(5/18) Fire/Rescue Museum receives new installation

On March 28, a three-panel glass etching, featuring an old 1920’s fire engine departing the old Independent Hose Company fire station in Frederick, arrived at the Frederick County Fire/Rescue Museum and National Heritage Center by way of Emmitsburg Glass personnel.

The owners of the building at 12 West Church Street donated the large etching to the Frederick County Fire/Rescue Museum. The three-panel etching measures over fifteen feet wide and over eight feet high.

Kenny Reaver, who led the effort on the day of installation, noted that the largest glass panel weighs 900 pounds and is some 9-1/2' x 8' in size. Emmitsburg’s Mayor, Don Briggs, has been a great supporter of this opportunity. The overall transfer took some coordination with the new building owner, the original glass etching designer, William N. Cochran of Frederick, Independent Hose Company personnel and Emmitsburg Glass Company.

The National Fire Heritage Center’s Executive Director, Wayne Powell stated, "The Emmitsburg Glass personnel including their President, Dan Reaver, have been terrific through the past few months of planning and coordination to get us to this point." It will be some time yet before the etching gets reassembled for proper display but it's quite magnificent.

Trail system extension placed on hold

During the April 2 town meeting, Commissioner President Tim O’Donnell briefed the Emmitsburg Board of Commissioners on the progress of the upcoming trail expansion of Emmitsburg’s multi-user trail.

A year and a half ago, in May of 2016, Emmitsburg received a $30,000 state grant, which was originally accepted to fund additional signage throughout the town’s multi-user trail system, additional parking, as well as the construction of another trail. However, the trail grant was later modified through the Trail Conservancy and State Highway Administration and the monies were intended to be used entirely for the construction of an expansion upon one of the existing trails.

Recent changes have been made to the Trail Conservancy that will have a direct impact on how Emmitsburg receives assistance and funds for the trail expansion project. Under the former model, the Trail Conservancy was able to match the grant with their efforts in-house, which included any office-related work. This format has recently changed and the Trail Conservancy can no longer proceed this way. As O’Donnell mentioned, the Trail Conservancy has chosen to step back from the $30,000 state grant with Emmitsburg.

The project would have included the modification of one of the existing trails by adding to it in order to allow for easier trail access from one end to the other. The trail that was marked for modification was the orange trail, which leads from the closest point in town at Annadale Road, crosses Crystal Fountain Road, and comes out close to Rainbow Lake. The current trail is hard to manage and is a more difficult route, which may turn some hikers off from using it. The overall goal would be to allow the trail to be more accessible to a larger range of people.

O’Donnell remarked that he would like to see the project through and is still in favor of using the grant monies. The Trail Conservancy may choose to apply the grant to another organization, but as it currently stands, the project is in stasis and it is unlikely that a new trail will be built this year.