Published: July 22, 2007 11:30 am         

Let’s improve safety of walkers, bikers

Cumberland may be a friendly town — but that is hardly the case when it comes to the treatment of pedestrians.

In the crosswalks and intersections of the Queen City, it is every man for himself.

It’s a problem that needs addressed.

A few years ago, the city installed yellow stanchion-like signs at a couple of intersections outside City Hall. There was talk of more of those signs being placed at other high-traffic intersections. But that has not happened.

Now that Cumberland is a hub activity because of the Allegheny Highlands Trail — to say nothing of the popular Friday After Five and the Farmers Market— it is time to do more to protect those walkers and bikers.

In the past, City Police spent some time monitoring the intersection of Baltimore and Mechanic streets to see if pedestrians were being given the right-of-way. In one instance, a half-dozen motorists were pulled over for failing to yield to those in the crosswalk. Under Maryland law, motorists must yield to pedestrians in crosswalks. If they don’t, the fine can be as much as $500.

Pedestrian safety is a priority in most Maryland cities. It should be here, too....

Kudos to the city for the cleanup job at the Baltimore Street underpass. A check last week of the underpass, which allows pedestrians to cross Queen City Drive when CSX trains are using the Baltimore Street crossing, found the tunnel to be generally litter-free and rid of the offensive odor that drew complaints in the past. There is still some graffiti on the walls, but otherwise the passage was clean and well-lighted....

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra performed concerts at the Wisp Resort Lodge at Deep Creek Lake last weekend and talks are under way to establish a long-range relationship that would bring the orchestra to the lake on a regular basis.

“There are a lot of Pittsburghers who have second homes here and are part of this community,” Michael Bielski, PSO senior vice president, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “It is not that culture doesn’t exist here, but going to the next level with a quality symphony orchestra would be mind-blowing,” Charlie Ross, president of the Garrett County Chamber of Commerce, told the newspaper....

Don’t look for the nation’s nursing shortage to go away anytime soon.

Scripps Howard News Service reports that even though 20 percent of all the world’s registered nurses are in the U.S., there still are vacancy rates of as much as 20 percent in many hospitals and nursing homes. By 2020, as many baby boomers move into their infirm years, the shortage is expected to be 800,000.

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing found that nearly 40,000 qualified candidates were turned away from undergraduate programs last year because there were not enough faculty members, classroom space and other resources available to them, Scripps Howard said....

Maryland Voices of the Civil War by Charles W. Mitchell is a brand new book illuminating the human complexities of the Civil War era and the political realignment that enabled Marylanders to abolish slavery in their state before the end of the war.

The book draws on hundreds of letters, diaries and period newspapers to portray a variety of people caught in the emotional vice of the war.

One interesting local observation came from John M., Buchanon, an Ellerslie farmer who wrote to his son, Horace, about Union hospitals and troops, and the dramatically increased prices of hay, wheat, oats, beef, flour and corn:

“Cumberland is crambed full of soldiers, and by far the best dressed men, and the finest looking men I have seen since the War commenced, is the Illinois 39th Regt. I was in town last Saturday. A call was made for troops to New Creek, in Virginia — and in one hour, the Illinois soldiers, mustering more than one thousand strong, with a full band of musick, with the Rifles on their shoulders and their knapsacks on their backs, were on their march to meet the Southern thieves and Cutthroats.

“The Belvedeir Hall, the Barnum Hotel, the National Hotel, on the corner of Baltimore and Mechanic streets — Doct. James M. Smith’s Dwelling house, Knost’s tavern house opposite the Catholic church, and many other houses, are all turned into Hospitals, for the Poor sick Union soldiers — and not less than 30 or 40 other houses are used as Barracks for the soldiers. Notwithstanding so many men are quartered in Cumberland, and so many Teams and Calvary horses are kept there, times are very bad, money is extremely scarce...”

The book is published by Johns Hopkins University Press....

Seen on the Internet — Strange laws:

* California law prohibits a woman from driving a car while dressed in a housecoat.

* In Cleveland, it is unlawful to leave chewing gum in public places.

* In Washington State, you can’t carry a concealed weapon that is over 6 feet in length.

* In San Francisco, there is an ordinance which bans the picking up and throwing of used confetti.

* In Phoenix, you can’t walk through a hotel lobby with spurs on.

* In Utah, daylight must be visible between dancing couples.

Jan Alderton is managing editor of the Cumberland Times-News. His email address is jpalderton@times-news.com.