Dear Editor,   While the exact path of Hurricane Sandy continues to fluctuate, as soon as it became apparent there could be a possible East Coast landfall, BGE began the process of pre-mobilizing employees, calling in assistance from out-of-state crews and preparing for a hurricane impact.  This is expected to be a very dangerous storm with high winds, heavy rain and possible flooding – all of which can cause whole trees, tree limbs and water to damage our electric equipment, resulting in outages for customers. Just as BGE is preparing, we strongly advise customers to take the time now to …

Dear Fellow Ellicott City Community Members, Let's get back to the really big issues: Stormwater Management, Beautification, Marketing/Promotion, Events, Safety, Historic Preservation, Waste Management, Infrastructure, Economic Development. We can't do any of these things without the help of Howard County government. We had the most supportive relationship with the County we have seen in years and that is because the community presented a unified group with a positive attitude. The County is in the process of helping us address those big issues. Yes, they take time. Let's get back to working …

Planning and Zoning Director of Special Projects Steve Lafferty sent this email to stakeholders regarding the new parking projects coming to the Historic District: This message is going to you because of the extensive amount of misinformation and misrepresentations that have been distributed about the parking program proposed for downtown Ellicott City. These are the facts regarding the parking and the contracts:   All of the free parking spaces in the parking lots will remain free. The hours of enforcement are not changing – it is, and will  continue to be, 10am to 6pm daily. The meter fees …

BGE is committed to continually investing in the measures that provide you safe and reliable electric service. We understand that power outages – especially extended outages, can severely disrupt our customers’ lives.  That’s why we strive to maintain reliable electric service through various methods, including the application of a robust tree and vegetation management program. During severe thunderstorms, the vast majority of the outages are caused by tree limbs, or in many cases, entire trees, coming into contact with our power lines. Following such storms, BGE employees and contractors …

October 19, 2011Dear Editor, My name is Angela Ballard-Landers and I am the PTSA President at Mt. Hebron High School. I'm contacting you regarding an upcoming meeting and vote that will take place on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2011 at the 7:00 p.m. session of the Board of Education. This vote has to do with funding the Howard County Public School System is receiving from the State Board of Public Works. An article published in the October 5, 2011 edition of the Baltimore Sun titled, “Higher Alcohol Tax to Pay for School Projects” states that Howard County will receive $4 million, a portion of which …

My name is Betsy McMillion, the Executive Director of the Friends of Patapsco Valley & Heritage Greenway.  We know Teddy best from the time he spent with us, and that’s what I would like to share with you today. First, I wanted to thank Linda and Teddy’s beautiful daughters—Jamie, Jacki and Jenna,  for allowing us to take so much of Teddy’s time and energy over the past few years in helping us.  We also mourn the loss of our good friend. Teddy was like a brother to me.   I first met Teddy a couple years ago – when he came to a cleanup with Jenna, his youngest daughter so she could do her …

Across the land, the cautionary education documentary Race to Nowhere is screening in school auditoriums. Race to Nowhere poignantly reminds us that a child has only one childhood to live.  Kids who spend seven hours a day in school, gulp dinner as they dash out the door to a team practice, and return to slog through homework until midnight—all of this before they reach high school—rightly feel they are thrust into the rat race too soon. Finding the appropriate balance between challenging talents to optimize potential and providing relaxed opportunities for self-expression can be tricky. Yet …

Diana Artemis contacted Patch after reading about the Wounded Veteran Managed Deer Hunt in December. Diana and Rhich Peppin are frequent visitors to Ellicott City, and wanted to express their opinions about this program, and deer hunting in general. Although the Veteran program has come and gone, it seemed like an appropriate pice to run in light of today's sharpshooter hunt near the Autumn View subdivision. Rich Peppin and Diana Artemis  As veterans, we are appalled to see Howard County promoting the killing of animals in the name of helping wounded veterans. These vets were wounded both …