(2/2022) Little League To Receive Grant for Bathroom Upgrades

Thurmont Little League is on its way to new and improved field restrooms thanks to American Recovery Act funds. League President Robbie Nash requested the town council to approve the use of the funds, entrusted to the town, at it January 4 meeting.

The request was a result of a survey conducted by the league asking parents to indentify needed improvement in the leagues facilities.

In 2020, the league put $35,000 toward the baseball field renovation and uniforms and ended up missing out on a lot of sponsorship money. "We put a lot of money out this year and we lost a lot of money due to COVID," he said.

Nash requested approximately $7,000 to bring the ballfield restrooms up to cleanliness standards. Including installing new equipment and replacing the plumbing fixtures with motion sensor faucets, touch-free hand dryers and a foot pedal to open the door.

Nash has reached out to multiple contractors and no quote has been received yet.

Mayor Kinnaird thanked Nash for his hard work bringing the activities to town youth.

The council reached a consensus to utilize ARP funding toward the facilities and asked Nash to find price checks to update other aspects including walls and flooring. "This is something we really want to do for the community, coaches and our players," Nash said.

Community Park ash trees continue treatment

At its January 11 meeting, the Town Council heard updates regarding treatments to town park ash trees.

"Ash trees in North America have been in decline due to a pest," consultant Chris Klimas of Davey Tree Experts Company said.

The villain wreaking havoc on the ash trees is a type of destructive invasive species beetle known as the Emerald Ash Boror. The beetles claim an over 98 percent mortality rate for untreated ash trees, Klimas said. "If you had total species failure, your park would be a soccer field," he said.

Treatment to the trees includes injections into the tree and applying product to the trunk in efforts to repel the Emerald ash borer. This autumn, inventory was taken of community park ash trees as treatments continue to face high achievement rates.

Park patrons will notice tree tags marking approximately 80 of the 130 park trees at different stages of treatment. Treatments have been found to be very successful, and it is more cost efficient to save trees than it is to tear down all infected ash trees. "We’re seeing a very high success rate with those treatments," he said.

Even some of the trees that have not been treated have shown to be potentially positively influenced by the treated tree, noting the intricate root system.

Mayor Kinnard credited the work done by Davey Tree Experts as preserving the park and keeping the town from facing an empty park. "The vast majority of them are still there and I for one appreciate the hard work you’ve put into it," he said.

"The end result proves our investment," Commissioner Bill Buehrer said.

Council Members Liaison Appointments

At its January 4 meeting, Town Council members were appointed to commissioner liaisons to the nine committees. The role of the commissioners is to attend committee meetings, report back to the council, and convey the options of the council to the committee.

Commissioner Bill Blakeslee was appointed liaison to the police commissioner and the senior center. Mayor John Kinnaird was appointed to the planning and zoning committee. Commissioner Bill Buehrer was appointed to the board of appeals and economic development liaison. Commissioner Wes Hamrick was appointed to the parks commission and the Ministerium. Commissioner Wayne Hooper was appointed to the addiction committee and special activities committee.

Hooper was also appointed Mayor Pro-tem.

Kinnaird said it is important to change positions, so commissioners get different views of the nine committees.

"We do switch them around because it's nice to get involved in different aspects of the commissions and see what everybody’s up to," Kinnard said.