“Ørsted is pleased that the Maryland Public Service Commission approved the project’s longstanding commitment to use the best commercially available turbine technology,” Brady Walker, Ørsted’s Mid-Atlantic Market Manager, said in a statement. “The project will continue to engage with all stakeholders on creating a project that all Marylanders can be proud of. We look forward to continuing our work in delivering clean and reliable energy to over 35,000 homes in the Delmarva region.”

In response, Mike Tidwell, Chesapeake Climate Action Network Director, stated: 

“We wholeheartedly praise the Public Service Commission for making this decision. Although it has taken longer than any of us imagined it would since we passed the Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act of 2013, Maryland is now on its way to achieving clean energy through wind power. This news is especially timely as the coronavirus crisis has devastated Maryland businesses, with one out of every six working Marylanders filing for unemployment since the pandemic started. The state has already paid out $2.2 billion in benefits with more than 70,000 displaced workers. Maryland can rebuild our economy with clean energy and climate action at the core of this recovery. The direct jobs and tax revenue are needed ASAP. And the ‘multiplier effect’ of indirect jobs is exactly what can stimulate our stagnant economy. We thank the Public Service Commission and we look forward to seeing this clean energy project completed in our state.”

The Chesapeake Climate Action Network is the oldest and largest grassroots organization dedicated exclusively to raising awareness about the impacts and solutions associated with global warming in the Chesapeake Bay region. For 16 years, CCAN has been at the center of the fight for clean energy and wise climate policy in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.chesapeakeclimate.org 

This national exhibition and competition focuses on contemporary art, showcasing a wide
variety of art forms, mediums and expressions. It will be juried by Jessica Beck, Milton Fine
Curator of Art at The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and will offer more
than $4,000 in prizes.

The theme for this year's Will’s Creek exhibition is "Shelter," a subject that has become
increasingly relevant as we navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. Shelter can be synonymous with
home and physical space or it can be found abstractly through personal connections. The
boundaries of our private spaces have now become blurred as homes are becoming
multifunctional spaces for living, working, schooling, and caring for immediate and extended
family members. This exhibition will offer various perspectives on shelter by straddling both
physical realms of refuge and protection, and the psychological, emotional bonds constituted
by human connection.

In addition to in-gallery viewing, people will be able to view the works included in this
exhibition via an online gallery that will available via the Allegany Arts Council website at
www.alleganyartscouncil.org.

The exhibit will feature paintings, drawings and sculpture from Dr. Charles “Bud” McElfish and photographs from Martin Heavner. Both artists are Cumberland natives who grew up together on Bedford Road before graduating from FSU, McElfish with a bachelor’s in chemistry in 1977 and Heavner with a master’s in business administration in 1992. 

The show offers reflective scenes of pastoral landscapes, structures, still lifes and people, with echoes of a simpler time. The gallery visitor sees the enduring beauty and dignity of these subjects from the perspective of a silent, contemplative witness. 

McElfish, whose Hunt Club Dentistry practice is based in Short Gap, W.Va., has been working in nearly all kinds of artistic media since childhood. His favorite media during the past several years have been pen-and-ink sketches and pastels. Heavner has been active in photography for more than 35 years, exhibiting his work at galleries in suburban Washington, D.C., and Western Maryland. 

The Roper Gallery is open Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays from 1 to 4 p.m. For more information about this event, contact the Department of Visual Arts at 301-687-4797. 

To prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Frostburg State University follows state health guidelines requiring the wearing of masks and physical distancing from others. Visitors to campus must visit www.frostburg.edu/checkin for symptom monitoring before arriving on campus and be prepared to display the “Reduced Risk” badge. 

FSU is committed to making all of its programs, services and activities accessible to persons with disabilities. To request accommodations through the ADA Compliance Office, call 301-687-4102 or use a Voice Relay Operator at 1-800-735-2258. 

The media is welcome to attend this event. 

Descendants of the families that lived in that area will be featured speakers at the dedication. The project, featuring the efforts of many FSU faculty, students, staff and community members, has been in the works for many years. Additional activities and plans are under way to commemorate the community and educate the region to its history. 

To prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Frostburg State University follows state health guidelines requiring the wearing of masks and physical distancing from others. Visitors to campus must visit www.frostburg.edu/checkin for symptom monitoring before arriving on campus and be prepared to display the “Reduced Risk” badge.  

Through the decades, Burge has earned his place as one of the most enduring figures in the West Virginia music scene. His music draws from his rich life experiences expressed with humor and accompanied by his guitar skills. He has an extensive discography, having recorded on over 20 albums since the 1990s. He has played everything from alternative rock to contemporary folk, but has spent the past years focusing on folk-pop storytelling. Burge is a regular performer and occasional host of West Virginia’s Mountain Stage.

For his live digital performance he will be playing old and new originals, as well as covers and taking live requests. Burge's virtual tip jar will be available at toddburge.com under “Ticket Link” during the concert.

Dedicated to the education, sales, documentation and perpetuation of the traditional arts in the mountain region, Mountain City Traditional Arts is a program of Frostburg State University, with support from FrostburgFirst, the Allegany Arts Council, and the Maryland Traditions Program of the State Arts Council. For more information contact mountaincitytradarts@gmail.com. 

In 2020, after a decade of hosting this exciting competition, the Arts Council received its largest-ever class of entrants, of which thirty are invited. All thirty artists who were selected to take part in the 2020 event have agreed to participate in 2021. These artists hail from across the nation and were selected from the more than 75 who applied. The 11tth Annual Mountain Maryland Plein Air Class of 2020/2021 consists of: 

Natalia Andreeva—Tallahassee FL;   Jill Banks—Fairfax, VA;   Lon Brauer—Granite City, IL;  Thomas Bucci—Washington, D.C.;  Amy Collins—Birmingham, AL;   John Eiseman—Hebron, MD;  Raymond Ewing, Lewes, DE;  Kathleen Gray Farthing—Alliance, OH;  Ray Hassard—Cincinnati, OH;  Stephen Haynes—Irwin, PA;  Stephen Henry—Ogden, UT;  Patricia Hilton—Cumberland, MD;  Fred Jackson—King of Prussia, PA;  Russell Jewell—Easley, SC;  Greg Johannesen—Port Republic, MD;  Wyatt LeGrand—Bloomfield, IN;  Tami Luoco, Morris Plains, NJ;  Duane Lutsko—Woodstock, MD;  Laura Martinez—Marlboro, NY;  Lynn Mehta—Fairfax, VA;  Craig Reynolds—Gulf Shores, AL;  Robin Roberts—Ashland, OH;  J. Stacy Rogers—Lewes, DE;  Kari Ganoung Ruiz—Interlaken, NY; Richard Sneary—Kansas City, MO;  Richie Vios—Victoria, TX; Jill Stefani Wagner—Saline, MI;  DP Warner—Meadville, PA;  Durre Wasseem—Corona, CA; and Jeff Williams—Stillwater, OK

The Arts Council is grateful to its Mountain Maryland Plein Air sponsors, who are essential to the event’s success. Their support allows the Arts Council to attract the most seasoned and talented artists by supporting the prize money awarded each year. 

Nancie King Mertz, who was slated to jury the 2020 event, will remain as juror of the 2021 exhibition. A national and international award winner, Mertz has spent her career painting in oil and pastel. Although she has traveled to nearly 20 countries and around the United States for inspiration, Chicago—where she was twice named “Artist of the Year”—remains her favorite city to explore and paint. Her work can be seen on many Chicago-themed TV shows such as The Good Wife and Chicago Fire. 

For more information about the 11th Annual Mountain Maryland Plein Air program, including an updated list of sponsors, a schedule of events, and information about the invited artists, visit mmpleinair.org.

Commencement is a joyful time full of tradition and celebration. For the Azenadaga family, that tradition has included three trips from their home country of Ghana in West Africa to watch three of four brothers graduate from Frostburg State University. Brother number four is in his first year at FSU, so another trip may be coming up in a few years.

As international students attending Frostburg State, the four brothers now share a common experience. Three brothers, Raymond, Raphael and Reagan, are now alumni ? Reagan graduated in December 2019. The youngest is Richmond.

Frostburg State first became part of the Azenadaga family when the eldest son, Raymond, chose to attend in 2010. Recommended by an uncle who worked in the University System of Maryland, Raymond majored in electrical engineering and minored in physics and mathematics.

“When my oldest brother, Raymond, started to do research about schools, he came here and realized that Frostburg is a very quiet place,” explained Reagan. “And in Ghana, when you want to study, when you want to learn, you want an environment that is very enabling; you want an environment that is quiet, and Frostburg seemed like the best environment for that.”

Majoring in information technology, Raphael, the second son to attend Frostburg, from 2013 to 2017, made it into a tradition.

“And why I came here is because my brothers told me this is a really great school,” said new alumnus Reagan, the third son who graduated with a bachelor’s in engineering, electrical engineering concentration.

Richmond, the fourth and final son, is a first-year computer science major with an interest in software engineering.

“I didn’t even apply to any other schools because I knew this is where I wanted to go,” said Richmond. “There was no question. It just had to be Frostburg because that’s what we do.”

The Center for International Education was an instrumental part of the four brothers’ ability to attend, assisting them through the processes and paperwork to attend a university in the United States.

“They played a very huge role, a very huge role,” said Reagan about CIE. “From the start, they tell you what the rules are so you don’t make any mistakes, because there are a lot of rules for international students. And when you go there for help, they are very ready to help and that was a great thing.”

CIE helped each brother acclimate to the area and the campus, providing such support as international student orientation and employment authorizations.

“The Center for International Education made sure I got to campus in time to go to orientation, get my keys and find my dorm,” said Richmond. “They helped me learn all the buildings and even introduced me to programs so I could get to know people.”

After graduation, the three eldest Azenadagas have stayed in the United States with employment authorizations. Raymond, the eldest, is a pharmacist in the U.S. Army. Raphael is a cloud engineer for Cvent in Tyson’s Corner, Va. Reagan graduated with an employment offer from Disney.

“I met some really great people. I made so many friends, from professors to people who worked in the cafe. I would do it again, over and over again if I had the chance,” said Reagan.

For more information about international education at FSU, visit www.frostburg.edu/CIE, email FSUInternational@frostburg.edu or call 301-687-4714.

Situated in the mountains of Allegany County, Frostburg State University is one of the 12 institutions of the University System of Maryland. FSU is a comprehensive, residential regional university and serves as an educational and cultural center for Western Maryland. For more information, visit www.frostburg.edu or facebook.com/frostburgstateuniversity. Follow FSU on Twitter @frostburgstate.

CUMBERLAND, MD – A sixth death from complications of COVID-19 has been recorded for Allegany County. The latest fatality was a male in his 50s who was not affiliated with a nursing home. The man was hospitalized and had underlying medical conditions.

General Operating Grants, which may not exceed $3,500, may be used to support the day-to-day work of non-profit organizations in the arts sector, which includes programming costs, general operations, and capital expenses.

Creative Placemaking Grants, which may not exceed $5,000, support the work of one or more partners, including public, private, non-profit and community sectors, along with individual artists, who seek to undertake projects which shape the physical and social character of the community. Successful creative placemaking projects animate public and private spaces, rejuvenate structures and streetscapes, improve local business viability and public safety, and bring people together.

Details on grant eligibility and guidelines, along with grant application forms, can be found by visiting our website at http://www.alleganyartscouncil.org/resource.php?id=24. The deadline to enter is June 30, 2020.