Poolesville

Poolesville Holiday Lighting Ceremony to Take Place December 1st

By Patrick Herron

“Join us at Poolesville’s 18th annual Holiday Lighting Ceremony, Friday, Dec.1st at 6 p.m. as Whalen Commons is transformed into a Winter Wonderland. We have an exciting line-up of festivities planned for the evening, which include the following: A chance to visit Santa at his workshop, musical and dance performances, visits with Frosty & Rudolph, a ride aboard the “Polar Express”, a special reading by Mrs. Claus of “Twas the Night Before Christmas”, ice skating rink, wood sculpture demos, shop local with PACC artisans, PACC sponsored Gingerbread Cookie Decorating (at the Poolesville Museum), Calleva’s wagon rides through town, WUMCO Basket Auction, Shine On Together Gingerbread House Decorating Contest, and food trucks.

Santa will arrive courtesy of the Upper Montgomery County Volunteer Fire Department at 6:30 pm and the official Tree Lighting takes place at 6:45 pm. It’s the most wonderful time of the year!”

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Rockland Farm Owner Responds to White’s Ferry Announcement of Increased Offer to Purchase Landing Site

By Patrick Herron

On Wednesday,  the owners of White’s Ferry announced they had increased their offer to purchase the Virginia landing site from Rockland Farm to $1.25 million, an increase of $150,000 from the offer that was made in January. We reached out to Rockland Farms owner Libby Delvin, who provided the following response: “We continue to believe that a volume-based fee based on the amount and size of vehicles using our land is the fairest way to compensate us for the use of our land. Fifty-cents per car is very reasonable. The operator can increase the fee of the ferry and pay Rockland Farm accordingly. Most people are willing to pay an additional incremental amount in order to re-open the ferry.”

Other options also recently proposed by the Kuhns as ways to get the ferry opened as soon as possible, include:

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Owners of White’s Ferry Increase Offer to Purchase Landing Site From Virginia’s Rockland Farm

By MCS Staff

Statement by White’s Ferry: “To encourage the re-opening of White’s Ferry, ferry owners Chuck and Stacy Kuhn worked closely with Maryland, Virginia, Montgomery, and Loudoun Counties, and previous ferry owner Herb Brown to once again make an offer to purchase the Virginia landing site from Rockland Farm in an effort to get the ferry reopened for its nearly 1,100 daily users. The newest offer is now for $1.25 million for the 1.4 acres, an increase from the last offer in January of $1.1 million. Both offers are well above the land value.

Other options also recently proposed by the Kuhns as ways to get the ferry opened as soon as possible, include:

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Interesting Facts About Montgomery County’s Agricultural Reserve

By MCS Staff

One-third of Montgomery County, or 93,000 acres, is designated as the Agricultural Reserve. This unique area of contiguous farmland has special characteristics:

Montgomery County’s diverse agricultural industry is home to 558 farms, employs more than 10,000 people, and contributes $281 million to the County’s economy. AG Facts Below:

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Future of White’s Ferry to be Discussed This Monday

By Patrick Herron

The Montgomery County Transportation and Environment (TE) Committee will hold a public hearing on Monday, October 16 at 9:30am to discuss the future of White’s Ferry.  County Council President Evan Glass tell us, “Ever since White’s Ferry closed in 2020, much of the discussions and negotiations have been in private. Residents routinely ask me about any updates to the situation, which is why I have called this public hearing. People have a lot of questions and it’s important to have a public conversation on an issue that affects so many people.”  White’s Ferry ceased operations back in December 2020 over a legal dispute with Rockland Farms.

In March, the owners of White’s Ferry announced that Rockland Farm, the Virginia landing site for the ferry, rejected a $1.1 million dollar offer to purchase the site that included funds from White’s Ferry’s owners, both Montgomery and Loudoun Counties, and additional funds from Herb Brown, the original ferry owner. Chuck and Stacy Kuhn, owners of JK Moving Services, purchased the Ferry in February 2021. “We have run out of options and will now seek to sell the ferry land and operations to Montgomery County so it can work to invoke eminent domain and acquire the Virginia landing site,” Chuck Kuhn said.

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2023 MoCo Haunted Trail & Forest Guide

By Patrick Herron

The haunt is a benefit performance for Calleva, a 501c3 organization dedicated to building young leaders through positive outdoor experiences. “We spend all year empowering people through outdoor experiences that foster teamwork & individual achievement,” says Nick Markoff, one of the three brothers who founded Calleva. “Then we bring them out to Markoff’s Haunted Forest to knock their confidence back a bit.”  The haunt began as a small scale event, but has grown into one of the nation’s top-ranked performances. Markoff’s Haunted Forest still helps fund Calleva’s summer camp scholarships, community partnerships, and outdoor education programming. It’s a partnership that delivers seasonal fun AND year-round benefits to our Montgomery County neighborhood. Tickets are on sale now at www.markoffshauntedforest.com.

“Since 1992, when the Markoff brothers started with a Haunted School Bus driven to events and festivals around DC, our haunt has provided fright fest lovers with a creative, dramatic, and – YES — terrifying haunt experience. Our creative team combines music, lights, scents, actors, make-up & prosthetics, and artistic brilliance in a series of high-tech, detailed scenes that consistently place MHF among the top haunts in the country.”

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One MoCo Restaurant Makes Eater DC’s ‘Hottest New Restaurants Around DC’ List (October 2023)

By MCS Staff

Each month popular food website, Eater, answers the question “Where should I eat right now?” In their October 2023 edition, Eater DC has included just Montgomery County restaurant in its list of buzzworthy restaurants that have been open for less than six months. For the second month in a row, The Farmhouse Bistro at the Crossvines (16601 W Willard Rd, Poolesville, MD) has made the list.

Our very own Mr. MoCo stated, “Farmhouse Bistro has quickly become one of my favorite places to eat in MoCo. The burger was one of the best I’ve ever eaten (that’s bacon and onion jam on it), and the fish and chips were the best I’ve ever had. This is one of the few places where everything was good so anything you see, I recommend.” A reel of his visit can be seen below.

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Sugarloaf Mountain Sets Reopening Date With Notable Changes

By MCS Staff

Sugarloaf Mountain, a Stronghold property, has been closed since an attempted break-in at the Strong Mansion on August 19th. Stronghold Inc., the non-profit that owns and operates the property, has announced that it will be reopening the property with notable changes. “The Stronghold property will be open to the public under these conditions beginning on October 10th.  Please enjoy the property respectfully.” The changes, per Stronghold, can be seen below:

Notable Changes: Visitors will no longer be allowed to park in the crossroads or “square”. This change will keep the intersection clear of inappropriately parked vehicles, eliminate late night loitering, and stop after hours entry onto the Stronghold property. This change will also provide a needed staging area for all EMS vehicles during emergencies.

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Upper Montgomery County VFD Open House and Local Vendor Fair This Sunday

By Cordell Pugh

The Upper Montgomery County Volunteer Fire Department is hosting their fall open house, along with a local vendor fair, this Sunday (October 8) from 12PM to 4PM at 19801 Beallsville Road Beallsville, MD 20839. According to the UMCVFD, the event will feature a pumpkin patch, hay rides, Fire & Rescue Service demonstrations, and police vehicles on display. Additionally more than 30 vendors will be present at this Sunday’s event. Visitors can enjoy free hot dogs, Cotton Candy, and giveaways for children.

At their newly-expanded Beallsville Road firehouse, the Upper Montgomery County VFD currently has an ambulance, Canteen Unit, several boats paired with support vehicles as part of their Swiftwater Rescue Team, Medic Unit, Brush Truck, Brush Engine, Rescue Engine, and Tanker. The units responded to more than 1,200 calls in 2022.

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