The News from Four Quarters

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Building, planting and planning. Sharing ceremony and good, home raised food.
Oddities in the weather and how the orchard did.
Observations on the Global Crisis.
Earth Spirit and Earth Living.
These are all parts of the News from Four Quarters. Enjoy.

December 18, 2018

Update on the Road Case

Installing the emergency bypass culvert

    We have very good news with the roadway case after our third court hearing on Friday Dec 18th.

    As you know, in our first hearing the court basically threw the book at us, and issued a ruling worded in such a way as to allow the court to order the closure of Four Quarters.

     In our second hearing of Aug 3rd the court reversed its position and recognized the engineering plans we had created at great expense, and perhaps hastened by the fact that the roadway had washed out just two days before, granted us emergency powers to proceed with the reconstruction of the washed out crossing according to plan. The court reserved for a future hearing any decision on "reasonable use," the legal doctrine on which it had based its threat of closure.

December 3, 2018

The Nightmare Festival at Four Quarters

Nifghtmare Stage under the Pavillion, October 2018

It was a dark and stormy night...

It was a dark and stormy night again...

and again, and again.

And mud too. Lots of mud.

Such was the NightMare Festival at Four Quarters, our emergency response to 4,000 young people losing their longtime venue at Camp Ramblewood in Havre de Grace, Maryland. Seems some poor fool parked their car in someone else's front yard (that someone else being the local Judge) but that's another story!

The compelling story is that over the course of five years, Chad Bozzarelli and his organization, ProperOps, had proved the critics wrong by developing a very late season outdoor music event. So late season it was held on Halloween Weekend, with all the cold and wet weather that implies. There had been plenty of cold, wet weather, and in the early years, financials that were just above break-even. But by 2017 NightMare had become a stunning success, and had grown a small army of smiling, loyal supporters, all apparently to end not with a bang, but a whimper.

October 24, 2018

Our Wettest Year... EVER

The Big Bottom suffers a flooding downpour – Photo: K. Griffith

Just about anyone who has been on the Land this year, at any of our major events or festival weekends, got rained on. And by that, I mean got rained on a LOT. Deluge Rain. Biblical Rain. Epic Rain. Wickermuck. Mud ’N’ Splash. Flood’s Rising. Big Mud. … you get the idea.

Since Beltaine, we have seen something like five out of six weeks wet at Four Quarters. Not till Stones Rising and immediately following, other than a brief bit of relief in July, did we see any real period of dry spells. Extended meaning – more than 48 hours rain free. Go mow the lawn while you can.

Where I live in Berkeley Springs, downtown got flooded three times. In the worst event in June, we lost roads, bridges, and the Cacapon Dam was overtopped and nearly breached. Ellicott City, MD had its downtown devastated by a muddy flash flood. In July, Baltimore received rainfall in the realm of 18 inches, normal is about 3.5. While I write this, from my studio window the lawn is still almost May-green in mid-October, even as leaves begin to fall. They don't seem to change color much this year, they just kind of get tired and fall off. Those of us with older houses are combating fierce outbreaks of mold in basements, kitchens, and between the walls thanks to the relentless wet conditions.

October 14, 2018

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Roger Grandstaff, President Emeritus – Photo: W Bachteler

It is with great pride and deep appreciation that the Board of Directors welcomes back our past President Roger Grandstaff, who is returning to serve as a Seated Member of the Board of Directors in the capacity of President Emeritus. His deep wisdom, experience, and history of service are especially welcome.

October 1, 2018

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Stone Circle in Summer 2016 – Photo: K Griffith.

For Release

The Board of Directors of Four Quarters InterFaith have a number of very important announcements to make.

1: Mark Hargreaves is on temporary leave of absence from his position as Vice-President, as he improves his health. Mark has our prayers. Ivy Sturm will serve as a seated BoD Member in his stead during his absence. Sophia Shultz has resigned her position effective Sept 1st, citing the stress of her personal life. Our BoD has grown from the traditional four seats, to the present six seats, in accordance with our constitution.

September 25, 2018

NOTICE: DRIVEWAY CASE 9/28 TRIAL DATE POSTPONED

Beford County Court House.

To our members and supporters,

Please be advised that we have to postpone our Friday 9/28 trial date due to a family emergency with our legal team. We will announce when a new date is set. We are very thankful and appreciative to anyone who may have made have made arrangements for Friday. We hope you’ll come out to support us when the new date is set.

Blessings of the Land.

Board of Directors
Four Quarters Interfaith.

Download/View the 2nd Interim Court Order - [PDF file, 351 KB ]

Summary of Court Proceedings - 4 Aug 2018

August 8, 2018

Driveway Case: Second Interim Court Order

Click "Read More" to View/Download the Court Order.

For Immediate Release

Today August 8th, 2018 Four Quarters InterFaith received the Order of the Court of Common Pleas, Bedford County; finding for our Church and allowing the complete emergency rebuilding of Bridgeport Road to the specifications of our DEP permits. The Judge has specifically forbidden any interference by the defendants in this work. In consultation with our engineers, work will begin immediately.

The Board of Directors
Four Quarters InterFaith

The News from Four Quarters

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