Grower reports robust Christmas trees despite some drought losses

By MARIE GILBERT
November 27, 2010
marieg@herald-mail.com

BOONSBORO — This time of the year, Gary Cline stands at the edge of his 24-acre property and smiles as he listens to the sounds of Christmas — the back-and-forth of a hand saw and the thud of a Fraser fir.

These are the cold, gray days he’s been waiting for, the days when there isn’t a Grinch in sight, just families walking slowly between rows of evergreens.

Cline is a Christmas tree farmer and on the first weekend after Thanksgiving, his business — South Mountain Plantation — comes alive.

Hundreds of people make their way to the Boonsboro farm each year in search of the perfect holiday tree and the experience of cutting it down and bringing it home.

But few visitors wandering through the spruces, firs and pines this year will realize the farm was on the receiving end of one of Mother Nature’s crueler tricks last summer.

Because of a serious drought, Cline said most of the seedlings he planted were lost....

...Cindy Stacy, publicist with MCTA and owner of Pinetum, a wholesale tree farm in Garrett County, said the trees especially hit hard by the drought were those that had been in the ground less than three years.

“Their root systems just weren’t deep enough,” she said.

Stacy said evergreens grow less with the lack of moisture and they harden off earlier in the fall, which shuts down growth. Some varieties of conifers also might have shed more than the normal complement of needles early to reduce stress.

While the drought was hard on plants, Stacy said it was good for insects.

“So there was more insect damage on trees,” she said. “On our farm, we couldn’t sell many Fraser fir, for example, because of loss of quality due to insect damage. This is a byproduct of the severe drought. We had to cancel a couple of tree orders due to this problem this season.”

Stacy said the drought didn’t affect wholesale prices “because those are set in July.”

Read the full article here.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

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Ski and snow report: Regional mountains almost ready, Lake Effect Snow piles up

Examiner.com

The cold air that moved in after Thanksgiving timed out with the long lines and sales to bring on the holiday spirit. It is also the time when the attention shifts to the mountains and the start of the ski and snowboard season. This year, early snowfalls at Snowshoe, WV (First on Oct 6 then early November) had high hopes to drop the ropes and open the slopes by now. Unfortunately the warm spell in the past two weeks delayed that opening, but natural snow did fall and the snow guns were fully operational over the past few days.

Snowmaking was also ramping up at Maryland's only ski resort, Wisp in Garrett County. They too are not open yet.
Read the full article here.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

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preview of things to come - Republican

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The Maryland State Highway Administration is prepared for anything Mother Nature may have in store this winter, according Charlie Gischlar, SHA Communications. The administration has stockpiled tons of abrasives and deicing materials, has hundreds of snow plows at the ready, and will implement a new proactive anti-icing strategy involving salt brine and an organic material called "beet juice." See story. The Keyser's Ridge SHA garage crews may soon get a chance to try out that plan, as snow is in the forecast this Friday. But, hopefully, the white stuff won't be nearly the amount pictured above, as residents are still reeling from the more than 260 inches of snow that fell on the county last winter. Photo courtesy of SHA.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

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Extension Educator Offers Advice To Landowners Before Leasing To Drillers

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Nov. 25, 2010

by Glenn Tolbert

Since 2007, more than 100,000 of Garrett County acres have been quietly leased for natural gas production, since the new pro-cess now commonly referred to as fracking provides a method of harvesting natural gas from the Marcellus shale that is sitting underneath much of the county.

The stakes can be very high. National media report that the type of drilling about to occur here can bring individual landowners anywhere from $5 to $2,000 per acre.

"I don’t think that anyone here is getting that high-end money," said Mikal Zimmerman, who should know. Working through the Maryland Cooperative Extension Service, it is her job to advise landowners who are approached by representatives of natural gas companies.

Zimmerman's advice is fairly straightforward to anyone finding a natural gas rep knocking on their door: "Do your research," she said. "Talk to your neighbors and see what they've been offered. Do something that I call 'unification,' which is seeing if you can put your properties together to negotiate a lease jointly and have one drill site for all of the properties."

Zimmerman also advocates having an attorney look over any would-be final agreement before signing it.

The fact that Garrett County is about to become a large producer of natural gas was the topic of a meeting last Thursday night, held at Route 40 Elementary School. Nearly 100 people attended, with their primary reason for doing so perhaps best summarized by local resident Natalie Atherton: "I'm here because I want to learn about what impact natural gas drilling can have on our drinking water, rivers, and lakes," she said.

Atherton went on to argue that the permitting process should be slowed until any potential damage done by the drilling can be studied.

That seemed to be the theme of Thursday's meeting: "Not enough is known, and we need more study."

There were no representatives of Chief Oil and Gas present, the company that is ready to begin drilling in the Friendsville area, and numerous phone calls to the company were not returned.

In fact, the company held its own invitation-only meeting at Friendsville Town Hall at exactly the same time the meeting at Rt. 40 school was conducted.

The new technology used to extract natural gas from shale involves sending a drill bit and pipe down into the earth approximately 8,000 feet, through the water table. The drilling mechanism allows the operator to drill horizontally far and wide from the drill site on the surface. The drilling companies claim that since it is operating so deep, there is little chance of harm to the water table. The fracking process, which involves pumping water and toxic chemicals under extreme pressure, frees the natural gas hidden in the shale, and the gas is then brought to the surface. The fracking liquid is then retrieved and placed in holding tanks.

The Marcellus shale layer is enormous, and natural gas companies claim that it contains enough gas to provide an adequate supply for the nation for the next 20 years. The Marcellus shale layer can be found under the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia. The first drilling in Garrett County is set for the Finzel area; however, as yet no permits have been granted by the state of Maryland.

According to the Chief Oil and Gas web site, the company hires contractors and employees from the areas around its operations, thus providing jobs to many economically depressed areas in the aforementioned states.

The Garrett County commissioners recently appointed a gas drilling task force that has begun meeting and discussing what steps should be taken to guarantee safety to the local environment.

Landowners seeking advice on this subject are invited to contact Mikal Zimmerman by telephone at 301-334-6960 or by e-mail at mzimmer8@umd.edu

Read the full article here.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

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Happy Thanksgiving Garrett County & Deep Creek Lake!

I am especially thankful to live in such a great area. I'm really proud of my hometown & the area it has grown in to. 'Thanks' to all of you who make this such a great place to live, work & play! From my family to yours, we hope you have wonderful Thanksgiving holiday! Eat lots of turkey and watch lots of football...and get to bed early for shopping tomorrow :)

From Wikipedia:



Thanksgiving (United States)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to: navigation, search
For Thanksgiving in other countries, see Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving

The First Thanksgiving, painting by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris (1863–1930)
Observed by United States
Type National
Date Fourth Thursday in November
2010 date November 25, 2010
Celebrations Giving thanks, spending time with family, feasting, football games, parades

Thanksgiving or Thanksgiving Day, celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November, has been an annual tradition in the United States since 1863, when during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving to be celebrated on Thursday, November 26.

The event that Americans commonly call the "First Thanksgiving" was celebrated to give thanks to God for helping the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony survive their first brutal winter in New England. The first Thanksgiving feast lasted three days, providing enough food for 53 pilgrims and 90 Native Americans. The feast consisted of fish (cod, eels, and bass) and shellfish (clams, lobster, and mussels), wild fowl (ducks, geese, swans, and turkey), venison, berries and fruit, vegetables (peas, pumpkin, beetroot and possibly, wild or cultivated onion), harvest grains (barley and wheat), and the Three Sisters: beans, dried Indian maize or corn, and squash. The New England colonists were accustomed to regularly celebrating "Thanksgivings"—days of prayer thanking God for blessings such as military victory or the end of a drought.

From Wikipedia.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

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Belle Vernon Area High School band brings home trophy

By Jeff Pikulsky, VALLEY INDEPENDENT
Wednesday, November 24, 2010

The Belle Vernon Area High School marching band was up to the challenge when asked to perform in a renowned out-of-state fall festival parade.

At its debut showing Oct. 9 at the 43rd Annual Autumn Glory Festival parade in Oakland, Md., the 125-member band took home first prize in its group.

The favorable response from the crowd and expert judges was validation that the band is a quality troupe, BVA band director Mark Surovchak said.

"It was a different experience all together," he said. "To be that welcomed into a community by people who have no idea who you are, that's one of the biggest things we took from it; how overwhelming their response was to the students. They did perform really well."

The band routinely performs in local parades and festivals.

Surovchak said it was worthwhile to see how the students would respond to performing outside of their "comfort zone."

"It was phenomenal," he said. "There were at least 10,000 people that were on the street, about five rows deep. The students have never experienced a crowd like that in a parade."

High School Principal Greg Zborovancik has attended the festival with his family for the about 15 years.

He suggested that Surovchak submit an application on behalf of the BVA band.

Surovchak said the Garrett County Chamber of Commerce placed the band in a category based on it having less than 70 wind and percussion instrument players.

There are 68 members of the band under that designation.

A nationally-certified panel of judges awarded the band with 94.5 points out of a possible 100, better than six other ensembles in the category.

MSN.com has rated the Autumn Glory Festival as one of the best fall festivals in the world, Surovchak said, adding that BVA's high ranking in the event is a distinguished accomplishment.

"It just enhances their performance level that much more when they hear that response," he said of the band. "The judges were very complimentary and pleased with how the students performed, and they gave some really nice remarks, too.

"We are so, so proud of our students. This was one of the biggest achievements in school history."

School board member Joe Grata backed that statement.

He has several times attended the festival.

"Borrowing from baseball parlance, BVA hit a bases-loaded homerun before a mix of both Garrett County residents and the many Deep Creek Lake tourists who turn out each year for the Autumn Glory Festival," Grata said. "This performance, like so many others, exemplified the large number of participants in BVA's music, drama and arts programs and demonstrated the time, dedication and experience of both students and staff."

Read the full article here.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

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Maryland Wind Farms Nearing Completion

by Mark Del Franco on Tuesday 23 November 2010

The first Maryland wind power projects are nearing completion and are expected to begin commercial operation by the end of the year, according to Frank Maisano, a wind industry spokesperson.

Two Garrett County, Md., wind projects are expected to begin commercial operation in a matter of weeks, even as opponents consider taking legal action against the facilities.

Constellation Energy is nearing commercial operation of a 28-turbine wind project, which is slated to become commercially operational by the end of December. Synergics will also begin testing a 20-turbine wind farm atop Maryland's Backbone Mountain.

However, heavy opposition could mean delay, as opponents are considering legal action under what they claim are violations of the Endangered Species Act.
Save Western Maryland, an environmental advocacy group, says the wind projects will adversely affect Indiana bats and Virginia big-eared bats, both classified as federal endangered species.

Despite the opposition, both wind energy projects are big developments for Maryland - a state with no operating wind farms, Maisano says.
"The state of Maryland has been trying to move off its zero for years, and the legislature has been pushing [for the development of wind energy]."

Read the source article here.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

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Kitzmiller Students Do Their Part To Sustain Butterflies

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by Mary Sincell McEwen
The children of the Kitzmiller Elementary School embarked on a unique quest on a bright and chilly day last month, loading onto buses and heading up the mountainside to an expanse of land where butterflies gather.

The area is the Woodhill Sanctuary, a 15-acre easement now designated as a Maryland Environmental Trust (MET) and the Allegany Highland Conservancy butterfly sanctuary. The area is a preserve for several rare, threatened, or endangered butterfly species, including the Baltimore checkerspot, the official insect of the state of Maryland, so named in 1973.

Vladamir Dupre sought the designation for the property, which was owned by him and his late wife Elizabeth for many years. Dupre said he was thrilled to be able to contribute to the preservation of the endangered butterflies.

"We consider it a privilege to be a part of the efforts of the Maryland Environmental Trust to maintain and manage natural habitats for the people of Maryland to enjoy and learn from," Dupre said.

In that vein, he invited the children of Kitzmiller up to the property and gave them a mission — to help seed the area with flowers to which the butterflies will be drawn, and which will provide for the insects a safe haven.

While once common throughout the state of Maryland, the Baltimore checkerspot, along with numerous other species, is losing ground annually. Butterfly specialists Richard Smith and Pat Durkin, both active butterfly researchers with the MET, guided the Kitzmiller students last month in their mission the at Woodhill Sanctuary. They explained to the children that this unique area was one of only eight locations where the state butterfly colonies now survive. In fact, Woodhill has the largest concentration of the butterfly in the state, and possibly in a multi-state region, Durkin said.

The butterflies require freshwater marsh habitats, with shallow waters and a variety of flowering plants. Expansion and development throughout the state have greatly damaged such areas.

"The marsh-like conditions these butterflies need can be destroyed in a second," Durkin said. "It doesn't take much to ruin their habitat."

She and Smith have researched the plight of Maryland butterflies for many years, both participating in the Maryland Rare and Endangered Butterfly Survey in 2002-2003. Their research led them to the mountainsides of Garrett County where undeveloped land helps to sustain the insects.

To help with that, the students were instructed to gather seed pods of all sorts of flowers, and put them in paper bags. The flowers to come from these seeds are vital to butterflies, who seek the nector to survive.

Read the full article here.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

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Two Local Young Women Receive Highest FFA Degree At Convention

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Nov. 18, 2010

Kara Savage and Ashley Rodeheaver received the American FFA Degree at the 83rd National FFA Convention in Indianapolis last month. It is the highest degree awarded by the National FFA Organization, and recognizes leadership abilities and outstanding achievements in agricultural business, production, processing, and service programs.
Reportedly, fewer than one in 154 FFA members advance through their local chapter and state FFA degree programs to earn this national degree.

Both girls received a gold American FFA Degree key and a certificate in a blue leatherette frame.

Savage is the daughter of L. Deane and Nancy Savage. She is currently attending Garrett College, with plans to transfer to Frostburg State University in the fall of 2011.

She is a member of the North Garrett FFA Chapter under advisor Richard McCrobie.

Savage is the 2010 Garrett County Farm Queen, and was the 2008 Autumn Glory Festival Queen.

She received the State FFA Degree in June 2009.

She has shown dairy animals at numerous local, state, and national shows, and has won numerous grand champion dairy showmanship awards, the grand champion swine showmanship award, and the reserve grand champion rabbit showmanship award.

Read the full article here.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

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Reception Slated For Outgoing Commission Bd.

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Nov. 18, 2010


The current Board of Garrett County Commissioners' last public meeting will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 7. An informal reception is being planned for that day for Commissioners Ernie Gregg and Fred Holliday.

Subject to change, Commissioners-elect Gregan Crawford, Bob Gatto, and Jim Raley will be sworn in on Tuesday, Dec. 14, at 9 a.m. at the courthouse.

The new commissioners have scheduled orientation sessions for Monday, Nov. 29, and Wednesday, Dec. 1. They will meet with county department directors, who will introduce themselves and discuss their areas of responsibility.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

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60 Minutes reports on Marcellus Shale

60 Minutes video on Marcellsu Shale.

Shale Gas Drilling: Pros & Cons
November 14, 2010 12:34 PM

While some complain that extracting natural gas from shale rock formations is tainting their water supply, others who have allowed drilling on their property are getting wealthy. Lesley Stahl reports...

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7054210n&tag=contentMain;contentBody#ixzz167v6ckVI

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

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Garrett County Marcellus Documents and Links - Facebook

My Facebook friend Patrick William Riley put this info re: Marcellus Shale together on his Facebook page and I wanted to share it:

"Citizens and Friends of Garrett County Maryland,

Be advised, The current push for the development of the Marcellus Shale gas deposits under Garrett County will massively impact the quiet rural qualities, clean air and safe well water that many of us value highly. Please be informed and let your voice be heard! These proposed wells are not the wells that we have grown accustomed to since the 1950's and 60's.

I am convinced that this development should be stopped until the citizens of Garrett County and our public servants have had through opportunity to study the various impacts caused in other areas where Shale gas development is occurring.

Fracking mobilizes URANIUM in Marcellus Shale !

"...University at Buffalo researchers have now found that that process -- called hydraulic fracturing or "fracking"-- also causes uranium that is naturally trapped inside Marcellus shale to be released, raising additional environmental concerns."

http://esciencenews.com/articles/2010/10/25/fracking.mobilizes.uranium.marcellus.shale

Scientifically Based Clean Energy ?

Looks like COAL is a better Choice --

http://www.eeb.cornell.edu/howarth/Howarth_Energy%20and%20Environment.html

June 4 2010 Marcellus Shale Briefing By MDE for The Maryland State Water Quality Advisory Committee ___

>Dead Link< href="mailto:patrickwriley@msn.com">patrickwriley@msn.com and I'll send you the file ! Status of Applications - Locations of exploratory wells http://www.marylandwaterquality.org/Marcellus%20Briefing%20for%20SWQAC.pdf PENN STATE has been funded by Gas companies to promote drilling. Please remember this when you go to meetings where they are involved! http://www.pressconnects.com/article/20100713/NEWS01/7130381/PSU-dean-Marcellus-report-mishandled

Garrett County Resident quoted in Pittsburgh Tribune Review After the film, a resident of Selby's Port, a small community in Garrett County, Md., one mile from Yough River Lake, said she wanted to see the film because of the hazards of fracking. On March 7,She learned that a gas well was going to be drilled on her neighbor's property, about 1,000 feet from her kitchen. http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/fayette/s_702607.html

Read the Minutes of the Garrett County Planning Commission http://www.garrettcounty.org/PlanningLand/PlanningZoning/documents/min7_10.pdf http://www.garrettcounty.org/PlanningLand/PlanningZoning/documents/min9_10.pdf

Local Laws Tax Changes at the wellhead http://mlis.state.md.us/2009rs/bills/hb/hb0803e.pdf
Local news To Senator Edwards and Delegate Beitzel, I really hope and pray you have a change of heart on this one!!!!! "• An effort to reduce the distance from a natural gas drilling wellhead from a neighbor’s property to 500 feet from 1,000 feet failed despite its origination from the Maryland Department of the Environment’s Ed Larrimore and the support of Sen. George Edwards. Beitzel said the initiative “wasn’t supported by the administration.” However, “we’ll come back to that one next year,”Beitzel said." http://times-news.com/local/x1612534154/Beitzel-s-hunting-license-suspension-measure-stalls-in-Maryland-Senate

Local State Legislators seem to support Marcellus Drilling http://times-news.com/archive/x546408583

Do you own a mineral right? http://times-news.com/opinion/x657343753/Law-to-help-people-establish-mineral-rights

Radio active wastewater http://times-news.com/archive/x546412731
http://times-news.com/local/x1800095708/New-state-law-will-allow-landowners-to-regain-mineral-rights
http://times-news.com/archive/x546408937 http://times-news.com/archive/x1540427898

From the Maryland Dept. of the Environment http://www.mde.state.md.us/programs/Land/mining/Non%20Coal%20Mining/Pages/Programs/LandPrograms/Mining/mog/naturalgas.aspx

From the Maryland DNR http://dnr.maryland.gov/irc/bibs/marcellusshale.html

From Pennsylvania -- DRILLER CANCELS PERMIT AFTER TRYING TO CIRCUMVENT LOCAL RULES! http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/news_details/article/28/2010/october/21/driller-cancels-permit.html

Sep 30, 5:11 PM EDT Pa. DEP targets Texas driller for tainted water By MICHAEL RUBINKAM Associated Press Writer DIMOCK, Pa. (AP) -- Pennsylvania's top environmental regulator says the state will sue a Houston-based drilling company unless it agrees to pay nearly $12 million to extend a public water line to at least 18 residents whose water wells have been contaminated with methane gas. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_GAS_DRILLING_TAINTED_WATER?SITE=NMALJ&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Methane in water wells http://americanagriculturist.com/story.aspx/stray/methane/gas/pops/up/near/marcellus/wells/9/42135

Read the comments on the Pa regulation Changes. http://www.irrc.state.pa.us/Regulations/More.cfm?TypeID=3&IRRCNo=2857%EF%BB%BF

Drilling Noise and Local control http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/valleynewsdispatch/s_704795.html

From Colorado -- Drilling, Wildlife often don't mix
http://www.valleyjournal.com/article/20081204/NEWS/812039974/1010/NONE&parentprofile=1001

From Texas -- Unwell water Drilling leaves a bad taste for some By Brandon Evans Published Sunday, October 3, 2010 http://www.wcmessenger.com/news/content/EklypuEyukFaSeCoUQ.php

Residents once welcomed the Gas Drilling, Now ...Pollution is not welcome http://www.usnews.com/science/articles/2010/01/12/texas-town-welcomed-drilling-now-fears-pollution.html 

Real Estate Values plummet ! Drilling can dig into land value 09:25 AM CDT on Saturday, September 18, 2010 By Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe / Staff Writer

DECATUR — One year to the day after a company set up its drilling rigs on their land in eastern Wise County, Tim and Christine Ruggiero confirmed the depth of their loss.

Originally on the 2010 tax rolls for $257,330, their home and 10-acre horse property are now worth $75,240.
http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/drc/localnews/westdenton/stories/DRC_DrillValues_0918.1046e9a00.html
Living with a Shale Gas Well
http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/drc/specialprojects/drilling/stories/DRC_Ruggieros_0328.1ee8c9ff0.html
Northeast Pa. MORTGAGES UNAVAILABLE on LEASED PROPERTIES !
http://www.strausnews.com/articles/2010/06/08/pike_county_courier/news/1.txt

West Virginia

Complete coverage in the Wheeling Intelligencer
http://theintelligencer.net/page/category.detail/nav/5233/Digging-Deeper-Into-The-Marcellus-Shale.html

Wetzel County Action Group
http://www.wcag-wv.org/Default.htm

Do You really think you want these problems in Garrett County?
http://blogs.wvgazette.com/watchdog/2009/10/02/what-caused-big-fracking-fluid-spill-in-doddridge-county/

Dumping waste on the roads, a commonly witnessed practice!!!!
http://www.wcag-wv.org/W/WaterPollution/BlakeHawgHauler.htm

General Information
http://www.marcellus-shale.us/

Chemicals used in Gas Drilling
http://www.endocrinedisruption.com/chemicals.introduction.php

Via >Danny L. Bailey
I continue to allege with no resistance/rebuttal from anyone in the industry/local-county-state-federal gov't,,,that these petroleum companies are not just "fracking" these underground coal beds,,,,,but chemically " reacting them with inten...tional/permanent injection of toxic chemicals/heavy metal catalyst that slowly dissovle/convert the coal shale into producer gases, mainly methane. In other countries it is referred to for what it really is,,, UCG (underground coal gasification). Here is just one of many "patented" processes for undergound coal bed gasification by first "fracking",,,,then "reacting" the coal bed with benzene derivatives. Read the patent an compare this process to what you have witnessed personally in your GasLand regions.

Situ Coal Bed Gasification: http://www.freepatentsonline.com/3794116.html

Barnett Shale Emission report: http://www.edf.org/documents/9235_Barnett_Shale_Report.pdf

Links to other GasLand fracking reports: http://ozarkanglers.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=23731&st=40

Here is the original link to his Facebook info.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Deep Creek Do It All specializes in cleaning services in Garrett County & @ Deep Creek Lake. Give them a call (301-501-0217) or visit the website - competitive rates and quality results from a locally owned & operated company!

Garrett Marcellus shale forums draw big audiences

Megan Miller
The Cumberland Times-News Mon Nov 22, 2010, 07:51 AM EST

— FROSTBURG — Money, water quality and the Marcellus shale are issues on a lot of Western Marylanders’ minds, if the attendance at two Thursday night meetings in Garrett County is any indication.

Approximately 90 people packed into the cafeteria of Route 40 Elementary School for a public meeting on the subject hosted by the Savage River Watershed Association.

The tone of the discussion was mainly skeptical of the natural gas extraction process, and many speakers expressed concerns over its potential impact on the quality of water and of life in the county.

Eric Robison of the group Save Western Maryland said he was skeptical of the Maryland Department of the Environment’s ability to properly regulate the process.

“I really am concerned about how MDE ... is going to be reacting to this,” he said. “This is completely new, and as far as I know they haven’t even written the book on this yet.”

Meanwhile, on the same night, approximately 40 people gathered in the Friendsville Town Hall for a meeting organized by Chief Oil & Gas, a company currently seeking to drill four Marcellus shale natural gas wells in the Friendsville area.

Chief has already secured most of the land leases it will require for those wells and is now pursuing permits required for preparation to drill, according to spokeswoman Kristi Gittins.

The company hopes to apply for its drilling permits in about two weeks, she said.

But first, Gittins said, the company is working on permits for seismic testing, which will allow its engineers to determine the best paths for steering the drills. It has also begun developing an erosion and sediment control plan for the county.

Gittins said the purpose of Thursday’s meeting — the first such the company has held in Garrett County — was “introducing ourselves and explaining how we plan to do business in the area.”

“We had landowners, city council members and the mayor of Friendsville there,” she said. “Both landowners that were leased to us and not leased to us.”

According to Gittins, Chief has been involved in extracting natural gas from shale formations since the mid-1990s, and started drilling its first well in the Marcellus shale in Pennsylvania in 2007.

The company now has about 100 wells drilled, and though slightly less than half of those are producing gas, it is collecting an average of 100 million cubic feet of natural gas per day.

Friendsville councilman Jess Whittemore said he was impressed with the polish of Chief’s presentation, in a meeting the company had declared was not public but which was attended by town and county officials and a mix of supporters and opponents of Marcellus shale drilling.

“The environmentalists were hammering them with all the smart questions and they had all the answers,” Whittemore said. “I learned an awful lot about it. They made me think that it could potentially be safe.”

But Whittemore, a self-described environmental advocate and skeptic of Marcellus shale drilling, said he still feels concerned that not enough is known about the impact of the process on the land and water.

“Us dumb people, including the people who run the state of Maryland, we’re sort of at their mercy,” he said. “I just hope the state of Maryland has people to keep us safe. ... I think there could very well be not enough government study on this, and (drilling companies) are able to say these things because there’s no proof against it.”

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Commissioners Hear Update Report On HART Animal Adoption Center

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HART for Animals president Mike Pellet presented an update report to the Garrett County commissioners on Tuesday about his group's proposed adoption center. The facility is to be constructed along Bumble Bee Road on 6.5 acres of county-owned property.

"For the past two years, we've been working hard to privately fund the HART Animal Adoption Center," Pellet said. "Thanks to the lease from the county, we have the property."

He noted land has been cleared, a driveway has been installed, and final designs have been submitted by the architect.

"Our goal is to break ground the first quarter of next year," Pellet said.

The president showed Commissioners Ernie Gregg and Fred Holliday architectural renderings of the center. Pellet said the facility will house 60 dogs, 20 puppies, 40 cats, and about 20 or 30 kittens.

The first phase of the center will cost about $600,000, with the total cost of the project being $1.2 million. Pellet noted all work has been done with private funds and donations.

"We've raised about $300,000 so far, and we have some other commitments," he said. "So, within the next month or two, we think we'll be pretty close to the initial $600,000, which will get us up and running."

Read the full article here.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Deep Creek Do It All specializes in cleaning services in Garrett County & @ Deep Creek Lake. Give them a call (301-501-0217) or visit the website - competitive rates and quality results from a locally owned & operated company!

Planning Dept. Provides Bldg. Permits Report

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Nov. 18, 2010


Garrett County Department of Planning and Land Development staff members provided an update report on their recent activities and projects for the county commissioners on Tuesday.

Permits and Inspections Division chief Jim Torrington reported that the number of commercial permits issued between Jan. 1 and Oct. 31 of this year increased by nearly 281 percent, compared to the same period last year. This is mainly because of wind turbine construction, he noted.

In 2009, 21 commercial permits for taxable structures were issued during the first 10 months of that year. Eighty were issued for that same period this year.

The builder declared value of this year's structures is nearly $156 million, or an increase of about 1,971 percent, when compared to last year's value of $7.5 million.

Director John Nelson noted that Torrington's office has received preliminary concept plans for four Marcellus shale drilling sites: one along Frazee Ridge Road and three along Old Morgantown Road.

He said the Marcellus Gas Advisory Committee met for the first time on Monday. It was primarily an orientation event in which group members reviewed information and went over what their responsibilities will be.

Nelson also reported that Garrett County Planning Commission members have reviewed and submitted their comments on the Environmental Protection Agency's Chesapeake Bay Impaired Waters and Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) draft.

Read the full article here.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Deep Creek Do It All specializes in cleaning services in Garrett County & @ Deep Creek Lake. Give them a call (301-501-0217) or visit the website - competitive rates and quality results from a locally owned & operated company!

Snow in Garrett County for Thanksgiving?

Baltimore Sun

Brian Edwards, a meteorologist with the State College, Pa.-based forecasting service, said most of Maryland is not expected to see anything more disruptive than rain through the Thanksgiving weekend. He said there could be Great Lakes-effect snow to the north and west but that temperatures ii Maryland are not expected to drop to a level where snow or ice can form...

And surprise of surprises, Garrett County could have snow by late that weekend.

Read the full article here.

:)

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Deep Creek Do It All specializes in cleaning services in Garrett County & @ Deep Creek Lake. Give them a call (301-501-0217) or visit the website - competitive rates and quality results from a locally owned & operated company!

Md. stargazer's discovery keeps on giving

David Dishneau, Associated Press
In a Nov. 16, 2010 photo, amateur astronomer Gus Johnson, 72, checks out one of his telescopes at Deep Creek Lake State Park near Swanton, Md. Harvard researchers announced on Monday, Nov. 15, 2010 that a supernova Johnson discovered in 1979 is now believed to be the rarely observed birth of a black hole. Scientists at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics publicly announced the finding Monday.


By David Dishneau, Associated Press

SWANTON, Md. — The star that exploded into a supernova first spotted by amateur astronomer Gus Johnson more than 30 years ago may have caused a baby black hole in its wake.

Johnson, 72, a state park worker from Swanton in western Maryland, said he was amazed when NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory Center in Cambridge, Mass., called in early November to say that researchers believe the exploding star he found with his home telescope in 1979 marked the birth of a black hole 50 million light-years away —the nearest such observation yet made.

It was the third time that Johnson's star, SN1979C, has made news. First came the discovery. A year later, radio astronomers found that it had begun emitting radio waves, advancing the theory that exploded stars evolve into pulsars. Now, there's evidence it may be a baby black hole.

By continuing to follow the black hole, future astronomers will learn just how much material is left over from the star's explosion, said Dan Patnaude of Harvard, a co-author of a new paper in the journal New Astronomy. This black hole is about five times more massive than our sun, and the star that exploded was maybe 20 times bigger than our sun.

Read the full article here.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Deep Creek Do It All specializes in cleaning services in Garrett County & @ Deep Creek Lake. Give them a call (301-501-0217) or visit the website - competitive rates and quality results from a locally owned & operated company!