Latest news with #Cumberland
BBC News
37 minutes ago
- Climate
- BBC News
Sands Centre's events season cancelled over ongoing roof works
A leisure venue's autumn and pantomime season will not go ahead after work to remove unsafe concrete in the auditorium roof was slowed by storm removal of approximately 200 tonnes of concrete at the Sands Centre, in Carlisle, got under way last year, but January's Storm Éowyn hit a temporary which manages the venue on behalf of Cumberland Council, said it was working with promoters to reschedule events which were due to be staged between 1 September and 31 is asking people not to contact the box office, adding its team would be in touch with all affected ticket holders in the coming weeks with "further details about their options". The events space has been shut since 2023 following a change in government guidance over the use of Raac, a type of concrete found to have safety council initially aimed to have the work completed by late spring, but now says it hopes to have it finished this winter, with the entertainment programme restarting early next leader Mark Fryer said the contractor appointed for the job had faced "several challenges", with the storm having had "a major impact on the completion of the necessary works".Alongside the removal of the concrete, the ventilation system will be upgraded, the lighting system enhanced and customer seating replaced, while changes will also be made to the back-of-house closure of the events space does not impact on the centre's swimming pools, gym, studios or sports hall. Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Carlisle Southern Gateway Project work 'taking shape' according to council
Works happening along English Street for the Carlisle Southern Gateway project are 'taking shape' according to Cumberland Council. The binder course, which forms the essential foundation for the final road surface, has now been laid along the full length of the street and final resurfacing is set for June with the road set to reopen to traffic by the end of the June. Pedestrian access remains open, with a clear walking route from the station to the taxi rank via the former B&M site. Meanwhile, the new buff-coloured cycle lane is under construction which the council said is a 'big step toward safe and accessible active travel' in the city. Work at the Botchergate junction corners will continue over the summer. READ MORE: Warning issued after scam emails sent to musical organisations | News and Star A spokesperson for Cumberland Council said: 'Thanks again for your continued patience and support throughout Carlisle's ongoing transformation—and a big thank you to Story Contracting for all their hard work in making it happen. 'For everyone's safety, please stay out of active construction zones—they're being monitored for your protection.'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
County approves $147.7 million budget
CUMBERLAND — Allegany County commissioners Thursday adopted the county's fiscal 2026 $147,717,558 operating and capital budget. The property tax rate will not change; however 'the income tax will increase from 3.03 to 3.20 beginning Jan. 1,' county Administrator Jason Bennett said. The budget reflects an increase of $3,649,434 in property tax revenue, and will use $3.1 million of fund balance and $2.6 million of reserved lottery proceeds to fund some capital projects, he said. The document includes a 2% cost-of-living salary increase for employees. It designates 25% of paper gaming revenues, after all administrative costs, to fire and rescue companies, and the remaining 75% for capital education project funding. The county designates the Allegany County Fire & Rescue Board to determine distribution of all revenues. According to the budget, a Maryland mandate increased the county's cost share of operating the local assessment and taxation office in the fiscal 2026 budget to 90% at a cost of $728,000. A fiscal 2026 state disparity grant was calculated at $7,298,611, and an additional supplemental disparity grant of $815,947 'will be appropriated as an offset to the teacher pension shift,' the budget states. 'Maryland decreased the county's disparity grant by $815,947 for FY 26,' it states. 'The cost of the teacher's pension shift became part of the Board of Education's maintenance of effort calculation in FY 2017.' The budget partially funds requests from Allegany College of Maryland, the Allegany County Health Department and the Allegany County Library System. It funds the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad, Allegheny Highlands Trail, Tourism, Arts Council, Cumberland Theatre, Cumberland Historic Cemetery Organization and the Toll House, from collections of the hotel and motel tax. As part of the budget, commissioners adopted water and sewer rates, recommended by the Allegany County Sanitary Commission, which mean customer utility bills will increase by an average of 5.1%. Board President Dave Caporale said via prepared statement the commissioners are 'proud to share that the FY 2026 budget includes no increase in property taxes.' However, the county raised the income tax rate to 3.2% to qualify for more than $5.7 million in additional state disparity grant funding next year. 'This adjustment helps us secure financial stability without raising other taxes and fees in the general fund,' he said. 'To further manage costs, we've cut additional spending and eliminated 10 full-time positions,' Caporale said. 'We also extend our sincere thanks to our partner agencies — Allegany College of Maryland, Allegany County Public Schools, the health department, library system and many others — for maintaining services with no funding increases,' he said. 'These choices have not been easy, but they will protect residents from added tax burdens during this time of inflation,' Caporale said. In other county business, commissioners: • Awarded First Fruits Excavating of Ridgeley, West Virginia, the site-work for the Village Crossing at Campobello project for a low-base bid of $4,029,329. • Changed the county's Purple Line to a demand-response, door-to-door, reservation-type service that will transport anyone within a half-mile of state Route 36 from Westernport to Interstate 68 at exit 34. Trips will originate in the Georges Creek region and take customers to the Cumberland area. The service will run Tuesdays and Fridays, beginning at the first reservation time in Georges Creek after 8:30 a.m.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
County residents with high water rates to get new company
CUMBERLAND — Although Allegany County officials recently talked to Maryland Water Service about significantly high rates, they just learned the company has been sold. Thursday, Allegany County Administrator Jason Bennett said his office a few weeks ago met with Maryland Water Service representatives to discuss monthly water and sewer bills that average about $350 and have reached $650 to $900 for some customers in Bel Air, Pinto, Glen Oaks and Highland Estates. 'We ... asked some pretty pointed questions,' Bennett said. County officials received some answers but were 'left with more questions,' he said. Wednesday, the company 'reached out to us and shared ... that system has now been sold,' Bennett said, adding that the county has few details but was told the new owner is American Water Service. 'From what we know it's going through the regulatory process,' Bennett said. 'Which means, back through the (Maryland Public Service Commission) and back through federal agencies as well.' The county does not know 'what it will do to rates,' he said. 'As we learn more, we'll continue to share.' TransactionMaryland Water Service is a Texas-based Nexus Water Group company. A press release on the American Water website Thursday stated the business 'has agreed with Nexus Regulated Utilities LLC, a subsidiary of Nexus Water Group Inc., to purchase multiple water and wastewater systems located in eight states for a total of approximately $315 million, subject to adjustment as provided for in the purchase and sale agreement.' The acquisition 'would add nearly 47,000 customer connections within American Water's existing footprint in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Virginia,' the release stated. 'The completion of the transaction is also subject to the satisfaction or waiver of various conditions, including the receipt of all required regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions,' it stated. 'The estimated closing will take place by or before August 2026.' The Cumberland Times-News was unable to confirm Thursday before press time whether the sale includes the Allegany County Maryland Water Service customers. BackgroundIn March, Bel Air resident Larry Smith led a meeting of roughly 100 folks to discuss their inability to access affordable and clean water. Participants came from Bel Air, Pinto, Glen Oaks and Highland Estates, and gathered in a large room above the Cresaptown Volunteer Fire Department. Many discussed extreme conservation measures to reduce costs of their water and sewer bills. The group's water and sewer bills, which come from Maryland Water Service, are among 'the highest in the nation,' Smith said at that time. In April, Allegany County Director of Public Works Adam Patterson said Maryland Water Service buys its water from the county, which purchases the water from Cumberland. 'The cost that we purchase from Cumberland ... we mark up and then that (pays the county's) transmission cost,' he said. 'What I'm seeing is (the water company officials) then mark it up again.' The commissioners at that time agreed to arrange a meeting, requested by the local Maryland Water Service customers, with county, state and federal delegates. ReactionThursday, Smith said he hopes the meeting he and other Maryland Water customers requested earlier this year will still happen. 'There must be a solution beyond private water for these communities,' he said, adding that the current model is economically unsustainable. He talked of hardships the customers face due to their high water bills. Some folks have to share bath water, and others must choose between paying for prescription medications or water, Smith said. Many have poor quality of water that requires significant filtration methods, he said. The water problem will 'continue to mean devaluation of property values,' Smith said. 'Whether it is Maryland Water Service or a new company that bought MSW, we look forward to the commissioners honoring their commitment to the nearly 1,400 people who requested a meeting,' he said. 'We're grateful to the commissioners in advance,' Smith said of the elected officials' pursuit of the meeting.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Dogs on GAP trail surrendered to shelter
CUMBERLAND — Two dogs that were running at large multiple times near mile marker 3 on the Great Allegheny Passage are now owned by the Allegany County Animal Shelter. Danny Porter and Nickole Stemple, of Kansas Avenue in Cumberland, Saturday gave the dogs, a Great Dane and a boxer-terrier mix, to the facility, according to a county official. That action followed a lengthy legal battle between the couple and county, and was set for a hearing Tuesday. However, 'as a result of their surrendering the dogs, the replevin action was deemed moot and we dismissed the action today,' Allegany County Attorney T. Lee Beeman said this week. ComplaintsCumberland resident Christopher Allison, an avid bicyclist who frequently rode on the GAP, complained multiple times for roughly three years to local officials that he and other folks had been terrorized on a regular basis by two aggressive dogs loose on the trail 'to assault bikers and walkers.' He filed with the local animal control office an affidavit that included photos and a detailed description of the dogs. Allison said he complained to the sheriff's office 'after animal control's response to the continuing issue was to advise me to find another place to bike.' At one point, attorneys for the county and state brought charges against the dogs' owners, but the case was dismissed by a judge who said a local animal control officer had failed to list dates of prior violations on a citation. In his fight for safety on the public trail, Allison grew increasingly concerned and frustrated by a lack of attention to the problem. 'I do not understand or cannot identify any legitimate reason why this is a continuing issue,' he wrote in 2023. 'Habitual'Paul Ackerman said he often saw the dogs near mile marker 3 on the GAP during his daily 20-mile hike. 'I can't tell you how many times I or others have encountered those dogs,' Ackerman said in September. 'This has been a habitual problem for a lot of people,' he said. 'I've been very close to getting attacked by both of them,' Ackerman said. 'I should be able to walk and not worry about it.' Mile marker 3 is 'a ticking time bomb,' he said. CaseFollowing the complaints, Allegany County last year updated its code to 'recognize that animals running at large pose a substantial threat to public safety and constitute a public nuisance,' which includes any dog that has repeatedly been found at large, 'bitten two or more persons,' or disturbed the peace by excessive barking. 'The ownership rights of a person owning a public nuisance animal may be forfeited to the county,' it stated and outlined a legal process that requires an animal owner to receive written notice that states 'reasons why forfeiture is sought,' including summary of applicable incidents. Animal control subsequently declared the two dogs public nuisance animals due to repeatedly running at large on the trail near Dakota Avenue, roughly a mile north of Cumberland Narrows, and sought forfeiture of the dogs. A hearing on the matter was held in October and included testimony from Allison and Ackerman. OrderAssistant Allegany County Attorney Ramon Rozas, who presided over the October hearing, in November ordered the dogs to become property of the local animal shelter. 'On many occasions, as shown by witness testimony and photographic evidence, the dogs have been off of the owners' property, or property where they have permission to be, and have been on the GAP, public roads and on railroad tracks,' Rozas said via the order. 'The dogs have threatened users of the GAP, and on one occasion a biker had to use chemical irritants to prevent an attack.' 'The owners have often failed to even be aware that the dogs have left their property, or are running at large,' Rozas said, adding that remedial efforts the couple eventually took, which included use of electric shock collars to keep the animals from leaving their property, 'are classic examples of shutting the barn door after the horse has bolted,' and did not diminish the shelter's case. AppealAfter the October hearing, Stemple called the legal case 'a witch hunt.' She and Porter appealed the county decision to take the dogs. In March, Allegany County Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey S. Getty dismissed the appeal. Getty 'found our argument that petitioners failed to follow the procedural requirements convincing, and dismissed the matter as a result of their failure,' Beeman said at the time. PersistenceThis week, Allison recounted his many efforts to stop the dogs from threatening trail users. 'Those chartered to protect and serve demonstrated a commitment to neither and less my persistence to achieve a solution to the danger, no action would have been taken to achieve the final outcome,' Allison said. 'This was a public safety issue that took (about) three years to resolve,' he said.
