Allegany County

Firefighters were called to a house fire at about 1 p.m. today in the 29300 block of National Pike (U.S. 40) in Allegany County, a Washington County Emergency Services dispatcher said. Further details were not immediately available.

Maryland State Police were awaiting information to determine whether a Monday morning vehicle accident caused the death of a 71-year-old Allegany County, Md., man or if he experienced a medical problem before the dump truck he was driving overturned on an interstate ramp. Alvin Dale Clise, 71, of Midland, Md., was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident, which was reported at 8:35 a.m., troopers said. The dump truck was hauling coal eastbound on Interstate 70 and was going onto the ramp to southbound Interstate 81 when Clise lost control of the vehicle and it overturned, troopers said.

WILLIAMSPORT - Automated Office Equipment Inc., a full service office equipment company, has acquired Standard Office Equipment Inc. in LaVale, Md. Standard Office Equipment has served businesses in Allegany County and the surrounding areas for more than 25 years. "We are pleased to add the Standard customers, employees and markets to our existing business," Chris Bennett, sales manager and co-owner of Automated Office Equipment (AOE), said in a prepared release. "This acquisition is consistent with our goals for meeting growth objectives.

HALFWAY - The Allegany County Junior Football League all-stars won the first Super Bowl against Washington County's all-stars, taking an early lead and held off a comeback attempt to pull out a 16-8 victory. Washington County Junior Football League vice-president Don Davis didn't mind the result much. It was the game itself that thrilled him. "It took me three-and-a-half years to organize this game," Davis said. "We are trying to build up this junior football league. This junior football league can help keep these young kids out of trouble.

Hazardous driving conditions prompted authorities to place a snow emergency plan into effect Friday for Allegany County, a press release from the Maryland State Police said. When an emergency plan is in effect, all vehicles operating on designated Snow Emergency Routes are required to have chains, snow tires or all-season radial tires, police said. Any vehicle parked on a Snow Emergency Route when an emergency plan is in effect is subject to being towed. The plan went into effect at 10 a.m.

RAWLINGS, Md. (AP) - American Woodmark Corp., the nation's third-largest maker of kitchen cabinets, said Tuesday it will build a manufacturing plant in Allegany County, creating 500 jobs over the next five years. It's the biggest job-creation project in decades in Allegany County, a pocket of high unemployment stemming from the loss of thousands of manufacturing and coal-mining jobs since the 1960s. "It's been so long, it's almost unreal," County Commissioner Robert M. Hutcheson said.

o Obituary BOONSBORO -- A Boonsboro man on a hunting trip in Allegany County, Md., was found dead at Green Ridge State Forest on Saturday morning, a Maryland Natural Resources Police spokesman said Sunday. Robert "Scotty" Scott Miner, 72, of Mapleville near Boonsboro, went to the same spot to hunt for 30 years, said his grandson, Ryan Miner of Hagerstown. Scotty Miner was a member since childhood of Green Ridge Sportsmen Club, of which his father was a founding member.

The National Park Service is seeking information regarding vandalism, theft, and a fire that occurred on Sept. 19 at Locks 74 and 75 within the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park located off PPG Road near Cumberland, Md. Vandals broke into the historic lockhouse, caused extensive damage to the building, stole artifacts, and set a portable toilet located in the parking lot on fire, the Park Service said in an e-mailed release....

A bill aimed at settling a Western Maryland school-attendance dispute has died with an odd legacy. Even with 22 of the 23 members of the House Ways and Means Committee co-sponsoring the bill, it failed to advance from the committee, a preliminary step toward success. The bill was one of two Del. LeRoy E. Myers Jr. pursued this year to let public school students from the Little Orleans area of Allegany County continue going to school in Hancock in Washington County. But, with only a few days left in the Maryland General Assembly's 2012 session before in adjourns Monday, that bill and a later one like it are likely to wither because of inaction.

A couple of moms from Allegany County, Md., cried last week as they told the Washington County Board of Education how grateful they were their children were able to attend Washington County Public Schools and hoped the arrangement would continue. School officials in Allegany County are considering ending an agreement that allows children from the Little Orleans area, in eastern Allegany County, to attend Hancock Middle-Senior High School, in neighboring western Washington County, rather than go to school in the more distant Cumberland, Md. At least one of the 50 students attends Barbara Ingram School for the Arts in Hagerstown.

Willie Ray Wolfe, 54, of Hagerstown, Md., died Monday, April 29, 2013, at his home. Born Oct. 29, 1958, in Allegany County, Md., he was the son of the late James Thomas and Lucy Belle Lewis Wolfe. He is survived by his fiancée, Linda Maphis; one son; three sisters; two brothers; his extended family, Loretta Webber, David and Tina Maphis, Brenda Wingfield, Carolyn Maphis and Don Yingling; several nieces and nephews; a great-niece, Emma; and a great-nephew, Kaden. He was preceded in death by one brother.  Graveside services will be Friday at 11 a.m. at Fairview Cemetery, Keedysville, Md. The Rev. Robert E. Shatzer will officiate.  There will be no viewing.

A Hagerstown man will be sentenced this summer following his guilty plea in Washington County Circuit Court on Monday to charges of assaulting and exposing himself to a 5-year-old girl. Devon Naeem Davis, 22, of 317 S. Potomac St., pleaded guilty to second-degree assault and indecent exposure in exchange for the dismissal of other charges, including sex abuse of a minor and second- and third-degree sex offenses. The two charges to which David pleaded guilty carry a maximum combined sentence of 13 years, but the state is seeking a time-served sentence, Assistant State's Attorney Brett Wilson told Judge Dana Moylan Wright.

A Hagerstown man was resentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Martinsburg by Judge Irene M. Keeley, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld II. Robert John Summerville III, 31, was resentenced to 10 years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, according to the release. Summerville entered a guilty plea on March 22, 2012, to one count of possession of a firearm on Nov. 7, 2010, in Jefferson County after having previously been convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year, according to the release.

More than 100 students participated from area middle schools in the annual MathCounts Competition on Feb. 23 at E. Russell Hicks Middle School in Hagerstown. The students were from Washington and Allegany county middle schools. This year, two teams and 16 individuals advanced to the state competition, which will be Saturday, March 16, at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Every year, the local competition is sponsored by donations from the Hagerstown Chapter of the Maryland Society of Professional Engineers.

The Department of Juvenile Services is in need of foster parents in Washington, Frederick and Allegany counties. There are those ages 12 to 18 years old, who are in need of supervision, guidance and love. For more information, call 301-791-7072.

Drilling for natural gas in Garrett County could result in more jobs for Washington County residents and an improved economic climate. But there are potential environmental concerns about the impact of natural gas drilling, Robert Summers, secretary of the Maryland Department of Environment, said Thursday. With Gov. Martin O'Malley setting aside $1.5 million in the proposed state budget for the next fiscal year to study the economic and environmental impacts of drilling for gas in Western Maryland, there is renewed talk and concern about the issue at the state capital.

Meal prices in Washington County Public Schools will rise by 5 cents next school year - the second straight year of increases - but still will be among the state's lowest, according to a school system official. The Washington County Board of Education on Tuesday approved a $10.35 million Food and Nutrition Services budget for fiscal 2013. The budget includes the increase in meal prices. With the increase, lunch will cost $1.95 for elementary school students, $2.20 for secondary school students and $3.35 for staff members.

As the Maryland General Assembly's session nears an end, much of Washington County's business has been sewn up. The county delegation's signature bill - establishing stricter financial accountability for the Washington County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association - has been approved. Earlier in the session, the delegation abandoned a proposal to let volunteer fire and rescue companies bill for their services. The legislature's 90-day session is scheduled to be over when the clock strikes midnight Monday - although the session could be extended if the House and Senate haven't agreed on final details on the fiscal year 2013 budget.

A bill aimed at settling a Western Maryland school-attendance dispute has died with an odd legacy. Even with 22 of the 23 members of the House Ways and Means Committee co-sponsoring the bill, it failed to advance from the committee, a preliminary step toward success. The bill was one of two Del. LeRoy E. Myers Jr. pursued this year to let public school students from the Little Orleans area of Allegany County continue going to school in Hancock in Washington County. But, with only a few days left in the Maryland General Assembly's 2012 session before in adjourns Monday, that bill and a later one like it are likely to wither because of inaction.

Two Western Maryland delegates clashed again Wednesday over a bill to let some Allegany County students continue attending school in Washington County. Del. LeRoy E. Myers Jr., R-Washington/Allegany, urged the House Ways and Means Committee to pass his latest bill, which would let students attend school in another county if traveling to a school in their home county “is not feasible.” The bill is aimed at ending a dispute over whether students in Little Orleans in Allegany County can keep going to school in Hancock in Washington County.