Update on my questions to the BOE

Today I spoke to Mrs. Robin Holloway, President of the WCBOE, in reference to the questions I posed to her publicly on this blog on Wednesday 2/20. Mrs. Holloway expressed to me that she wanted nothing more than to answer my questions and go into great detail but felt as though she should not. She advised that "Board members are in a position to answer strategic decisions by the board but not day to day operations issues which fall under the management of the school superintendent. " At first I thought I was getting the old runaround, but after speaking to Mrs. Holloway for a while I knew that she was being sincere. She stated that she felt the questions I had were valid and were worthy of answers at which time she set about explaining to me how to get those answers and whom to ask. Mrs. Holloway was a pleasure to talk to and was genuinely interested in what I had to say. Monday I will be making the necessary phone calls to get answers to my questions.



I think it's important to say that the questions posed on the blogs has caused the BOE and upper level school administration to review the way they communicate with the public. The way it was relayed to me (that one was for you shooter ;) lol ) the BOE will be integrating a new question and answer segment on thier web site in about two weeks. The purpose of this section is to have members of the public submit questions they have about anything relating to the Wicomico County Schools, at which time the appropriate person can supply an answer. That should help remove some barriers if it works the way it's supposed to.

Dr. Shirazi Found Not Guilty

The Salisbury Doctor, (Mahamad Shirazi) accused of sexual assault was found NOT GUILTY at 4:30 PM today.

Time and time again Doctors are charged with these kind of things and quite frankly it ticked me off seeing this Doctor being brought into Court, (or wherever he was on tv) in handcuffs!

Insurance goes through the roof and the expense of always having an assistant in the same room at all times is what creates enormous rates for a visit to the Doctor.

Hats off to Cynthia MacDonald for a job well done!

More Wicomico County Accountability

"This picture was sent to me by an anonymous person. The picture was taken about 3 weeks ago on a Thursday afternoon around 2:30pm. Obviously it's okay to get your hair cut on county time while your helper catches a nap. I believe this is the crew that drives the tractors that cut ditch banks in the county and side roads? Could this be Kurt Richardson?"

Ladies & Gentlemen, from this point forward I encourage you, (ALL of you) to use your cell phone cameras and digital cameras and take these pictures. Send them to me, send them to the Daily Times, I don't care what News Source you choose. Just know Salisbury News WILL publish them in real time, not in a few days, weeks and perhaps never at all.

This goes for City of Salisbury employees too. Let's start watching things get done around here. I took a photo yesterday of several people working across the street from the GOB. I'm not saying they were slacking. I'd say it was more of, why the hell did they have so many people on one job. Reminds me of all the Fire Stations that show up for a small fire.

Anyhow, accountability is the most important thing right now. These photos have in fact been sent to the County Executive and each and every one of them that I receive will go to him as well. The slacking and stealing will come to an end NOW! Thank You for forwarding these photos.

Clinton Motorcade Motorcycle Cop Killed

Hillary Clinton's Motorcade Motorcycle Police Officer died in Texas today. More to come......

GO HERE for the full story.

BY ERIK GERMAN | 1:18 PM EST, February 22, 2008

DALLAS -- A motorcycle police officer preceding Hillary Rodham Clinton's motorcade was killed Friday after his motorcycle struck a concrete guardrail on an overpass just outside the city's downtown.

Dallas police identified the officer as Victor Lozada-Tirado and said he joined the force in 1988. He was married and had four children.

Clinton cut short her second scheduled event of the day in Fort Worth and gave brief and subdued remarks to a crowd gathered at First and Main streets in downtown Dallas. She told supporters she had spoken with police officials, who told her the officer was a 20-year department veteran.

BREAKING NEWS!!!!!! R & B Artist Jay Holiday Arrested In Salisbury Hotel

R & B Artist Jay Holiday was arrested last night at a Salisbury Hotel for possession of marijuana by State Trooper Steve Peters.

Holiday was released on his own recognizance today, (sound familiar)? Jay was in town as the lead Band for the UMES Homecoming. More to come.........

It does seem that every time a celebrity comes to the Salisbury they get busted. LMAO! Remember Folks, the news broke here and Salisbury News delivered it first once again. You should hear something about it in The Daily Times, oh, 5 days or so from now. LOL

OUCH! That Hurts!

OK, every so often I feel the need to get something off my chest and throw a little dig at the Anti Albero Bloggers, like Billy Duvall. He does it to me almost daily, so I thought I'd give him one back for the fun of it.

You see Ladies & Gentlemen, Site Meter only allows me to view up to 99 people viewing my Site at a time. It's 1:30 in the afternoon, not particularly a good time at all to have visitors but Salisbury News is a whole different story.

You see, Billy doesn't get but 25 to 50 hits a DAY, let alone 99 at 1:30 PM! Then there's the #98, Governor Martin O'Malley popping in for a view. Hello Governor, thanks for visiting again. Believe it or not I'm still being VERY nice because if these guys knew how many people are actually on my Blog right now they'd sh!t a brick.

Yeah, sometimes it feels good to throw one back in their face and show them just how little a difference they make while throwing digs at me on a regular basis. I know I'll hear from others stating I should leave it alone, and I should. However, I don't do it often and I have to admit, it feels good. Have a nice day. LOL

Oh, do notice how the majority of the visitors are also local people. Thanks for the support Ladies & Gentlemen.

THE NO FLY ZONE

Two years ago the Mayor, Barrie Tilghman was rumored to have tried to create a "No Fly Zone" over the Salisbury Waster Water Treatment Plant.

As most will recall, there were NO, No Trespassing Signs at the WWTP when I drove right through the gates and wandered around searching for an alleged Sludge Pit that actually became true. If you look at the last picture, right at the 6:00 mark on the picture you can see the Human Sludge Pit as well as piles of human feces around 1:00, just below the white tankers shown.

Of course my main concern at that time was, had they cleaned up what they claimed to have done and the answer was, NO! Considering I could no longer be on the grounds and John Jacobs and the Mayor set up a system whereas every worker there had to wear a white hat with a blue sticker on the front. This was done so that if ALBERO showed up on the grounds with a white hat on, if I didn't have the blue sticker they'd know it was me and I would have been arrested. Like I was going to return!

Well, I did. I got up in a plane and flew above to see if Jacobs and Tilghman were in fact telling the truth and they were not. The human waste was still clearly on the ground and I contacted the MDE and let me tell you, they slammed the WWTP and it was gone right away.

The Human Sludge Pit remained but they were watering down the solid hard feces in the pit and slowly started removing it. This was my very first Big Breaking Story on the Blogs. The Daily Times ignored it until the news got too big. Kenny Beck from WMDT was the only Reporter willing to listen and when he broke the story, he won an award for it.

While the Mayor lied to the Public about the liner and so many other things, why should we trust her when she says the recent leak was only 5,000 gallons? She is notorious for telling half truths, you know, 99% compliant and all. Oh well, it is what it is and everyone has become used to not believing a word she says.

Then came the Press Conferences begging the Public to stay off the hateful Blogs. Well, Barrie Tilghman, here we are today looking back at yet another one of your problems. You may have removed me from the grounds but your No Fly Zone was a joke. I had stated to the Press that I would simply get up in a Plane and see how things were coming along, so she allegedly tried to get the No Fly Zone done and failed.

Yep, I'm that hateful Blogger that all of a sudden has more credibility than the Daily Times. The top line of my Blog says it all. "You Either Love Me Or You Hate Me."

32 Pictures Of Hell On Earth!

Click on image to enlarge.

CARDIN, MIKULSKI ANNOUNCE FEDERAL FUNDING FOR WICOMICO COUNTY FIREFIGHTERS

Press Release of Senator Cardin

CARDIN, MIKULSKI ANNOUNCE FEDERAL FUNDING FOR WICOMICO COUNTY FIREFIGHTERS

Thursday, February 21, 2008

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senators Benjamin L. Cardin and Barbara A. Mikulski (both D-Md.) today announced the Parsonsburg Volunteer Fire Department has been awarded $92,649 in federal funding through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFGP). Senator Mikulski is on the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee that funds the AFGP and fights each year to increase its federal funding. Senator Cardin is on the Budget Committee.

“I know how important this funding is to Maryland communities – often it’s the difference between life and death. First responders protect our homes and communities, and the federal government has a responsibility to protect them by providing them with the tools they need to do their jobs safer and smarter,” said Senator Mikulski. “Every day when our first responders report for duty, they don’t know what they will face. That’s why I fight every year for the equipment, training, and staffing our protectors and communities deserve.”

“First responders have always been on the front lines, keeping our families and our neighborhoods safe from harm. I thank these brave men and women for their continuing service and sense of duty to our community,” said Senator Cardin. “I am proud to support federal investment through local grants like this, which is essential to ensure our community heroes have the equipment and training they need to do their jobs safely and efficiently.”

The Parsonsburg Volunteer Fire Department in Wicomico County will use its $92,649 to purchase 16 Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) units, and to install an air cascade system on their rescue engine. This is the second award for the department. In fiscal year 2006, it was awarded $54,862 to purchase 25 sets of turn out gear, and a gear washer and dryer. Since 2001, Wicomico County Fire & Emergency Medical Services (EMS) units have been awarded more than $1 million in federal assistance through the AFGP. For more information, call Mark Rickards at 410-742-2408.

In his fiscal year 2009 budget proposal, President Bush cut funding for the AFGP program by 60 percent. President Bush only proposed to fund the AFGP at $300 million for fiscal year 2009, down from $750 million in fiscal year 2008 – a $450 million cut. President Bush completely eliminated funding for the third year in a row for Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grants, which are funded under the AFGP.

AFGP grants fund firefighting equipment, personal protection equipment, training, firefighting vehicles, firefighter/first responder safety projects, and staffing recruitment and retention. Since 2001, Maryland fire departments and fire service organizations have received nearly $59 million through the AFGP.

SHA Up Your, Well, You Know!

While coming home from the Western Shore, one SHA driver felt the need to get right on my bumper in the fast lane. As you can clearly see, I let him pass me on the right as there was no way I was getting out of the way. Your Maryland Tax Dollars Hard At Work!

The Old Ball Room At One Plaza East

Now This Was A Treat! Coming from New York City, looking at old buildings and especially custom plaster work, that's something I truly enjoy. When I was invited to go to the 7th Floor of One Plaza East to look at this old Ball Room was the highlight of my day!

I learned some interesting things about this building yesterday. When the building was in the design stage, they hired a Contractor out of the Chicago area to do the building. Originally there was supposed to be only 6 floors to the Hotel, (that's what it was built to be) but as they were raising money, they came up with additional funds to add a 7th floor and that's when they came up with a Big Band Room and a Ball Room. I fell asleep at the wheel on this one because if I had seen this 6 months ago, I would have bought it, seriously! It has been purchased by someone and with any hope they'll bring it back to its original state?

The original floor is actually concrete and the studs in the entire building are steel. The concrete floor was too loud to those staying in rooms below, so they built another floor above it to insulate the sound.

The views are just spectacular from up there, perhaps I'll post some of those pictures next? Nevertheless, this is a piece of history I have never seen and I thought I'd share it with all of you. Hopefully comments will follow with everyone's experience and maybe we'll even get lucky enough to hear from those who remember that room from back in the day when Bands were jamming and Ball Room Dancing was the in thing?

The Open Government Meeting

I understand the Daily Times has a deadline to meet but IF Greg Latshaw would have been able to stick around longer last night he would have come out of there with the best of the best.

You see, not only did Shanie Shields come in 20 minutes late, Shanie flat out said the Citizens DO NOT CARE about open Government. She then went on to talk about Sharee Sample Hughes holding meetings in her District and 140 people showed up. It was at that moment I just had to chime in. I said, Shanie, how can you make the claim that Citizens don't care when 140 people showed up, for starters? I then mentioned how I have been attending these meetings and they were first class meetings where Sheriff Mike Lewis, Chief Gary Baker, Rick Pollitt, Mr. Sharma and others from Public Works attended and answered any and all questions openly and if they couldn't answer it, they took down names and assured everyone they would provide the answer the following day.

Lynn Cathcart showed up right in the beginning and stuck around taking notes. Actually, she was more interested in the dates the establishment would be open for special events than she was in what was being said in the meeting, seriously.

There was actually more than 20 people who attended but they were up against the biggest event of the year, The Rock & Roll Review at the High School. The viewing of Dick Hazel was yet another reason many did not make it. I'm NOT making excuses for the smaller crowd. It's a good start and hopefully people do see how this attempt to further open the doors towards a more open form of government is appealing.

Many suggestions were made and in the near future those suggestions will be posted HERE for all to view. Billy Burke attended the meeting all the way from Pocomoke and was AMAZED at how open things were and expressed how closed things are in Pocomoke. He stated Salisbury was light years ahead of Pocomoke but I'm sure he'll be posting his views later on what he experienced from the meeting.

Nevertheless, my hat is tipped to Debbie & Terry for taking the time and risk to get the ball rolling. Brenda Colegrove was called into the meeting once Shanie Shields arrived. The meeting was then digitally recorded and will hopefully be available to the public soon.

Old Mall Plan Delayed, Could See Substantial Change

Look forward to a new plan for the old Salisbury Mall. So far, everything promised by Salisbury Mayor Barrie Tilghman, former Council President Mike Dunn and Councilman Gary Comegys has either been delayed or substantially altered. Expect the same when the developers finally submit a final plan - NEXT YEAR.

Yesterday the Salisbury-Wicomico Planning Commission granted a one year extension for the developers, Salisbury Mall Associates, to submit a final plan. By itself this should be no great cause for concern. Unfortunately, there were conflicting statements given to the media yesterday. In Greg Latshaw's piece in the Daily Times it was reported that the Commission granted the requested extension contingent on the project "not 'substantially' deviating from its plan for 685 residential units and 350,000 square feet of commercial space. WBOC reports that developer Jon Natelson stated that, "retail spaces could possibly be more profitable than housing there."

Continuing his record as a reporter that does his job well (even if I disagree with him at times) Latshaw was wise to place "substantially" in quotes. We have learned from past experience that the Planning Commission will deny you the right to put up a sign in a heartbeat, but seldom does it say no to a developer.

Despite the property's fairly restrictive zoning, expect to see more commercial space. Don't be surprised to see the developers come back with a plan that calls for more retail and types of retail that are not permitted under their zoning. Assuming that this occurs, we can expect to see Salisbury City Attorney Paul Wilber to make up some justification for allowing the plan. Unless another group of citizens bands together in court again the developers will get their wish. Why shouldn't they?

So far Salisbury Mall Associates have failed to meet any deadline, but there are no repercussions. They are receiving a TRIPLE SUBSIDY from the Salisbury taxpayers. Why shouldn't the developers have a perfect right to expect that they can now change their plans and still enjoy their fat subsidy? History has proven that they can do as they wish and the Tilghman administration will continue to reward them.

cross posted at Delmarva Dealings

Technorati Tags: Maryland, Salisbury, politics, Salisbury politics, development, subsidy, WBOC, Daily Times, Gannett, Barrie Tilghman, Gary Comegys, Mike Dunn

Things That Make You Go, Hmmmmmmmm?

Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation
WICOMICO COUNTY
Real Property Data Search (2007 vw6.3) Go Back
View Map
New Search

Account Identifier: District - 08 Account Number - 029865

Owner Information
Owner Name: TOWNSEND, KENNETH L & DEBORAH L
Use: RESIDENTIAL
Principal Residence: YES
Mailing Address: 30933 WARD RD
SALISBURY MD 21804-2755
Deed Reference: 1) / 2830/ 12
2)

Location & Structure Information
Premises Address Legal Description
30933 WARD RD BL A L 3F-26,499SQFT
SALISBURY 21804 30933 WARD RD
HIDDEN ACRES SEC 2

Map Grid Parcel Sub District Subdivision Section Block Lot Assessment Area Plat No:
49 8 128 2 A 3F 2 Plat Ref:

Special Tax Areas Town
Ad Valorem
Tax Class

Primary Structure Built Enclosed Area Property Land Area County Use
1988 2,204 SF 26,499.00 SF

Stories Basement Type Exterior
1 NO STANDARD UNIT SIDING

Value Information
Base Value Value Phase-in Assessments
As Of
01/01/2008 As Of
07/01/2007 As Of
07/01/2008
Land 45,250 94,940
Improvements: 115,710 116,340
Total: 160,960 211,280 160,960 177,733
Preferential Land: 0 0 0 0

Transfer Information
Seller: TOWNSEND, KENNETH Date: 08/10/2007 Price: $225,000
Type: NOT ARMS-LENGTH Deed1: / 2830/ 12 Deed2:

Seller: LEWIS, RAY ALLEN Date: 08/03/2007 Price: $207,000
Type: IMPROVED ARMS-LENGTH Deed1: / 2827/ 28 Deed2:

Seller: BARLOW, JOSEPH P Date: 05/09/2006 Price: $189,000
Type: NOT ARMS-LENGTH Deed1: / 2601/ 158 Deed2:

Exemption Information
Partial Exempt Assessments Class 07/01/2007 07/01/2008
County 000 0 0
State 000 0 0
Municipal 000 0 0

Tax Exempt: NO Special Tax Recapture:
Exempt Class: * NONE *

Ray Lewis buys house and sells it to Kenneth Townsend 7 days later?????? Thanks to a reader we were able to find this information and post it.

Salisbury Downtown Historic District?

Doesn't it just burn your tail when local and Federal Government Agencies step in and tell you what you can and can't do, costing millions of dollars to follow such codes, yet they don't have to follow these codes themselves?

The Wicomico County Health Department is parked inside this NON Historic Building, changing the entire scope of a Historic District concept. I can tell you that not long ago I was in negotiations for the Feldman's Building Downtown and I had the Historical people in from Baltimore to discuss tearing down ALL of the building there. They flat out told me the three story, (eye sore) building could not come down but the rest could.

So the answer is, let the Local Government buy it and do whatever they want to it but the hard working Taxpayers in the City can't. I'll add, I have single pane 100+ year old windows at 300 W. Main Street. The windows on the main floor had been replaced and I wanted to replace the 2nd & 3rd floor windows and they flat out told me, NO! They want me to pull out all the windows and completely rebuild them. I could put in new windows that look similar and stop all the air from coming in but they say no way.

The County & City need to make up their minds. I happen to think this building should be a prime example of anyone fighting this Historic BS. Time will tell.

Hey, I Know, Let's Be Just Like Salisbury News

While we posted a beautiful picture yesterday titled, "Waiting For Summer" The Daily Times threw out their own version this morning called, "From snow to rain." Ooooooh, how special. LMAO!

Now don't take me wrong, it's a great photo. I thought I'd let them know, I recognized the compliment, thank you and I'm glad to see the Daily Times sees good work and ideas and is changing to match what is obviously successful.

That should tick off some Anti Albero Bloggers. ROTFLMAO!

Fidel Castro Resigns Cuban Presidency

An ailing Fidel Castro resigned as Cuba's president Tuesday after nearly a half-century in power, saying he was retiring and will not accept a new term when the new parliament meets Sunday.

Republican Congressional Candidate Andy Harris Delivers

Friends,


Election Day was an amazing day for me, my family, and our volunteers. I appreciate every one of you who made phone calls, knocked on doors, put a sign in your yard, and asked your friends to support me. You made the difference in this election.


I thank each and every one of you who put your faith in me by casting your vote for me to be your next Congressman. I am truly humbled by the magnitude of the support we received.


I also thank both of my opponents for their service to our state and our country. Being an elected official is not easy and I respect their willingness to serve.


As all of you know, it was a long and tough race. In the end, our message of smaller government, lower taxes, ending illegal immigration and winning the War on Terror resonated with voters.


Some of you who have read my posts on this website over the course of the campaign may have voted for another candidate in the primary. I hope you will join my team. As Republicans we must unite to stand against liberal Democrats in the fall.


For those of you who did not have the opportunity to vote for me because you are not members of the Republican Party, I hope I can count on your vote in November.


Thank you for all of the support.



Andy

Assisted Living Facility Owner Convicted Sex Offender

FRUITLAND, Md. -- The WBAL TV 11 News I-Team put the assisted living industry under the microscope again two years after it began investigating the industry, and I-Team reporter Deborah Weiner says recent developments are nothing short of a shocker.

A former assisted living center that sits across the street from a day care center in Fruitland was owned and operated by Tony Mitchell Morris -- a convicted child sex offender.

"He is registered in both Delaware and the state of Maryland. He is a lifetime registrant," said Wicomico County Sheriff's Department Lt. Robin Roberts.

GO HERE to see the rest of the article.