Dundalk: Working Hard, Volunteering, Giving Back

With the end of the month of August in sight, it seems like summer has been
moving along at a tremendous clip. It is hard to believe that weeks have already elapsed since the 4th of July and all of the celebrations that are associated with it.

As usual, the Dundalk community put on a celebration unlike most others!

Along with nearly 60 friends, family, and volunteers, we kicked off our
Independence Day celebration about a week before the actual 4th by coordinating a roadway cleanup of my adopted street, Wise Avenue. By the time the clean-up had ended, the group saw Councilman John Olszewski, Sr. and Howard County Executive Ken Ulman join in to lend a hand, and had Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz stop by an appreciation cook-out to extend his thanks for the hard work of those cleaning up. All told, there are now 194 fewer pounds of trash, debris, and weeds along the Wise Avenue thoroughfare thanks to the efforts of these dedicated volunteers.

Similarly, heartfelt thanks must go out to the scores of volunteers that helped
make this year’s Heritage Fair, fireworks, and Independence Day parade such a success. The Fair volunteers deserve particular praise this year, as they not only spent countless hours building up and breaking things down as they usually do, but they had to spend a sleepless night to rebuild much of the event’s structures after a massive storm blew through the area June 29. It was a Herculean effort of which we all should be proud.

As a result of that storm, I also wanted to let residents know that I have expressed my concerns about the lengthy power outages to both the Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE) company as well as Maryland’s Public Service Commission, asking that they conduct a full and thorough review using recently passed reliability standard legislation as a guide for evaluating the response of BGE.

I am likewise thankful for public leaders like Angel Ball who has been forcefully advocating for our residents who are most at-risk. I worked with her and others to request that priority be given to our senior citizens, especially those with acute medical needs (such as oxygen tanks and the need to keep medicines
refrigerated). In the weeks ahead, I will continue to push both for more answers from our utilities as well as a more comprehensive plan, especially for our vulnerable residents.

With the couple of weeks of summer remaining, I hope that you and your family
remain safe and have a chance to enjoy all that our district has to offer, especially our parks and waterfront. And I hope that you might find the opportunity to celebrate and honor our country by giving back in your own unique ways, whether that is through coordinating a community cleanup or simply by becoming more involved in your local community association.

Whatever you do, you will be joining a community with a long
tradition of working hard and volunteering in an effort to give back.