LaVale Civic Improvement Association, Inc.

LCIA Executive Committee Members, 2025 - Photo taken by: Tabitha Barbarito

Dear Neighbor,

Thank you for visiting the home page of the LaVale Civic Improvement Association. The purpose of this site is to assist in informing and uniting all LaVale residents. Here, you'll find community links, discussion boards, local information, and current activities.

Any and all comments are welcome.

All residents of LaVale are members of the LaVale Civic Improvement Association. Your ideas, talents, and participation will help to Build a Better Life in LaVale.

News / Announcements

LaVale VFD Trunk or Treat – November 1^st

LaVale Volunteer Fire Dept., at 421 National Highway in LaVale, will host a Trunk or Treat event on Saturday, November 1^st from 5:30 PM until 7:30 PM. LCIA will be participating in this event! Parking will be available in the rear lot and beside LaVale Post Office. Take stairs to rear lot for the Trunk or Treat area.

November 1, 2025 LaVale VFD Trunk or Treat Informational Flyer

Fall Clean-up Day – November 1^st

The LCIA and Braddock Run Watershed Assoc. will be cleaning up the Native Plant Garden at the corner of Helman Dr. and National Hwy. in LaVale on November 1^st, beginning at 9:00 AM (or as you are able). Please join us! All participants are asked to please bring their own rake and gloves to this event.

This year we plan to tackle some additional projects for Fall Clean-up Day:

Installation of two benches at Lion's Field in LaVale. The benches, gifted to LCIA by the city of Cumberland, were formerly installed on the downtown mall prior to renovations.
Spray painting of some red/green/blue/yellow chairs/tables that have become weathered, at LaVale Library.

It will be a progressive workday, so all volunteers are asked to meet at the plant garden. After the garden clean-up is completed, we will move on to each additional project/location from there.

More details below...

November 1, 2025 Helman Drive Native Plant Garden Clean-up Informational Flyer

Exploration Committee for a
Dog Park in LaVale

Dear LaVale neighbors,

The LaVale Civic Improvement Association (LCIA) has kicked around the idea of a dog park in LaVale for several years. Last spring, interest was again expressed in having a local dog park. A group from LCIA met with 2 volunteers from the Frostburg Dog Park in July to learn all we could from them about starting and operating a dog park. After this meeting, a committee of volunteers was formed to continue exploring this possibility.

The committee's next meeting will be held at the LaVale Library; 815 National Hwy; LaVale, MD 21502 on Wednesday, November 5, 2025 at 6:15 pm. We would welcome any LaVale resident who shares this interest in a LaVale Dog Park to join us at this meeting.

Thanks,
Cathy Chapman - Chairperson
LCIA Dog Park Exploration Committee

November 5, 2025 LCIA Dog Park Exploration Committee Meeting Informational Flyer

Upcoming Meeting – December 3^rd

* * * For the Residents and Property Owners of LaVale, MD * * *

The LaVale Civic Improvement Association (LCIA), in conjunction with the Braddock Run Watershed Association, will hold a general business and planning meeting on Wednesday December 3^rd, at 6:30 PM, in meeting room "B" of the LaVale Library, 815 National Highway.

This will be the final meeting of 2025, and some important matters will be discussed, including

Election of New LCIA Executive Officers
A Motion to Address "Other Public" Road Repairs in LaVale
Looking Forward to LCIA's 80^th Year in 2026

There will also be a review of completed and ongoing projects and, as always, we welcome your comments and ideas to improve our LaVale community!

If you have any questions, or for more information about the two organizations, please call 301-697-1141 or email lcia21502@gmail.com.

All residents and property owners of LaVale are members of the LaVale Civic Improvement Association, so if you're out and about Wednesday evening please stop by.

Projects and Activities in 2024

Notes of Appreciation

July 23, 2024 Letter of Appreciation from Allegany County Library Board of Trustees

August 10, 2024 Letter of Appreciation from Allegany High School Softball Team

LaVale Volunteers Pay Tribute to Tina Midgarden
Oct. 26, 2023

LCIA Executive Committee Members, March 2023 - Photo By Antoinette Royster

It is with great sadness that we learned of the passing of Tina Jo Midgarden on Monday, Oct. 9, at the age of 73. Tina was born in Cumberland on Dec. 27, 1949, to the late James E. Midgarden and Helen M. Midgarden. She was the oldest of their five children. After graduating from Olympus High School, she attended the University of Utah, in Salt Lake City, Utah, where she earned her degree in elementary education in 1971.

Upon moving from Salt Lake City to LaVale, Tina worked at and helped to open the JoAnn Fabrics store in LaVale Plaza. She also began teaching at various schools in our Appalachia Mountains region. Tina and Paul "Pete" Rose focused on her love of handmade crafts, and they opened the Magnolia Rustique Craft Shop in Cumberland.

In January and September 1996, Tina started attending meetings about the damaging floods that were happening in LaVale. By 2005, the Braddock Run Watershed Association had formed, with Tina as a charter member. After her retirement in 2015 from Hunter Douglas, Tina also began attending the meetings of the LaVale Civic Improvement Association prior to the two organizations merging their meetings. Then, in 2019, she along with several other volunteers accepted a position on the civic association board to provide leadership and rejuvenate the association as other long-serving officers retired. Tina served as secretary from May 2019 and remained an active member of both associations until her death.

Always a willing volunteer, Tina took part in work groups helping to clean up the LaVale parks, sweep the sidewalks, weed the gardens and pick up litter along the LaVale streetscape. Her creativity with handcrafts for holidays was superb. Not only were her decorations amazing in her office while working at Hunter Douglas, but her home as well. Halloween was Tina's favorite holiday. For many years, with the help of her loving son – Daniel Rose – she would always set up a complex "haunted porch" to delight the neighborhood trick-or-treaters at her home in LaVale.

Tina loved and cared very much about LaVale. It was her fond wish that more residents, especially the young families, would willingly take part in the future of LaVale to continue to move the community in a strong positive direction. We've lost a great friend and champion of LaVale. Thank you, Tina, for your dedication, hard work and caring. Rest in peace!

LaVale Civic Improvement Association

Web Site Overview
For a short introduction to the LaVale Civic Association follow the *About* link on the left. *Projects* leads to links for Accomplishments, Ongoing Responsibilities, and Current Activities . A quick view of meeting places and dates can be found through the *Calendar.* Please, feel free to use the *Contact* page to make comments or suggestions. The *Links* page is intended to be a comprehensive resource listing all LaVale organizations. The *Solutions* page is intended to assist us in identifying persistent problems and possible solutions. The *Images* page is intended to display the beauty of our community. Captions still need to be written and any assistance would be appreciated. To subscribe to our mailing list, email lcia21502@gmail.com with the word Subscribe in the subject area Cordially, The LaVale Civic Improvement Association

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