Category: News

Councilwoman Cathy Bevin (D-6) announced on social media that she is withdrawing County Council Bill 30-19 that would have “authoriz(ed) single-family detached dwellings, semi-detached or duplex dwellings and group houses” on Ebenezer Road in Middle River.

“After careful consideration I have decided to withdraw the bill at this time. The bill would have permitted a development as well as a site for a new school on Ebenezer Road,” Bevins wrote in a statement on Monday.

“The lack of adequate school seats has been a challenge for Baltimore County as a whole but particularly in Eastern Baltimore County.”

Ryan Nawrocki, a political rival of Bevins and a community advocate, thanked members of the Middle River community for fighting against this project and credited them for delaying the project

We did it! Thanks to everyone’s hard work and the media coverage we received regarding the community’s concerns, the bill to allow 200 townhouses on the McBride property on Ebenezer Road has been withdrawn,” Nawrocki said. “This is definitely a great victory for the community and shows that when the community works together our voices can’t be ignored.”

County Executive Johnny Olszewski celebrated Arbor Day on April 26 with Shady Spring Elementary School students and staff, planting trees to complete a 2.5-acre reforestation project that surrounds the schoolyard with native trees.

“Trees are critical infrastructure for our communities and for our environment, and it makes perfect sense for us to replace underutilized lawn space in schoolyards with forested acreage that reduces air pollution, absorbs stormwater and provides shade to help cut energy costs,” said Olszewski. “We appreciate our partners in the school system for helping us make a difference that will span generations.”

The Shady Spring Elementary School project is a 2.5-acre native tree planting along the perimeter of the school property. Students had the opportunity to plant and monitor the newly planted trees, meeting several Maryland Environmental Literacy Standards and Maryland Green School objectives.

The project is a result of a partnership between the Baltimore County Department of Environmental Protection and Sustainability (EPS) and BCPS’ Office of Science, called Comprehensive Landscape Improvement Projects. Since 2014, they have reforested 39 acres and planted 196 landscape-style trees at 37 schools.

EPS’ approach to planting on school property focuses on planting trees on underutilized school lawns to increase the County’s tree canopy and reduce BCPS’ long-term mowing costs. In addition to these plantings, EPS also planted 957 native shade trees from 2011 through 2012 at 46 County schools and other facilities under EPS’ Cool Trees program.

After a bill in the Maryland General Assembly that would have given Baltimore County an additional $400 million in school construction failed, Baltimore County Executive John Olszewski Jr. announced that school construction would be delayed for at least one year.

“Baltimore County is not prepared at this time to forward fund the State share of… a new elementary school on the Ridge Road site, a new middle school on the Nottingham site, and renovations/additions for Pine Grove Middle School. As a result, these projects will be delayed by at least one year,” Olszewski said in a letter to the Baltimore County Board of Education.

The new northeast middle school and the expansion of Pine Grove were slated to open for the 2021-22 school year before the delay. These additions were in response to the overcrowding at Perry Hall Middle School.

Councilman David Marks is upset that the three northeast projects are being delayed for at least one year and blamed the state Senate for not passing the bill.

“I am angry at this decision and the failure of the state Senate to pass the Build to Learn legislation. You should ask what your state legislators did or did not do to avoid this situation,” Marks added.

The 5th District Councilman will now look into other options to relief school overcrowding in the northeast and laid out the plan on social media Wednesday night.

“First, I will be meeting with the County Executive on Friday and looking to the budget process for ways to potentially alter this decision.

” Second, I have spoken to BCPS Board Member Julie Henn, and we will seek an immediate start to a redistricting process for Perry Hall Middle School. We will ask the School Board to redistrict for the soonest academic year, moving students to areas with extra capacity.

Third, I am drafting legislation to create development impact fees in Baltimore County, now that the state legislature has passed a bill giving us this authority. It is my plan to introduce this measure in June, which will generate revenue to pay for schools in high-growth areas. That will, in turn, free up funding to use in older communities.”

Members of the Linover Community held their annual spring cleanup and made a discovery of two cats left at the park.

Here is the statement on their Facebook page.

“We have completed today’s stream clean up! And we usually share photos, the number of bags collected, and weird items we find. And we will, especially because our volunteers were amazing and pulled a record number of bags this year!

But first we must share about this find during stream clean up. And we know this will upset people so we are asking that comments remain respectful (also as this is a community page).

Today’s find was Dudie and Eefie. They are two beautiful domestic medium haired cats. A neighbor walking his dog called over and said about how there were cats in a carrier. After calling a few others over, we found Dudie and Eefie together in a cat carrier, with a disposal roasting pan full of dry and (somewhat fresh) wet food; another filled with water. We closed the carrier (it was left open so it’s a miracle they were still in there together… it also had their names on it so that’s how we know) so they wouldn’t run out. We called both animal services and non-emergency.

About an hour after we found them, a lovely officer from Animal Services showed up. He took photos, talked with us, and we are going to stay in contact. And the neighbor who notified us on the parking lot even drove back to check on them. And we are going to follow through on these two furbabies… because of course they are members of the Linover Community now.

Based off of the food left, along with the fact neither cat was wet from last night’s rain, the officer does not believe they were left over night. In fact, it’s almost like someone knew we would be there today and left them for us to find. Please do not dump/leave your animals in Linover Park or any park for that matter. Between being so close to Lillian Holt Drive, so close to the stream, and animals in the park, it’s amazing Dudie and Eefie were okay. There are other options such as Rescue Well, BCAS, MDSPCA, and more that will SAFELY help you. Even any vet I’m sure will help you if your only option is leaving them in a park. Thank goodness neighbors were there walking their dogs and we had the stream clean up.

Pending any health issues or any legal things, they may be up for adoption soon. We will post if that happens, and it would be great if a family in the community could adopt them. And honestly, they were amazing for the hour I spent with them and would make a great addition to a family. Hug your fur babies today.

We will keep you all updated on them. And shout out to the amazing officer from Baltimore County Animal Services!”

Every day across the country, older adults visit their local senior center to connect with friends, learn something new, discover how to stay healthy, give back to their community and more.

This year,Parkville Senior Center, along with Catonsville, hasbeen recognized by the National Council on Aging’s (NCOA) National Institute of Senior Centers (NISC) with a 2018 Programs of Excellence Award honorable mention prize for their innovative programming. Catonsville and Parkville were two of only 15 programs honored with the annual recognition for innovative, creative and replicable programs for older adults, out of a field of more than 100 submissions from across the United States.

Journey Into Space

Parkville Senior Center’s “Journey Into Space” intergenerational program was also a four-part series that brought seniors and students together to learn about space and space exploration. During the first class, senior center members and their grandchildren watched a distance learning program by NASA where they were on a virtual spaceship. In subsequent classes, the participants built rockets, learned about the International Space Station and Newton’s Laws of Motion, and watched “Star Wars.”

About the NISC Awards

The NISC Programs of Excellence winners are picked by a committee of senior center professionals. Certificates and cash awards are given to programs in seven categories and in one highlighted area related to preventing social isolation. The categories include:

• Community Development, Leadership and Intergenerational
• Cultural Programs
• Fundraising
• Health and Wellness
• Nutrition
• Technology
• Special Events
• Social Isolation Prevention (Highlighted Area)

Congratulations

“Our 20 senior centers in Baltimore County are important destinations for older adults to live longer and live well, and our staff works hard to keep our programs fun and educational for our members,” said Laura Riley, Director of the Baltimore County Department of Aging. “We are honored to have two of our centers receive a NISC Programs of Excellence award, and hope that other senior centers across the country will be able to replicate these programs to benefit their members.”  

“I’m proud of the great work our Department of Aging team does with our older residents,” said Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski, Jr. “This is a great recognition of the work that is being done to keep our older adults healthy, active and informed.”