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Promised Land is now showing at R/C Theatres Frostburg Cinema. Led by a star-studded cast featuring Matt Damon and including John Krasinski, Hal Holbrook, and Frances McDormand, the film hits close to home by taking on the natural gas industry. Given the mixed feelings about natural gas drilling in western Maryland, perhaps the Appalachian Independent can provide a public forum for reviewing and reacting to the issues addressed in the film. Please use our comment section to participate in this important conversation.

A description of the film from the website of FOCUS Features is provided below. Click on this link to view the trailer:

In Promised Land, Matt Damon stars as Steve Butler, a corporate salesman whose journey from farm ...

Jamison Odone, Assistant Professor of Illustration and Drawing at Frostburg State University

and a former resident of Connecticut, took up his pen to help process the terrible tragedy of Sandy Hook

Elementary.

"With a heavy heart I took up my pen and made this homage illustration," he said. "PLEASE
feel free to share it anywhere you'd like--facebook, twitter, instagram, etc.
The drawing lists the names and ages of all those who died a town over from
where I lived in Connecticut before I moved to Maryland to work at FSU."

 Elk have not roamed freely in western Maryland since the early 1800s, but after a year of feasibility studies, their reintroduction has moved from improbable to potential. In Western Maryland, the Maryland Legislative Sportsmen’s Foundation (MLSF), the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF) are leading the charge to reintroduce Elk. In 2011, the grouping announced the formation of a partnership to determine the viability of elk reintroduction to Western Maryland. As their investigations move forward and plans for reintroduction gain traction among hunters, outdoor enthusiasts, and some economic development officials, opposition in other quarters is mounting.

Reintroduction of Elk in Appalachia began in earnest in ...