Catalina Righter

Hampstead’s Planning and Zoning Commission heard concerns Wednesday night from residents on the concept site plan for a proposed Dollar General Store at 834 S. Main St.

Since June 15, a small group of protesters has been coming daily to the intersection of Md. 30 and Westminster Street in Manchester, holding signs to oppose racism and support Black Lives Matter.

With 76 days until Carroll County Public Schools go back in session, the Board of Education met Wednesday evening to start working through the complicated task of planning for different possible scenarios for how the fall semester will be held amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Coronavirus relief funding, new guidelines for city staff and a review of the city audit were all on the agenda when the Westminster Mayor and Common Council met Monday.

Save the Children has found that Carroll County is one of the places in the U.S. where children are most protected from circumstances that cut short their childhood experience.

Neighbors Nourishing Neighbors is a new effort by a group of Carroll County gardeners and people passionate about solving food insecurity.

A proposal to build a Dollar General in Hampstead at the site of the former Old Town Grill has sparked resistance from hundreds of residents.

The Carroll County Public Library plans to break ground in July on the $4.9 million renovation project known as Exploration Commons in Westminster.

McDaniel College informed students that the college campus would be reopening to students for the fall 2020 semester, with a hybrid mix of online and in-person classes and many changes to campus life.

In an effort to give small businesses and schools a chance to use up their stock of foam food and drink containers, the Maryland Department of the Environment announced Tuesday the state’s ban on the containers would not go into effect until October.

Linton Springs and Runnymede elementary schools have been designated Maryland Green Schools, bringing the total in Carroll County to 19.

The Carroll County Tech Center was designed for 380 students in 19 programs and currently houses over 800 students in 24 programs per semester, according to a Carroll County Public Schools memo. The addition will add 108,205 square feet of space to the facility.

The Carroll Arts Center is getting a bit of a facelift. The first project is a theater overhaul, which will include repainting the space in lighter colors, replacing the stage floor and curtains and upgrading the houselights.

In the two key Carroll County races, those advancing to the November general election are Marsha B. Herbert, Donna Sivigny, Virginia R. Harrison and Stephanie R. Brooks in the Board of Education race and Richard Titus and Laura Morton in the Circuit Court judge race.

The town of Manchester is in the planning stages of an upgrade to their wastewater treatment plant, intended to reduce pollution that can harm life in the Chesapeake Bay.

Alumni of Carroll County Public Schools are calling on the system to include more black voices in curriculum and provide resources for schools to teach and talk about race.

In the local races, for judge of the Circuit Court of Carroll County and for two Board of Education seats, incumbents pulled ahead.

The Westminster Common Council voted unanimously Monday June 8 to approve a budget for the city following a season of much back-and-forth.

A Resiterstown man was arrested June 6 after he allegedly struck a woman’s head against a wall and and broke her door.

The Carroll County Center of Robotics and Engineering (CC-CORE) in will be moving out of their space in Finksburg at the end of June when their lease expires.

The first time CJ Kovalsky stepped into a classroom at Gerstell Academy, it was his first day of pre-school. Now, about 14 years later, it’s time to say goodbye, and he’s got some feelings about it.

Like many students of the Carroll County Career and Technology Center, Cherish Glenn is just one step away from finishing the program. For Glenn, there is only the license exam left.

For some Carroll County parents and students, the ways that graduation proceedings were modified to comply with coronavirus-related restrictions meant little satisfaction and some frustration.

Century High School marching band director Stan Jones said Emma Neiswender is a student leader on and off the field.

Carroll countians cast votes in two local races during the 2020 primary election, voicing preferences for who should fill two seats on the Board of Education and the role of a Circuit Court judge.

For the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began, library customers in Carroll County will be able to reserve and pick up physical copies of books, movies, and other materials beginning June 8.

Manchester Valley High School’s graduating members of the Class of 2020 have been invited to participate in a procession through Hampstead and Manchester.

Now that Maryland is permitting outdoor dining with some limitations, Westminster officials are considering ways that city resources could be used to help restaurants expand their outdoor options.

Though Secret Crushong is soon to be a graduate of Carroll Community College, you can’t find her around Westminster these days. As a Private First Class in the U.S. Army who works as a a chemical, biological radiological nuclear specialist, she is currently stationed at Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Starting at 5 p.m. Friday, restaurants may open for outdoor dining as long as different groups are seated at least 6 feet apart and staff follows strict sanitation and symptom screening rules. For restaurants in Carroll that already had outdoor dining space, many plan to open as soon as the guidelines allow.

A Sykesville woman was charged after she allegedly threatened a man with a steak knife.

To help Westminster’s Family Fitness Center become budget neutral, a city committee considered proposals to increase rates and fees for members, cut staffing, and reduce open hours during off-peak times.

A Westminster resident found Tuesday morning that Klu Klux Klan flyers had been distributed to neighborhood lawns and driveways, including her own.

“Behind it all, Memorial Day is about the selfless sacrifice of American heroes who raised their right hands to say, ‘It is I who will defend America and if needed lay down my life for my country.’ "

On the week that should have led up to their graduation, McDaniel College’s 2020 seniors will be celebrating in different ways, with in-person events canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Carroll County Public Schools leaders passed the system’s capital budget for the next year and turned their attention to the summer, working on what will come after a semester overshadowed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

CCPS has a plan to let seniors cross the stage in front of their families and get their diplomas from their principals one student at a time. The school system is also reaching out to the state in a "last effort" at getting an exception to state rules.

Standing outside of Winfield Elementary School on Monday was the first time Jena Ehmann had been at the school since it closed to students and staff in March. It was a bittersweet moment for Carroll County's 2020 Teacher of the Year.

The Westminster Common Council discussed the city’s budget Monday, May 18, but did not yet vote to approve a version. They agreed to push the vote back so city staff could work to implement recent decisions.

It was a bright spot for the community of Carroll Lutheran Village in Westminster when 104-year-old Vivian Myers was released from isolation where she has been recovering from COVID-19.

Westminster's Mayor and Common Council voted to push back their plastic bag ban ordinance’s starting date, and discussed logistics for rec facilities and restaurants when they open back up.

The Carroll County Board of Education voted unanimously Wednesday evening to approve its operating, food service and debt services budgets for fiscal year 2021.

Jena Ehmann, a reading specialist at Winfield Elementary School, was announced Wednesday as Carroll County’s Teacher of the Year for 2020.

In a joint meeting of Carroll County’s Board of Education and Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday, the two bodies struck a cooperative tone as both face turmoil, with budget deadlines looming, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic.

After a flurry of public interest in the proposed closure of the Family Fitness Center in Westminster, a compromise was reached that would keep the center alive.

Carroll County Board of Education candidates speak about how they are prepared to lead in uncertain times.

Two people were charged in Westminster after allegedly assaulting a man. One of the two allegedly hit him in the head with a railroad spike.

Maryland schools will be closed to in-person learning for the remainder of 2019-2020.

The fitness center services, which are part of the Family Fitness Center on Longwell Avenue, serves about 1,000 primary clients each year, but has run at a deficit for years and is in need of repairs, according to information presented during the meeting.

The Shepherd’s Staff is hoping to raise funds — as they receive more requests for aid than ever amid the coronavirus crisis — with a virtual fun run called “The Shep Stride 0.0 Virtual Fun Run, Walk … or None!"