The weather for today will be partly sunny, with a high near 25 degrees with wind chill values as low as zero. Light and variable wind.Tonight expect snow, mainly after 2:00 am. Low around 21. New snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible. Dress for very cold conditions!
With the cold, icy weather yesterday, we were placed under a snow emergency plan, which is now to be lifted. The snow emergency plan requires motorists to operate vehicles that are equipped with snow tires as designated by the manufacturer or equipped with chains. Studded tires are allowed from November 1st through March 31st.
Oakland mayor Jay Moyer administered the oath of office to Police Academy Graduate, Patrolman Bryson Bittinger at a special ceremony at Oakland City Hall on Friday, February 12th. Bittinger, the son of Bill and Nichole Bittinger, grew up in Oakland and graduated from Southern Garrett High School in 2017 before earning an associate’s degree from Garrett College. Congratulations Bryson.
Here’s a simple, nice shot of a deer in the snow, as submitted by Dot Sissler. I guess deer like cleared roads/paths just like we do. Thanks for sharing Dot.
Deer on the Path
The Property Owners Association of Deep Creek Lake has announced a donation of about $15,000 to the Deep Creek Watershed Foundation for the purchase of an additional Water Quality Meter. The Foundation is funding the purchase of four meters which will bring the number of permanent meters in the lake to eight. The ultimate goal of DNR is to have a meter in every cove. The meters measure water temperature, salinity, conductivity, pH, depth, dissolved oxygen, turbidity and chlorophyll (which is a measure of algal biomass). The permanent placement of the meters will allow continuous rather than “snapshot” monitoring of water quality. That is great news on many fronts and we thank the POA and the Watershed Foundation for their great work on this.
More detailed information on the lake and water quality can be found at the DNR website “Eyes on Deep Creek Lake” – http://eyesonthebay.dnr.maryland.gov/dcl/deepcreeklake.cfm. There is also detail available on the Deep Creek Watershed Foundation site which includes a PowerPoint presentation to the Foundation Board in April of 2020 entitled “DNR’s Continuous Water Quality Monitoring Project at Deep Creek Lake” by DNR Biologists Julie Bortz and Christine King, see – https://www.deepcreekwatershedfoundation.org/water-quality-testing
And, in case anyone is wondering why the lake’s water quality is so important, here’s just a few of the reasons. High quality clean water provides:
- Protection of property values and investments for you and your family for many years to come.
- Carefree swimming, boating, water-skiing, and more.
- Healthy habitats for a wide variety of fish and other aquatic creatures.
- A clean lake for residents and visitors alike to enjoy which, in turn, supports Garrett County’s reputation as a great place to visit and live.
- A strong foundation for continued community small businesses and economic stability, including a strong tax base.
The importance of the lake to our quality of life and to Garrett County’s success cannot be underestimated!
With many students continuing their education remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic and BLS data showing a correlation between higher education levels, higher income and lower unemployment rates, the personal-finance website WalletHub yesterday released its report on 2021’s Most & Least Educated States in America, as well as accompanying videos. In order to determine the most educated states, WalletHub compared all 50 states across 18 metrics that examined the key factors of a well-educated population: educational attainment, school quality and achievement gaps between genders and races. Maryland performed very well.
How educated is Maryland? (1=Most; 25=Avg.):
- 25th – % of High-School Diploma Holders
- 10th – % of Associate’s Degree Holders or College-Experienced Adults
- 3rd – % of Bachelor’s Degree Holders
- 2nd – % of Graduate- or Professional-Degree Holders
- 6th – Avg. University Quality
- 18th – Racial Gap in Educational Attainment
- 1st – Gender Gap in Educational Attainment
For those of you who like to get into the details, you can see the full report here: https://wallethub.com/edu/e/most-educated-states/31075
Finally today, a plug for a friend, executive chef Larry Roby. Larry has been accepted into a national Favorite Chef competition. The winner will be featured in Bon Appetit magazine, and will also win a cash prize. The event will be helping feed the hungry, so if you know or wish to support our local chef, please vote and pass this along to as many as you can. Voting starts today. Here’s the link: https://favchef.com/2021/larry-roby
