New HdG School Project To Break Ground: Glassman

BEL AIR, MD — Harford County Executive Barry Glassman announced several developments in his final "State of the County" address that had ties to Havre de Grace. The new school project, half marathon and tourism industry were among the highlights.

The Havre de Grace Middle/High School project will break ground before spring, he said.

"We hope to break ground here in a month or so," Glassman reported on Tuesday.

The county executive, whose alma mater is Havre de Grace High School, said that hopefully the new school would be open by the 40th anniversary of the class of 1980.

Glassman also noted another new happening in the coming year: a half marathon.

"We'll be running across the Susquehanna River in September," Glassman said. The half marathon will raise money for the Al Cesky Scholarship Fund.

The route called for running across the Hatem Bridge, a venue that he said required a lot of assistance to get permission to use.

“You would not believe how complicated that was,” Glassman said.

He emphasized the importance of the tourism and attracting people to town to helping local businesses.

Visit Harford has received $3 million over the last three years, Glassman said. Aberdeen received $1.7 million from the lodging fee, and Havre de Grace received nearly $900,000 toward its museums and tourist attractions, he said.

While there were many points Glassman celebrated in reflecting on his term and in looking at the year ahead, he said there would be some challenges.

Among them were the cost of health care and the opioid epidemic. He said that Harford would join other counties in filing suit against opioid manufacturers and distributors and was planning a 24-hour crisis line for those seeking treatment.

Said Glassman: "...recovery is possible."

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Still from Harford County live stream of "State of the County" address.