Quotable Quotes on Main Street

Quote of the day for Monday comes from Mark Hemmis of Phoenix Upper Main in Old Ellicott City.

"We have rebuilt twice, we have moved, we survived Gordon Ramsey, we survived a pandemic -- we are still here," Hemmis said. "This tunnel gives us the hope we will continue to be here."

Hemmis was interviewed by WJZ TV in connection with ongoing work on the County’s Safe and Sound plan, most specifically the North Tunnel Project which will be created to divert stormwater.

Yesterday local officials celebrated the next step, which will bring in a machine to tunnel through OEC’s granite. Also worth celebrating: the work of State Representative Courtney Watson and State Senator Katie Fry Hester at the state level to secure funding to bring this public safety initiative closer to completion.

You may recall that the county held a contest to name the digger: yesterday we learned that it will be named Rocky. Choices: were Ellicott Drills, Ellicott Excavator, Granite, Granite Grinder, Hudson and Rocky. I can’t remember which one I voted for but it was definitely not “Roving Radish.”

If you’d like to know more about what was going on in Ellicott City yesterday, take a look at the following coverage from local media outlets. The WBAL TV piece is the most thorough and lays out a comprehensive look at the flooding history which led to the creation of the Safe and Sound plan by County Executive Calvin Ball and the County Council. But they’re all worth a read.

Ellicott City’s tunnel mole machine has a name: Rocky, Jess Nocera, Baltimore Banner

'Rocky' ready to start boring North Tunnel Stormwater Conveyance Project in Ellicott City, Kate Amara, WBAL TV

Howard County leaders celebrate next steps for Ellicott City's new flood mitigation system, Dennis Valera, WJZ New

Flooding in Ellicott City is deadly serious. So are the increasingly extreme weather events due to climate change. Yet I couldn’t help but chuckle at the picture Mr. Hemmis paints with his words. After everything they went through, they had to survive Gordon Ramsey, too?

Hadn’t they already suffered enough?

Seeing Rocky chosen as the symbolic persona for the tunnel-boring machine reminded me of the travails of the committee tasked with naming the new high school in 2023. They seemed to come up with nothing but rock-related names:

Gabbro Quarry High School

Granite Quarry High School

Quarry Field High School

Quarry Heights High School

Quarry Hill High School

Quarry Ridge High School

Quarry Rock High School

Quarry Run High School

Quarry View High School

Rock Quarry High School

None of them appealed to the community. While the school system eventually settled on a name with historical significance, Guilford Park, it looks like the rock theme has resurfaced in OEC.

You can’t keep a good rock down, apparently.

Village Green/Town² Comments

Comments

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...

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...

Columbia Chance Connection

Last night, as my husband and I were about to sit down to dinner, our front door swung open and a cheery voice announced, “I’m ba—ack!” We weren’t expecting anyone. Clearly the only people who’d walk right in to our house would be one of our offspring. I had my reading glasses on so I wasn’t seeing too clearly. It seemed too tall for our youngest, but we knew our eldest was at work. I took off my glasses to see a friendly but confused face scanning our living room. When her gaze landed on us we all had a sudden realization. We didn’t know eachother. “Oh I’m so sorry! I’m in the wrong house! My daughter just moved in and she needed hooks for the kitchen so I ran out to get them.” She waved the package. “All these houses look the same and I don’t know the neighborhood yet. I thought this was my daughter’s house.” We were all getting a bit giggly. “That’s okay. For a quick second we thought you were our daughter,” said my husband. I told her our names and said she should defin...

Village Green/Town²

Search This Blog