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Hello, Westminster!
Today is Veterans Day. McDaniel College is holding its ceremony this morning, and City of Westminster offices are closed. The rest of the week is full: the Mistletoe Mart opens Thursday, Ted Lasso trivia is at Pub Dog that night, and the first of seven Carroll County high school fall shows opens.
In the news, Carroll County has named its next county administrator, and the Common Council voted 4-0 Monday night to approve $16 million in state loans for the city's water reuse project. The details are below. Also this week, the Board of Elections reviews provisional ballots Thursday and counts the remaining mail-in ballots Friday, when it plans to certify the school board and other results.
The rest is in the 👀 Around Town and 🔭 Looking Ahead sections below. Check out the new look of the front page of westminster-wire.com, too.
Let's get into it.
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Carroll County names Edwina "Eddie" Benites-LM as its next county administrator
The Board of County Commissioners has appointed Edwina "Eddie" Benites-LM, currently the county administrator of Jefferson County, West Virginia, to run day-to-day county government. She starts Dec. 7 and will be introduced to staff and the public at the commissioners' open session Nov. 19. She succeeds Roberta Windham, who retired this year after more than 11 years in the job. The full story has her background and what the county said about its search.
Common Council approves $16 million in state loans for Westminster's water reuse project
The Common Council voted 4-0 Monday to approve two state loans totaling $16 million for PUREWater Westminster, the city's plan to purify treated wastewater, send it into Cranberry Reservoir and treat it again as drinking water. Of the total, $7 million could be forgiven after 10 years if the city meets the loan terms. Mayor Mona Becker has said the project and the loans won't change water rates. The full story explains how the water would be cleaned, how the loans would be repaid and what comes next.
Seven Carroll County high schools stage fall productions over the next two weekends, and here’s how you can see them all
From Sondheim's Into the Woods at Liberty to Shakespeare at Century and South Carroll and Neil Simon's Fools at Westminster High, seven public high schools open fall plays and musicals between Nov. 12 and Nov. 21. The full story has show times, ticket prices and a seven-night plan for catching one from every school.
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👀 Around Town
🎖️ Veterans Day is today. McDaniel College, 2 College Hill, holds a free Veterans Day Ceremony from 10 a.m. to noon honoring veterans from the college and surrounding communities (event details). City of Westminster offices are closed for the holiday (city calendar).
🎖️ The Community Media Center is airing a full day of Veterans Day programming today, Wednesday, Nov. 11, with personal interviews with local veterans, including some from the Carroll County History Project. Watch on cable channel HD-1072 or Channel 19. Programming details
🍕 Pub Dog Brewing Company, 1203 New Windsor Road, donates 15% of dine-in and carry-out orders to the Westminster High School cross country team from 4 to 9 p.m. today, Wednesday, Nov. 11. (event details)
🏛️ The Carroll County Board of Education meets at 4 p.m. today, Wednesday, Nov. 11, at the Board office and hears public comment as part of that meeting. The meeting can be livestreamed on the CCPS YouTube page. (Board of Education page)
🗳️ The Carroll County Board of Elections reviews provisional ballots Thursday, Nov. 12, and counts the remaining mail-in ballots Friday, Nov. 13, when it plans to certify the results. Results are unofficial until then. Latest Westminster Wire election coverage
⚽ Ted Lasso Trivia Night is Thursday, Nov. 12, at 6:30 p.m. at Pub Dog Brewing Company, 1203 New Windsor Road. It's free to play, with prizes (event details).
🎄 The 52nd Annual Mistletoe Mart fills Church of the Ascension, 23 N. Court St., Thursday, Nov. 12, through Saturday, Nov. 14, with more than 40 juried artisans, a café, a country store and a handmade quilt raffle. Hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday. Admission is $7 for adults, good for all three days, and free for children under 12. Proceeds support local and global ministries. Event details
🎭 Carroll Community College's theater program stages Animal Farm, Nelson Bond's adaptation of the George Orwell story, Thursday, Nov. 12, through Saturday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 15, at 2 p.m. in the Kelly W. Hill Theater at the Scott Center, 1601 Washington Road. It's rated PG-13, and tickets are $15 (Animal Farm details). Also, Small Town Stars Theatre Company's James and the Giant Peach runs Friday and Saturday, Nov. 13 and 14, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 15, at 2 p.m. at Synergy Space, 519 Old Westminster Pike. Tickets are $22.50 for adults, $20.42 for students and seniors and $12.10 for children 10 and under, including fees (tickets and details).
🎓 High school drama season starts this week. Liberty High School opens Into the Woods Thursday, Nov. 12, and Century, Francis Scott Key, Manchester Valley and Winters Mill open their shows Friday, Nov. 13. Westminster High's Fools follows next week. Schedules, ticket prices and links
🌙 Silent Night, Dark Reads is an after-hours soiree with mocktails, small bites and music on Friday, Nov. 13, at 6 p.m. at Shop Rebels, 37 E. Main St. Entry is $15. (event details)
🛍️ Saturday, Nov. 14, brings two holiday markets. The Pleasant Valley Fire Co., 2030 Pleasant Valley Road, holds Christmas in the Valley from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a bazaar, crafts, food and an open train garden, and admission is free (event details). The Carroll County Farmers' Market and Craft Show hosts its Local Art Guild Show from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Ag Center, 706 Agriculture Drive, also free (event details). The Downtown Westminster Farmers Market is open 8 a.m. to noon in the Conaway parking lot across from 27 Railroad Ave. (market website).
🧘 Lotus On Main holds an open house Saturday, Nov. 14, from 1 to 3 p.m., with tours of the new space, a meet-the-instructors session, refreshments and giveaways. (event details)
A look at what’s coming soon to the Carroll Arts Center on Main Street in Westminster.
🪗 Also Saturday, Nov. 14, at the Carroll Arts Center, 91 W. Main St.: The Livebox plays traditional Maryland and Chesapeake music, with Peter Brice on accordion and Tess Hartis on fiddle, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 to $28, and local beer and wine are for sale (tickets and details). Earlier that day, The Art of Zentangle runs 1 to 3:30 p.m. ($45, supplies included; ages 18 and up or 12 to 17 with an adult; registration).
🐝 The Bee a Rae of Sunshine Foundation's ‘80s Dance Fundraiser is Saturday, Nov. 14, from 6:30 to 11 p.m. at the Westminster Moose Family Center, featuring the New Romance Band. Tickets are $40 early-bird and $45 after, with one draft beer included, and Moose Lodge membership is not required. (event details)
🎶 McDaniel College, 2 College Hill, has two free concerts. A student solo recital is Friday, Nov. 13, at 7 p.m. (event details). On Sunday, Nov. 15, McDaniel for the Holidays, a seasonal concert by college music faculty and community members, runs from 7 to 9 p.m. (event details)
🍔 $10 Tuesdays at Brewery Fire Taphouse in the 140 Village bring weekly specials on burgers, wings and appetizers. Plus, you can get two drafts for $10 or two glasses of select wines. (Brewery Fire website)
🧸 Winters Mill High School JrROTC students have placed a Toys for Tots box at Plum Crazy Diner, collecting new, unwrapped toys through Dec. 3. (details)
🔭 Looking Ahead
🏛️ The Common Council holds a worksession Monday, Nov. 16, and the Planning & Zoning Commission meets Thursday, Nov. 19 (city calendar). Also Thursday, Nov. 19, the county commissioners hold their regular open session, where new County Administrator Edwina "Eddie" Benites-LM is formally introduced. Read about her appointment
🎟️ On Tuesday, Nov. 17, the Historical Society of Carroll County, 210 E. Main St., hosts a Box Lunch Talk by the Rev. Dr. James Benedict on Church of the Brethren beliefs, practices and customs, from noon to 1 p.m. ($3 to $5; event details).
🎼 Carroll Community College has two free concerts at the Scott Center, 1601 Washington Road: student recitals Wednesday, Nov. 18, at 1 p.m., and the folk and Renaissance group Ayreheart Friday, Nov. 20, at 7 p.m. (music event details)
🎭 Theater picks up Thursday, Nov. 19. Westminster High School's Theatre Department presents Neil Simon's comedy Fools Nov. 19, 20 and 21 at 6:30 p.m., with an additional 2:30 p.m. show Nov. 21. Tickets are $8 for students and $12 for adults (all seven high school shows). McDaniel's Theatre Arts department stages Summer and Smoke Thursday, Nov. 19, and Friday, Nov. 20, at 7:30 p.m. in Alumni Hall, 2 College Hill ($10 to $12; event details).
🚂 The Deer Park Lions Club's Toy Train Show is Sunday, Nov. 22, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Ag Center, 706 Agriculture Drive. It features a large operating layout and about 190 tables of trains. Admission is $5, and children under 12 are free. (Ag Center website)
🎺 The Westminster Municipal Band presents its annual holiday concert, "Sounds of the Season," on Monday, Nov. 30, at 7 p.m. at the Scott Center, 1601 Washington Road, Carroll Community College. (event details)
🎄 A Day of Christmas Cheer is Saturday, Dec. 5, from noon to 4 p.m. at the Carroll County Farm Museum, 500 S. Center St. (event details)
🐧 Hashawha Holidays is Saturday, Dec. 12, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Hashawha Environmental Center, with artisan vendors, crafts, cocoa and a Martin Cabin open house. It's cash only, with a $10-per-car donation suggested, and proceeds benefit the Raptor Animal Ambassadors. (event details)
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