Latest news with #RonYoung
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Former Mayor Ron Young celebrated at launch party for proposed statue
A who's who of Frederick politics attended the launch party on Thursday for a proposed statue of former Mayor Ron Young at The Delaplaine Arts Center. Young's mayoral tenure stretched from 1974 to 1990. He also represented Maryland's 3rd District — made up mostly of the city of Frederick — in the Maryland state Senate from 2011 to 2023. Attendees at the celebration included current Mayor Michael O'Connor, County Executive Jessica Fitzwater, City Council members, County Council members, state lawmakers and former elected officials. Young was credited by those in attendance for helping to create Carroll Creek Linear Park, establish The Delaplaine Arts Center and the Weinberg Center for the Arts, and more. 'Everything that this city is today, everything that we experience ... you can trace a line back to work that was either started or initiated or carried out or continued during time that Ron Young has been in public service in the city of Frederick, and certainly this creek is the goose that lays the golden egg,' O'Connor said in a speech at the launch party, referencing Carroll Creek. A group proposing the 7-foot bronze statue plans to have it erected at the Carroll Creek Linear Park amphitheater on top of a 1.5-foot pedestal, and sought donations and support Thursday for funding the project. There is a web site about the project. Ron Young Statue at Carroll Creek Image courtesy of Committee for the Ron Young Sculptural Tribute The project is being funded entirely through private donations and sponsors like the Delaplaine Foundation, the Ausherman Family Foundation, and others, according to Jan Gardner, a former Frederick County executive. Gardner is a member of the 13-member Committee for the Ron Young Sculptural Tribute, the group behind the proposal. Funds beyond what are required to build the statue will be put toward a maintenance fund, said its sculptor, Antonio Tobias 'Toby' Mendez, known for his work on statues of sports legends, former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and many other people. The plan is for the statue to be unveiled in October 2026, 50 years after a historic 1976 flood that devastated the downtown area, Gardner said. The flood presented the need for a flood mitigation project. Young helped spearhead an effort to mitigate the flood risk of the creek while also turning it into an economic boon. The city of Frederick must agree to allow the statue to be placed in the park. The statue is proposed to be donated to the city, meaning the city would take over its maintenance. The proposal has been approved by the city's Historic Preservation Commission, the Public Art Commission and the Parks and Recreation Commission. All it lacks is approval by the City Council. Council Members Kelly Russell and Derek Shackelford attended the launch party. 'Since Ron has always been a champion for public art, it seems fitting to honor his vision for vibrant public spaces with a sculpture by Frederick County native and nationally recognized artist Toby Mendez,' Russell wrote in a message to The Frederick News-Post on Friday. Council Members Ben MacShane and Donna Kuzemchak previously expressed support for the idea of a statue, though Kuzemchak raised concerns about the location of the statue. 'I do, however, have an issue with putting any type of sculpture in the amphitheater,' she said in a May 15 City Council Housing, Health and Education Committee meeting. 'I think that it is an inappropriate place for a sculpture.' She said the statue may block people's view of the stage at the amphitheater. Mendez said during the meeting that the statue's proposed location was picked to not block anyone's view. 'I sat in each of those seats, like the worst seats that you could think of ... and he is not in your view of the stage,' Mendez said in the May 15 meeting. Kuzemchak said she could 'certainly' support the statue being on the creek somewhere, however. City Council President Katie Nash said during the May 15 meeting that she would try to schedule a vote for the agreement for the statue for a public hearing June 5. Young said he was appreciative and humbled to have a statue built of him. 'The only sad part is that there are very few people alive that were with me at the beginning,' Young said in an interview on Friday. Young, 84, was elected when he was 33, and took office when he was 34. Mendez unveiled a miniature of the proposed statue during the launch party, and posed with Young for pictures. Marlene Young, president of the Delaplaine Foundation, said that though she is not related to Ron Young, she always gives him a fist bump or high five and says 'forever young.' This is especially significant, she said, because Ron Young continues to participate in the community since he retired from the state Senate. 'So I can tell you firsthand, he is living up to the mantra 'forever young,'' Marlene Young said.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Statue of former Frederick mayor proposed for Carroll Creek park
A group is proposing to erect a statue of former Frederick Mayor Ron Young in Carroll Creek Linear Park, a park he helped create. The proposal is for a 7-foot bronze statue of the former mayor in the Carroll Creek Park amphitheater on top of a 1.5-foot pedestal. The proposal has been approved by the city's Historic Preservation Commission, Public Art Commission and Parks and Recreation Commission. All it lacks is approval by the City Council. Young was mayor from 1974 to 1990 and represented Maryland's 3rd District — made up mostly of the city of Frederick — in the Maryland state Senate from 2011 to 2023. "Without the vision that Ron had for Carroll Creek, the city would be very different," said former Frederick County Executive Jan Gardner, a member of the 13-member Committee for the Ron Young Sculptural Tribute. Ron Young Statue at Carroll Creek An artist's rendition of the proposed statue of Ron Young at the Carroll Creek Linear Park A 1976 flood damaged much of the downtown area during Young's first term as mayor, which prompted a flood mitigation project around Carroll Creek. Young oversaw the construction of the flood mitigation project, but he also envisioned the current park, Gardner said. Though the project to turn the area around the creek into a park was not done during Young's term as mayor, eventually, his efforts came to fruition, she said. Gardner in 2024 contacted sculptor Antonio Tobias "Toby" Mendez to create the statue and the committee has since commissioned him for the project. Mendez is known for sculpting statues of Baltimore Orioles legends Earl Weaver and Jim Palmer, the statue of John Hanson in front of the Frederick County Courthouse, a statue of Thurgood Marshall in front of the Maryland State House and many others. Mendez said he got involved in creating the statue to help people learn about the history of Carroll Creek Park, for which Young helped provide the vision. "So many people don't know how the Carroll Creek park started," he said. "They don't know how it basically went from being a disaster area to something that ended up being a great park." Young was also an advocate for public arts and his efforts helped with the creation of both The Delaplaine Arts Center and the Weinberg Center for the Arts, Mendez said. The project is not currently being funded by grants or other public money, Gardner said. Instead, it is being funded by private donations and sponsors like the Delaplaine Foundation, the Ausherman Family Foundation and more. Asked on Wednesday about the tribute, Young said, "I guess I'm flattered." Though he is not involved in the project, he has heard of it, he said. Ron Young Statue at Carroll Creek A photo of Ron Young taken during the late 1980s or early 1990s at Carroll Creek as the flood mitigation project was being constructed. Artist Antonio Tobias 'Toby' Mendez was commissioned to create a statue of Young to go in Carroll Creek Linear Park based on the image. Committee for the Ron Young Sculptural Tribute member Jan Gardner said the photo might have been published in Frederick Magazine. His idea for the creation of a park along Carroll Creek, along with other revitalization efforts across the city, was not just an effort on his part. "There were a lot of people that played a part and a lot of good aldermen that supported me," Young said. Young said his goal as mayor of Frederick was to see it prosper, as it had when he was growing up in the city. With the advent of shopping centers and new developments, Frederick's downtown area suffered, he said. "That's why I ran for mayor," Young said. "I loved Frederick and wanted to see it vibrant again." The statue The plan is for the statue to go up in October 2026 — 50 years after the historic 1976 flood. Mendez's design for the statue is based on a photo of Young from the late 1980s or early 1990s in which Young has his hands in his pockets and is standing near the in-development Carroll Creek flood mitigation project. Gardner said the photo apparently ran in Frederick Magazine. The image is very "humble," Mendez said. "My hope is that [the statue] will just blend into the crowd," Mendez said. The committee's website says the art will include "an interpretive wayside exhibit that will recount the Park's development, the downtown revitalization effort, and recognize the commitment of successive mayors who helped fulfill the vision." City Council The last step before the statue would be able to go up is approval from the City Council, Gardner said. City Council President Katie Nash said she has not heard much about the project and was only informed about it recently. She said she needs to know more about it before she can say if she would support it. She also said she wanted to make absolutely sure the city is using public art to honor those who have "done great things in our community." Council Members Kelly Russell, Donna Kuzemchak and Ben MacShane did not respond to requests for comment. Council Member Derek Shackelford said he could not comment until next week. Gardner said efforts to put up a statue of Young in the park have been in the works for years. One of the main proponents of the statue was Elizabeth "Bettie" Delaplaine, who died in 2014, Gardner said. Young said he has heard from many people over the years who have proposed the idea. "I'd just hope they do it while I am alive, so I could see it," said Young, 84.
