re-ceived last year.

Dewese, who blamed the win-ter’s bad weather for the rise in complaints, said the frustration comes when residents fail to no-tify their homeowner’s associa-tion first, before coming to him.

“They’re still coming in even if

they have a homeowner’s associa-tion,” he said. “If somebody has a complaint about a neighbor’s grass, go to the [homeowner’s as-sociation],” he said. “If they have [an association] that deals with it, and it doesn’t get done, I’ll take care of it.”

Failure to cut grass is a $100 fine from the town. The fine is posted on the homeowner’s wa-ter bill.

“We get our money,” Burgess Ralph Whitmore said.

Dewese said of the 260 com-plaints, all but two have been re-solved. The complaint process is unanimous.

“I’m not getting many dinner invitations,” he joked. “But it’s going good.”

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Emergency actions timelineKen Kellar

As this whole pandemic phe-nomena has in some ways crept up on us, and some are surprised how much time has passed since we last were at work, school, or church, we thought it would be useful to show the general timeline of Governor Hogan’s emergency proclamations and orders. The following are the titles of each current directive along with their effective dates as well as an attempt to briefly summarize the content. Most orders are less than two typewritten pages long. There-fore, it is recommended one fully read any order that catches one’s interest rather than relying on any journalist’s summary. For example, a local radio station announced the March 30 stay at home order by re-porting you must stay at home un-less doing an essential activity like walking a dog. They left out that the order included outdoor exercise essential activities: walking, hiking, running, or biking.

Proclamations:State of Emergency (March 5)Declares a state of emergency and a catastrophic health emergencyElection (March 17)

Moves MD primary election from 28 April to 2 JuneMoment of Prayer and Reflection at Noon April 5 (April 3)Pandemic related call for prayerRatifying Plan for June 2 Primary Election (April 10)Moves date and details election changes to address virus threat.Easter Bunny an Essential Worker (April 10)Whimsical recognition of the Eas-ter Bunny

Orders Currently in Effect:Licenses and Permits – Extension (March 12)Extends expirations to 30 days past the end of the state of emergencyNational Guard Activation (March 12)Calls members to active dutyPort – Closure to Passenger Vessels (March 12)With few exceptions, passengers can’t enter Maryland via a boat or ship.

State Employees – Elevated Level II (March 12)Implements pandemic leave and at-tendance policiesChild Care – Expanded Access (March 13)Provides regulatory relief to ensure adequate child care servicesCasinos, Racetracks and OTB (March 15)Closes the subject facilitiesHealth Care Matters (March 16)Gives expanded authorities to the State Secretary of Health including use of any state properties for medi-cal purposesUtility Shut-offs and Late Fees (March 16)Prohibits subject during the emer-gency, expires May 1Evictions (March 16)Prohibits evictions

Waiving Weight Limits for De-livery Trucks (March 18)Weight limit relief for trucks direct-ly responding to COVID -19

Walkersville water prices will rise soonKen Kellar

Walkersville’s new water purifi-cation plant is slated to come on line by July 2020. It will provide a secure source of safe water but at a cost.

The new reverse osmosis water plant was envisioned as a response to two ground water contami-nation events that put Walkers-ville’s water wells out of service for months. One event was due to the Sun Meadow developers dynamit-ing a sewer line. The other event involved a farmer’s waste pond.

The reverse osmosis plant will still be fed by the existing Town wells, but its filtering membranes

are claimed to filter out harmful microbes. A literature review in-dicated that reverse osmosis plants should not be relied upon to elim-inate bacterial contamination due to the possibility of membrane degradation. However, it appears a well-maintained system will keep the water safe should another con-tamination event occur.

The Town has taken out two loans to cover the cost of con-structing the new water plant. $1.9 million was loaned from the Town General Fund to the Wa-ter Fund. The state loaned an ad-ditional $7.3 million to the Water Fund.

Walkersville has too much moneyKen Kellar

“We have too much money!” was Walkersville Commissioner McNeish’s message presented dur-ing a recent Walkersville Town meeting broadcast via Facebook Live.

Following are highlights form his 47-slide presentation.

Walkersville, using a 3-year run-ning average, has consistently un-derestimated property tax rev-enues. In the last two decades, Walkersville has collected roughly $100,000 more in property taxes each year than budgeted. McNeish cites the numerous developments over recent years as the most likely explanation for the ever-increasing tax revenue.

He stated a $279,000 home cur-rently pays about $446 in proper-ty taxes to Walkersville each year.

The presentation stated that Walkersville has consistently un-derspent their annual budget by an average of about $400,000. Typi-cal under-spending is even greater as the $400,000 average includes Walkersville’s purchase of a farm (in response to a Muslim wor-ship center controversy) at a cost of well over $3 million. That gives about $500,000 under-spending per year when the one-time farm purchase is factored out.

In summary, Walkersville, on average, has been receiving about $800,000 per year and banking about $400,000 per year. If this trend continued, one could bal-ance by about a 50% property tax cut. It could also be balanced by spending more.

McNeish stated he received sug-gestions from residents on how to spend the cash surplus. The list

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New budget introducedKen Kellar

Burgess Rittelmeyer introduced that Woodsboro FY 2021 budget which will be voted on in May.

The budget is about a half a mil-lion for the general fund and an-other half a million for the water and sewer fund and is not too dif-ferent form past years.

Some general fund items in-cluded a 3% pay raise for Town staff. About $70,000 was bud-

geted for sight preparation for the new town hall by Terra Solutions and debt service funding just in case the town hall construction loan is established in FY 2021.

A modest tax increase was dis-cussed. You can read the Burgess’s thoughts on the matter in the gov-ernment section.

During the general fund budget discussion, Commissioner Smith expressed concern that some of the budgeted state income tax rev-

Fountain Rock Road work delayedKen Kellar

Walkersville received one bid to install right-turn-only curbing on 194 at the intersection with Foun-tain Rock Rd. With the opening of Richard Will Lane, left turns can be made more safely at the intersec-tion of Stauffer Rd. and 194 rather than at Fountain Rock which has seen at least one fatal collision.

The Town received one bid of $64,000 from ECM Corpora-tion which was within the esti-mated cost range. Commissioner McNeish asked that a decision be moved to another meeting. The Town took no action on the com-pany’s bid.

Storm drain repair approvedKen Kellar

Woodsboro officials voted 4-0 to approve repair of the 7 col-lapsed/blocked storm drains in the town. Pleasants will be doing

the work at an approved budget of $153,992

The drain repair will require conventional excavation and pipe repair. The work scope includes relining the pipe runs inlet to out-

Yard waste off the streets please

Ken KellarWoodsboro Town officials dis-

cussed yard care and its associated waste. Town employees had noted some citizens putting their waste in the streets. Pine needles leaves and grass clippings can all clog storm drains that leads to further problems.

While clippings and yard waste should never be disposed of in the street the town’s street sweeper is currently out of commission so routine street cleanings are cur-rently on hold.

The Town will put notes in the next water bill cycle asking folks to keep yard waste off the streets.

2 | WOODSBORO WALKERSVILLE TIMES | MAY 2020

From the EditorChina-flu-deaths versus response-deaths

As we went to press for this is-sue, we found the nation about to enter its third month of a govern-ment mandated lockdown. How will May end?

It seems we are seeing a good ex-ample of the intent of our repub-lican form of government. The Federal government has limited its reach. It has focused on inter-national-level responses such as travel questions. It has also turned its military resources towards sup-porting the citizenry.

States have retained broad au-thority regarding the movements and activities of their states’ citi-zens.

These conditions are as intend-ed by the 10th Amendment grant-ing all unspecified authorities to the states as well as the Constitu-tion’s guarantee we all shall have a republican form of government. I salute the President for respecting states’ rights.

As officials, exercising extreme emergency powers, contemplate the duration of their restriction of our liberties, I hope they consider the deaths caused by their ongoing restrictions and fear.

Basic health care services have dwindled. Medical staff are be-ing furloughed and let go during a medical crisis. There certainly must be an elevated death rate due to a lack of treatment for other

than virus-related illness. I know of a senior citizen who succumbed to pneumonia due to a broken hip. He was shuffled around and rejected due to the virus response. “You can’t be served here, you don’t have the virus.” “You can’t be served here because we can’t screen you for the virus.” He was rejected by two hospitals and died due to lack of care.

One can postulate an increased death rate due to suicides and per-haps overdoses. Unemployment and isolation can be devastating to the soul no matter how much money the government sends someone.

I planned to acknowledge that traffic-related deaths will increase when our freedoms are restored, but it appears that is not the case. During the lockdown, pedestrian and bicycle deaths have increased. Cars are being driven at much higher speeds as drivers take ad-vantage of open roads.

Liberty isn’t always safe. Howev-er, liberty is the reason for our na-tion. Our elected officials should feel as much, if not more, pressure to remove their recent restrictions of our liberty as they felt when de-nying our liberty.

On gas pricesIn my high school days, high

gas prices were a problem. I re-

call gas crossing the dollar point. I remember little squares of card-board, with the number one scrib-bled on them, taped to the left of the old mechanical numbered gas pumps to indicate you needed to add a dollar to the price per gallon shown on the pump.

In the 1970s, the impact of ris-ing oil prices caused serious eco-nomic issues. Things made sense back then. Users of oil and its ma-ny byproducts were realizing in-creased operating expenses.

Today, we hear more bad news regarding oil prices. Oil prices have plummeted during the pan-demic due to lower demand. The lower prices are reported as a bad thing.

Why are high oil prices bad as well as low oil prices? Is there some perfect oil price whose deviation in either direction is a bad thing? Sure, American oil producers and their stocks are taking a hit, but every single oil user is getting a discount.

I suppose there is a complex eco-nomic story that can explain why every change in oil prices is bad.

The wrong side of everythingPoliticians that impose their

whims on the citizens can be pret-ty harmful and sometimes even dangerous. Take Kai Hagen’s little fantasy of a bag-free environment. His idea will kill people. I made that claim before our recent pan-demic; now the message is even stronger.

Reusable bags are a rather half-witted concept. Save some myth-ical turtle while actually killing people. Bring home chicken one time in your reusable bag and ap-ples the next time. Hello salmo-nella, a potential killer.

Reusable bags contain wonder-ful little nooks and crannies to store chicken goo, leaked milk, broken egg remnants, and any carry-out carton leakage filled with juicy or greasy foods.

During the virus outbreak, sev-eral states rescinded their plas-tic bag bans and banned the use of reusable bags. Kai, if you think about people rather than unicorns for a minute or two, you can figure

out why those states backed off, if only temporarily.

If self-anointed earth protec-tors like Hagen would actually take their positions seriously, they would work on real waste solu-tions rather than ways to limit lib-erty and harm people and their businesses.

Frederick County trucks its garbage to a Pennsylvania land-fill. “Landfills are bad, but truck-ing garbage to out-of-state land-fills is good.” What? Wouldn’t it be greener to establish another landfill in Frederick County? That eliminates the trucking expense, traffic danger and pollution. What am I missing? I’m told that Fred-erick County geology cannot sup-port a landfill. If there was a will, there’d be a way.

Incineration was proposed and rejected. It is successfully conduct-ed in Montgomery County. How is burying trash more sustainable than burning? Burning things re-turns the basic constituents to the environment. Some ancient crit-ters ate plants made mostly from carbon dioxide, water and sun-light. They eventually died and somehow turned into black goo. Some brilliant chemists turned that goo into a nice sterile plastic bag. Burning the bag would com-

plete the cycle by restoring it to its basic components.

Not convinced? I almost used the term single-use bags for plastic grocery bags. But they aren’t sin-gle–use in my household and ma-ny others. Those bags line most of our wastebaskets. They are used when we clean our cats’ litter box-es. I use them as a temporary glove when I have to do a nasty task like move a dead animal and pick up a greasy part. Recently, I’ve used those grocery bags as a glove to pump gas while keeping my hand virus free.

Take away those bags and some-thing will replace them. Some-times the replacement will be heavy garbage bags. I’ve read ar-ticles confirming that worse items are substituted when bags are banned.

It takes hard work and the accu-mulation of knowledge to become a chemist, a biologist, an engineer, a nurse, or an accountant. Do you know what it takes to become an environmentalist like Kai Hagen? All it takes is the desire to mess with other people’s lives. That’s it.

It’s fine to choose to reuse gro-cery bags and put yourself and your family at risk. That’s liberty. It’s quite another thing to use gov-ernment to force everyone to do it. That’s tyranny.

FROM THE EDITOR

Woodsboro Walkersville Times

P.O.Box 502

Woodsboro, Maryland 21798

Office Number 240-446-9797

E-mail: WoodsboroEditor@gmail.com

Executive Editor: Ken Kellar

English Editors: Barbara Forrester, Sharon Kellar, and Esther Kline

Advertising: Sharon Graham, Nathan Carmona

Graphic Design and Layout: Joann Foltz

Historian: Daniel Kellar

News and interesting articles are welcome and may be submitted

via regular mail to P.O.Box 502, Woodsboro, MD 21798

or by email to WoodsboroEditor@gmail.com.

To arrange advertising contact the editor.

Pavilions and playgrounds roped off to discourage

practices that might get you sick

let. This totals 707 feet of lining and 7 repairs to include asphalt restoration for road excavation. 147 feet of the pipe 22”x35”. The remaining 560 feet of pipe to be lined is 12 “ in diameter. The re-pairs will center around main street. Commissioner Gary Smith stated that the work was being done for a good price.

Storm drain repair approved continued from page 1

MAY 2020 | WOODSBORO WALKERSVILLE TIMES | 3

May 1, 1920Railroad between Mexico City

and Guadalajara cut by revolu-tionary forces. The railroad be-tween Mexico City and Guada-lajara has been cut and Zamora, second largest city in the State of Michoacan, captured by rev-olutionists, according to reports reaching here from Mexico today.

La Cruz, a small town between Jimenez and Chihuahua City, in Chihuahua State, joined the rev-olutionists, advices here said. The Federal garrison there, with 200 men, renounced President Carran-za. Desecration of La Cruz threat-ens the railroad to El Paso and many interfere with troop move-ments in Chihuahua.

In the desecration of Mexican Federal troops at Chihuahua City, reported officially to the State De-partment observers here today, saw the hand of Pancho Villa, reb-el chieftain.

May 3Boy 9, crushed under heavi-

ly loaded wagon. James A. Lew-is, the nine-year-old son of Levin Lewis, near Middlepoint, fell from a four-horse wagon loaded with crossties in Myersville Saturday af-ternoon and was run over by one of the wheels and internally in-jured. After given attention by Dr. Ralph Browning, Myersville, he was brought to the Frederick City Hospital yesterday afternoon. Last night, he was resting comfortably and his condition was reported as favorable.

The lad left Middlepoint with James Delauter, the latter in charge of the team. While pass-ing through Myersville, the boy attempted to climb on the “lazy board.” It is supposed that he lost his balance and fell landing direct-ly in front of the rear wheel. Be-fore he could get out of the way, the wheel passed over the lower portion of his abdomen. Sever-al persons who witnessed the ac-cident went to his assistance, and he was picked up and carried into the house of Simon Raymer. Dr. Browning was summoned and af-ter an examination took the boy home. Yesterday afternoon, he was brought to the hospital. While the full extent of his injuries could not be determined last night, he was said to be doing very well. He made a very narrow escape from being crushed to death.

May 7New clue to bank yeggs. An-

other link in the long chain of ev-idence being slowly worked up against the automobile bandits who robbed the Sandy Spring (Md.) bank Monday a week ago, and shot and killed Francis M. Hallowell, a director, was supplied in Frederick County yesterday morning when discarded tags of the “blue Hudson” car were found in the Monocacy River at the Ceresville bridge. The revealing of the two tags, followed closely on the recovery Wednesday afternoon of a bundle of unnegotiable secu-

rities on the farm of George C. Thomas, near Frederick.

The two tags fished from the side of the middle pier of the Ceres-ville bridge establishes two facts in the bank robbery probe. It shows that the men who stole the auto-mobile of Mrs. John Dorsey, Bal-timore, Md., were the same men who robbed the Sandy Springs Bank, and that the “mysterious au-tomobile,” variously described as a “blue Hudson,” a Maxwell, a Ca-dillac, and a Packard, was a high-powered “blue Hudson,” and that it was headed in the direction of the Pennsylvania line.

May 8New bank robbery clue turns

trend of official search. Two blood-stain cotton sacks, con-taining a portion of the loot sto-len by the bandits from the Sandy Springs bank, were brought to the sheriff ’s office yesterday by James Keeney, of this city. The latter ex-plained that he discovered the sacks in the Monocacy River along the Kolb farm about three miles west of Frederick last Thursday or Friday and fished them out of the stream with a stick. He opened the larger sack and found that it con-tained another. In the second sack were the papers identified by Ca-shier Frederick Thomas as having been stolen by the bandits.

Keeney and his small son were walking along the river when his attention was attracted by a partly submerged object, which proved to be larger sack. When he found that the smaller sack contained pa-pers, he dumped them into a ra-vine without noticing their nature and took the sacks home. Later when he read in the newspaper about the papers being found on the Kolb farm, supposed to have been left there by the bandits, he recalled having fished them out of the stream and he brought them to the sheriff ’s office and explained how they came into his possession.

May 13Convict No. 2253 is nominat-

ed for the Presidency of U.S. Eu-gene V. Debs, Federal convict No. 2253, was nominated by accla-mation for the Presidency of the United States at the Socialist par-ty’s national convention here to-day.

Cheer upon cheer greeted the naming of the Socialist leader, now serving a 10-year sentence in the Frederick Penitentiary at Atlanta, Ga., for violation of the espionage act. The din was continuous, as all those who had been able to crowd their way into the convention hall strained forward eyes bent on the platform, where was set a bite-size portrait of Debs framed in black.

The convention by a show of hands, voted down 74 to 57, the renewed attempt of the Illinois delegation to inject into the party platform demands for a dictator-ship of the proletarian with limi-tation of citizenship. The roll call was demanded when the Chicago delegates claimed doubt as to the

accuracy of the count. The exact vote was shown to be 80 to 69.

Municipal Court Justice Jacob Panken of New York was unani-mously chosen chairman for the day. George E. Roeher, Jr., of Bos-ton was elected vice-chairman.

May 18Drunken motorists shoot at

children on way from school. Mt. Airy Junction was “shot up” yesterday afternoon by Elmer J. Cook, prominent Baltimore coun-ty man, and his negro chauffeur. Seven school children on their way home from school were qui-etly walking along the road when they were suddenly stopped by this command: “Don’t you dare come another step or we will shoot you.” Four of the seven children retraced their steps, screaming for help. Three were too frightened to move, but little Edith Tabler, dis-playing great courage, continued her homeward way and passed the two men. “Hurry up, or you will be shot,” was shouted after the fleeing little girl. She obeyed, af-ter three shots had been fired af-ter her.

Miss Sadie Moxley, teacher of the school at Mt. Airy Junction, was walking home with seven of her scholars and had stopped at her boarding house. The seven chil-dren continued on toward home. Cook, who was drunk, according to Miss Moxley, was standing out in the road with the negro, near the motionless car. The children ran back to her for help, and she went up the road to investigate the cause of the three shots. As she approached, the machine, which was a Cole “S,” a neighbor called to her to go through the meadow and not risk passing the men. She went through the field and just as she got opposite the machine, the men started off in it.

After they had gone for a hun-dred yards, the machine was stopped and the negro took the wheel. Miss Moxley said that there is no doubt about the men being drunk, as the machine zig-zagged from one side of the road to the other. After changing drivers, the machine dashed away at lightning speed.

Miss Moxley said that the chil-dren were terribly frightened. The neighbors said that the ma-chine had been along the road for some time. The names of the chil-dren are: Eberly Summers, James Hagan, Jose Hagan, Ralph Tabler, Eva Tabler, Edith Tabler, and Vir-ginia Tabler.

A Baltimore and Ohio detective went to the scene of the shooting and found some empty cartridg-es and also several that had been unused. The authorities in Hager-stown were notified of the incident and the arrest was made last night. Cook and the negro are lodged in the Hagerstown jail. They will be brought back to Frederick, and the trial will be held this morn-ing at 11 o’clock. Albert S. Tabler and Herbert Summers, fathers of the children, were in Frederick last

night but no warrants were sworn out for the two men. Warrants will be sworn out this morning. It was reported at Mt. Airy Junction that the machine contained some li-quor.

May 22Shoe thief breaks from Bruns-

wick jail. A man apparently about thirty-years old, giving his name as Frederick Hill, escaped from the Brunswick lock-up several nights ago where he had been committed to be brought to this city the next day, for the action of the grand ju-ry on a charge of larceny. While the authorities are puzzled as to how he got out, it is thought that a “buddy” outside furnished him with an instrument, with which he unfastened the door.

Hill was seen to hop from a freight train in the east bound yard wearing a pair of new shoes and carrying two pair under his arm and his presence excited suspi-cion. After the cars had been shift-ed to a siding, the engine started with the cab toward the round-house. Hill then entered the cab and took a seat. In the meantime, word was sent to Detective H. W. Axline to look out for the man, and the officer met the stranger as he was about to leave the cab and placed him under arrest. It was found that a box containing shoes in one of the freight cars had been broken open and three pair were missing. On the evidence, Hill was found guilty by a justice and was placed in a cell in the lock-up to be brought to jail in this city the next day.

When an officer went for him, the next morning, it was found that the man had decamped. The lock on his cell door was broken but the outer door was securely fastened. Hill stated that he was on his way from Pittsburgh to Bal-timore. Nothing has been heard of him since.

May 23Death of Czar’s family con-

firmed. Various stories which have been current regarding cer-tain members of the Russian roy-al family having escaped the mas-sacre in which the ex-Czar met death would appear to be dis-posed of by an affidavit filed in the London Probate Registry today by Grand Duchess Xenia Alexan-drovna, wife of Grand Duke Alex-ander Michaelovitch and sister of the late Czar.

The grand Duchess has been living in London and letters of ad-ministration has been granted her for the English estate of the former Czar totaling 6,500. The affidavit of the Grand Duchess asserts that the Czar died on July 16, 1916, at Ekaterinburg, and adds that he died intestate, “leaving no widow or child.”

May 24Hurt in auto crash. Miss Ira

Kauffman, daughter of Clinton Kauffman, of near Woodsboro, had her left leg broken yesterday

afternoon when an automobile in which she was riding ran to one side of the road and turned over. The car was being driven by her brother-in-law, Mr. Grossnickle, of near Detour and it is under-stood that the accident was caused by the steering gear going bad. Miss Kauffman was taken to the office of Dr. D. P. Etzler, Wood-sboro, and later sent to the City Hospital.

May 31700 new State laws effective

on Tuesday. Marylanders will have about 700 new laws to obey or violate beginning Tuesday. The people will have to step right up and walk the straight and nar-row—or under-path set for them by the Legislature of 1920.

The old roller towel will pass out of use. The man who spent years learning how to find the one clean spot loft will and no place to exercise his accomplishment.

The blushing 16-year-old bride will have to sit and patiently wait until she is 18 years old. Mar-riage licenses will cost $2 and the girl or the ackward groom-to-be will have to face the license clerk in person. The old style applicant who often willfully or thoughtless-ly lied about ages will no longer be called onto sin in that way.

Poultry soaked in water cannot be sold hereafter. That was an old trick by which a slender chicken would hit the scales with an ex-pensive bang.

Crying in court, as done by the official court criers, will be more profitable in the Orphans’ Court, the judges also receiving higher pay.

Children in theatrical compa-nies with permits from other states will be allowed to perform here by showing permits and paying fees.

“Oh, say, can you see by the dawn’s early light…” and the rest of “The Star-Spangled Banner” must be sung in public schools.

More compensation is allowed and payments start sooner for workmen and higher insurances required by employers. Here are some of the other things that will happen.

A taxing commission and a rac-ing commission will handle these two sports.

Trust companies will pay only $1 on the $100 tax on shares of stocks.

Lateral road will be built by the counties and state on a cost-shar-ing plan.

Pay of school teachers, other than those in Baltimore, who have had a raise, will be raised June 1.

Merit system with some reserva-tions goes into effect in the state.

The people will vote in the fall on the question of Sunday movies.

Blue laws slightly modified to permit legal sale of articles such as are now generally sold illegally.

Giving short weight now be-comes a misdemeanor and all box-es and crates must have a defi-nite indicated capacity. The boxes

ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO

CONTINUED ON PAGE 15

4 | WOODSBORO WALKERSVILLE TIMES | MAY 2020

NEWS

Walkersville water prices will rise soon continued from page 1

New budget introduced continued from page 1

Emergency actions timeline continued from page 1

The Town’s water fund is legal-ly required to be supported sole-ly by water/sewer revenues and not property taxes. Therefore, the Town cannot use its $8.7 million cash reserves to pay off the Water Fund debts and expenses.

Commissioner Gilbert stated the loan debt expenses will in-crease significantly in the upcom-ing year. He wrote, “The loan from the General Fund to Water was for $1.9 million with terms of 30 years beginning March 28, 2020, amortized 30 years with an annually adjusted interest rate. That rate is 1.75% for the year be-ginning March 28, 2020. Semi-annual payments of $40,839 are due September 28, 2020 and March 28, 2021. The rate will be adjusted March 28, 2021 for the next 12 months. The rate is based on the MGLIP rate 30 days pri-

or to March 28 rounded up to the next higher quarter percent.”

Regarding the $7.3 million state loan, Mr. Gilbert stated, “The amortization over the next 30 years amounts to about $274,000 annually plus an annual ‘admin-istrative fee’ charge of $13,286 based on the paperwork I have.”

The increase in water debt ex-pense is not the only expense as-sociated with the new plant. The town will see a yet-to-be-deter-mined increased electric bill and sewer bill.

The town will pump more groundwater increasing pump-ing electric bills. The best munici-pal water treatment plants recov-er 80% of the water entering the plant. The remaining 20 percent is discarded as wastewater.

Walkersville is planning to dis-charge its wastewater into the sewage system run by the coun-ty. Commissioner Tom Gilbert re-ported the Town’s sewage expens-es are currently $120,000 per year and they will increase to $164,000 this July and $276,000 the follow-ing year and $303,000 in 2022.

The prior administrations that enacted the plan to build the new

water plant discussed obtaining permission to discharge the new plant’s wastewater into a local creek. However, a formal applica-tion to do so was never submitted. Such a permit would eliminate the new sewer expense.

While detailed numbers were unavailable at press time, it ap-pears that the new water produc-tion expenses will increase by at least $300,000 per year. With about 3000 water accounts in Walkersville, that would equate to about $100 per year increase per customer if the expense were to be equally divided by account rather than per gallon. This expense may be offset by a property tax reduc-tion that is currently under con-sideration. Note: the figures in this paragraph are very rough and used only to communicate a ball park figure of the expected water expense increase.

Mr. Gilbert did not state a rec-ommended or estimated increase in water rates needed to cover the upcoming expenses associated with water plant debt service, in-crease well pumping, and the wa-ter plant electric bill among oth-er costs. He stated the figures will become available as the ongoing budget formulation process pro-ceeds.

Alcoholic Beverage Delivery and Carryout (March 19)Removes certain alcohol sales and delivery restrictionsAugmenting Emergency Medical Services (March 19)Suspends certain state health regu-lationsProhibiting Price Gouging (March 23)Limits profit increase to 10% on listed itemsFast-Tracking Lab Testing Process (March 23)Suspends state regulations that would impeded COVID-19 test-ingChild Care for Essential Personnel (March 25)Suspends certain restrictions and regulations to ensure care available to children of deemed “essential” personsRemote Notarizations (March 30)Authorizes and establishes require-ments for remote notarizationMaryland Children’s Health Pro-gram Contributions (March 30)Makes the programs free for par-ents with kids in these programs during the emergencyMunicipal Elections (March 30)Grants municipalities authority to shift election datesGatherings, Stay at Home Order (March 30)Closes certain businesses and re-stricts citizen movements

Tax Deadlines and Oaths of Office (March 31)Shifts tax deadline to July 15 and waives oath taking requirement for newly elected/appointed officialsAuthorizing Telehealth (April 1)Authorizes remote health care such as assessments and prescriptionsHealth Care Designation for Dis-abilities Services Providers (April 1)Defines disability service providers and removes restrictions on their movements and actions while per-forming their jobsEvictions and Mortgages (April 3)Limits evictions and repossessions during emergency. Does not elim-inate private debt obligations past emergency.Authorizing Actions for Nursing Homes (April 5)Commands subject institutions to obey dictates from MD Secretary of Health. Establishes penalties for disobedience.Delegating Authority to Health Officials (April 5)Grants county health officers the authority to order the closing of any facility, organization, construc-tion site, establishment, or busi-ness. Establishes penalties for dis-obedience.Remote Witnessing and Electronic Signing (April 10)Removes requirements to witness certain document signing in per-son and details allowable remote al-ternatives.

Shareholder Meetings (April 15)For publicly owned Maryland com-panies, authorizes remote meet-ings and meeting schedule chang-es. Suspends all Maryland laws that would conflict with this order.Pharmacy Matters (April 15)Prohibits filling or refilling a pre-scription for treatment of preven-tion of COVID-19 if the person is undiagnosed. For diagnosed COV-ID-19 person the order forbids is-suing more than a 14-day supply of any treatment.Masks and Physical Distancing (April 15)Mandates all people over age 9 wear face coverings on public transit and inside stores. Orders businesses to establish distancing measures such as signage. Mandates certain clean-ing practices. Establishes penalties for violation of up to $5000 AND 1 year imprisonment. Alternative Correctional Detention and Supervision (April 19)Authorizes early release convicted criminals. Provides medical assis-tance to those released.Establishing Alternate Care Sites (April 20)Authorizes the state to acquire and build facilities to care for active COVID-19 patients.Full text of the orders can be found at:https://governor.maryland.gov/co-vid-19-pandemic-orders-and-guid-ance/

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enue might fall short due to the current crisis. The Burgess ac-knowledged that risk and noted that several budget items such as repair funding were discretionary and flexible. He stated the gener-al fund budget had plenty of flex-ibility to allow any surprises to be dealt with.

The water and sewer fund was a different story regarding flexibil-ity. The Burgess stated that all of the budget items in that fund were necessary operation expenses so the waster and sewer fund had less flexibility. That is a major reason for the planned increase in water and sewer fees and rates.

The Burgess proposed a quar-terly increase in the water service fee of $6 for the Town’s 450 wa-ter accounts to yield an addition-al $10,800 per year. A $5 increase on the 459 sewer accounts (yes there are 9 extra sewer accounts) will add an additional $9180 sew-er revenue. A 5% increase in the water rate will add additional rev-enue depending on use.

covered the gamut of typical cit-izen requests such as swimming pools, park improvements, more police coverage, and increased waste services.

He suggested a 25% property tax reduction (12 cents per $100 from $16 cents per $100 of as-sessed value) which would lower revenues by about $250,000. Two more troopers were estimated to cost $250,000 per year. The com-bined tax reduction and additional trooper expense would eliminate the current $500,000 surplus.

In addition to the Town’s cur-rent $8.7 million reserves, Walk-ersville will have another source of income in the form of a $1.9 million loan the Town made to the water and sewer fund that must be repaid to the General Fund. See the water bill increase article for further information.

Walkersville has too much money continued from page 1

MAY 2020 | WOODSBORO WALKERSVILLE TIMES | 5

GOVERNMENT

From the desk of State Delegate CoxEditor’s Note: Delegate Cox’s let-ter to the editors of another local paper is reprinted here in order to share Mr. Cox’s legal views regard-ing emergency powers.

At the rally to ReOpen Mary-land this past Saturday was a sin-gle mom who with her children had a sign that, from memory, read: “I need to work to feed my children.” That mom represents tens of thousands whose liveli-hoods have been devastated by Executive Orders shuttering busi-nesses deemed to be “non-essen-tial” and requiring us all to stay inside our homes.

Before the March 5, 2020 Proc-lamation of a coronavirus crisis, unemployment was at only 2.9%. Now, each week over 4000 Fred-erick County residents are apply-ing for unemployment assistance with more devastating numbers out today. My constituents’ live-lihoods and ability to eat are in jeopardy.

Governor Hogan’s policies to try and “flatten the curve” have been praised with bipartisan sup-port, but he has said they can be improved and changed to the situation. This is my concern as well. For instance, with masks so essential as to have a $5000 fine and a year in jail for not wear-ing them into commerce, why can’t we open back up all busi-nesses with the mask being the key to rescue our economy? If the mask will not protect us such that we must remained locked in our houses, then why a criminal pen-alty?

As far as I am aware, of the ex-perts cited in the article and ed-itorial, I am the only practic-ing attorney. I was trained at law by Jay Sekulow, a leading Su-preme Court lawyer in America, and have over 16 years of litiga-

tion and small business experi-ence. My Juris Doctor work in-cluded a 70-page dissertation on Forced Vaccination, Pandemics and Emergency Powers written in 2005 after 9/11, and I am hon-ored to be a member of the U.S. Supreme Court Bar.

As a member of the House of Delegates Judiciary Committee and Public Safety Subcommittee, a co-equal branch of government, I want to make it clear, as I did in my letter, that I have repeated-ly and respectfully reached out to the Governor and many positive improvements in the Orders have been made. But many concerns are still outstanding and without response, such as protecting live-lihoods and preventing econom-ic collapse. Upon what modeling and basis is this being done?

Professor Greenberger, in the article by Steve Bohnel, men-tioned something alarming. He said that “It’s not just an indi-vidual’s concern in these cases,” … “It’s what the state is trying to do to protect the entire pop-ulace, and that’s balanced against the individual’s rights. What CO-VID-19 has brought to life is what these powers are, and how they’re exercised.” (emphasis added). Yet in the Jacobson v. Commonwealth of Massachusetts case he cites (197 U.S. 11)(1905) Justice Harlan wrote, however, that “state…laws to prevent persons suffering un-der contagious or infectious dis-eases…went beyond the necessity of the case, and, under the guise of exerting a police power, invad-ed the federal authority, and vi-olated the rights secured by the Constitution, [and] this court deemed it to be its duty to hold such laws invalid.” Id. at 28. The current orders in many ways go beyond the necessity of the case and invade secured rights.

Article 44 of the Md. Consti-tution, Decl. of Rights says “That the provisions of the Constitu-tion of the United States, and of this State, apply, as well in time of war, as in time of peace; and any departure therefrom, or violation thereof, under the plea of necessi-ty, or any other plea, is subversive of good Government, and tends to anarchy and despotism.

Logically, consider that Chi-nese Communists, by their ap-parent negligence with COV-ID-19, have quickly altered our lives. If it is that easy to do that, China or any communist or ter-rorist enemy need only contin-ue to release dangerous viruses to ensure we all stay locked inside, and crash our entire American power. You cannot run a military on people staying at home much beyond 30 days and that is why the statute limits the emergency proclamations to 30 days. This is a national security issue.

Attorney General Bill Barr, on April 21, rightly stated that you can’t continue to feed chemother-apy to a cancer patient so that it kills them and thereby claim you did so to kill the cancer.

All people and all work are es-sential. We need to move our state immediately towards re-opening by using a more target-ed approach to working to isolate cases more quickly in hot spots, quarantine only those people if necessary, protect the vulnerable with encouragement to stay-at-home for them if they so desire, while allowing everyone else to get back to work in a safe fashion.

Very Truly Yours, (signed Dan Cox)

From the desk of Commissioner Mary Ann Brodie-Ennis

Good day to all those in the Walkersville Woodsboro area. I have to say, I am proud to be a resident in this area. I am out ev-eryday walking about five miles and everyone I see is respect-ing the social distancing which means they are not only caring about their own health but also the health of others. I have ob-served many polite and respectful people as I have done the neces-sary shopping for food and medi-cine at Safeway. Please continue the social distancing and wear-ing masks when you go out to the stores.

Now for some town infor-mation. The parks in Walkersville continue to be closed to vehicles and playing on the equipment but OPEN to walking. Remem-ber you may drop off your water bill in the drop box at Town Hall on Frederick Street. Any ques-tions please call the town office at 301-845-4500. We welcome a new employee to the Town,

Samantha Fowle. Ms. Fowle is our communication director. We will have bulk trash pick up on June 13. While we are under the restriction of social distancing and maximum ten people, the

town meetings will be streamed on the Walkersville Facebook, check the, page for more infor-mation. Don’t forget to put your yard waste out the night before because the company comes ear-ly on Tuesday morning, and you don’t want to miss it. Stay safe and healthy, also, when you see those people that are unable to stay home be kind and thank them.

Mary Ann Brodie-EnnisWalkersville Town Commissioner

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6 | WOODSBORO WALKERSVILLE TIMES | MAY 2020

From the desk of County Executive GardnerUncertain Times

We find ourselves in uncertain and unprecedented times as our community experiences the im-pacts of the coronavirus pandem-ic. The virus has impacted all of us, with stay at home directives, the requirement to wear face cov-erings, and the closure of many businesses. Our daily lives have changed.

Unfortunately, the virus is here in Frederick County, with hun-dreds of people testing positive and unfortunately with over 50 deaths in our community. My heart goes out to those who are fighting this virus and to those who are work-ing on the front line in healthcare to care for people.

During this time, I urge all of you to stay home as much as possi-ble, to practice physical distancing, and good hygiene. Public health is a community responsibility and it will take all of us following these directives to reduce the impact of the virus on our community and to ensure that our healthcare system is not overwhelmed. I know peo-ple are anxious to return to “nor-mal” life and to go back to work. While plans are being made to re-open businesses and daily life, the time is not now. The number of positive cases continues to climb. We will need to see a reduction in the number of deaths, the number

of hospitalizations and ICU beds, and see these numbers decline for at least 14 days.

If you have any of the symp-toms of COVID-19, including a fever, dry cough, or sore throat, please call your primary care phy-sician. You can also take advantage of a Virtual Visit through Fred-erick Health Hospital’s telemed-icine at fmh.org. It is currently a free service. If you are having trou-ble breathing, call 9-1-1. Fred-erick Health Hospital is offering drive through testing and testing is available at many doctor’s offices and urgent care facilities.

During this pandemic, Freder-ick County Government contin-ues to provide essential services to the citizens who live here. While county government has modified our delivery of service citizens can count on public safety, water and sewer, trash disposal, road mainte-nance, and more.

In fact, most county employ-ees are on the job. About half of all county employees work in pub-lic safety and these men and wom-en continue to serve the public in law enforcement, fire and EMS, and at 9-1-1 to keep our commu-nity safe. Road crews continue to do road and bridge maintenance. Animals are being cared for at our Animal Shelter and cat adoptions

are happening virtually. Our parks remain open for walking, hiking and biking with social and phys-ical distancing. Our Transit driv-ers, though on a reduced schedule, continue to take essential workers to their jobs and take people to di-alysis. Our library staff is deliver-ing incredible virtual program-ming and making more digital material available.

County staff are also engaged in protecting public health and re-sponding to the pandemic in new and different ways. Staff from Cit-izens Services are working to sup-port our temporary isolation and quarantine shelter for health care workers and first responders. Our Senior Services Division, along with county employees from oth-er divisions, are delivering meals on wheels to our senior clients as well as delivering groceries and fresh produce to other seniors. I want to give a special shout out to our cleaning staff that has been in-volved in sanitizing and disinfect-ing county buildings, facilities and transit buses. It has been a big task. Frederick County Government is actively working to purchase and obtain Personal Protective Equip-ment or PPE for community need including our healthcare workers, first responders, nursing homes, and others in the face of critical shortages.

Our public health staff, incor-porating our school health team, have been on the job providing support for our hospital, nursing homes, health providers and in-dividuals while investigating and following up on those people who have tested positive for the virus. Public health has also been in-specting businesses and providing guidance for safe procedures to re-

duce the spread of the virus. And they are working on plans for ex-panded testing and contact trac-ing. They are working on over drive!

I am extremely grateful for our dedicated county employees who remain on the job, and particular-ly for those who have stepped up to do very different jobs. While Frederick County Government has modified or altered the de-livery of services, we are ensuring essential services and doing a lot of problem solving for Frederick County residents.

Of course, we don’t do this alone. We do it with many com-munity partners including our human service non-profits, our state and municipal partners, and with many individuals and orga-nizations who are volunteering to care for others. Frederick Coun-ty Government is supporting the Religious Coalition who are tak-ing care of the homeless during this pandemic and supporting the Mental Health Association which is extremely busy taking calls for 2-1-1 for resources and mental health support.

I am grateful to and thankful for all our health care workers, grocery store workers, restaurant workers, truck drivers, emergen-cy day care providers, and so many others, and everyone in between. I am heartened by people sewing masks, delivering food and school supplies, and helping their neigh-bors. I am proud to be the Coun-ty Executive of this great county and I thank each and every person serving others during this unprec-edented time.

If you would like more informa-tion on the county’s efforts on the coronavirus you can visit our web-page at www.frederickcountymd.gov/coronavirus. If you are look-ing for assistance for your busi-ness, visit www.discoverfrederick-md.com. You are encouraged to sign up to receive emergency alerts at www.frederickcountymd.gov/alerts

Essential BudgetI realize that the budget may

not be on everyone’s mind, but to ensure the ongoing operation of county government, I presented my proposed operating budget on April 15, as required by the coun-ty’s Charter. Preparing and pre-senting the annual county budget is one of the most important tasks I have as County Executive.

The Fiscal Year 2021 proposed budget focuses on the basics - pro-viding essential services to the citi-zens of Frederick County. The es-sential budget accomplished three goals: it funds mandates, it en-sures the ongoing delivery of criti-cal services, and it supports county workers who deliver these servic-es to citizens every day, including during this pandemic. The budget is based on existing property and

income tax rates with no proposed tax rate increases.

Our citizens expect and deserve to live in a safe community, to have outstanding schools, and to count on essential services like wa-ter and sewer and trash disposal. While the county budget revenue is projected to decline because of the economic impact of the health pandemic on our economy, the demand for essential services and the need to protect public health has increased.

The conservative budget focus-es on providing the basics and an-ticipates that income tax revenue will be lower because of the pan-demic. This budget is based on in-come tax revenue levels from two years ago. The essential budget maintains existing county servic-es. It pays the bills. It funds man-dates. It ensures services meet the demand of a growing population.

Working together, across all county divisions, we have bal-anced the needs of our growing community with the need to be fiscally responsible. Not only do we always pay our bills, we are careful not to create bills we can-not afford. We also don’t spend money we don’t have. Unlike the federal government, the county balances its budget. We do no def-icit spending. We also have mon-ey saved in reserves, although my proposed budget does not tap in-to these rainy day funds. We live within our means.

The proposed essential budget funds no new positions, no expan-sion of services or new initiatives with the exception of the addition of 13 firefighter/Emergency Med-ical Technicians to open the new Northgate Fire Station fully staffed to meet critical calls for service on the northwest side of the City of Frederick. Many legitimate needs and budget requests were consid-ered in preparing the budget, but I have decided this is simply not the right time to expand services no matter how justified. It is my hope that once the pandemic is past, we will be able to revisit the budget, project revenues with greater cer-tainty, and consider some addi-tional decisions.

I am proud that Frederick County lives within our means while providing outstanding ser-vices. You can find the proposed FY21 operating and capital bud-gets on the county website at www.FrederickCountyMD.gov/budget.

There is still plenty of opti-mism for a bright future. Freder-ick County’s fundamental under-lying economy is strong and our business community is diverse. I am confident we will weather this storm and once again have a thriv-ing economy. Frederick County is a caring community and we wit-ness this every day particularly during difficult times.

Stay home, stay safe, be well.

GOVERNMENT

MAY 2020 | WOODSBORO WALKERSVILLE TIMES | 7

From the desk of Woodsboro Burgess RittelmeyerI hope everyone is staying safe,

staying home, and doing their part to minimize the spread of the Covid-19 virus. These are truly unprecedented times with many businesses closed, millions of workers laid off or furloughed, people alone in isolated situa-tions, and schools on a new and very different program. Everyone is impacted in a variety of ways, ranging from mild inconvenience to the unthinkable. Consider do-nating blood, support/donate to a local food bank, and check in on an elderly relative, neigh-bor or friend. Keep the front line workers in your thoughts and prayers, from grocery store workers keeping the food sup-ply running, first responders ser-vicing calls, and especially all of the health care professionals and staff that are fighting this bat-tle face-to-face everyday to care for the sick and afflicted, put-ting their and their families own health and well being on the line. We will get through this, but, un-til then, please be patient, toler-ant, help where you can and don’t hesitate to reach out if you need help. There are many resources and hotlines available through-out the state and county for up to date information, available ser-

vices, and mental health resources (fcmha.org or dial 2-1-1).

The FY 2021 town budget was presented at the April 27th work-shop meeting and includes a $.02 increase in the property tax rate from $0.12 to $0.14 per $100 of assessed value, yielding approx-imately $23,600 in additional revenue. The tax rate for Wood-sboro was last changed in 1995, 25 years ago. Over the years, the town council has worked hard to keep expenses down. How-ever, as infrastructure grows old and in need of significant repair, and the general costs of opera-tions increase, it has become nec-essary to raise the rate by 2 cents per $100 of assessed property val-ue. This will not cover all of the short term, immediate costs we are facing, but will help the town remain financially viable moving forward. We currently have the second lowest municipal tax rates in the county and will continue to have the second lowest after this increase.

In addition, there will be a 5% increase in the water and sew-er rates to help maintain the sys-tem. These have not changed in 8 years while the operating costs have risen, and aging compo-nents need to be replaced and re-paired. Our sewer treatment sys-

tem is over 16 years old, and we are faced with major upgrades re-quired to continue reliable opera-tions and meet state operational requirements. Again, this increase won’t cover immediate costs as we may have to use reserve funds short term, but we need to main-tain a sound financial footing long term.

There is a public hearing for the increases scheduled for Tues-day, May 12, 2020. However, with the current state restric-tions on crowd size of no more than 10 people due to the Cov-id-19 pandemic, we will not be able to accommodate more than 4 residents in addition to the 5 members of the council and town clerk at the meeting. Therefore, I want to give town residents the opportunity to “speak” in ad-vance. If you would like to voice an opinion or concern, I will be more than happy to take emails and relay them to the council at the meeting. I will also be more than happy to address any ques-tions you may have in lieu of your ability to attend in person. You can email me at BRittelmeyer@Woodsboro.org.

No one likes to see taxes and rates increased, and this was not done lightly. After 25 years of no tax adjustment, we can no lon-

ger meet the budgetary require-ments of the town. Our aging in-frastructure needs maintenance and requires we have the funds to keep the town viable and services in tact in the years to come. Un-fortunately, small towns usually have small budgets, but major re-pair costs are not small.

As a reminder, please complete the US Census at my2020census.gov, by phone at 844-330-2020 (844-468-2020 for Spanish), or mailing in forms sent to your home. It took me less than 10 minutes online and was very sim-ple. The Census is easy, safe, and

more important than ever. Each person not counted in the Census will cost our state over $18,000 over the course of the next 10 years. Rumors the Census is be-ing postponed or canceled are just that, rumor. Please complete the Census.

Please stay safe. I wish every-one good health. Better times are ahead. May God bless you, your family, and all your friends and neighbors.

Bill Rittelmeyer

From the desk of Alderman Roger WilsonWhen the worst brings out the best

I am the definition of an extro-vert. Before the COVID-19 pub-lic health crisis struck, I was al-ways on the go—driving around the city from one destination to another, talking to people, staying actively involved in the commu-nity. Being connected with other people is the fuel that keeps me running. So although Governor Hogan’s stay-at-home order was and is absolutely the right call to preserve the life, health, and safety of all Maryland residents—it pre-sented me with quite a personal challenge. I’m sure many of you feel the same.

Eventually, I was able to take advantage of the time at home. I spent lots of time with my fam-ily, caught up with extended family and friends, experienced church services online, watched some great movies, finished some much-needed projects around the house, and got to know my next-door neighbor better (from six feet away, of course). These con-nections became my lifeline, but beyond that, something else has been keeping me afloat these past few weeks: the incredible way the Frederick community has been supporting each other during this time of crisis.

Every day, I see examples of strength, courage, and generosity in our community. I want to ex-tend my sincerest thanks to all of the first responders, health profes-sionals, city employees, and gro-cery store, restaurant, pharmacy, and other essential employees who are working tirelessly on the front lines. Your commitment to com-bating this pandemic and continu-ing to serve the people of Freder-ick is remarkable. I would also like to thank the Frederick Commu-nity Action Agency (FCAA) and its legion of volunteers for their service. In partnership with the Salvation Army and the National Guard, the FCAA has mobilized the food bank and established food drop locations throughout the city, so those in need have ac-cess to food and other essentials. And finally, a big thanks to the folks at home, who have been do-nating to local fundraisers in huge amounts, sewing hundreds upon hundreds of handmade masks, and connecting on social media to help support local businesses and the most vulnerable in our com-munity. All of you truly define the indomitable spirit of Frederick.

On the Board of Aldermen, each of us has also been working to

assist in any way we can: keeping the Spanish-speaking community updated about new developments, working with nonprofits to make masks, advocating for downtown Frederick businesses, using social media to connect with residents, and working the phones to assist local nonprofits and faith-based organizations get access to re-sources they need. My hope is that once this crisis has passed, we can do something countywide to com-memorate the lives lost during the pandemic. Those losses, every one of them, are heartbreaking—not only to their families and friends, but to the entire Frederick com-munity. But for now, it is heart-ening to see how hard this city is working to keep us from losing any more. Like so many other mo-ments in history, this crisis shows us that the worst can often bring out the best in us all.

We’re in this together, Freder-ick. Stay strong.

Thanks for reading. I love hear-ing from my constituents, so please don’t hesitate to contact me. I am your representative, and I’m here for you. Write me at rwil-son@cityoffrederickmd.gov or call 301-600-1632.

GOVERNMENT

8 | WOODSBORO WALKERSVILLE TIMES | MAY 2020

COMMENTARY

Malum prohibitumKen Kellar

Malum prohibitum: an offense prohibited by statute but not in-herently evil or wrong. This is in contrast to malum in se: an offense that is evil or wrong from its own nature irrespective of statute.

Laws codifying malum in se of-fenses are in harmony with the people. They are formal declara-tions of the commonly held con-cepts of right and wrong.

Governments issuing malum prohibitum laws are treading on thin ice. By definition, the people will generally not view a malum prohibitum offense as, well, offen-sive. The enforcement of malum prohibitum laws often incites re-sentment and sometimes violence. The sense of injustice, unfairness, and overreach and abuse of power can be strong and widespread.

A friend shared some photos of an annual memorial event in Fred-erick County for a man that died in a traffic accident. “This man died 5 years ago in an accident; the family gathers each year on the date of his death with music, prayer, and release of heart-shaped balloons.”

I don’t know who this man was, but I am impressed with him. Five years after his death about 25 people continue to remember and honor him. What kind of in-

fluence did he have? How loving? Caring? Nurturing? He must have been a great man.

This year is different. Kai Ha-gen and four of his fellow commis-sioners declared the release of he-lium balloons a crime subject to a $250 fine. Jan Gardner signed the bill into law.

Imagine a Frederick County Sheriff Deputy pulling up to this somber group of mourners after he squatted in the woods photo-graphing the perpetrators as they released their balloons. He walks up, perhaps with back up, hand resting on top of his gun, and starts demanding identification. During the next hour, he walks the 25, one at a time, to his cruiser. Now, with three other cruisers to control the crowd, he starts writing out $250 citations. After $6,250 worth of citations are written he “releases” the mourners.

It’s a shameful scene, and one I’m confident won’t happen on Sheriff Chuck Jenkins watch. I’m not so confident his challeng-er wouldn’t faithfully enforce the malum prohibitum balloon law.

Did you know there were at least three days in April you were not allowed to cook outside? The Frederick County Fire Marshall declared it. When I woke up this morning to a green spring day un-der gray clouds and grass wet with

dew, we were still under an abso-lute fire ban (including recreation-al fires) resulting from wind a few days ago.

I don’t think the Fire Marshall’s huffing and puffing has impacted anyone. Most people are unaware of the edicts and go about grilling and camp firing when they see fit, yet it annoys the heck out of me that during these hard times this person is casting out these threats and with no expiration date, “until further notice.” His open-ended declarations are over conservative and an abuse of power.

Soon after this paper is printed, we may see widespread challenges to edicts that no longer make sense to the general population. In Feb-ruary, the Center for Disease Con-trol officially told citizens NOT to wear facemasks. They were useless for anyone but a trained profes-sional. Now, several weeks later, in most states you will be tasered and handcuffed if you are found in a public place without a facemask.

If government officials hold on too long to the various emer-gency orders, they will stop mak-ing sense; they will lose support. Malum in se will become malum prohibitum, and large numbers of citizens will provide feedback. Re-sponses will vary.

Balloons released to honor a group’s loved one. Is the recent Frederick Coun-ty law prohibiting this malum in se or malum prohibitum?

MAY 2020 | WOODSBORO WALKERSVILLE TIMES | 9

This and That

This is different: The new normal

Mary T. Klotz

We are spending more time at home and more time with our-selves. How is that time with yourself? Are you good compa-ny? Are you actually doing the stuff you’ve said, for years, that you would do if you only had the time? Are you stepping up your self care: eating better, may-be taking naps, getting in touch with friends you haven’t connect-ed with in awhile, doing an ex-ercise routine that there is finally time for? Have you set up a daily routine and lists of things to do? What soothes and supports you? There are some plusses that come with the new normal; don’t feel guilty about recognizing and en-joying them.

I’m reviewing end of life pa-pers to revisit designated medi-cal power of attorney choices and living will instructions. When you consider appointing one per-son or another: would they re-ally know and defend what you want; would your designated per-son go to battle on your behalf to get you a respirator, or keep/take you off one; do you really know which you would want? Are you willing to struggle for weeks or months or longer to get well, or stay alive knowing you will nev-er get fully well? Or are you in-clined to abandon hope and give up? If someone asks you to be their medical power of attorney, how does that feel, what would you say?

Being pragmatic can be a com-fort: “If I get it, I get it. If I don’t I don’t.” Despite what the statistics say about your risk, regardless of what precautions are taken, dire illnesses and deaths are happen-ing in all age and risk groups. More in some than others, but nobody has a golden free pass. I’ve found some comfort in com-paring the Covid19 statistics with other data. Looking at the math, most of the time the number of

deaths is around 2%-7% of the number infected. Do your own math; it changes daily and var-ies by jurisdiction. Annual deaths from heart disease and cancer, the two top causes of death in the US, average 3,437 deaths per day (2018 figures: 1,254,655 deaths per year combined). Comparing the daily Covid death tally with those numbers gives a bit of per-spective.

The difference is that you don’t “catch” heart disease or cancer, or spread it to others- at least not microbially. We do, however, affect those around us, particularly if you are a parent, by the foods we select, our eat-ing habits, and exercise choices. The examples you set and op-tions you offer in your house-hold influence others as you have been influenced by the peo-ple you spend time with.

This is true regarding perspec-tive, attitude, and mental health as well. Be mindful of what you listen to on the radio, televi-sion, and the internet. Choose the nourishing, avoid depleting/depressing, and limit it all. Pay attention to the care you give to your support network and to those who count you among their support system. Set good bound-aries for yourself. Put your own oxygen mask on first.

The uncertainty about money, debt, loans, stimulus payments- it is what it is. Fretting does not help. It is easier to spend less than to find more money.

What worldly possessions and wealth do you have to pass on and to whom? This is a good time to write letters with memories and insights to those in the circle of people special to you. Where can I find a New Orleans style funer-al band- the ones that start with a slow, dirge-like song and end up with your entire mourning en-tourage dancing down the street? (Really- if you know, please get in touch.)

A friend says the toilet paper shortage is partly due to a down-turn in the timber/lumber in-dustry: the waste sawdust from milling lumber is a low cost in-gredient to making TP. And now it’s in short supply. Nobody wants to grind up fine whole trees for toilet paper.

I am reading books I’ve had for years, awaiting the time to read them at leisure. That time has ar-rived! Among them, Chop Wood, Carry Water is an especially good fit. Cleaning out closets and drawers unearths long lost items, many of which once seemed im-portant, and some of which re-main a delight to have in hand again. Now I have more time to make art but have lost the teach-ing job that pays for my supplies, and the outlets where my work is sold are closed.

If you allow fear in, at least use it to your advantage: to inspire you to assess (but not obsess over) your safety behavior diligence, review your to-do list, connect with your support people, and do something to help others.

We will not all get through this. Do what you can, and car-ry on.

COMMENTARY

Yesterday

Play ball

John W. Schildt

For many years, baseball was a major part of Sunday afternoons in Woodsboro and Walkersville. Woodsboro was in the Maryland State League while Walkersville was in the Tri State League. Af-ter church, families packed lunch baskets and thermos jugs and, with blankets and chairs, traveled to the diamonds.

Several from the area played Minor League Ball, with Ira “Buck “Houck reaching Triple

A, and Ted Beard the majors. Elwood Hummer played many years with the famed Frederick Hustlers at McCurdy Field.

October brought the famed Barber Long barnstorming tour with several professional players. Among them was Jacob Nelson (Nellie) Fox, returning to the area where his career began.

In 1944 and 45, the old Phil-adelphia Athletics, with Connie Mack, had spring training at Mc-Curdy Field. One day in 1944, Nellie’s parents, who lived in St. Thomas Township, PA, brought their 16 year-old teenager for a tryout. Mr. Mack at first thought he was the new bat boy. Nellie was signed and sent to the Lan-

caster farm team and was later traded to the White Sox. This was Mr. Mack’s biggest mis-take. Nellie was the American League’s MVP in 1959 and is now enshrined at Cooper-stown, inducted in 1997.

In the early 1960’s, Nellie was the guest speaker at the Glade Valley Athletic Associ-ation Banquet and was pho-tographed with Phil Smith of Walkersville. Nellie also intro-duced this writer to Ted Wil-liams when he was a coach with the old Washington Sena-tors. Hopefully this article will inspire someone to write an ar-ticle about baseball in Woods-boro.

Reminder to use the Walkersville and Woodsboro drop boxes when possible.

10 | WOODSBORO WALKERSVILLE TIMES | MAY 2020

A note from the Walkersville LibraryWe are looking forward to wel-

coming everyone back to the li-brary as soon as we are able to open again. In the meantime, stay home and stay healthy!

FCPL has lots to offer in our virtual platforms. We are contin-

ually working on bringing virtu-al programing to you. From story times for the kids, to a variety of programing for adults and teens, too. Check the FCPL website for a calendar of virtual events. www.fcpl.org

Temporary online cards are now available and will access most of our digital resources. At fcpl.org, click the box for Tem-porary Cards on FCPL website and follow the directions. It’s that easy! Once you’ve received

your Temporary online card num-ber, you can access millions of ti-tles to download from BookFLIX, Hoopla, Kanopy, Flipster, Free-gal Music, and Kanopy Kids. You can also access Ancestry.com until June for free. FCPL students have

access through their Student Suc-cess Card. Spend some time ex-ploring all that you can do on our website. You will be amazed!

LIBRARY/SCHOOLS/ARTS

A PAge from WAlkersville librAry2 South Glade Road, Walkersville, MD (301) 301-600-8200

Scholarship opportunities

Chad Weddle

The Walkersville High School Alumni Association Inc. will be sponsoring twelve scholarships, all worth $1,000 or more for the WHS Class of 2020 and one for a prior WHS Alumni recipient still in college or trade school.

Applications must be emailed back to cweddle21705@yahoo.com by Friday May 15 th at 4pm

1 is a $1,000 scholarship for a graduate with active military par-ent or sibling, sponsored by the Class of 1970.

1 is a $2,000 Intergenerational scholarship awarded to a student

who has a parent or grandparent that graduated from Walkersville High.

2 are $1,500 each, scholarships in honor of Coach Bill Talley for a student interested in athlet-ics/coaching sponsored by Talley Family.

1 is a $1,000 scholarship for a student interested in education or teaching.

1 is a $1,000 scholarship spe-cifically for students in a voca-tional/trade school or STEM (Science, Technology, Engineer-ing and Mathematics) major.

1 is a $1,000 scholarship for a graduating student attending Frederick Community College in the Fall 2020.

2 are $1,500 each, general scholarships honoring Lawrence “Tommy” Dorsey.

1 is a $1,000 scholarship for any prior WHS Alumni scholar-ship recipient still in college or trade school.

2 are $1,000 each, general scholarships sponsored by WHS Alumni.

For an application or questions please email cweddle21705@ya-hoo.com

MET releases original works

In the wake of the COVID-19 Shutdown, Maryland Ensemble Theatre (MET) remains commit-ted to its mission of creating cou-rageous, relevant, accessible pro-grams that enable people to feel more, think deeper, and laugh lon-ger. Starting this month, MET will release archival recordings of origi-nal works on Vimeo On Demand with more to come through their METVault program as the shut-down stretches on.

For the first time, audiences will be able to revisit MET’s 2013 pro-duction of Pickle My Monkey, a door-slamming farce in which a femme fetal seeks refuge under a sexual ruse to take advantage of ev-eryone in her wake, while an artist paints, a singer sings, and a con-spiracy theorist hits the jackpot.

Directed by Tad Janes and written by MET Company members Lisa Burl, Kevin Cole, and Matt Lee, the show centers around a group of friends who refuse to be bothered by the chaos going on outside their apartment. As Jack Evans sings “the world crumbles around us, it’s all good” Pickle My Monkey is the per-fect show for anyone who feels like life trapped in their home has got-ten too dull. Pickle My Monkey is recommended for mature audienc-es.

Frankenstein gets reanimated and reimagined in MET’s ensemble de-vised version of the classic horror story. Inspired by Mary Shelley’s gothic novel, this visually and vis-cerally stunning exploration of sci-ence, creation, isolation, and ego will be a thrilling experience in sto-

rytelling. A complex play on the idea of monster and victim will make you question humanity and wonder what responsibility does the creator have to the creation.

Families and fans of MET’s Fun Company will be glad to find A Tale of Two Trolls has also been made available. Hilltop and Underbridge are about as different as two trolls can be! But when Prince Hand-somepants invites the entire king-dom to his royal ball, of course, the trolls want to go! Can Under-bridge transform Hilltop into Prin-cess material? Or will she embarrass him in front of royalty? Directed by Bethanie Herman and written by Caitlyn Joy, A Tale of Two Trolls is sure to delight audiences of all ages!

Fans of MET’s summer com-munity program will enjoy Robin Hood: Occupy Sherwood. A World Premiere production by Sarah Shul-man with original music by Thom Huenger and Joe Jalette featuring the original caped crusader and his band of “merry men” sticking it to the one-percenters. Produced as part of MET’s annual summer out-reach program in partnership with The Ensemble School and Freder-ick Community College.

Shows from the MET Vault will be available to rent for a small do-nation and can be found online at marylandensemble.org/met-vault. Additional shows will be added soon with mainstage productions available for a $4 donation and Fun Company productions available

for a $2 donation. All funds raised through the METVault program go towards MET’s Keep The Ghost Light On fundraiser to help cover the theatre’s operational costs dur-ing the shutdown.

MET’s Fun Company’s A Tale of Two Trolls is available for viewing on Vimeo On Demand. Photo by Joe Williams

MET’s adaptation of Frankenstein is available for viewing on Vimeo On Demand. Photo by Anca Wyland

MAY 2020 | WOODSBORO WALKERSVILLE TIMES | 11

COMMUNITY

Walkersville veteran activitiesDon Schildt

The Walkersville Veteran com-mittee’s annual bus trip to Wash-ington DC memorials is still scheduled for June 10, 2020, at this time. A final decision will be

made June 1, 2020. If you’re in-terested, please contact Walkers-ville town office or Don Schildt. Two buses are reserved this year. There is no cost for veterans and their guest.

Also, the town is still selling bricks to honor a veteran who has served or is currently serving in the US Military. The cost is $50 per brick. Applications are at Walkers-ville Town Hall. Deadline for or-ders is June 1, 2020. Bricks to be installed by Veterans Day.

How should millennials respond to market decline?

The coronavirus crisis has un-settled every age group, as we are all worried about our health and that of our families and commu-nities. And if you’re in the millen-nial generation, generally defined as anyone born between 1981 and 1996, you might also be con-cerned about your financial future, given the sharp decline in invest-ment prices. How should you re-spond to what’s been happening? Your view of the current situa-tion will depend somewhat on your age. If you’re an older mil-lennial, you had probably been investing for a few years when we went through the financial cri-sis in 2007-2008. And you then experienced 11 years of a record bull market, so you’ve seen both the extremes and the resilience of the investment world. But if you’re a younger millennial, you might not have really started in-vesting until the past few years, if you’ve started at all, so you’ve on-ly seen a steadily climbing mar-ket. Consequently, you may find the current situation particular-ly discouraging, but this is also a lesson in the reality of investing: Markets go down as well as up. But no matter where you are within the millennial age co-

hort, you might help your-self by taking these steps: Enjoy the benefit of having time on your side. If you’re one of the younger millennials, you’ve got about four decades left until you’re close to retiring. Even if you’re in the older millennial group, you’ve probably got at least 25 years un-til you stop working. With so many years ahead, you have the opportunity to overcome the pe-riodic drops in investment pric-es, and your investments have time to grow. And, of course, you’ll be able to add more mon-ey into those investments, too. Invest systematically. The value of your investments will always fluc-tuate. You can’t control these price movements, but you may be able to take advantage of them through what’s known as systematic invest-ing. By putting the same amount of money at regular intervals into the same investments, you’ll buy more shares when the share price is lower – in other words, you’ll be “buying low,” which is one of the first rules of investing – and you’ll buy fewer shares when the price rises. Over time, this strategy can help you reduce the impact of vol-atility on your portfolio, although it can’t ensure a profit or protect

against loss. Plus, systematic in-vesting can give you a sense of dis-cipline, though you’ll need to con-sider the ability to keep investing when share prices are declining. Focus on the future. You’re never really investing for today – you’re doing it to reach goals in the fu-ture, sometimes just a few years away, but usually much further out. That’s why it’s so important not to panic when you view those scary headlines announcing big drops in the financial markets, or even when you see negative results in your investment statements. By creating an investment strategy that’s appropriate for your risk tol-erance and time horizon, and by focusing on your long-term goals, you can develop the discipline to avoid making hasty, ill-advised decisions during times of stress. As a millennial, you’ve got a long road ahead of you as you navigate the financial markets. But by fol-lowing the suggestions above, you may find that journey a little less stressful.

This article was written by Edward Jones for use by Laura Beall, your lo-cal Edward Jones Financial Advisor.

12 | WOODSBORO WALKERSVILLE TIMES | MAY 2020

COMMUNITY

MAY 2020 | WOODSBORO WALKERSVILLE TIMES | 13

COMMUNITY

14 | WOODSBORO WALKERSVILLE TIMES | MAY 2020

COMMUNITY

WBPA Member of the Month

Erin Misner

Erin Misner is an Associate Bro-ker with Dawn Long & Associates at RE/MAX Results.

Erin has been a realtor with RE/MAX for 20 years. She is dedicat-ed to helping her real estate cli-ents buy and sell their homes with the highest integrity and honesty as she did while serving in the US Army for 30 years after graduating from West Point.

Erin started with Dawn Long & Associates in April 2000. The team specializes in the Walkersville area where Dawn has been a real-tor for over 25 years. Erin works

from her home office. Three of the team members live in the Walk-ersville area. The team also works throughout Frederick County and Maryland, PA, and WV.

Question and Answer SessionFor our Q&A session, our cur-

rent members submit questions to ask the member of the month. They are a mix of business, per-sonal and random questions.

WBPA: What do you like to do in your spare time?

Erin Misner: “My favorite thing to do is spend time with family. We have four children and one granddaughter in three different states. I also enjoy long distance running and have run in races since high school from 5K rac-es up to marathons. I am a mem-ber of a number of military orga-nizations including the Ft. Detrick Retiree Council, the Veterans Ad-visory Committee for Frederick County Hospice, and the Military Officers Organization of America. I also enjoy reading and watching television.”

WBPA: When did you move to the Walkersville area? What made this area a good choice for you?

Erin Misner: “My family moved to Walkersville when my husband retired from the Army in 1996. He grew up in the Walkersville area. We both served in the Army – I re-tired from the Army and Army Re-serves as a Colonel after 30 years of service. This was a great place to raise our four children after mov-ing around the world with the Ar-my.”

WBPA: Have you always lived in the Walkersville area?

Erin Misner: “I grew up in New Jersey and Jeff grew up in the Walkersville area. We met as cadets at West Point and lived in many different places before re-turning after his retirement. Dur-ing our time in the Army, we were stationed at West Point teaching mathematics for 3 years, jumping out of planes at Ft. Bragg, NC for 4 years, Ft. Rucker, AL, Ft. Gor-don, GA, Ft. Sill, OK, Ft. Polk, LA, and Seoul, South Korea.”

WBPA: What’s your favorite quote from a TV show/movie/book?

Erin Misner: “One of my favor-ite things is a poem, “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost. I think many people can relate their own lives to this poem. I had start-ed on a path in high school and college and it completely changed when I applied for West Point in 1976. I was part of the first gradu-ating class to include women and it shaped the path for the rest of my life. There are many decisions I have made since then that have al-so changed the course of my life in ways I never expected. At the time I decided to start in real estate, I had two master’s degrees and was working on a third. I never expect-ed to start a new career, but I am so glad I chose that path.”

WBPA: What was your first job? What do you remember most about your first job?

Erin Misner: “My first job was working at our local small town newspaper in Bordentown, NJ. My father worked for the news-paper as a photographer and com-positor (putting the newspaper together). The technology was so much different then. I enjoyed working for my father and saving money for my first car.”

Erin Misner, February 2020 Member of the Month

WBPA: What motivated you to (start, get into) this (business, field)?

Erin Misner: “I have had a num-ber of careers before starting re-al estate. I was in the Army for a total of 30 years – 12 years active duty and 18 years in the Army Re-serves. I was the Maryland State Coordinator for West Point Ad-

missions in my Reserve job which included interviewing high school students for West Point, helping with their applications, and co-ordinating with the congressman and senators and the admissions officer at West Point. I have also been a teacher at West Point teach-ing mathematics as well as teach-ing math at other colleges and at the local high school level. I met Dawn Long at Heritage Farm Park when our children were young and they were playing baseball and softball together. I mentioned that I had always wanted to get my re-al estate license and she invited me to join her team in April 2000. It is 20 years later, and I have accom-plished a lot, including earning my Associate Broker license, and I still love what I am doing.”

WBPA: What do you like most about your job?

Erin Misner: “I love helping all types of buyers and sellers reach their goals. I have helped first time homebuyers, investors, buyers and sellers who are relocating, many with the military. Every buyer and seller has a unique situation. Buy-ing and selling houses is a huge event in anyone’s life and they need someone who is honest and that they can trust. I feel that my background helps my clients trust me to guide them through the en-tire process and make it less stress-ful.”

WBPA: Where do you see your-self in 5 years?

Erin Misner: “I see myself still selling real estate with Dawn Long & Associates, spending time with my family, and traveling.”

WBPA: What career advice would you give to your younger self?

Erin Misner: “Find a job that you love doing and that you are excited about every day. Then you will always be happy getting up and going to work. If you think you might want to try something, go for it!! You don’t want to have regrets. You might find out it is a great decision, or you may decide to go in a different direction. You won’t know unless you try.”

WBPA: What advice would you give to our youth?

Erin Misner: “Always look for the best in yourself and others. Do not be influenced by peer pressure. Find things you love to do and fol-low your passion. Respect others. Make family a priority.”

WBPA: What new things do you see with the growth of your business in the coming years?

Erin Misner: “Technology has completely changed the real estate industry in the last 20 years. Tech-nology and social media will con-tinue to make the industry more efficient and accessible.”

The Walkersville Business and Professional Association brings Walkersville and Woodsboro area business owners together to pur-sue mutual interests and make a positive impact on the commu-nity. Dues-paying members meet monthly and hold various events. The WPBA randomly features a Member of the Month to help the community meet the people that make the area not only a great place to live but a great place to work too.

MAY 2020 | WOODSBORO WALKERSVILLE TIMES | 15

HISTORY

Local revolutionary hero Born May 6 - 1755 - Lawrence

Everhart, who saved Colonel Wil-liam Washington’s life at the Bat-tle of Cowpens, and who carried a wounded General Lafayette from the Brandywine Battlefield, was born in Hessheim, in Phaltz, Ger-many, in the Valley of The Rhine River. He died August 1, 1840.

Perhaps in Frederick County’s history, no single individual has received more recognition for his exploits in defense of our coun-try than Laurence Everhart. It is also possible that historians have made more mistakes about Ever-hart than any other local hero.

For many years it was thought that he was born in the Middle-town Valley on May 6, 1755. While that is his birthday, research in the past 50 years has proven be-yond a shadow of a doubt that he was born in the small village of Hessheim, in Phaltz, Germany, in the Valley of The Rhine.

A descendant of Sgt. Everhart went to Germany in 1963 and un-covered baptismal records which prove he was baptized on May 8, 1755, in the Reformed Church in Hessheim. His name them was Jo-hannes Lorentz Everhardt.

When he came to this country, arriving in Philadelphia in 1764, his name was Americanized by immigration officials who wrote down the name as it sounded to them. Thus, Everhardt became Everhart. And Lorentz, which is what his parents – Christian and Sibilla Everhardt – called him, be-came Laurence. The family emi-grated to The Middletown Valley.

Until 1776 little is known of the family, except they were farmers. We do know that from accounts of the day, Laurence was “tall of stature, and of powerful, brawny limbs, capable of enduring fatigue and hardship; of noble, manly countenance, and an eye beaming with the lustre of genuine cour-age; with a heart beating high and strong to redress the wrongs of his country.”

On August 1, 1776, he trav-eled to Taneytown and enlisted in the Continental Army’s “Flying

Camp” under the command of Capt. Jacob Goode. His first en-gagement was less than a month later when he participated in a battle on Long Island. He was involved in the Battle of White Plains and retreated with the ar-my to Fishkill. Everhart and a few others escaped British capture in a small boat and joined George Washington at Ft. Lee.

When his original enlistment expired, Everhart refused to be mustered out and remained with Washington during the retreat through New Jersey. In the spring of 1777 he returned home, but the patriotic fervor that burned brightly within him spurred him to re-enlist.

This time he joined Col. Wil-liam Washington’s calvary for the southern campaign which was be-ing planned at the time. He re-mained with Washington and was involved in a series of battles and skirmishes in which the colonial army was frequently defeated by British General Banastre Tarleton.

It was at the Battle of Cowpens on January 17, 1781, that Ever-hart achieved his immortality. Washington selected 17 men to reconnoiter the British positions. Everhart, who was now a sergeant, and his command were discovered and overtaken by the British. He was wounded and his horse was shot from beneath him.

Although captured, he was treated with kindness by the Brit-ish and his wounds dressed. There is the story that Tarleton came to Everhart and asked if his forces would be attacked that day. Ever-hart replied that he would be if Washington could keep 200 men together. Tarleton indicated that he would defeat the colonials, to which Everhart replied, “I hope to God it will be another Tarleton defeat.” To which Tarleton said, “I am Colonel Tarleton, sir!” “ And I am Sergeant Everhart, sir.”

As the Battle of Cowpens pro-ceeded Everhart was taken to the field and when it became obvious that the British would lose, he was

shot over his eye. The wound was not serious.

He rejoined the victorious colo-nials and when he pointed out to Lt. James Simon just which Brit-ish soldier had shot him, the man was shot on the spot and his horse given to Everhart.

In his eagerness to pursue the retreating British, Washington found himself 30 yards in front of his troops. Three British soldiers wheeled around and charged him. As one of them swung his sword at Washington, Everhart intercepted it with his own massive blade. An-other soldier prevented a second assault on Washington. When Tarleton thrust his sword at Wash-ington again, it was parried. The officer took a few steps backward and fired his pistol at the Ameri-can. Washington was struck in the knee.

After the battle was won, Wash-ington sent Everhart to the rear to have his severe wounds treat-ed. Everhart saw little action af-ter that, but he was at Yorktown when Cornwallis surrendered.

Everhart returned to the Mid-dletown Valley. He had married Ann Mary Beckenbaugh during the war, but it hasn’t been exactly determined where or when. They were the parents of nine children born between 1783 and 1798.

There are records that in 1799 Col. Washington, who was then a general, visited Middletown, and when the old compatriots spied the other, they ran into each oth-er’s arms and embraced for a long time with tears streaming down their faces.

Between the end of the war and 1808, there is little other infor-mation about this Revolutionary War hero. We know that he was ordained a Methodist minister in 1808 by Bishop Francis Asbury, and served several churches, both Methodist and Reformed until his death in 1840.

The date Laurence Everhart died is also somewhat disputed. We do know that he was on his way to Hagerstown to meet with General William Henry Harrison,

who was campaigning for presi-dent that summer of 1840, when he suffered a stroke and was par-alyzed as he reached Boonsboro. He was returned to his home on the Catoctin Creek just west of Middletown along present day Picnic Woods Road, where he died a few hours later. He was bur-ied with full military honors in the Methodist Cemetery, now part of the Lutheran Cemetery in Mid-dletown.

The marker over his grave says he died August 6, 1840. But a co-py of an article from The Freder-ick Visiter for Thursday August 5, 1840, now in the files of the C. Burr Artz Library at 110 East Pat-rick Street, Frederick, says: “This venerable patriot died at his resi-dence in Middletown Valley, on Sunday last, in the 86th year of his age. The immediate cause of his death was apoplexy. But the

infirmities which age brings on had long been weighing down his manly form. The active and effi-cient service rendered by him in the war of the revolution attracted to him the respect and veneration of all who knew him...His funeral, which took place on Tuesday last, was attended by three military companies and a large concourse of citizens and strangers.”

This article would seem to con-firm Everhart’s death on August 1 rather than August 6. Although Everhart received a military pen-sion after 1834, his wife contin-ued to receive it until her death July 3, 1847. She is buried beside him.

From John Ashbury’s book, ...and all our yesterdays, A Chron-icle of Frederick County, Mary-land. Reprinted by permission of the author.

One hundred years ago continued from page 3

“about a quart,” or “almost a bush-el” are forbidden.

Minimum age of operator of motor vehicle reduced from 18 to 16.

All lighting devices for motor-cars must be approved by state.

Requiring persons who may have dropped glass on any road-way by accident to remove same.

Making compulsory many driv-ing rules generally observed by best drivers now.

In all, 22 distinct changes in the motor law that every motor driver can learn by applying to commis-sioner of Motor Vehicles or can learn later on by facing commis-sioner on charges of violations. Ig-norance is guilt and the fines are high.

Many laws to put a stop to buy-ing and selling stolen cars, making it easier to lock up the buyer than ever before.

16 | WOODSBORO WALKERSVILLE TIMES | MAY 2020

HISTORY

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The Law (Part 2)

Frederic Bastiat (1801-1850)

The law perverted! And the po-lice powers of the state pervert-ed along with it! The law, I say, not only turned from its proper purpose but made to follow an entirely contrary purpose! The law become the weapon of every kind of greed! Instead of check-ing crime, the law itself guilty of the evils it is supposed to punish!

If this is true, it is a serious fact, and moral duty requires me to call the attention of my fellow-citizens to it.

A Fatal Tendency of MankindSelf-preservation and self-de-

velopment are common aspira-tions among all people. And if everyone enjoyed the unrestrict-ed use of his faculties and the free disposition of the fruits of his labor, social progress would be ceaseless, uninterrupted, and un-failing.

But there is also another ten-dency that is common among people. When they can, they wish to live and prosper at the ex-pense of others. This is no rash accusation. Nor does it come from a gloomy and uncharitable spirit. The annals of history bear witness to the truth of it: the in-cessant wars, mass migrations, religious persecutions, universal slavery, dishonesty in commerce, and monopolies. This fatal desire has its origin in the very nature of man — in that primitive, uni-versal, and insuppressible instinct that impels him to satisfy his de-sires with the least possible pain.

Property and PlunderMan can live and satisfy his

wants only by ceaseless labor; by the ceaseless application of his faculties to natural resources. This process is the origin of prop-erty.

But it is also true that a man may live and satisfy his wants by seizing and consuming the prod-ucts of the labor of others. This process is the origin of plunder.

Now since man is naturally in-clined to avoid pain — and since labor is pain in itself — it follows that men will resort to plunder whenever plunder is easier than work. History shows this quite clearly. And under these condi-tions, neither religion nor moral-ity can stop it.

When, then, does plunder stop? It stops when it becomes more painful and more danger-ous than labor.

It is evident, then, that the proper purpose of law is to use the power of its collective force to stop this fatal tendency to plun-der instead of to work. All the measures of the law should pro-tect property and punish plun-der.

But, generally, the law is made by one man or one class of men. And since law cannot operate without the sanction and support of a dominating force, this force must be entrusted to those who make the laws.

This fact, combined with the fatal tendency that exists in the heart of man to satisfy his wants with the least possible effort, ex-plains the almost universal per-version of the law. Thus it is easy to understand how law, instead of checking injustice, becomes the invincible weapon of injustice. It is easy to understand why the law is used by the legislator to destroy in varying degrees among the rest of the people, their personal in-dependence by slavery, their lib-erty by oppression, and their property by plunder. This is done for the benefit of the person who makes the law, and in proportion to the power that he holds.

Victims of Lawful PlunderMen naturally rebel against the

injustice of which they are vic-tims. Thus, when plunder is or-ganized by law for the profit of those who make the law, all the plundered classes try somehow to enter — by peaceful or revolu-tionary means — into the mak-ing of laws. According to their degree of enlightenment, these plundered classes may propose one of two entirely different pur-poses when they attempt to at-tain political power: Either they may wish to stop lawful plunder, or they may wish to share in it.

Woe to the nation when this latter purpose prevails among the mass victims of lawful plun-der when they, in turn, seize the power to make laws! Until that happens, the few practice lawful plunder upon the many, a com-mon practice where the right to participate in the making of law is limited to a few persons. But then, participation in the making of law becomes universal. And then, men seek to balance their conflicting interests by universal plunder. Instead of rooting out the injustices found in society, they make these injustices gen-

eral. As soon as the plundered classes gain political power, they establish a system of reprisals against other classes. They do not abolish legal plunder. (This ob-jective would demand more en-lightenment than they possess.) Instead, they emulate their evil predecessors by participating in this legal plunder, even though it is against their own interests.

It is as if it were necessary, be-fore a reign of justice appears, for everyone to suffer a cruel retribu-tion — some for their evilness, and some for their lack of under-standing.

The Results of Legal PlunderIt is impossible to introduce

into society a greater change and a greater evil than this: the con-version of the law into an instru-ment of plunder.

What are the consequences of such a perversion? It would re-quire volumes to describe them all. Thus we must content our-selves with pointing out the most striking.

In the first place, it erases from everyone’s conscience the distinc-tion between justice and injus-tice.

No society can exist unless the laws are respected to a certain degree. The safest way to make laws respected is to make them respectable. When law and mo-rality contradict each other, the citizen has the cruel alternative of either losing his moral sense or losing his respect for the law. These two evils are of equal con-sequence, and it would be diffi-cult for a person to choose be-tween them.

The nature of law is to main-tain justice. This is so much the case that, in the minds of the people, law and justice are one and the same thing. There is in all of us a strong disposition to believe that anything lawful is also legitimate. This belief is so widespread that many persons have erroneously held that things are “just” because law makes them so. Thus, in order to make plunder appear just and sacred to many consciences, it is only nec-essary for the law to decree and sanction it. Slavery, restrictions, and monopoly find defenders not only among those who profit from them but also among those who suffer from them.

Your road map to recovery with Pastor Neil

In crisis, don’t panic, plan

In these times, it is very easy to focus on the problems we are faced with and to forget that there are benefits to this and every crisis. A crisis may seem to be destruc-tive, but it can turn out to be con-structive depending on how you manage the crisis. “In crisis, be aware of the danger, but recognize the opportunity” (John F. Kenne-dy). If crisis can be beneficial no matter how destructive it may be, then it is important to find these benefits and maximize them.

Generally, crisis opens our eyes to what we have taken for grant-ed. I believe that we are grateful for what we are grateful for, but there are things we may have tak-en for granted, and crises tend to remind of what life is about. Secondly, crises help us to make needed changes in our priori-ties. For example, many churches have had to retool to fit the times and engage in what matters: tak-ing care of those in need. Third-ly, crises reveal a lot about us and

others. They show how prepared we are for any unexpected occur-rences. Truth be told, it is during a crisis, we see who loves, and who is ready to sacrifice for you. Our healthcare and frontline workers have shown their love for people and country by putting their lives at risk to save many. The crisis has revealed to us beyond our politics who love us for real. I can go on and on and show that there are benefits to every bad thing that happens. Let me share with you one most important thing which I think we need to focus on with the stay-at-Home order. And it is this; crises create opportunities for innovation and growth.

The key to finding opportuni-ties or benefits in a crisis centers on the way the crisis forces us to become innovative and creative. I believe that you have heard the old saying “necessity is the mother of invention.” It is time to think beyond the norm to new ways of dealing with the problems we

are confronted with. I believe you can and we can. Jon Hunts-man, a wealthy businessman and philanthropist, in his book, Win-ners Never Cheat: Even in Difficult Times, reminds us of this truth, “Humans seldom have created anything of lasting value unless they were tired or hurting.” So, may I ask you, what will you do differently after this crisis?

Pastor Neil Acheampong Covenant Family Chapel

MAY 2020 | WOODSBORO WALKERSVILLE TIMES | 17

RELIGION

Pavilions and playgrounds roped off to discourage

practices that might get you sick

Just a few thoughts … from Nancy

There is no doubt that we are going through some really dif-ficult times right now. We pause and wonder why, how come, and even how much more can we tol-erate. We are to be careful in what we do, and for the most part are confined.

It is during these moments of questioning and anxiety that prayer is even more important than ever. Prayer is actually quite easy if we consider that we are talking to a friend who knows us pretty well. We can let Him know how we feel, good moments and bad, and He will not judge us. We can get upset and let Him know that we don’t understand why He allows bad things to happen, and He still listens. And from past ex-perience, we know that peace will eventually fill our hearts. But we need to trust in Him.

So, let us not give up. The psalms remind us to give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, and that when we cry out to Him in our time of trouble, He will deliv-er us from distress. BELIEVE IT!

Remember, these are just a few thoughts.

Nancy Spittell is the Pastor of St. John’s Church. If you are looking for a church experience which is positive and uplifting, please join us. Sun-day worship services begin at 9:00 AM. St. John’s Church is located at 8 North Second St. in Woodsboro (up the street from the Olde Town Restaurant).

For more information, phone (301) 845-8466 or email us at: stjohn-swoodsboro@gmail.com

18 | WOODSBORO WALKERSVILLE TIMES | MAY 2020

RELIGION

A snapping turtle emerges from his hibernation in Woodsboro

The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17) (Part Five)

For the past few months, we have been studying the Ten Com-mandments. This month, we con-tinue to study the fifth command-ment:

V. Honor Your Parents (Part Two)

The fifth commandment is giv-en as follows (v.12): “Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.”

God commands children to honor their parents while al-so commanding parents to teach their children to do so. We cov-ered this last month. In addition to honoring our parents, Scrip-ture states that children must obey them.

B. The Command to Obey Our Parents (Eph 6:1-3; Col 3:20)

The command in Ephesians states, “Children, obey your par-ents in the Lord: for this is right.” This statement speaks of the fact that it is the child’s duty to submit to the authority of their parents. Conversely, it is also the parents’ duty to ensure that their children submit to their authority.

Previously, we spoke of honor-ing our parents (which has more to do with our attitude), while this command speaks more of our ac-tions. God wants children to obey their parents. In fact, He was so serious about this concept that His Law dictated that certain seri-ous measures were to be taken if a child decided to rebel against pa-rental authority.

God commands parents to teach their children to obey them and Him. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, and He has blessed you with children, then it is your God-given ministry to teach them to follow Christ. It is not the job of your church, government, or pastor. These might contribute to

their education, but you are ulti-mately in charge of, and account-able for, educating your children in the things of Christ (Deut 6:4-7). Many parents shirk their pa-rental duties today: throwing their kids to the wolves in the govern-ment, media, and world in gen-eral, instead of carefully teaching them God’s Word. They would rather be their child’s friend, in-stead of their parents. The Bible says that this is sin and God will not bless it.

A parent that is teaching their children also understands the need for discipline from time to time. We are all born sinners and need to be taught the consequences of sin. Our world has a very incon-sistent, warped view of discipline, but the Bible teaches it clearly. It does not promote abuse in any form, but teaches obedience to au-thority. Why is our country in the mess that it is today? By and large, because we have rejected God and His Word, and, in doing so, have raised generation after generation of rebellious individuals! These have no respect for the police, fire-fighters, military, bosses, or par-ents, and became so because their parents refused to train them! This is shameful in the sight of God!

God went so far as to teach His people that, if a young person was allowed to curse, smite, or be re-peatedly rebellious against his par-ents, they were worthy of death (Deut 21:18-21)! Today, one would say, “How harsh! God is just a mean bully!” But, most peo-ple miss the point. God was try-ing to keep sin out of Israel’s so-ciety, and He knew that raising rebellious children only created a breeding ground for future trou-ble. Our nation is seeing this clear-ly because of our refusal to train obedient children.

Before concluding, let us con-sider the blessings that God prom-ises to those children that listen to

Him. First, we see the promise of life being well with the child. On a very basic level, we understand that the obedient child will have a better life at home. Mom and Dad will be happy, not angry. The child will not be under discipline, but blessing. Life will be well.

In addition, God promises a longer life to those that obey their parents. In respect to the Mosaic Law, this is certainly true. But, we do not live under that Law today. Thus, we understand that a life lived in harmony with our parents promotes less stress. A life of less stress tends to lead to fewer health problems and probably a longer life. But, when a child decides to go the other direction, the oppo-site is also true.

Children, God wants you to honor and obey your parents. You may say, “But, how long do I have to obey them?” The Bible seems to say that, as long as you live un-der their roof and authority, you must obey. But, when you get out on your own and have your own family, then the situation changes a bit. Nonetheless, no matter how old you are, or where you live, you will never get away from the com-mand to honor your parents. Our parents are given to us be God. No matter what good or bad we might think about them, God com-mands us to honor them: treating them with respect.

Children, do you obey your par-ents? Parents, do you teach your children to obey you? Children, do you respect your parents? All of us struggle with one of these at some point or another. The best that we can do is look to Christ by faith, and work to obey His Word.

James Bussard is the pastor of Pinecrest Baptist Church in Signal Mountain, TN. For any questions or comments, please email him at Pas-torBussard@gmail.com

MAY 2020 | WOODSBORO WALKERSVILLE TIMES | 19

IN THE COUNTRYThe backyard gardener

Ken Kellar

After taking off a couple seasons, I decided to recover the weed patch I once called a vegetable garden.

The whole Kung Flu fiasco was the final motivation to plant some-thing. As I saw the price of eggs ris-ing and heard news of some places that didn’t have eggs, I considered choosing the path of an outlaw and buying some chicks; they aren’t al-lowed in Woodsboro. I figured they would have a blast in my over-grown garden with all the bugs and weeds. However, the price of eggs hasn’t gone too high, and they re-main plentiful in our area. My life of crime will have to wait for more desperate times.

My final gardening inspiration came about due to the extreme cold snap we’ve had in April. The cold discouraged any thought I had of planting this spring until I remem-bered how well leaf lettuce does in the cool spring and how it grows bitter when the steady warmth of summer arrives.

I’ve been reluctant to buy lettuce at the grocery store during the Chi-nese plague because it’s fragile and difficult to clean with all its nooks and crannies. I figured I could grow my own pure source and not worry about disease.

This year I’ve vowed not to grow another jungle. I usually buy too many plants and plant them too close together. Then the weeds come in and add to the jungle am-biance.

I laid down a good layer of straw to try to keep the weeds down. Southern States of Woodsboro was my supplier of both straw and plants. They have chicks too in case the egg situation changes.

Even though I bought about three times the plants I had planned on, jungle growing is not an immediate problem. As luck would have it, the night that I planted my garden, April 18, was visited by a good solid frost. I no-ticed the straw looked incredibly light. Sure enough, the garden was

crowned with frost. All the lettuce and pepper leaves were frosted.

Over the next two days, the pepper plants curled up and es-sentially disappeared like the legs of the Wicked Witch of the East after her ruby slippers where pulled from her dead feet. The let-tuce appears to have recovered and continues to grow.

While local groceries have ad-equately supplied plenty of fresh food, it’s comforting to look out

the window and see my lettuce plants growing.

As I’ve been watching beef pric-es rise, I’ve started wondering if I could acquire a baby steer or two as service-pets to fight my quar-antine depression. Then if my depression ended in 12 or 18 months …

Bluebirditis What makes it so enchanting, How is the lifeblood stirred To see it earthward slanting, The diminutive bluebird?

Could it be its blueness That captivates the eye,

That unexpected “hueness” That suddenly flies by?

Could it be its warble That lilts upon the ear,

That sounds like so much garble, But stirs the soul to hear?

Could it be its pertness That takes one by surprise,

That dipping, darting curtness That tells its enterprise?

Could it be its tameness That is so appealing,

That demeanor so blameless And yet so revealing?

Could it be the devotion That it displays toward its young – Brooding, then always in motion

To provide when dinnerbell’s rung?

Could it be its rareness, For many yet know it not;

While those who in awareness First sighting have not forgot?

Could it be all of these That join to delight us,

Smiting us with the disease That’s called, “bluebirditis”?

[This poem originally appeared in the Spring 1987 edition of Si-alia, the quarterly journal of The North American Bluebird Soci-ety.] Editor’s notes: From the book Tales of a Country Rhymer by Hen-ry Meurer Ditman. Mr. Ditman’s works are copyright protected, per-mission to reproduce here was grant-ed by the author.

Poet Henry Ditman lives in the Westminster area. You can meet him most Saturdays in the summer at the Carroll County Farmers Market (706 Agricultural Center Dr., West-minster, MD) selling his collections of poetry (about 20 books) and his homemade preserves. He can be con-tacted via the editor.

The old garden recovered from the weedy jungle.

Leaf lettuce is a good cool-weather vegetable.

20 | WOODSBORO WALKERSVILLE TIMES | MAY 2020

EARTH AND SKY

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May skyFor May 2020, the first quarter

moon occurs on April 30, and the Full Moon, the Rose Moon, oc-curs on May 7. The waning gib-bous moon passes two degrees south of bright Jupiter on May 12, and then three degrees south of fainter Saturn a few hours lat-er. The last quarter moon passes three degrees south of Mars in the morning sky on May 14. New moon is on May 22. The evening of May 23 will give us a fine con-junction in the west about 7:30 PM CDT, with the thin crescent moon to the lower left of brighter Venus, and fainter Mercury will be above them. You may need binoculars and a very clear west-ern horizon to spot this trio. By the following evening, the much easier crescent moon will be above both, with faint Mercury lying midway between the Moon and bright Venus, to the lower right. Great photo ops! The first quarter moon occurs on May 30.

While the naked eye, dark adapted by several minutes away from any bright lights, is a won-derful instrument to stare up into deep space, far beyond our own Milky Way, binoculars are better for spotting specific deep sky ob-jects. For a detailed map of north-ern hemisphere skies, about April

30, visit the www.skymaps.com website and download the map for the new month; it will have a more extensive calendar, and list of best objects for the naked eyes, binoculars, and scopes on the back of the map. Also available is wonderful video exploring the sky, available from the Hubble Telescope website at: http://hub-blesite.org/explore_astronomy/tonights_sky/. Sky and Telescope has highlights at http://www.sky-andtelescope.com/observing/as-tronomy-podcasts/ for observing the sky each week of the month.

Mercury and Venus are both visible in the west this month, and perform an interesting plan-etary dance. As May begins, on-ly Venus is visible, well up in the west, and 24% illuminated cres-cent some 33” of arc wide. But as Venus drops lower each eve-ning, heading to inferior con-junction in June, Mercury rises from the far side of the Sun to produce a close conjunction on May 21; now Venus is much clos-er, some 53” across, but only 6% sunlit, a very thin crescent obvi-ous in binoculars. Fainter Mercu-ry is only 7” across, but a gibbous 70% still in sunlight. Can you see both disks at the same time in low power telescopes? The fol-lowing evening, the thin crescent moon joins the club, as described above. By month’s end, Venus is very close to the Sun and only 1% sunlit, but Mercury is much easi-er to spot at greatest eastern elon-gation, half lit and 23 degrees east of the setting Sun.

We are overtaking Mars, to pass closest to it this October. It moves eastward from Capricornus in-to Aquarius in the dawn sky, and brightens from first to zero mag-nitude by month’s end. Both Ju-piter and Saturn are also in the dawn sky, with brighter Jupiter about five degrees west of fainter Saturn between the teapot of Sag-ittarius and the triangle of Cap-ricornus.

The winter constellations will soon be swallowed up in the Sun’s glare, but Orion is still vis-ible, with its famed Orion Neb-ula, M-42, seen below the three stars marking his famed belt. Dominating the southwest is the Dog Star, Sirius, brightest star of the night sky. When Sirius van-ishes into the Sun’s glare in two months, this sets the period as “Dog Days.”

The brightest star in the NW is Capella, distinctively yellow in color. It is a giant star, almost ex-

actly the same temperature as our Sun, but about 100X more lumi-nous. Just south of it are the stel-lar twins, the Gemini, with Castor closer to Capella, and Pollux clos-er to the Little Dog Star, Procyon.

Overhead, the Big Dipper rides high. Good scouts know to take its leading pointers north to Po-laris, the famed Pole Star. For us, it sits 30 degrees (our latitude) high in the north, while the ro-tating earth beneath makes all the other celestial bodies spin around it from east to west. If you drop south from the bowl of the Big Dipper, Leo the Lion rides high. Note the Egyptian Sphinx is based on the shape of this lion in the sky. The “regal” star Regulus marks the heart of the celestial lion.

Taking the arc in the Dipper’s handle, we “arc” SE to bright or-ange Arcturus, the brightest star of spring. Cooler than our yellow Sun, and much poorer in heavy elements, some believe its strange motion reveals it to be an invad-ing star from another smaller gal-axy, now colliding with the Milky Way in Sagittarius in the sum-mer sky. Moving almost perpen-dicular to the plane of our Milky Way, Arcturus was the first star in the sky where its proper mo-tion across the historic sky was noted, by Edmund Halley. Just east of Arcturus is Corona Bo-realis, the “northern crown”, a shapely coronet that Miss Amer-ica would gladly don, and one of few constellations that look like their name. The bright star in the crown’s center is Gemma, the Gem Star.

Spike south to Spica, the hot blue star in Virgo, then curve to Corvus the Crow, a four sid-ed grouping. The arms of Virgo harbor the Virgo Supercluster of Galaxies, with thousands of “is-land universes” in the spring sky. We are looking away from the place of thickly populated Milky Way, now on the southern hori-zon, toward the depths of interga-lactic space, where even amateur telescopes can spot quasars bil-lions of light years distant.

To the northeast, Hercules ris-es, with his body looking like a butterfly. It contains one of the sky’s showpieces, M-13, the glob-ular cluster faintly visible with the naked eye. Find it with bin-oculars midway on the top left wing of the cosmic butterfly, then take a look with a larger telescope and you will find it resolved into thousands of stars!

MID-ATLANTIC WEATHER WATCH: Periods of showers, heavy rain in the southern part of the region (1,2,3,4,5,6); fair and cool (7,8,9) with more show-ers, STORMS (10,11). Fair and warm (12,13,14,15) with heavy rains, STORMS in the south again (16,17). Fair and warm again (18,19,20,21) with periods of showers, STORMS (22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29)ending the month with fair and mild temperatures (30,31). TORNADO WATCH: The Hagerstown Town and Country Almanack sees no tornado activity in the Mid-Atlantic Region during the month of May. FULL MOON: The FULL MOON in May occurs on Thursday, May 7 and has been called FLOWER MOON by many Native Americans because of the many

flowers that start to emerge and blossom during this month. However, the Huron tribes chose to call it BUDDING MOON for the same reasons. Farmers came to refer to it as MILK MOON because of the noticeable increase in milk produced by dairy cows as the weather starts to warm up. SPECIAL NOTES: Cinco de Mayo is celebrated on Tuesday, May 5. Rogation Sunday falls on May 17, Ascension Thursday follows on May 21, and World No Tobacco Day is observed on Sunday, May 31. When looking for a notable historical event that happened to occur during the month of May, it was no-ticed that the soap operas, Another World and As the World Turns, both aired for the first time on May 4, 1964. Charles W. Fisher, editor of The Almanack from 1973 to 2000, produced both of those shows dur-ing his over 28-year career in television broadcasting!HOLIDAYS: Mothers are honored on Mother’s Day, Sunday May 10. Let Mom know that she’s special with a telephone call, a sentimental card, a nice flower arrangement, or just by spending some quality time with her on her day. Celebrate Armed Forces Day on Tuesday, May 19 and Memorial Day falls on Monday, May 25th. Those days has been set aside for honoring those who have served in our military and those who are currently serving. Their service and sacrifice have protected our precious freedoms and have ensured that our way of life will continue. We can extend that recognition to include doctors, all health care workers, and everyone deemed essential in this troubled time. THE GARDEN: Once your last frost date has passed, warm season crops can be planted. When the ground temperatures reach 70 degrees Fahrenheit, it is safe to begin planting okra, pumpkin, sweet pota-toes, eggplant, peppers, peanuts, watermelon, cow peas, black-eyed peas, crowder peas, butter peas, and butter beans. Trim up hedges and shrubs to shape and tighten them with new growth. Most flowering shrubs will respond to a light trimming at this time of year. Don’t trim away too many of the emerging buds or you won’t have as many flowers. THE FARM: Best for planting root crops (20,21,22); weeding and stirring the soil (23,24, 27,28); planting above-ground crops (25,26); harvesting all crops (8,9); best days for setting hens and incubators (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,30,32); slaughtering and butchering meat (22,23,24,25,26,27,28); transplant-ing (22,23,24,25,26,27,28); the weaning of small animals and livestock (8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17); harvest and store grains (8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17).

J. GRUBER’S THOUGHT FOR TODAY’S LIVING:“Perseverance often provides more rewards than that lucky break we’re always hoping for.”

Farmers’ Almanac“The phrase ’working mother’ is redundant.”

Jane Sellman (1955- )

Wash your hands! Wear a mask.

☞

☞

MAY 2020 | WOODSBORO WALKERSVILLE TIMES | 21

CHAMBERS’ BOOK OF DAYS

The MischianzaOn the 18th May 1778, a re-

markable fete, known by the name of the Mischianza (Italian for a medley), took place in the city of Philadelphia. A British army, un-der General Sir William Howe had occupied the city as winter quarters for some months, while Washington lay with his shoeless army in a hutted camp a few miles off. The British troops had found the possession of Philadelphia bar-ren of results, although they had friends in a portion of the popu-lation. Howe, disappointed, was about to retire from the command and go home. The army itself con-templated withdrawal, and did a month afterwards withdraw. It was, nevertheless, resolved to put a good face upon matters, and hold a festival, professedly in honour of the retiring general.

The affair took a character of romance and elegant gaiety from the genius of a young offi-cer, named Andre. There was first a regatta on the river Delaware; then the main personages land-ed, and made a splendid proces-sion for about a quarter of a mile to a piece of ground designed for the land fete. There a tournament took place between six knights of the Blended Rose on one side, and as many of the Burning Mountain on the other; all in fantastic silk dresses, with ribbons, devices, and mottoes, lances, shields, and pis-tols, each attended by his squire, and each professing to serve some particular lady of his love. Lord Cathcart, who acted as chief of the knights (and whom the writer remembers seeing thirty years af-terwards in much soberer circum-stances), rode at the head, with a

squire on each hand; the device of his shield, a Cupid mounted on a lion, and professing to appear ‘in honour of Miss Auchmuty.’ One of the knights of the Blended Rose was the young Captain Andre, al-ready alluded to, who stood forth for Miss P. Chew, with the de-vice of two game cocks, and the motto, ‘No Rival.’ The first set of knights caused their herald to proclaim their intention to main-tain by force of arms the suprem-acy of their ladies, in wit, beauty, and virtue; the herald of the other set responded with defiance, and they closed in mock fight, shiver-ing lances, discharging pistols, and finally taking to their swords, un-til the Marshal of the Field, at the request of the ladies, ordered them to desist.

Then the gay party adjourned to a large and handsome house near by, where, in finely decorat-ed rooms, they entered upon a se-ries of dances. Afterwards, a pair of hitherto concealed doors being thrown open, they moved into a large pavilion laid out with an el-egant supper. Fire-works complet-ed this fantastic entertainment, the like of which had never before been seen on the west side of the Atlantic. A few days afterwards, General Howe withdrew to Eng-land, and three or four weeks later the English troops vacated Phila-delphia.

The tragic fate which three years after befell the sprightly and inge-nious Andre, the moving spirit of this show, gives it a sad interest. The writer, being not long ago in Philadelphia, sought out the scene of the fete, and with some diffi-culty found it, involved amidst

the meaner details of that large-ly increased city. The house in which the ball and banquet took place appears as one which orig-inally belonged to some opulent merchant, but is now sadly fallen from its once high estate, and used as a charity school. The spacious halls of the Mischianza we found rudely partitioned into smaller apartments for a variety of school classes. The walls, which were fan-tastically coloured for the ball, are now in a state of neglect. It was melancholy to tread the floors, and think of them as they were in May 1778, freighted with the festivity of gay, hopeful men and women, not one of whom is now in the land of the living.

The Story of Major AndreThere are few monuments in

Westminster Abbey which have attracted more attention than that which commemorates the sad fate of Major Andre. Perhaps no event of the American Revolution made more aching hearts on both sides of the Atlantic. Great Britain lost two armies, and thousands of her brave soldiers were slain up-on the field of battle, but it may he doubted if so many tears were shed for them all, as for this young soldier, who died upon the gal-lows.

John Andre was born in Lon-don, the son of a Genevese mer-chant, in 1751. He was sent to Ge-neva to be educated, but returned to London at the age of eighteen, and, his talents having introduced him to a literary coterie, he be-came enamored of Miss Honora Sneyd, a young lady of singular beauty and accomplishments. As

both were very young, the mar-riage was postponed, and Andre was induced to engage in trade; but he was ambitious, and, at the age of twenty, entered the army. At the outbreak of the American war, he was sent to Canada and taken prisoner at St. John’s; but being exchanged, he became the favou-rite of that gay and gallant officer, General Sir Henry Clinton, who appointed him his aid-de-camp, and soon after adjutant-general.

Young, handsome, clever, full of taste and gaiety, an artist and a po-et, he was the life of the army, and the little vice-regal court that was assembled around its chief. The British occupied the American cit-ies, and while the troops of Wash-ington were naked and starving at Valley Forge, Sir Henry was hold-ing a series of magnificent revels in Philadelphia, which were planned and presided over by the gallant Major Andre.

Philadelphia was evacuated; Sir Henry returned to New York; and Major Andre, who had known the wife of the American general, Ar-nold, in Philadelphia, entered into a correspondence with him, and was the agent through whom the British general bargained, under promise of a large reward, for the surrender of West Point, the key of the highlands of the river Hudson. Andre visited Arnold within the

American lines, to carry out this treachery; he was captured on his return by three American farmers, who refused his bribes; the papers proclaiming Arnold’s treason were found upon him, and, by his own frank confession, he was convict-ed as a spy, and sentenced to be hanged.

Arnold, by the blunder of an American officer, got warning, and escaped on board the Vul-ture. Sir Henry Clinton, by the most urgent representations to General Washington, tried to save his favorite adjutant, but in vain. There was but one way—the sur-render of Arnold, to meet the fate decreed to Andre. That was im-possible; and the young adjutant, then in his twenty-ninth year, af-ter a vain appeal to Washington, that he might die a soldier’s death, was hanged on the west bank of the Hudson, almost in sight of the city held by the British army, Oc-tober 2nd, 1780. If his life had been undistinguished, he died with heroic firmness. The whole British army went into mourning, and, after the close of the war, his body was deposited near his mon-ument in Westminster Abbey. Even in America, where the name of Arnold is a synonym of treason, the sad fate of Major Andre excit-ed, and still excites, universal com-miseration.

Then came fair May, the fayrest mayd on ground,

Deckt all with dainties of her season’s pryde,

And throwing flowres out of her lap around

Upon two brethren’s shoulders she did ride,

The twinnes of Leda ; which on either side

Supported her, like to their soveraine queene.

Lord ! how all creatures laught, when her they spide,

And leapt and daunc’t as they had ravisht beene

And Cupid selfe about her fluttered all in greene.

From The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser

The Mischianza Ticket

22 | WOODSBORO WALKERSVILLE TIMES | MAY 2020

Og — Boy of Battle

Chapter XVII The winged death

Irving Crump Dodd, Mead & Co. 1925

BACK toward their camp against the quartz cliff they hur-ried after Ru had killed the rabbit for both of them were famished af-ter their hard morning’s hunt that had come to naught. While Og kindled the fire Ru skinned the rabbit. Then he proceeded to cook it and while it was sizzling above the flames Og busied himself with the strips of goat skin from which he scraped all the hair and parti-cles of flesh that still clung to it. This done he took his stone ham-mer and broke a tough green sap-ling and stretched the strips of skin from one end of the sapling to the other so that it would keep the strips of skin from shrinking very much as they dried. And to make them taut he braced another stick so that one end was against the strips of hide and the other pressed against the bowed out sap-ling.

These he set beside the cliff in the full glow of the fire for he want-ed the skin to dry out as quickly as possible, because he needed some of the strips to replace lashing on his shield and others to tie up bun-dles of flint and shells and horns and other things that he would normally have carried in his tiger skin pack sack.

Their meal was ready by the time he had finished this work and with the smoking carcass of the rabbit on a flat stone between them he and Ru crouched on the ground and began to tear chunks of steaming flesh from it eating with much noisy smacking and grunting and sucking of fingers. One rabbit, big though it was, was not any too much for the two of them and they devoured it to the last scrap of flesh and even tore the skeleton apart and crunched the bones between their strong teeth sucking the marrow from the hol-low centers. They lingered over this a long time, and then because the fire was warm and they were tired after their hard hunt of the morning, they relaxed against the quartz cliff and rested while Og thought with growing rancor of the great cave leopard and how it had cheated them of their just quarry. As he thought he began to devise schemes and ways and means of getting even with the leopard, for there was developing strong within him a sense of supe-riority over all animals. They must fear him, they must respect him. He was greater than they. He had killed one of the biggest of them, the mammoth. He had killed the fiercest of them, the sabre-tooth tiger. He was greater than any of them because he could think. They must respect his greatness.

Thus did Og’s mind work while the fire died to ashes, while Ru with thoughts untroubled dozed off to sleep and while the sun started

downward behind the line of White-Haired Old Men, the mountains that reared their peaks into the sky. Then because Og re-alized that he had been wasting his time in dreaming he bestirred him-self and took his turtle shell shield on his knees. Then he reached for the sapling on which the strips of goatskin had been strung to dry in the heat of the fire. The warmth had dried them well, and in drying they had become taut and firm; so taut that they had bowed the sap-ling out in a beautiful sweeping are and had forced the stick that had been wedged between them so hard against the bow that it was with some difficulty that Og forced it lose. Indeed because it re-sisted him he became a little an-gry and knocked the end of it lose from the bow with the flat of his hand.

A surprising thing happened then. The stick seemed to jump through the air. There was the strum of the goat skin strips snap-ping tight and the stick, hurled by the spring of the bow, went hissing through the air.

The next instant Ru, sleeping soundly not far away, leaped to his feet with a yell of pain and whirled round and round reaching for the back of his leg where Og saw, to his amazement the stick, sharp of point, embedded in his flesh — embedded so deep that it hung there while blood flowed from the wound it had made.

Og burst into a loud laugh at the joke that had been played on Ru. But Ru, angry, turned on him with stone hammer ready. His face was like a storm cloud.

Swiftly Og’s laughter passed. His expression of fun fled before one of concern.

“The stick had wings, Ru. It flew at you and stung you in the leg. Let me pull it out,” he cried, leaping toward Ru and pulling the stick from the wound.

And then as he stood there look-ing at the bloody point of this chance arrow, a look of amaze-ment overspread his face. A new thought beat home in his brain. The stick had wings. The bent sapling and the strips of skin had given it the power to fly through the air — to leap at Ru and sting him in the leg.

Eagerly he turned and picked up the bent sapling, still bowed by the pull of the dried thongs. He examined it closely and pulled at the thongs. It seemed alive. It re-sisted his pull; tugged back at him. And when he let go of the thongs they snapped back taut with an ugly strumming sound.

Og fitted the cross stick against the strings again and pulled it back to rest the other end in the arch of the bow. But before he had drawn it all the way back his fin-gers slipped and he let go of it. In-stantly the strings strummed and the arrow leaped from the bow and went singing through the air to thump against a tree some dis-tance away and knock lose a big piece of bark. And Og saw then that he possessed a new weapon; a weapon that could throw a shaft through the air with such force that it would bury itself deep in-to the flesh of an animal even as it had buried itself into Ru’s leg.

In high excitement he explained it all to Ru. They retrieved their first arrow and tried it again and again. Ru became very excited al-so. He wanted a bow too, and with a goatskin thong and a sapling he made one. Than he fashioned an arrow and tried it. And so good was the bow he made and with such force did it send his first ar-row that the shaft stuck fast in the tree it hit.

Together they began to study their new weapons then. Og fash-ioned an arrow after the manner of his spear and put a small tip of obsidian to it and this made a vi-cious little shaft that flew far and buried itself deep into a tree. He studied the bow too and saw that it was the spring and resistance of the sapling that made the flight of the arrow possible. He began to search then for tougher, more re-silient wood, and straighter sticks of which to make arrows. All the rest of the day he and Ru worked and by firelight until well into the night. And all the next day they worked too, sparing only a little time to hunt for food. By the fol-lowing afternoon both of them had stout bows and a half dozen flint and obsidian tipped arrows to their credit and were fast learning how to use them with force and accuracy.

When it became too dark for them to see to shoot at the tree they had chosen as their target, tired but tremendously elated they rekindled their fire and cooked another rabbit that Og with great good fortune had shot through with one of his arrows. And as they ate they talked of the great things they would do with this new weapon. “We are masters of everything now. Masters of every beast that walks,” said Og. “To-morrow we will make the leop-ard the first to know. We will show him the first of all how great we are. Tomorrow.”

STORY

MAY 2020 | WOODSBORO WALKERSVILLE TIMES | 23

PETS

Keeping up with Coronavirus

Linda Shea, FCAC DirectorNot very long ago, the world

went into overdrive to address the outbreak of COVID-19. In just a short amount of time, Frederick County Division of Animal Con-trol and Pet Adoption Center rec-ognized that a proactive approach was required to protect our com-munity. We closed our facility to

the public and began the process of limiting staff hours and pub-lic access. However, in just a mat-

ter of days, we recognized an even more aggressive approach was needed.

Currently, our facility is still closed to the public. Most re-cently, we created “teams” within our Administrative Staff and Ani-mal Caretaking staff so that work schedules don’t overlap. Our Ani-mal Control Officers will contin-

ue to be on-call around the clock for emergencies, but hours in the shelter have been scaled back to

reduce overlapping work hours as well. Physical responses from An-imal Control Officers will be for priority calls only.

While we don’t qualify ourselves as matchmakers, the current pub-lic health crisis is mandating cre-ative, unconventional ways to place animals in loving homes. To address our current population of adoptable animals, we will be hav-ing a “trial run” of virtual adop-tions, beginning with cats. For this new adoption process, we de-veloped a more in-depth adoption application. Our goal is always to make a best match between adopt-able pets and potential adopters. Our modified application will at-tempt to collect information that will allow us to compare experi-ence and expectations of adopters with the needs of the animal.

The process will begin with an application submitted by a poten-tial cat adopter. We will review needs, wants, and tolerable traits the potential adopter describes to us and compare those things to the cats in the shelter to make a best match. The tricky part is that po-tential adopters will not be meet-ing the animal prior to adoption.

While this “sight unseen” aspect is new for us, other organizations have done it with much success, and we expect the same results. Wish us luck as we move forward with another unprecedented ven-ture.

We want to continue to assure the community that the standards of care for our shelter animals are not compromised in any manner. Thank you for your understand-ing and patience as we keep public safety a priority. We can’t empha-size enough to call us for informa-tion on any aspect of Animal Con-trol services. Call 301-600-1546 with questions about shelter op-erations; call 301-600-1603 with animal-related emergencies.

Meet Smokey, a Domestic Shorthair/Mix, Age: 4y, Gender: Female, Color: Gray/ WhiteColor Code: Purplehttps://www.petango.com/Adopt/Cat-Domestic-Shorthair-43058004

Right: Meet Willow, a Domestic Shorthair/Mix, Age: 6y, Gender: Female, Color: Brown/ WhiteColor Code: Orangehttps://www.petango.com/Adopt/Cat-Domestic-Shorthair-21853474