A Call to Action: Pro-clean water commenters needed at this week’s Monocacy River Plan hearing!

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Sigh.. How many times are we going to have to go through this?

 

Man, are we tired of beating this dead horse. For some reason there are a lot of folks out there, mainly spurred on by the Carroll County faction of the River Board, who are claiming that this plan is a government land grab. There’s even this email going around, encouraging people to show up at Tuesday’s night’s hearing in red t-shirts protesting this non-existent threat! (Why red, folks?!)

Here’s a little taste of the email:

2/26th is the Big Day at 7 pm, Winchester Hall, 12 E. Church St. Frederick (parking garage across street)

If you care about your property rights and the rights of others, PLEASE attend the final public hearing and send an email in right now to the politicians voting on the River Plan (sample emails attached). We need to keep the heat on when it matters most right now, to flood Winchester Hall with people – and bombard the County Council with emails in support of adopting the successfully revised 10/3/18 Monocacy River Plan.

Don’t quit when we’re almost at the finish line after nearly 2 1/2 years of speaking up to defend property rights. Your voice matters most now!

This issue is about preventing government over-reach and protecting private property rights.

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Because should the govt unnecessarily reduce or diminish the property rights of some citizens – it diminishes the rights of ALL citizens.

On FEBRUARY 26TH AT 7 PM, THE LAST & MOST VITAL PUBLIC HEARING ON THE MONOCACY RIVER PLAN WILL BE HELD AT WINCHESTER HALLI N FREDERICK. YOUR ATTENDANCE AND EFFORTS TO SPEAK UP IN SUPPORT OF ADOPTING THE SUCCESSFULLY REVISED 10/3/18 RIVER PLAN IS CRITICAL TO HELP PROTECT CITIZENS’ PROPERTY RIGHTS. EVEN IF YOU DON’T SPEAK, SHOW UP (AND WEAR RED IN SUPPORT OF PROPERTY RIGHTS).

ALSO, IT’S VITAL TO SEND YOUR EMAILS IN TODAY TO SUPPORT ADOPTION OF THE 2018 RIVER PLAN!

Sent to: councilmembers@frederickcountyMD.gov, jgardner@frederickcountyMD.gov

It’s easy…send the email now. Just do it. Cut and paste from attached info and sample letters or do your own thing. But do something to act and urge the County Council to adopt the successfully revised 10/3/18 River Plan that protects both The Monocacy and citizens’ property rights. Send in emails before the 2/26th hearing and attend the hearing too.

It’s really important as the County Council counts emails to gage support. Don’t let all the hard work we’ve done for 2 1/2 years go to waste. Don’t go silent when we’re close to rounding home…even if you’re burned out on the River Plan…do not give up now when your action (and voice) is needed most. Those who are hoping to foil this successful revised River Plan that protects property rights – are hoping we’ll just tire and give up. It’s a known strategy to drag things out so long, that citizens give up. Don’t let this happen.

Think about property rights – do they matter or not? Of course they do!

 

The only good thing about all this very tiresome nonsense is that we get to bring this out of retirement:

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First of all, let’s go to The Monocacy Scenic River Management Plan Update Fact Sheet:

The River Board’s 2017 Recommended Monocacy Scenic River Management Plan (“Recommended Plan”) is an update of the 1990 Plan. It describes the River’s ecology, environmental resources, natural & cultural history, and also contains recommendations for enhancement and protection of its corridor.

The Recommended Plan is not a legally binding document. It is similar to other County Plans such as the Historic Preservation Plan, and the Land Preservation, Parks and Recreation Plan that only provide recommended actions and policy guidance to the River Board and the County’s governing body.

We’ve also written about this quite a bit over the last year. Click here, here, here, here, and here to catch up. There’s also an excellent LTE that eloquently explains that though the land may belong to landowner, the water belongs to all of us. We are still waiting for Billy and all other supporters of water pollution to take the #monocacydrinkingchallenge!

And, just in case you need an example of what an actual land grab looks like, go ahead and read this article.  Or if you need a more modern example, here’s another. 

Go ahead drag out your blue t-shirts and plan on commenting against hyperbole, misinformation and for a clean river. If you can’t attend, email the council with your thoughts!  Enough of this nonsense already!

 

Working through the workshop! Your May 22nd workshop explainer!

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No Jebediah! That’s not what this is!

We don’t make drinking games for workshops, but we did want to let y’all know what’s going on this evening.

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Kirby, Billy and Tony have all claimed that this Monocacy River Plan is just Jan grabbing up all the land. We suppose to build herself a mansion along the banks of the river? Read the board’s suggestions and keep in mind that the goal of all this is to protect the river, not take anyone’s land away from them.

The second item on the agenda is to go through the charter amendments that could appear on the ballot come November. And remember, if you support our EMS workers, then you should support Jessica’s collective bargaining amendment. We’ve been told by our firefighter friends that this amendment will help them in their yearly budget negotiations with the county.

Monocacy River resource protection plan “upgraded”

This is just the sort of plan you would idealize if you were a Frederick County resident who would pack up a cooler with whiskey sours in the middle of a Nor’Easter/Hurricane Sandy climate change cocktail event, make a raft like Huckleberry Finn, and set sail to the Walmart 5 miles downstream. We have the best people in Frederick County. Amazing people.

These are the stories we need to reflect on, because we would otherwise lose our minds. It takes all kinds, after all. Someone has to keep us entertained, come hell or high water (or both, as the likely case may be).

The resource protection area was eliminated from the plan, because of property rights. This will help ensure that Frederick County folks can pretend we have a Willy Wonka style chocolate river whenever it rains. This is a great plan. The best plan. If not for this version of the plan, we would start having clear water run in the river when it rains, and these people’s private property wouldn’t wash away in the water, and deposit sediment that can disrupt the flow of the public’s waterway. Boring. Sad.

Heavysigh.
Something about not understanding erosion, prior experience with tobacco farming, or the historical changes to the state of Maryland this type of ignorance has already caused–by inexperience at the time, but we should know better now. Much like The Greatest OompaLoompa of All, some people need more fourth grade social studies…

We will have a river for people who are in for a world of pure imagination–you know, like the gentlemen mentioned above.

Sigh.