Skip to main content

This & That and a HoCo Holler



Thanks for all the responses to yesterday's blog post. It’s going to take me a while to get  through them! I must say I’m disappointed that no one had any information/opinions about septic in Western HoCo. Oh well.

The transition between summer vacation and full time preschool teaching is a struggle. Nope, let’s be honest: it’s kicking my butt. I should be fine in a couple of weeks but, right now, when my alarm goes off, my first thought is “when can I go back to sleep?”

I want to give a shout out and a full-scale HoCo Holler to everyone who has chipped in to help
this family in Western Howard County who lost their home in a gas explosion Friday night. Members of the community have reached out to donate money and gift cards to help replace what was lost. Books With A Past has served as a drop-off hub to assist in the process. It’s pretty amazing what the community has done in such a short amount of time. A special tip of the hat to the folks who run the Facebook Group “Western Howard County Shares” for getting the ball rolling and coordinating efforts on this.

One more thing before I close today, I’m remembering the kindergarten children I was teaching on 9-11 and realizing they are all adults. I wonder how that experience has shaped their world?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents.  When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...

Getting Fresh

One of my favorite days in the Spring comes when this year’s list of Farmer’s Markets is released. That happened this week. New this year are markets in Old Ellicott City and the “Merriweather Market” which, according to the address, will be located here . I mistakenly thought at first glance that it was in the new-construction part of the Merriweather District. I find the name confusing considering its actual location. I’m going to guess that this market is an initiative of the Howard Hughes Corporation because the name seems chosen more for branding purposes than anything else.  Alas, the market in Maple Lawn is gone. The thread on the markets on the County Executive’s FB page will provide you with quite the education in who actually runs the Farmers Markets vs what people often think is going on. Short answer: they are not  chosen nor run by the county. Each market is an independent entity, sometimes started by community volunteers, other times supported by local businesses...

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...