Carroll County is not Deadwood

Thursday, March 9, 2006

On March 1, I attended the Court of Special Appeals hearing between Carroll County and Security Development Corporation, which wants to build a 254 back-to-back rental townhouse community off of Kali Drive in Eldersburg.

During the hearing, I was appalled to hear the developer’s attorney, Benjamin Rosenberg, compare Carroll County and its residents to the fictional town in HBO’s series ‘‘Deadwood.” He likened our county to ‘‘the wild west,” a comparison I fail to comprehend.

For those who don’t follow the HBO series, it involves a town in 1870s South Dakota, filled with criminals, thugs, prostitutes and low-lifes, all the while peppered with incalculable expletives, acts of violence, and overall corruption. In short, a truly horrible place to live.

When the honorable James R. Eyler mentioned that he was from Carroll County, Mr. Rosenberg shot back with something to the effect of the county has gotten a lot worse off since Judge Eyler lived there.

The other residents who attended the meeting along with me also heard these disparaging remarks, and were shocked that he made such a demeaning analogy.

If Security Development really wants to work with the residents of Carroll County on developing the land, they may want to actually spend some time here and see what this community is all about.

I think Mr. Rosenberg would discover that Carroll County, especially the area of Eldersburg⁄Sykesville, is nothing at all like the ‘‘wild west” of Deadwood, and that we’re actually a community of concerned residents who want what is best for our community.

This plan for 254 back-to-back rental townhouses, and the associated traffic, drain on the water supply, and overburdening of our schools, is clearly not what we need.

Mort Shuman, Eldersburg