Rick, Bonnie Jones to continue to run county airport
The Carroll commissioners announced yesterday that Rick and Bonnie Jones will continue running the county's regional airport.
Previous Commissioners Robin Bartlett Frazier and Donald I. Dell contemplated seeking new operators after the Joneses' business partner and longtime airport operator June Poage died in May. But the commissioners backed away from those plans after the Joneses threatened to sue, noting their contract with the county, which lasts through June 2004.
The new commissioners said they saw no reason to seek a new operator. But a county-hired accountant's review of the airport will continue. The accountant, Donald Hull of Westminster, was hired for $17,000 to determine how much revenue the county should expect from the airport, which lost about $15,000 last year and probably will lose money again this year, according to county officials.
Festival of Wreaths raises $9,000 for arts council
The Festival of Wreaths in Westminster, which wrapped up its fifth annual auction Saturday, raised more than $9,000 for Carroll County Arts Council despite losing a day to snow Thursday.
The decorations filled the halls of a downtown office building for five days. Visitors bid on wreaths that ranged from traditional pinecones, angels and ribbons to creations featuring cups and saucers, picture frames and auto parts.
All 153 wreaths were sold, most fetching about $50.
The most expensive item was an iron wreath featuring a Christmas partridge made by Uniontown blacksmith Nick Vincent, which sold to the Manchester Family Medicine center for $900 from a starting bid of $150. It was also the grand-prize winner in votes cast by the public.
Other winners included a wreath made entirely of pencils (most unique), one featuring a princess theme (kids' choice) and a mosaic-tiled Nativity scene (the St. Nick award for "a masterful work of art"). Next year, the festival will move to the arts council's new headquarters at the old Carroll Theatre.
Carroll commissioners decide committee duties
The Carroll commissioners yesterday sorted out the duties each will perform on county and regional policy committees.
Julia Walsh Gouge will represent the board on the county's planning commission and at Baltimore Metropolitan Council meetings. Gouge, starting her fourth term as a commissioner, has more experience than her colleagues in dealing with growth issues, so her appointment to the planning commission seemed a natural, her colleagues said.
Dean L. Minnich, a board newcomer, will represent the commissioners at school board meetings, a duty for which he volunteered. Minnich's wife is a teacher. Perry L. Jones Jr., also a newcomer, will represent the commissioners at meetings of the Maryland Association of Counties and at meetings of Carroll's emergency services workers.