20-40-100 Years Ago -- Feb. 26

Feb. 26—100 Years Ago

Feb. 26, 1923

The entire town of Emmitsburg was alarmed when a motorcycle caught fire in front of the Emmitsburg Motor Company Sunday. The machine, driven by Clarence Shaffer, York, Pa., was being filled with gas in front of the garage when it suddenly caught fire. The tank on the machine exploded and it was feared that the flames would spread to the large tank in front of the garage. An explosion of this tank would have endangered the entire town. The Emmitsburg Fire Company was summoned and the flames extinguished without causing much damage to property in Emmitsburg.

The cold snap of the past week seemingly has given way to a spell of warm spring weather. Saturday was a pleasant contrast to the preceding days and Sunday was just like a day of early spring. All day southerly winds blew over the hills and valleys of Frederick county causing the snow and ice to melt and giving the entire atmosphere the tinge of spring.

40 Years Ago

Feb. 26, 1983

Frederick City Historic District Commission (HDC) members Friday found several areas of concern with the city's proposed plans for the Court Street parking garage, and voted to continue discussion on the matter until new architectural drawings are made. HDC members expressed disapproval of the "horizontal lines" in the building's architecture, planters on each level and a concrete block facing West Patrick Street.

Several radio stations in Western Maryland will not broadcast regional or state high school basketball games because of the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association decision to charge fees to broadcasters. "One again, the state of Maryland has notified broadcasters at the last minute of what we feel is an exorbitant fee for regional and state basketball playoffs," said Tom O'Rourke, sports director of WCDC in Cumberland. "This is an attempt to penalize rural broadcasters," he said. "The stations in the big city markets don't cover high school games."

(Editor's Note: The News-Post does not have access to archives from 50 years ago for August 1972 through March 1973. The "50 Years Ago" summary will return April 1, 2023.)

20 Years Ago

Feb. 26, 2003

The Frederick County Commissioners were advised Tuesday to delay funding for nearly every Frederick County school construction and renovation project, trashing the county's approved six-year budget outline and the Board of Education's subsequent spending strategy.

Almost two yeas after a 90-day building moratorium was imposed by then-Mayor Jim Grimes because of strained water supplies, Frederick is still under a construction ban and is likely to stay there for several weeks longer. Last year's drought is over and the all remaining water restrictions were lifted last week, but city officials say that won't solve Frederick's problems. Mayor Jennifer Dougherty said the ban will be lifted only when the city finds another source of water, probably in late April when it gets a permanent permit for Well No. 4, hastily drilled last summer in the midst of the drought.