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.

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