Bob Blubaugh

Reopening will never be soon enough to save everyone or every business from financial ruin. Unemployment and foreclosures will be higher and retail options will be fewer. It also will never be late enough to ensure that everyone is 100% safe. Long-term care facilities will forever be vulnerable and there will absolutely be outbreaks in schools.

Ironically, while the coronavirus crisis silenced Bernie Sanders' voice on the national stage, its impact is making his points for him more effectively than he ever could.

Far too much death and sickness and violence amid a backdrop of unemployment, shuttered businesses and scared, isolated citizens. No, I can’t remember a worse week in Carroll County.

Want to go for a workout at your gym? Can’t do it. Want to go meet a friend at the coffee shop? Can’t do it. Want to go out out for dinner and a movie? Can’t do it. And those are the most minor of the inconveniences, meaningless, really, compared to the inability for many to go to work, for any to go to school, for most to keep important medical appointments.

At this time of crisis in our community, we ask for your support of The Carroll County Times and our journalism as we give you a glimpse inside the work we are doing to keep you informed about coronavirus.

Carroll County State’s Attorney Brian DeLeonardo made it clear that his staff “stands ready to enforce and prosecute all criminal laws of Maryland, any violations of the Governor’s executive orders in response to COVID-19, and any violations of orders for quarantine and isolation should that become necessary.”

What are we going to do two weeks from now when there are many, many more confirmed cases of the coronavirus? Do we just say, OK, break’s over, back at it?

Infectious disease specialists liken our hands to Petri dishes and the longer the contact between hands, the better the chance of transferring germs. As the coronavirus spreads, we’re supposed to avoid handshakes like, well, the plague.

Certain population groups, such as the homeless, are traditionally underrepresented in the U.S. Census. But even those involved with Carroll County’s Census 2020 effort aren’t exactly sure why children younger than 5 also go underreported.

Credit cards taken were used at a pharmacy in Westminster to purchase $2,000 in gift cards and at a grocery store in Damascus to purchase $2,500 in gift cards, according to charging documents.

The other candidates went after Bloomberg relentlessly, bashing him about the stop-and-frisk policy in place when he was mayor of New York, how unfair it is to everyone else that he has so much money and his conduct relating to women, from comments made to nondisclosure agreements reached (although they didn’t attack him about his height, leaving “Mini Mike” comments to Tweeter D).

Our school systems have been geared toward funneling every student possible into traditional, four-year colleges for decades now and it has left us with a generation of young adults in debt up to their mortar boards and a country facing a drastic need for skilled tradespeople.

From the buffoonery on display in Iowa to the tribal warring in Washington to the latest Trumpian retribution, politicians and our political process just becomes more embarrassing. Remember when our system of government was the envy of other nations? Now it’s a punch line.

I felt like I had just been OK, Boomer’d. I wanted to say I was using laptops at work before you were born, putting together a pretty impressive Napster library when you were in diapers, purchasing smartphones — yes, with apps — before you could even spell “application.”

Carroll County high-schoolers were given the 27th Amendment as their assigned topic during the annual American Legion Oratorical Contest.

Milton David Nelson, 65, is charged with three counts of possessing/issuing false currency, two counts of theft of between $100 and $1,500 and one count of theft scheme, all misdemeanors.

Since his death, many have shared on social media the list of “Jim Lehrer’s Rules.” Everyone in the news business should read and consider them.

It’s a lot easier to hit a changeup when you know that’s what’s coming rather than a 100-mph fastball. Of course, baseball players have been stealing signs since long before Ty Cobb was sharpening his spikes.

I had told them not to worry but, truth is, I was worried. Because there was absolutely no doubt Iran would respond to the killing of Qassem Suleimani by a US drone strike on Jan. 3. And there was absolutely no way to guess how President Trump would react to that response.

Among Americans’ top resolutions for half a century, they want to quit smoking. This might be a resolution people actually stick with. The number of smokers in this country has dropped by about two-thirds over that time frame. Still, 14% of adults and maybe 5% of teens smoke cigarettes. That’s still millions and millions of people — millions and millions of people who will be at significant risk of lung cancer and other deadly diseases.

Jeffrey Glenn Blizzard, 59, of the 1600 block of Auburn Court, was charged Dec. 23 with second-degree assault. He was released on his own recognizance three days later.

The kids who come to the club after school run the gamut from decidedly middle class, two-parent homes to homeless. For some, Wednesday’s Christmas party was an enjoyable prelude to the main event on Dec. 25. For others, this was going to be pretty much it in terms of gifts received. For all, it seemed very much appreciated.

A Carroll County Public Schools bus transporting special-needs students was involved in a minor collision in Finksburg on Friday morning. No injuries were reported.

I’d like to organize my own bus trip consisting of 30 Carroll countians — with 10 Democrats, 10 Republicans and 10 independents or affiliates of other parties — and drive around for a few hours just to see what would happen.

Almost three dozen Carroll countians rode a bus to Hershey, Pennsylvania, to attend a Donald Trump rally to show the Republican president their support.

What if an insidious, potentially dangerous online threat comes from a seemingly harmless, fun app that millions of high school- and middle school-aged kids use multiple times every single day?

A Taneytown woman was arrested after allegedly punching, slapping and biting a man on Thanksgiving.

A 32-year-old New Jersey woman was arrested early Saturday morning after allegedly pushing one law enforcement officer and kicking another in Mount Airy.

Our actions — particularly our spur-of-the-moment, emotional actions and reactions — are much more representative of who we are than the orchestrated responses we come up with after careful thought and planning.

Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush are, by most accounts, good people. They are generally ranked in the bottom third of all presidents. Meanwhile, Richard Nixon had a highly successful first term and Bill Clinton oversaw a prosperous eight years. We know about their character.

The “Star Wars” movies. The Pixar movies. All the Disney classics. For a measly 7 bucks a month. What demographic wouldn’t subscribe to this creative, entertaining and family-friendly content? Well, perhaps the overly sensitive.

The most oft-posted comment on social media responding to our crime stories is, invariably, some variation of, “This isn’t the Carroll County or [insert municipality] I grew up in/moved to.”And, actually, that’s true. It’s much safer now.

“Our kids’ ability to interact with the veterans, that’s what makes the day so special.” The highlight of the Francis Scott Key Veterans Day celebration was the parade of 75 or so veterans through the school’s hallways, led by the FSK marching band.

We are exactly three months away from the beginning of primary season, the Iowa Caucus, on Feb. 3. The following week is the New Hampshire primary. Yes, for the first time since February of 2016, those otherwise irrelevant states will be the center of attention, setting the nation’s political agenda and, quite possibly, deciding who our next president will be.

What if every cancer was as well-funded as breast cancer? How many of the 50,000 Americans who die of colon or rectal cancer would be saved if they were as aware of it and as diligent about being screened for it? Ditto for the 46,000 or so who die of pancreatic cancer? And how about the more than 140,000 who die of lung cancer, by far the biggest killer of all cancers? (Of course, that would require not victim-blaming.)

“Everybody thinks it’s an old-person club with people sitting around drinking cheap beer and telling war stories,” Carroll Post 31 Adjutant Jim Beckman said. “It’s a lot more than that.”

You could almost hear the alarms sounding at NBA headquarters. Offend China? With some half-a-billion basketball fans? With an estimated $4 billion coming in over the next few years from sponsorships, streaming deals and merchandise sales?

Parents knows their kid’s position, can tell you where their kid is supposed to be on the field during any situation and probably have a good idea of their kid’s stats, but might not know exactly what said kid is learning in math or reading in English or studying in science.

The swastika is exactly why the co-opting of the “OK” hand gesture and its inclusion on the hate symbols list has to be taken seriously.

The only reason anyone calls customer service is because there is a problem of some sort, so frustration starts before the call begins.

Politically, it’s also as far Left as you can go. Some of the things going on in San Francisco are a big part of the why so many of the flyover states — and places like Carroll County — are unlikely to pull levers for any candidate with a "D" next to their name. Some of the news that comes out of the city by the bay just makes you shake your head.

Anthony Michael-James Simon, 31, was arrested Tuesday, Aug. 27 and charged with second-degree assault and malicious destruction of property.

Yes, it was big news because someone actually took a moment to stop and listen, to share a booth, share his time and actually listen to what a perfect stranger had to say.

Within minutes of the shootings, the inevitable blame game resumed with both sides returning to their tired talking points.

Unfortunately, there is probably no worse place to get angry than in a moving vehicle. Driving safely is difficult enough with so many cars on the road and so many horrendous drivers.

We have 10 or so opinion columnists. The ones local critics tend to take issue with have been with us for more than five years. Meanwhile, we’ve added three columnists over the past few years whose views generally can be found on the other side of the aisle. So, every week, our Opinion section has columns that skew Left, columns that skew Right and some that either fall in the middle or go both ways in the span of 700 words.

To help plan your night out, the Times has assembled this calendar of musical performances at local eateries.

Country singer Riley Green will headline the Carroll County 4-H & FFA concert Thursday, Aug. 1 on the Finch Stage at the Carroll County Agriculture Center.

The schedule for the 2019 Carroll County 4-H and FFA Fair, held annually at the Carroll County Agriculture Center.

When President John F. Kennedy boldly asserted in 1961 that we would put a man on the moon by the end of that decade — not because it would be easy, but because it would be hard -- it was inspirational. When President Donald Trump said he wanted us to be back to the moon in 2024 it was met with crickets.