Latest news with #FrostburgStateUniversity
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
'Amazing partnership:' Westernport students finish year at FSU
FROSTBURG — With the semester over and final exams finished, one wouldn't expect much happening on Frostburg State University's campus. However, since the end of last week, students from Westernport Elementary have shown up every day, energized and ready to finish off the year with a fifth-grade farewell, Pirates Ahoy event, a field day and a carnival, complete with a dunk tank — a stark contrast to the devastating flood last month that interrupted the school year and forced about 200 students and staff to evacuate by boat. 'Every day is a new fun thing,' fifth grader Aveona Durst said. Because the May 13 flood ruined many of the teachers' supplies and the school already finished its standardized testing, the curriculum is mostly aimed at making sure the children finish the school year on a positive note. 'Let's make sure their memories are a positive thing, not the last thing that happened at the school,' Principal Derek Horne said. Partnering with the university's Children's Literature Centre, the elementary school has temporarily moved its home base into the Education and Health Sciences building after the flood severely damaged Westernport's first floor. 'It's been an amazing partnership,' Horne said. 'They've truly helped our kids end the year in a positive way.' The collaboration started as part of the literature program's Adopt-a-School program that sent volunteers to read to classrooms and sponsored author visits to the school, but when it came time to figure out how to end the school year without a school building, the partnership expanded. 'We would have helped any school,' Director Sarah O'Neal said. 'This was a no-brainer. I knew we were going to have some planning to do, but it was easy planning.' The literature program played a large part in creating the agenda for the kids. 'They didn't want us to have to think of things to come up with and do with the kids,' fifth grade teacher Kaylin Cadwallader said. 'They just said, 'Here's your schedule,' and boom, boom, boom. Most of the days fly by.' While the school day starts and ends later than usual to accommodate the bus ride to Frostburg, the school day structure is relatively the same. Students line up outside for attendance in the morning. The university dining services provides breakfast and lunch, and the kids play on the school's football field during recess. Despite the change of scenery, kids have adapted smoothly, Horne said. 'It's not the typical school day, but we're making it work.' he said. 'They're having a great time and learning different things.' Some community members have volunteered time to keep the kids busy, such as Kick Masters' Rick Rando giving a karate demonstration. The students also walked over to join Beall Elementary to watch a bicycle motocross presentation. 'I do not know what the (most) fun thing is,' first grader Brody Ray said. 'I like all of them.' Not only are the kids excited to participate in these events, but they're happy to explore a college campus, fourth grader Kierra Bateson said. 'We (normally) take field trips here for like an hour or two, but now I get to be here the whole week,' Kierra said. 'It's pretty fun.' Students of all ages agreed. 'It's like a five-star hotel,' kindergarten student Adrian Casteel said. Along with creating fun opportunities for the kids, the school has made efforts to address the student's mental health after the traumatic situation. 'Last week we had a flood watch, and that brought up a whole slew of emotions,' guidance counselor Laura Wilson said. 'A lot of students are worried about when it rains. A lot of kids were wondering if it's gonna get this high to their knees.' The school has brought in mental health specialists from the Mountain Ridge district, counselors from the county health department and Allegany College of Maryland's Mind Body Medicine program, Wilson said. Overall, teachers agreed that the staff and students are just happy to be back together. 'These kids are so resilient,' kindergarten teacher Natalie Orange said. 'I think they're just all happy to be here. I think they're happy to be back doing something, even if it's not regular school.' Not having this opportunity to come back together could have negatively impacted the students, Wilson said. 'They would have struggled a lot more just not knowing if their friends were OK, if their teachers were OK, if the administration was OK,' Wilson said. 'So, we're really thankful.' While the school year ends for the children on Friday and the administration hopes to be back in their original building next school year, this might not be the kids' last time going to school on the FSU campus. The school had shirts made that say 'FUTURE BOBCAT' in big bold letters, and many students have held on to that notion. 'This is my dream college,' Kierra said.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Delaney requests $41 million for 6th District
CUMBERLAND — U.S. Rep. April McClain Delaney announced last week that she has requested over $41 million of federal funds for local investments in Maryland's 6th Congressional district for the next fiscal year. Out of the 15 Community Project Funding requests made, seven would support a wide range of efforts in Allegany and Garrett counties, allocating over $7 million in Allegany County and over $8 million in Garrett County, according to a press release. 'I know how important it is to work hand-in-hand with local leaders to achieve real results,' McClain Delaney said in the announc ement. 'Since taking office in January, I've engaged with state and community officials to identify projects that will make the biggest difference and support those who need it most.' Many of the projects would restore water infrastructure, like replacing the water filtration system in Cumberland, which will cost $2 million. 'The existing plant is reaching the end of its useful life and is incapable of addressing emerging contaminants,' Cumberland Mayor Ray Morriss said. 'This grant will allow the city to begin design work on a new Water Filtration Building that will utilize state-of-the-art membrane filtration, which is capable of removing disinfection byproducts as well as emerging contaminants.' About $1.3 million of improvements to Lonaconing's water lines were included in the requests as well. 'This investment in our Western Maryland community will aid in improving the quality of life by ensuring reliable access to clean and safe drinking water for our residents and providing peace of mind by reducing concerns about water quality or potential service disruptions,' Lonaconing Mayor Jack Coburn said. About $6.2 million would go toward other infrastructure projects in the two counties, including improvements on Oakland's water system, a sidewalk and crosswalk safety project in Grantsville and replacing a Potomac Fire Company No. 2 engine. 'Upgrading our aging water and sewer infrastructure will not only improve service reliability and water quality but also help prevent future system failures and environmental hazards,' Oakland Mayor Andrew Sauder said. 'This project is a critical step toward ensuring a sustainable and secure future for Oakland residents.' Among the requests, a $3 million expansion of the radiology and oncology department in Garrett Regional Medical Center in Oakland focuses on the expansion of medical resources. 'This funding, which supports the design and engineering phase of adding radiation oncology to our Cancer Center, means we will largely eliminate the need for cancer patients to travel to receive the care they need,' Mark Boucot, the chief executive of the center, said. Another project would contribute to educational resources, spending about $2.8 million on revitalizing the Frostburg State University Planetarium. 'The revitalized planetarium will not only enhance educational opportunities for a diversity of learners of all ages, but will also contribute to cultural and economic growth,' said Associate Professor of Physics Jason Speights. The remaining $26 million would go toward projects in the rest of the congressional district throughout Washington and Frederick counties. 'These community-focused investments will help foster growth and strengthen Maryland's 6th Congressional District,' McClain Delaney said.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Students of flooded Maryland elementary school will finish semester at Frostburg State
Video shows flooding in Westernport, Md. on May 13, 2025. WESTERNPORT, Md. (WBOY) — Students at Westernport Elementary School, where around 150 people were rescued during flooding last week, will finish the rest of the school year on Frostburg State University's campus. The bottom floor of the school flooded during storms on May 13, and crews from Preston County, West Virginia responded to help with the rescue. Although other schools that were impacted by flooding were able to return to class several days later, Westernport Elementary was not among them. However, on Thursday, Allegany County Public Schools announced that the students are expected to return to in-person class on May 28 at Frostburg State University, which is about 17 miles (24 minutes driving) away. Students will be transported for class at Frostburg until the end of the school year on June 6. Randolph County superintendent says new policy that conflicts with WV Code is 'inaccurate' 'The Westernport Elementary School staff and administration has worked extensively to create a plan to help their students finish the 2024-2025 school year together, and on a good note,' the school district said on social media. The post said that while at Frostburg, Westernport students will have fun activities, field trips and breakfast and lunch provided. Counselors will also be available to help students and families with the change and transportation will be provided, the post said. 'Allegany County Public Schools would like to thank all staff and community members who helped in getting our kids safely back in the classroom.' Parents can expect more details in the coming days. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
AmeriCorps cuts begin to affect local programs
MOUNT SAVAGE — As federal funding cuts continue, the effects are already being felt in Allegany County and across Western Maryland. The Trump administration cut around $400 million in grant funding to AmeriCorps, a federal agency providing national service and volunteerism throughout the country to various community organizations. This has resulted in the termination of nearly 32,000 Ameri- Corps service members nationwide and the dissolution of regional programs that provide services to residents. In Maryland, 250 AmeriCorps service members were immediately terminated, according to Paul Monteiro, the Maryland secretary of Service and Civic Innovation. In Western Maryland, one of the biggest AmeriCorps funded programs was immediately terminated at the end of April — Frostburg State University's Appalachian Service Through Action and Resources, also known as ASTAR. 'The ASTAR AmeriCorps Program has been a transformative force for Frostburg State University and the communities we serve,' said Lisa Clark, the director of ASTAR, in a press release from the university. Clark called the program's termination a 'devastating loss.' FSU said that the ASTAR program and its members had contributed 'hundreds of thousands' of hours to students in the community. ASTAR was established in 1994 in Maryland and places AmeriCorps service members at various nonprofit organizations, schools and government agencies in 'Western Maryland's rural and underserved communities,' according to FSU. At the university, the PAWS Pantry, Children's Literature Center, Center for Literary Arts, the Education Department's PALS program and the Biology Department have been directly affected by the termination of AmeriCorps members' service. One of the organizations that benefited from Ameri- Corps volunteerism is the Evergreen Heritage Center, an environmental education group located in Mount Savage that has served thousands of students over the past year alone. 'AmeriCorps has enabled us over the last 11 years to go from serving 2,500 students to over 18,000,' Janice Keane, the owner and director of Evergreen, said. Keane said the ASTAR program provides instructors from AmeriCorps to teach students from across Western Maryland. Five instructors were terminated 'immediately' at the end of April, according to Keane. 'It was a huge impact on them with no notice,' she said. Keane said some of the instructors relied on the stipend provided by ASTAR and the AmeriCorps program to pay for rent, groceries and other bills. 'If you're a young person and you've planned the year of service and you're counting on a stipend to pay your bills, that's a huge impact.' Keane said it will be 'difficult to plan' future events and services for the community due to the termination of ASTAR. 'There may be other services that we were planning to provide that we won't be able to provide,' Keane said. 'We will have to put more of that money into instruction instead.' Keane said that Evergreen is hoping that ASTAR and AmeriCorps will return to provide much needed services in the near future. 'I'm hoping it comes back, but, you know, we have to plan in the case that it doesn't come back,' she said.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
FSU student Emma Craddock selected as Transform Mid-Atlantic Civic Fellow
FROSTBURG — Frostburg State University student Emma Craddock was recently selected to serve as a 2025-2026 Transform Mid-Atlantic Civic Fellow. Craddock was nominated for the role by then acting president Al Delia, who cited her strong capabilities as a student leader and her propensity to affect positive and social change at FSU and within the community. 'I am so honored to be part of the Mid-Atlantic Civic Fellowship, where I can grow as a leader, engage with meaningful community work and contribute to the mission of Transform Mid-Atlantic in creating positive, lasting change,' said Craddock. She will be part of the program's fourth cohort and will join more than a dozen student leader colleagues from colleges and universities in the Mid-Atlantic region who will have the opportunity to develop the skills necessary to become responsible leaders and engaged global citizens in their communities and throughout the region, country and world. The Civic Fellowship program will begin in August 2025 and conclude in May 2026 and will include monthly sessions, mentorship opportunities, a spring retreat, a capstone project and other professional development experiences.
