Little House in the Hollow in the news again!

Read about Brian & Raina's dream house by clicking on the link above.

Fall Festival on Main St. Saturday the 27th

The annual Fall Festival in Old Ellicott City will be this Saturday from 12-5pm on Main Street. There are all sorts of special events, including music, blacksmithing demos, a fashion show, tours, and a beer garden.

Stream cleanup to be held at 9 a.m. Saturday in Oella

From the Friends of the Patapsco Valley & Heritage Greenway:

Please join us for our bi-annual river cleanup along the Patapsco River in historic Ellicott City and Oella. Betsy McMillion is our stream captain. Volunteers will meet and sign in near the bridge that crosses the Patapsco River on the Baltimore County side, across from the Trolley Stop Restaurant. Signs will be posted to direct you to the registration table. Volunteers under 16 years old must be accompanied and supervised by an adult volunteer.

We will be cleaning up riverbanks on both Baltimore and Howard county sides of the river. Please park in public parking lot A next to the Trolley Stop Restaurant. For a detailed map of the historic district, please go to http://www.ellicottcity.net/tourism/parking. Ellicott City is also holding a Fall Arts Festival later that same day. You might want to hang around after our work is done and enjoy the festivities along Main Street Ellicott City!

We ask our volunteers to wear comfortable shoes and clothes, wearing a hat, long pants and shirt, so any prickly underbrush or insects won't bother you! Chances are you may get wet, so you might want to wear appropriate clothes and water-proof shoes or boots. We also recommend everyone bring their own sunscreen and insect repellant. Unfortunately, there are no nearby "public" restrooms available, so please plan accordingly.

Please bring your own work or garden gloves and a shovel if you have one. Sometimes we find embedded items near the water that can only be removed with shovels. There are also lots of "floatable" items that have been washed down nearby storm drains off main highways, county roads and parking lots which end up in our streams and rivers! We need all the help we can get! To get an idea of what happens during our cleanup events, please visit the website where we post photos of our volunteers in action at http://patapscofriend.myphotoalbum.com. We will provide bottled water and some snacks for the thirsty and hungry. It's hard work picking up this trash!

This stream cleanup will be cancelled in the event of rain. In the event of light rain, please call 410-480-0824 to verify the event has not been cancelled.

CFLs and Batteries now accepted at the Western Acceptance Facility in Halethorpe

Take CFLs & batteries to the facility at:

End of Transway Road, off 4500 block Hollins Ferry Road (Beltway Exit 9).
Monday - Saturday, 7 a.m.- 4 p.m.


Click on the link above to access more info and directions.

Foreclosure help in Maryland

Luckily, there haven't been many foreclosures in Oella, but we have had a few. If you face foreclosure, the there is help to avoid it. Go to www.mdhope.org for information on preventing foreclosure and finding a nonprofit housing counselor.

Building Permits Info

Here is some useful info on building permit requirements in Baltimore County (thanks to the Baltimore Sun article):

Permits are required for additions, decks, new fences, or replacement fences of greater height, sheds >120 sq. ft. or in Chesapeake Bay critical area), plumbing & electrical upgrades, pools larger than 15 ft. in diameter.

No permit is required for replacement roofs, windows, and doors.

It is the responsibility of the homeowner to ensure that contractors have obtained the required permits. We've had instances where homeowners were cited by the county when their contractors did not obtain the proper permits. Expensive work had to be completely redone. Misery all around!

Fees: $25-200

Contacts:
Dept. of Permits and Development Review
County Office Building
111 West Chesapeake Ave., Suite 105
Towson
410-887-3900

www.baltimorecountymd.gov/Agencies/permits/index.html

BGE drilling holes in telephone poles for termite treatment

Don't worry if you see wood shavings & holes in your telephone poles. The poles are scheduled for a termite treatment (prevention). The noise will go away soon. The crew moves pretty quickly.

New Community Outreach Officer

Please welcome our new community outreach officer, Ofc. Bill Rubie. You'll sometimes see him on patrol in the neighborhood. You can reach him at 410-744-1584 if you have non-emergency questions or concerns. If you have an emergency, call 911 for help.

Learn Bay-wise landscape techniques in Oella

The Howard County Master Gardeners tour to highlight Bay-wise landscaping techniques is scheduled from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 13, at 706 Race Road. No advance registration is required. The rain date is Sept. 14. Information: Howard County Cooperative Extension Service, 410-313-1913.

Remembrance of Sept. 11

A resident has asked the blogger to remind the community that Thursday is the 7th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Please fly your flags in honor of the day.

Oella Master Gardener in the news

An article about the Baum property on Race Rd., a Bay-Wise Demonstration Landscape, was published in the Sun. Read about how the Baums are working to be good stewards of the Bay by clicking on the link above.

Repost of Blog Rules

After receiving (and rejecting!) an anonymous comment that was a direct personal attack on the blogger, she feels it is necessary to re-post the blog rules. This will not be a forum for nasty comments and jibes. This is to keep Oellians informed.


Blog Rules:

We are happy to post comments received in response to the information provided on the blog. We do, however, reserve the right to edit all material for length and content, as well as the right to refuse publication of any material submitted. Care will be taken to preserve the core of the writer’s comment. Comments that do not follow the rules will be deleted. We feel this policy is necessary given the fact that anyone with internet access can read this blog and post comments. We do not wish to burden you with irrelevant information.

1) Please identify whether you live within the Oella Homeowners Association (HOA) or not. We will allow comments from people outside the Oella HOA if they contain pertinent information (within reason). You may also wish to include your name and/or address, but that is optional. We respect that homeowners may wish to protect their privacy.

2) Please stick to topics that are relevant to the Oella HOA.

3) Architectural Review Committee (ARC) requests or decisions affecting HOA-owned property may be posted, but no individual property requests or decisions will be discussed. Please contact the ARC directly if you wish to discuss an individual property.

4) No personal insults, profanity, lengthy rants, or bickering. We'd like to keep this "strictly business." The aim is for the blog to provide an efficient platform where Oella HOA members can access community news and post comments on such news at their convenience.

5) The blogger can institute new rules at any time without prior notice.

Please keep outdoor cats on your own property or leash them

There have been some complaints about outdoor cats using people's gardens as litter boxes. While we all appreciate the rodent control, it is actually against the law and HOA rules to allow ANY pets, including cats, off leash when not on your private property.

Please make sure your cats aren't going onto other peoples' lots uninvited. It's a nasty surprise to find cat poop in your yard, especially if your kids play there or you grow food. It's also possible to spread disease if someone is scratched or bitten.

Believe it or not, cats can be trained to walk on leashes!

If someone complains about your cat to Animal Control, you could end up with a fine.

Thanks for your cooperation.