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www.carrollcountytimes.com $1.00
100TH ANNIVERSARY
1911-2011 Sunday, January 9, 2011

Man dies in crash on Interstate 70

Investigators are still searching for cause of accident
BY BRANDON OLAND
TIMES STAFF WRITER
Accident investigators are still
looking into the cause of a single-
vehicle crash that killed a Howard
County man late Friday night.
Matthew Williquette, 22, of the
5000 block of Kalmia Drive in
Dayton, died in the crash on In-
terstate 70 east of Md. 27 in Car-
roll County, according to a
Maryland State Police press re-
lease.
He was pronounced dead at the
scene, police said.
Williquette was driving a Dodge
SRT-10 eastbound on Interstate 70
when he lost control of the vehi-
cle, continued across all travel
lanes and went off the road onto
the grassy shoulder, according to
police. The vehicle collided with
several trees.
Williquette was the lone occu-
pant in the vehicle. The crash took
place just after 10:20 p.m. Friday.
The Mount Airy fire company was
first on the scene, police said.
The investigation is ongoing,
but it appears speed was a factor
in the crash, police said.
Eastbound Interstate 70 was
closed for approximately two
hours by the State Highway Ad-
ministration due to the crash.
Anyone with information re-
garding the accident is encour-
aged to contact the Maryland
State Police Westminster Bar-
racks at 410-386-3000.
Reach staff writer Brandon
Oland at 410- 857-7862 or bran
don.oland@carrollcountytimes.
com.

Delegation
has state’s
economy
on its mind
Pensions, budget
among other issues
facing Assembly
BY CHRISTIAN ALEXANDERSEN
AND RYAN MARSHALL
TIMES STAFF WRITERS
Pensions, small businesses and the
economy are among the top topics that
Carroll County’s delegation to the Gen-
eral Assembly
hopes to tackle
during the 2011
legislative session
in Annapolis. DAVE MUNCH/STAFF PHOTOS
The 90- day ses- Crews fight a house fire on Phyllis’s Reward Drive northeast of Westminster Saturday. The situation was worsened by
sion begins Wed- the cold temperatures and lack of water, according to Westminster Fire Department President Robert Cumberland.
nesday as mem-

House fire
bers of the House
of Delegates and
Senate introduce
bills and joint res-
olutions that could
shape the way the
state and its resi-
dents operate. The
General
all- Republican Assembly Westminster-area home went up in flames Saturday
delegation from
Carroll has a num- 2011 BY ALISHA GEORGE said. Cockey, their uncle, said the youth’s
ber of legislative TIMES STAFF WRITER parents, Scott and Heather Speert, were on
priorities members a bus trip to Atlantic City at the time of the
hope to address during the session. A fire ripped through a Westminster
house midday Saturday, destroying almost fire.
Here’s an accounting of what the dele- Westminster Fire Department spokesman
gation will be focusing on in Annapolis: the entire structure but leaving its occu-
pants uninjured. Robin Stansbury said the fire was well un-
Fire departments were dispatched at 1:30 derway when units first arrived.
Del. Donald Elliott, R- District 4B A second alarm and tanker task force
p.m. in response to a fire alarm on the 1000
Elliott said he wants to expand on a bill block of Phyllis’s Reward Drive off of Leis- alarms were sounded after firefighters
he sponsored that was passed during the ter’s Church Road, just northeast of city reported to the scene. It took about 30
2010 legislative session. The bill allows limits. minutes after the initial alarm to estab-
business owners with property tax liabil- A male and female, both minors, evacu- lish a consistent water source through
ity less than $50,000 to pay their bill in ated the house and called 911 after notic- Crews responded to a house fire near
two increments. ing the fire, Chad Cockey, of Westminster, Please see Fire, A9 Westminster Saturday.
The legislation, Elliott said, gave small
business owners the ability to improve
their cash flow by paying in increments.
Working with Del. Justin Ross, D- Dis-
trict 22, Elliott said he wants to expand
the bill so that it applies to all business
owners, no matter the amount of prop-
Couple wins NFL-themed ‘Man Cave’
erty tax liability.

Please see Delegation, A7

INSIDE
■ Q&As with Del. Justin Ready, R-
District 5A, and Sen. Joseph Getty,
R- District 5, on how they are
preparing for the upcoming General
Assembly session /A7
■ Carroll County Delegation holds
public hearing Saturday /A7
TV show to feature transformation
BY BRANDON OLAND
TIMES STAFF WRITER
ELDERSBURG — Ryan Don-
aldson went to great lengths to
watch multiple football games
simultaneously.
Donaldson set up seven
hand- me- down televisions,
connected them to cable boxes
and tuned each of them to a dif-
ferent game on National Foot-
ball League Sunday afternoons.
He doesn’t have to do that
anymore. He’s now the owner
of a new football- themed man
cave in what used to be an un-
finished basement.
Donaldson and his wife Jes-
sica won the redesign courtesy
of a nationwide contest through
DIY Network’s “Man Caves”
reality show hosted by former
Baltimore Ravens lineman
Tony Siragusa and licensed
contractor Jason Cameron.
The basement’s transforma-
tion into a palatial pigskin
hangout will be chronicled in
an episode called “Man Caves
NFL,” which will debut at 8 p.m.
Jan. 21 on the DIY Network.
“We’ll definitely be watch-
ing,” Ryan said. “We’re throw-
ing a big viewing party.”
It’s been one party after the
next since the basement was
completed in October. The
Donaldsons planned to use the DAVE MUNCH/STAFF PHOTO
basement for viewing parties Ryan Donaldson, right, tosses a football with Haley Tiede,
3, left, and Clayton Maticic, 3, in his football- themed
Please see Man Cave, A6 “man cave” in Eldersburg Saturday.

INSIDE
TODAY IN THE TIMES
© 2011, Carroll County Times
Classified D4- 8 Obituaries A4
Life & Times C1- 8 Opinion A8
Baltimore begins fight for Super Bowl Lottery A2 Puzzles D8
Nation/World A5 Sports B1-10
Ravens to face Chiefs in Wildcard playoff game. B1
Westminster, Maryland