Royal Farms debate

I have been attending two days of appeals court hearings on the proposed Royal Farms store on Mt. Carmel Road in Hereford.  This picture "kinda sorta" shows the exterior.  The Hereford Community Association asked for architectural details (a porch across the entire front) that are consistent with the Hereford area. It would be located on the Burton property which is next to the Graul's store.

It has been very interesting to hear the attorneys presenting their case and the rebuttal. Although the project had the overwhelming support of the Hereford Community Association, the Sparks-Glencoe Community Association (located 5-6 miles away from the site) decided to appeal. They have deep pockets and generally oppose all new development.

So far, only the plaintiffs have presented their case.  The first day of the hearing before the three judge panel (volunteers, I understand) dwelled on the environmental impact of the project.  Although it already has been approved by the Baltimore County government, they are arguing that the potential for environmental damage is great. Although Royal Farms is promising to build with double-lined tanks and keep the rain water on the property, they don't seem to care.  Some of the testimony was so scary that it left us shaking our heads whether any gas station should be built anywhere...and whether the Exxon should be closed immediately.

The second day of the hearing was a trip down memory lane and was based, in part, on this book "From Marble Hill to Maryland Line".  The testimony consisted of pictures taken of the historic ("old") houses in the Hereford area and a bucolic recitation of the wonders of those old houses. Significantly missing from the testimony was any mention of the modern buildings in Hereford including the Evans Funeral Home, the new veterinary hospital, the Baltimore County Public Library building, the large expansion of the Hereford High School, and the new buildings constructed on the south side of Mt. Carmel Road.  It also failed to mention the large addition to the rear of the Hereford Fire Hall (Summit Manor).  To me, the witness was trapped in some sort of time warp and refused to see what is happening now.

We heard from additional witnesses including the owner of Michael's Pizzeria who lives in Pennsylvania and thinks his business will be hurt (Royal Farms doesn't sell pizza, by the way).  Another witness produced pictures of the Exxon gas station from 4pm until 6pm that she couldn't remember who asked her to shoot the pictures and stopped by for only a few seconds.  They were supposed to show that the Exxon gas station isn't busy at that hour but that isn't surprising since they charge about 15 to 20 cents more than anybody else.

The last witness, Ken Bullen Jr., the manager of the Graul's Supermarket, was in my view the most compelling because he lives behind the Subway building on Mt. Carmel Road and had severe problems with a drain pipe that fed onto his property from Mt. Carmel Road.  It took three years, but the county government eventually ordered changes made by the Subway building owner.  He also has concerns about runoff from the Royal Farms project, but they have maintained that there project will trap all of the rain water on the project.

I'm still waiting for my opportunity to testify in support of the Royal Farms project.  It really upsets me that Exxon charges so much more than the other gas stations.

(Addendum:  the appeals judges approved construction of the Royal Farms project, but it is expected to be appealed again.)

Extreme Weather in West Virginia

Each year, we go to the Land of Canaan Resort in Canaan Valley, West Virginia for two weeks...one in August in the summer...and one week in January when the ski slopes are busy.  We were introduced to "timeshares" by my cousin Gerry Lessey Pas and her husband, Dick Pas, many years ago and we are forever grateful to them.  Canaan Valley is a four season state park that is a seven mile long transplanted piece of Canada only 4 1/2 hours away from our home. At night, the state park makes artificial snow (shown at the left) so that the skiers can enjoy the slopes each day.

Our resort consists of 2 bedroom townhouses that have frequently upgraded, two full baths, a full kitchen, hot tub, thermostatically controlled gas fireplace, beds for six people, and very nice furnishings. Although we are not skiers, we enjoy the change of scenery and spend the time reading, solving jig saw puzzles, spending time on the computer, and traveling to Elkins, WV to see movies.  Oh, yes...a lot of time watching CSI and NCIS on the television. We are just relaxing.

This year, however, saw some wild gyrations in the weather.  When we arrived, it was a balmy 57 degrees and no snow on the ground except for the ski slopes.  We passed through fog banks on the highway on our way to Canaan Valley and it was surreal. However, within a day, an arctic cold air mass moved in and we were facing "below zero" temperatures.  The snow machines (shown left) were hard at work and one day later we got hit with four to five inches of snow and high winds that never stopped. We got what we came for:  real winter.

Each year, there is "something new". This year, it was the seven dollar "spa sessions" that were offered by a woman who travels from Elkins to meet with large groups (mostly women).  It actually is a sales pitch for the products, but we didn't care.  The various lip balms (seen here), exfoliants, salves, and creams gave us a little feeling of luxury at a very modest price.

Yes, even I participated and shot pictures.  I think it was the foot cream that I liked the best.

November and December went too quickly!

I have much catching up to do on my blog!  The months of November and December went by very quickly as I finished my physical therapy for my bionic left knee, scrambled to get a lot of firewood split for my many customers (including a couple new ones), and attended a bunch of Epworth United Methodist Church events.  Oh, yes!  And we celebrated Christmas.

It is the church events that I am going to write about the most. The Christmas season at Epworth begins with the family style dinner at Friendly Farm Restaurant located in the middle of farm country. It truly is a friendly farm that started doing meals many years ago and it has become a tradition for us at Epworth.  A couple hundred folks turn out for terrific fried chicken and roast beef with all of the fixin's and celebrate with prayers, contests, and prizes. And Santa!

This year, we were blessed with the addition of a new choir director, Elaine Gradowski.  Even though she arrived quite late in the year, she was able to expand the choir and perform a lovely Cantata.  The children's choir sang also. It was truly a highlight of the Christmas season and it dovetailed nicely with the theme selected by our clergy to tell the background stories behind traditional hymns.  It turns out that quite a few of our favorite hymns have very meaningful back stories.

The children performed a family service at 5 p.m. and they told the Christmas story through a narrator, songs, and drama.

And at 11 p.m., we had our traditional candlelight service with communion and we added pre-candlelight service music for 30 minutes featuring several members of our congregation.  We have some very talented musicians in our midst and this was an opportunity to hear them.  The sermon focused on the story behind "Silent Night" which,  if you have never heard about it, has to do with a broken organ...a poem...and the need to have special music quickly for Christmas night.  What a great story.

Finally, on Christmas Day, we went to visit my mother who is in a memory care unit at Symphony Manor in Roland Park.  The care they provide is impressive.  Mom can't remember much these days including that she had been visited by Pegg and Sue earlier in the day, but she was in good spirits and had a ready smile for us. Symphony Manor had a musician with a guitar perform for the clients and a good time was had by all.


But the real highlight of our Christmas was the opportunity to spend time with Matt and Mary Louise and Rob.  And we are hopeful that we will have the opportunity to spend time with Rob's fiance, Vera Alcorn, this summer!