Growth in Urbana, putting stress on schools, businesses and other resources

by CMA 303 Comment Closed
By Amy Madert Urbana Maryland, a suburb in Frederick County, had a population of only 622 people in 2001. In 2015 that number increased to 11,154 people. The speed in which the population is growing impacts every aspect of a community – the people, the businesses and the resources. “We are building in the areas that people want to live in,” Denise Jacoby, Executive Officer at the Frederick County Building Industry Association (FCBIA), said. “These areas tend to be favorable by large populations, which lead to more development. The Villages of Urbana was first established in 1999. It has quickly become one of the most populated, desired and changed areas in Frederick. The plan for the community aimed to recreate a classic small town feel and way of living. Today the town of Urbana community plan includes five schools and a sixth set to open in the 2017-2018 school year, two parks and a third in development, a handful of amenities including a library, swimming...
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Maryland Youth Ranch gets revision, aims to help youth struggling with drug abuse

Maryland Youth Ranch gets revision, aims to help youth struggling with drug abuse

by CMA 303 Comment Closed
By Breann Harwood  The Maryland Sheriff’s Youth Ranch, located in Urbana, once served as a place where young boys could come to receive group home services. It provided guidance, support, and ultimately, life changing programs. “The Ranch showed me a different side of life,” Cedric Spencer said. “It wasn’t all peachy, but it helped me to get my head on straight. I had guidance and I liked that I always had a roof over my head, food to eat, and they got me back in school. I lived there for nine months and at the end it showed me I didn’t want to live the lifestyle I was living before.” The Ranch thrived for 41 years as a foster care placement for homeless, at-risk, and troubled children in the Maryland area. However, due to a lack of boys being referred to the Ranch because they were placed in foster homes instead of group homes, Board members decided that it was no longer feasible...
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Two new elementary schools will open overcrowded

Two new elementary schools will open overcrowded

by CMA 303 Comment Closed
By John Curran Frederick County Public Schools are building two new schools to alleviate overcrowding, however, these schools will be overcrowded when they open. Frederick County has approved the funding needed to build two new elementary schools in the county, Sugarloaf Elementary and Butterfly Ridge Elementary. Theresa Alban, superintendent of Frederick County Pubic Schools, said that when both schools open in fall 2018 they will be at maximum capacity. “We are trying to stay ahead and build schools before developments are complete by having the planning and zoning commission alert us when permits are pulled for construction,” Alban said. “It’s not always possible because we are playing catch up and many of our current schools need to be renovated.” The reason many schools aren’t being built is because of the number of existing schools that need to be renovated in the county. The county has many schools that are over 30 years old and are experiencing a high number of service repairs. Money is not...
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Suicide Rates Are Growing With Frederick’s Population and Public Funding Can’t Keep Up

by Elizabeth Atwood Comment Closed
By Logan Samuels The Frederick County Board of Health and Mental Hygiene wants to focus on treatment and research for specific health issues, but budgeting for the public health system prevents this. Frederick County Health Officer Dr. Barabara Brookmyer explained that a hot topic issue in Frederick is the suicide rate. For the last 12 years, Frederick County has had a higher suicide death rate than the state. Henry Westray, Jr., the former chair of the Governor’s Commission on Suicide Prevention, said that Governor Martin O’Malley established an executive order to focus on suicide awareness and prevention as a severe health issue in 2009. For three years, the Governor’s Commission on Suicide actively fought to establish services, hotlines, plans, support groups, and advocacy groups for at-risk groups. There are various Maryland based foundations and groups that focus on suicide prevention and intervention like the Mental Health Association of Maryland, the National Alliance on Mental Illness: Maryland and the American Foundation for Suicide: Maryland. O’Malley planned to...
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Waterways face bacterial pollution in Frederick County

by CMA 303 Comment Closed
By Mary Milligan Several waterways in Frederick are polluted with potentially harmful bacteria that become especially elevated after rainfall. This bacteria, enterococcus, can cause a stomach ache and similar ailments according to Sara Eckard, a biology major and water researcher. In Frederick, it has been found in Carroll Creek, Culler Lake, Rock Creek, Owens Creek in Thurmont, Glade Run in Walkersville, and a tributary that runs in front of Frederick High and into Carroll Creek. Professor of Biology and Director of Coastal Studies Program Dr. Drew Ferrier said that the summer project began with a feeling that people had a hard time understanding the status of the environment. He said that they wanted to do the research to produce a “clearer way of expressing to the public an indication of the pollution in the water.” Eckard and Dr. Drew Ferrier began to look at the enterococcus levels of different waterways over the summer in partnership with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. The levels they found...
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Frederick Delegation withdraws bill for new Frederick CREST center

by CMA 303 Comment Closed
By: Katie Misuraca Frederick County senators withdrew the Frederick’s CREST funding bill after the bill was about to receive unfavorable votes from Senate committees. The bill would of allowed spending for Frederick’s Center for Research and Education in Science and Technology (CREST) through 2020. Originally, the funding bill had been introduced after the planned regional higher education center initially received no funding in Gov. Hogan’s yearly budget for the state. However in early March, when Hogan delivered his State of the State address, he included some of the funding for the Fredrick CREST in a supplemental budget. The House and Senate committees retained the funding. The bill was also known as a bond bill. “A bond bill which means rather than being legislative – writing policy – it is local districts requesting funding for very important projects,” Dominique Marsalek, chief of staff to Senator Ronald Young, said. Each representative is limited to around three requests each because funding is limited. With a Republican governor, Larry Hogan, funding...
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Sheriff Department Captain Raises Awareness of Marijuana Decriminalization’s Impact on Law Enforcement

by CMA 303 Comment Closed
By Erin Droneburg Beginning in October 2014, Maryland will decriminalize use or possession of up to ten grams of marijuana. This offense will be lowered from a criminal offense to a civil offense. Any person who is found with a decriminalized quantity of marijuana will be issued a civil citation. The citation will come with a monetary penalty, all of which will be allotted to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The law will bring a good deal of change for the state as a whole, especially within law enforcement agencies. Captain Tim Clarke of the Frederick County Sheriff’s Department says that the new law will alter the way that deputies carry out drug-related responses. He also points out areas of the bill that are not specific enough, which make adapting agency procedures more difficult. One change will change current conditions that provide probable cause for conducting searches. Now, Clarke says, the odor of burnt marijuana is probable cause to search for drugs; with the...
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City police begin strategizing to effectively handle marijuana

by CMA 303 Comment Closed
By Stacey Axler When Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley signed the decriminalization of marijuana bill into law on April 14, the Frederick City Police began to strategize on how to battle underage marijuana use in the city. Though possession of a small amount of marijuana is decriminalized along with the access to medical marijuana for adult use, the Frederick City Police department strives to educate city residents on safe uses of the drug and continue drug education programs for local youths. The Drug Enforcement Unit hopes to alter the enforcement policies they use for vendors that target tobacco and alcohol to minors to include a policy on marijuana, but currently do not have any plans to combat only marijuana. (more…)...
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Frederick City Police Budget Increases Due to Staffing Goals

by CMA 303 Comment Closed
By Stacey Axler The increase in the budget to over $28 million for the year is primarily due to an increase in the “Police Staffing Strategy” which suggests a raise in the salaries and staff members for the department and increases the budget for “police equipment and technology necessary for the core function of police work. At the budget meeting, Ledwell and Fiscal Affairs Manager of the Frederick City Police Heather Reader presented graphs showing that the population of Frederick city has grown steadily over the past few years, which has resulted in an increase of calls for service. According to Ledwell, these statistics suggest that an increase in hiring of officers is necessary.  The budget includes room to “over-hire” five officers to the department.  Currently, the city police staffs around 200 employees. Ledwell hopes the number of employees will increase by five per year to reflect the growing population of Frederick. Besides for officers, the budget also reflects the hiring of all...
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Tensions Flare at Board of Aldermen Meeting

by CMA 303 Comment Closed
Community members involved with the Fort Detrick Restoration Advisory Board, known as the Fort Detrick RAB, discussed their mounting ecological concerns due to what they claim stem from government negligence at a Frederick, Md. Board of Alderman meeting Thursday evening. Two supporters of the Fort Detrick RAB, Jennifer Haan and George Rudy, addressed the Board of Alderman during the meeting to discuss, according to Haan, the “imminent ecological danger that will affect the Frederick community.” “The City government is simply not doing enough to address problems that Fort Detrick wants to help solve,” Rudy, a pending Fort Detrick RAB member and Downtown Frederick resident, said.  “[The government] hasn’t done [it’s] job.” (more…)...
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