BTW, I have a call in to the county asking if we can park in the lots at RFES or DMS. The woman I spoke with said she thought it would be OK but couldn't say for sure. Someone is supposed to call me back to give the thumbs up or thumbs down. Will keep you posted. ... The answer was "no."
Smith Urges Residents to Prepare for Next Storm
Revenue Authority to Open County Garages Free of Charge
Towson, Md. (February 9, 2010) - Today, Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith advised residents of the County's preparations for the next storm and made an appeal to be patient and neighborly regarding the challenging circumstances that the entire County will face over the next week.
"First, I am very grateful for the dedicated service of our many employees and independent contractors over the past few days and appreciative of the way in which our citizens reacted to the blizzard this past weekend. They understood the historic nature of the storm, and did what they could to help our crews clean the streets, which was very difficult given the depth and weight of the snow," said Smith. "As hard as it is to believe, after dealing with nearly three feet of snow in two days over the weekend, we are now looking at possibly another two feet by Wednesday night. It is safe to say that never before has Baltimore County faced four feet of snow over a four-day period. With that in mind, it is more important than ever that individuals be mindful of their elderly relatives and neighbors."
Storm Preparation Information
Listed below is the latest storm preparation information from Baltimore County:
Free Parking in County Garages
The Baltimore County Government and Revenue Authority will open County garages free of charge through Monday. If at all possible, residents are encouraged to move their cars to one of the garages, particularly those individuals who live in neighborhoods that do not have off-street parking. Removing cars from the street will make it possible for the snow plows to clear the streets.
The garages in the Towson area that will be open are:
• Baltimore County Library Garage (East Chesapeake Avenue between the Towson Public Library and the District Court), 115 Towsontown Boulevard, Towson, MD 21286
• Tolbert Garage (Ware Avenue, West of Washington Avenue), 108 Ware Avenue, Towson, MD 21204
• Washington Avenue Garage (NW corner of Washington Avenue and Susquehanna Avenue), 100 West Susquehanna Avenue, Towson, MD 21204
• Baltimore Avenue Garage (NE corner of Baltimore Avenue and Susquehanna Avenue), 110 West Susquehanna Avenue, Towson, MD 21204
Garage Location Map
You can view a map of the parking garages online. http://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/Agencies/executive/towson_map.html
The County Executive also encouraged individuals to move their cars to a nearby driveway or off-street parking if at all possible.
County Fully Staffed
Baltimore County is once again prepared to attack the storm with both County employees and independent contractors. Nearly 400 pieces of equipment and 500 personnel are poised to tackle the storm. But, the County Executive did remind individuals that this will be a very difficult storm to manage, and cleanup is likely to take longer than usual.
Salt Supply
Baltimore County has secured an additional 20,000 tons of salt from suppliers, and is in the process of securing another 20,000 tons. However, public works officials point out that the pending storm is likely to be much more of a plow event than a salt event.
Care for the Elderly
It may be very difficult to move around for the next few days, and it is likely to be a while before people can get in and out of their homes, even to get essentials like medications. If at all possible, the County is encouraging families and friends to relocate elderly and restock necessary medications today before the second storm intensifies.
Phone Numbers
410-887-5454 - Non-emergency questions regarding County storm management
410-887-3560 - Inquiries regarding snow removal (Citizens are reminded that it may take days to cleanup after this storm.)
911 - Individuals with medical or other emergencies
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
County snow plan, including free parking in county garages
Monday, February 8, 2010
Joe Hairston tells PTA that AIM grading system will be back
Here's an email sent out by a parent who attended a PTA Council meeting on February 4 (reprinted with her permission):
Subject: PTA Council of Baltimore County---Dialogue with Superintendent Hairston
Meeting Notes: Discussion of AIM (Articulated Instruction Module) Program -- submitted by Jean Suda, PTSA member Dulaney High School
The following summary represents my personal impressions of Dr. Hairston's comments. I am sharing them to inform fellow PTSA members of Dulaney of important developments regarding the AIM controversy.
The PTA Council of Baltimore County met on February 4, 2010 and featured a dialogue with Superintendent Hairston. The 90-minute segment with Dr. Hairston was enlightening with respect to his feelings about the AIM issue. In fact, most importantly, at the end of the discussion, the Superintendent revealed that he intends to implement AIM this spring.
Dr. Hairston claimed to be blind-sided by the vociferous reaction to implementing AIM. He wants to re-establish a positive tone. "Negativity" should not be what BCPS is about. He believes that the AIM "crisis" was manufactured, that there is another agenda behind it. He kept emphasizing that the implementation suffered from poor communication, but that he is addressing that. He believes that the teachers should be grateful for the fact that there have been no furloughs, and a 3..4% pay increase. He seemed unable to understand why there would be such criticism from them to a program that he believes is necessary.
Now they're saying probably at least 10" of snow
http://weblogs.marylandweather.com/2010/02/nws_a_good_likelihood_of_more.html
Yah, make that 10-20 inches:
http://weblogs.marylandweather.com/2010/02/storm_warnings_posted_another.html
Trash and recycling collection info
Baltimore County says:
Current Status:
All trash and recycling collections are canceled for Monday, February 8, 2010. Please hold all materials for collection on Monday, February 15, 2010.
In limited areas, trash and recycling collections will occur on Tuesday, February 9, 2010. If your materials are not collected on Tuesday, please hold them until Tuesday, February 16, 2010.
All Baltimore County disposal sites, Eastern Sanitary Landfill in White Marsh, Baltimore County Resource Recovery Facility in Cockeysville, and the Western Acceptance Facility in Halethorpe, will be open regular hours this week.
http://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/Agencies/publicworks/snow_trashrecyclingcollection.html
County libraries giving a break on due dates because of snow
"Materials that were due on Saturday, Sunday or Monday may be returned on Tuesday without penalty." http://bcpl.info/
Q: When will the county plow the alleys?
A: Never.
"Alleys and private roads do not receive County service. By law, snow removal and other maintenance are the responsibility of the owner(s)."
Read this and other "snow facts" here.
Baltlimore County schools closed Tuesday and Wednesday, meetings rescheduled
The Board of Education meeting that was scheduled for Feb. 9 (where they were going to discuss redistricting) has been moved to Feb. 16. And the public meeting about redistricting, which will be held at Loch Raven High, has been moved to March 10.
http://www.bcps.org/status/default.asp
Who wants to earn money shoveling snow?
Calling all enterprising teens and others! Several people have posted on the Rodgers Forge listserv that they would like to hire someone to shovel snow. Anyone can join the listserv; visit it here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rodgers_forge/
SNOW!!!
If you have any local snow photos to share, send them to kris (at) forgeflyer (dot) com and put "forge flyer" in subject line.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Blenheim Road resident needs snow shoveled
Update: If you want to hire someone to shovel your snow or you want to let people know you're up for the job, you can post the info on the Rodgers Forge listserv. Or just go out and help the neighbors that you know would have trouble doing it themselves. That's what everyone on our block did.
From the listserv:
"Are there kids/teens/anyone interested in earning some money to help me shovel tomorrow? I live in Gaywood on Blenheim just off of Bellona. I need my walkway, sidewalk and car shoveled and have some physical limitations. Will pay cash. Please reply here or email me at drebnik(at)gmail.com. Thanks!"
Thunder, lightning and snow
Did you notice that there was thunder and lightning last night during the snow storm? (I didn't until my husband was thoughtful enough to wake me up at about 3 a.m. and show me.)
It's a rare thing and it's called thunder snow.
Friday, February 5, 2010
for the little scientists - canceled
Canceled
Posting this in case we don't get as much snow as predicted and we can actually leave our homes (thanks, PK!):
Dear Science Enthusiasts,
Our next Saturday Morning Science program will be this Saturday, February 6. Benjamin Banneker who lived from 1731-1806 and worked as an astronomer, mathematician, surveyor, almanac author and a farmer will be visiting to discuss his life and the science he performed. Sure to be an entertaining and fascinating "living history" presentation. We hope to see you there!
For those of you waiting for your telescopes from last fall, they have finally arrived and we will get them to you on Saturday!!
Hands-On Science
Ray Miller from Aberdeen Proving Ground will lead Hands-On Science on Saturday from 11:20-12:20 immediately following the 10:00 am Saturday Science presentation. The students will be involved with activities related to the sun and we'll look for sunspots, weather permitting. Hands-On Science will be limited to the first 25 students to sign up on a first-come, first-served basis. The sign-up sheet will be available starting at 9:30 am at the registration desk outside Smith Hall room 326.
