District A Happenings: Joppatowne High School Student in the News; Fire Cadet Academy; American Legion

From Harford Councilman Mike Perrone, Jr.:

Mike’s Musings…

So here we are at Issue 3 of District A Happenings!

I’ve had a number of people approach me here and there and tell me they like the newsletter, and I owe a huge thank you to my aide Donna for getting this newsletter off the ground and managing it.

I’m going to use this “Mike’s Musings” section going forward whenever something comes up that I want to share my thoughts on… where exactly I plan to draw the line between the monumental and the mundane, I haven’t figured out yet.

I work for a tax accountant so during the next few months, my musings may be fewer and farther between, but in the mean?me, if there is ever anything you want to ask or share with me, please feel free to reach out anytime!

Joppatowne High School Student in the News

Mulan Staton, grade 11, is recognized as the second place winner of the FOX45 Champions of Courage Essay contest. Her segment identifying her “champion” is actress, Lupita Nyang’o. Mulan’s segment will be shown throughout the month of February on the FOX45 television station.

Congratulations Mulan Staton!!

Council Office Contact Information

Office Phone: 410-638-3521
Cell Phone: 443-752-2598
Email: DistrtictA@HarfordCountyCouncil.com
Come talk to me the Second Sunday of each month at Joppatowne Flea Market from 2 pm to 4 pm.

Legislative Aide
Donna Blasdell
Office Phone: 410-638-4109 x1813

Fire Cadet Academy

You are a junior in high school and not sure what you want to do in life. Yet you feel called to help people and your community, and you are looking at options. You probably don’t realize you have a great one right in your high school – The Harford County High School Cadet Program.

The program allows junior high school students to apply to the school’s Work-Based Learning program. This particular opportunity will put students through the equivalent of a fire department academy. Cadets will complete one of two tracks: Fire Suppression or Emergency Medical Services (EMS).

Before applying to the program, you will need to head to your local volunteer station and join. This is a mandatory requirement. Why? Training is provided by the Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute (MFRI). They require you to have an affiliation with a fire service before going through any training for insurance and safety reasons. Depending on the track chosen, a set course schedule will be completed during the senior year. Cadets meet daily at the local MFRI training facility in Edgewood for their instruction. All course work will is completed in by mid-spring, then cadets return full-time to their volunteer station for additional training and ride-alongs.

Classes include training in firefighting, emergency medical services, hazardous materials awareness, rescue technician training for site operations and vehicle and machinery extrication, and fire and truck company operations. Some of the classes can even lead to a national certification.

If cadets decide to head into a paid career, they will have a jump up on training. Some jurisdictions may allow a shorter academy time, but it all depends on the hiring jurisdiction.

This year’s application is available here. For more information, contact John Richter, the Cadet Program Coordinator. Look for him at your high school or reach him at jrichter@hcvfa.org or on his cell phone (443) 903-8098. In the meantime head over to Facebook and check out the program’s page to see what has been going on this year with the program. https://www.facebook.com/HarfordFireCadet

Digging out from Debt

Your homework assignment was to track your spending for a month. You have only been doing the tracking for two weeks, but now is the time to look over your spending log and start to see how you are spending your money. Are you able to start breaking out major categories? Here are some categories you can use in the budget spending plan. Use them as a guide; make the categories work for you and your family.

Look over your categories. What are the ones you have no control over, are set in stone and rarely if ever change? Usually the are items like the mortgage, car insurance, the life insurance. These types of expenses are called FIXED, meaning they do not change on a month to month basis. Having as many of your expenses as possible as a fixed amount will make planning on how to pay them, much easier.

Go back and look over your categories and find your fixed expenses. Then look over the remaining categories and see if you can make any of them “fixed.” Look into budget billing options for your utilities, or talk to your insurance agent or company and see if you can pay a fixed amount monthly rather than a lump sum every 6 months or year. If you do not have that option, we will talk about how to handle it in a future column.

Your homework assignments are to continue tracking your expenses for the rest of the month and look over your spending categories to divide them into 2 types: Fixed and Not Fixed (variable).

Come Support the Joppatowne High School Mariners Football Program

When: Tuesday, February 24, 2015
9AM—9 PM

Where: Towne Grille & Pub
Joppatowne Plaza Center

What: 15% of your bill will be donated to JHS Mariner Football

Remember to tell your server you are there for the JHS Fundraiser!

Friendly Reminder

Once an application has been received by the Zoning Board of Appeals, members of the County Council may no longer talk about or receive correspondence about the case per the County Charter Sec?on 706(b):

No person shall influence or attempt to influence, directly or indirectly, either the County Council, or one of its hearing examiners in arriving at a decision in any pending zoning case, except as that person may appear before the County Council, sitting as the Zoning Board of Appeals or one of its hearing examiners at a public hearing and as a party or as a representative or witness on behalf thereof. The words “pending zoning case” shall be strictly construed to mean current cases filed and/ or pending with the Zoning Hearing Examiner, County Council, Circuit Court for Harford County and/or Court of Appeals.

Community Advisory Boards Formed, Applications Now Being Accepted

On February 5, 2105, County Executive Barry Glassman announced the creation of eight Community Advisory Boards to advise his administration on matters of interest to local communities, and to provide better communication between citizens and county government.

These new Community Advisory Boards will function in much the same way as did the former Community Councils and, prior to that, the Community Planning Councils. They will provide a forum for keeping communities abreast of important projects, programs and events, and will serve as a source of information for both county government and interested citizens.

Each board will consist of five to ten citizens selected by the county executive who collectively represent a diversity of interests and backgrounds. In addition, each board may have one student member who is enrolled in a high school in Harford County. Members will be expected to attend regular board meetings. Meeting dates and locations will be determined by the county in consultation with each board.

Anyone interested in serving as a Community Advisory Board member should visit www.harfordcountymd.gov/cab to download an application or call the Office of Citizens Affairs & Administrative Services at 410-638-4109, ext. 1824 to request an application via email or U.S. mail.

Any citizen unsure regarding which Community Advisory Board he or she should participate should also contact this office. To ensure consideration for the initial round of appointments, citizens should return their applications by February 27; however, applications will be accepted at any time during the term.

Around the District Happenings

Harford County Schools
3 hour early dismissal elementary schools 3/6/2015

Anita C. Leight Estuary Center

Meet a Critter
02/15/2015
12:30 pm-1:00 pm

Wily Woodland Turkeys
02/15/2015
2:30 pm-3:30 pm

Estuary Science Lab- Water Pollution Detective
02/20/2015
4:30 pm-6:00 pm

Banding of the Birds
02/21/2015
9:00 am-11:00 am

Twigy Creatures
02/21/2015
1:00 pm-2:30 pm

Leight Speaker Series- Nature and Nosh
02/21/2015
4:00 pm-6:00 pm

Invasinators
02/22/2015
1:00 pm-3:00 pm

Who Lives in a Tree?
02/22/2015
:30 pm-2:30 pm

Grasses to Masses Workshop
02/22/2015
3:30 pm-5:00 pm

Shoreline Stroll
02/28/2015
10:00 am-11:30 am

Through The Lens
02/28/2015
1:30 pm-4:00 pm

Leight Speaker Series- Nature and Nosh
02/28/2015
4:00 pm-6:00 pm

Abingdon Library

Graffiti t-Shirts
02/05/2015
6:30-7:30 pm

Travel Lecture Series
Making Memories—Disney Style
02/0242015
1:30-2:30 pm

Edgewood Library
Book Share Bingo
02/18/2015
6:30-7:45 pm

Read to the Dogs
02/21/2015
12:00-2:00 pm

Foreign Film Festival
02/23/2015
6:00-8:00 pm

Joppa Library
Batters Up!
02/18/2015
6:30-8:00 pm

Knitting for Beginners and Advanced Beg.
02/1892015
6:30-8:00 pm

Joppatowne High School

National Honor Society Induction
02/25/2015
6:00 pm

Mariner Football Fundraiser
02/24/2105
All Day
Towne Grille, Joppatowne Plaza

Drug and Alcohol Awareness Assembly
Joppatowne High School PTSA
02/26/2015
6:00 pm

Spotlight’s on: American Legion

The American Legion was chartered by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic veterans organization. Focusing on service to veterans, service members and communities, the Legion evolved from a group of war-weary veterans of World War I into one of the most influential nonprofit groups in the United States. Membership swiftly grew to over 1 million, and local posts sprang up across the country. Today, membership stands at over 2.4 million in 14,000 posts worldwide. The posts are organized into 55 departments: one each for the 50 states, along with the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, France, Mexico and the Philippines. It is the nation’s largest wartime veterans service organization, committed to mentoring youth and sponsorship of wholesome programs in our communities, advocating patriotism and honor, promoting strong national security, and continued devotion to our fellow service members and veterans. Hundreds of local American Legion programs and activities strengthen the nation one community at a time. American Legion Baseball is one of the nation’s most successful amateur athletic programs, educating young people about the importance of sportsmanship, citizenship and fitness. The Operation Comfort Warriors program supports recovering wounded warriors and their families, providing them with “comfort items” and the kind of support that makes a hospital feel a little bit more like home. The Legion also raises millions of dollars in donations at the local, state and national levels to help veterans and their families during times of need and to provide college scholarship opportunities.

The American Legion is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization with great political influence perpetuated by its grass-roots involvement in the legislation process from local districts to Capitol Hill. Legionnaires’ sense of obligation to community, state and nation drives an honest advocacy for veterans in Washington. The Legion stands behind the issues most important to the nation’s veterans community, backed by resolutions passed by volunteer leadership. The American Legion’s success depends entirely on active membership, participation and volunteerism. The organization belongs to the people it serves and the communities in which it thrives.

Harford County is home to four American Legion Posts. If you are interested in finding out more about the American Legion, please contact one of the Posts listed below.

Edgewood, Post 17
Edgewood, MD
legionpost17@gmail.com
410-679-4659

Harford, MD, Post 39
Bel Air, MD
info@alpost39.org
410-838-2603

Bel Air, MD, Post 55
Bel Air, MD
410-838-0812

Bernard L. Tobin, MD, Post 128
Aberdeen, MD
aberdeenpost128@gmail.com
410-272-9812

American Legion information taken from the American Legion website.