Antietam Creek

Lappans Road (Md. 68) is scheduled to reopen at 2 p.m. Monday at Devil's Backbone Park, according to a press release from Washington County. The road has been closed since July 5. The road was closed so the stream bank along Antietam Creek in that area could be stabilized. According to Robert Slocum, deputy director of public works for Washington County, parts of the guardrail along the road were falling into the creek. The stream bank stabilization was part of the overall rehabilitation of Devil's Backbone Dam across Antietam Creek.

Lappans Road (Md. 68) remains closed to through traffic at Devil's Backbone Park as part of the rehabilitation of Devil's Backbone Dam across Antietam Creek. The road is expected to reopen in about two weeks, according to Robert Slocum, deputy director of Public Works for Washington County. Lappans Road closed Tuesday, July 5, so the streambank of the roadway along Antietam Creek could be stabilized, according to a published report in July. Parts of the road, including some of the guardrail, began falling in the creek, Slocum said.

The Hagerstown Police Department searched Monday night and Tuesday morning for a 9-year-old boy authorities later discovered had been at a friend's house playing video games. Nylik Savlis Cummins of West Church Street in Hagerstown was returned safely to his mother Tuesday morning. "I was at my friend's house playing video games," Nylik said Tuesday at his house. "It was too dark to go home" Monday night. Nylik's mother, Shanikka Freeman, said the youngster didn't return home after he went outside to play at about noon on Monday.

Here is a list of road and lane closures in the area for Monday, July 11: Work to expand the intersection of Massey Boulevard and Halfway Boulevard near Hagerstown continues, causing traffic to be backed up in each direction at different times. Roadwork is expected to continue there until Thanksgiving. Work to widen the intersection of Dual Highway and Edgewood Drive continues. Traffic is sometimes sluggish in both directions. Only one lane of Md. 550 in Thurmont, Md., is open between Eylers Valley Flint Road and Kelbaugh Road due to a mudslide that occurred April 17. The Maryland State Highway Administration says it is unsure when the road will completely reopen.

Lappans Road (Md. 68) is now closed at Devil's Backbone Park, according to a press release from the Washington County Public Information Office. Closure began Tuesday. The closure has been scheduled to enable stream bank stabilization of the roadway along Antietam Creek at the Park. A detour is posted to direct traffic around the road. Drivers should take Md. 65 and Md. 34 in order to access the park. The road is expected to be closed until late August.

Washington County Soil Conservation District and Canaan Valley Institute are leading an effort to develop a watershed-based plan for Antietam Creek. The plan will address pollution from fecal coliform bacteria entering the creek from failing septic systems. A meeting will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, June 21, at C.R. Semler Inc., 11664 Mapleville Road, Smithsburg. The workshop is free and dinner will be provided. To register, call 800-922-3601, ext. 252, by 4 p.m. Friday, June 17.

 Devil's Backbone Park was closed to the public, effective Friday, for a period of 180 days, Washington County  officials announced. The historic dam across Antietam Creek in that park is being rehabilitated for safety purposes and to comply with state and federal regulations, according to an emailed news release from the county Division of Public Works Department of Engineering and Construction and the Department of Parks and Facilities....

Burnside Bridge Road, at the bridge over Antietam Creek, was closed Sunday night, according to Washington County Emergency Services. Earlier Sunday, some roads near Conococheague Creek were closed. On Sunday morning, Conococheague Creek at Fairview hit 13.63 feet and remained above the 10-foot flood stage Sunday night, according to the National Weather Service. By 4 a.m. Monday, the creek was at 11.4 feet, the weather service reported. It was expected to recede below flood stage after 2 p.m. Monday.

Two roads near Conococheague Creek and one near Antietam Creek remained closed Sunday afternoon due to flooding, according to Washington County Emergency Services. West of Hagerstown, a portion of Independence Road near Conococheague Creek was closed as was, farther north, a section of Wishard Road off Fairview Road. In the Sharpsburg area, a portion of Burnside Bridge Road near Antietam Creek was closed. — Julie E. Greene

Antietam Creek Watershed Alliance volunteers will be featured in a program to air Sunday on Maryland Public Television. MPT was there with cameras rolling on Sept. 18, when more than 100 wet and muddy local residents pulled tons of trash from Antietam Creek in Hagerstown and Funkstown, according to a news release. Video of the event is to be shown during MPT's Chesapeake Bay Volunteer-a-thon, which airs Sunday at 6 p.m. The program also will include a live interview with an ACWA volunteer about the organization's mission to clean up and restore Antietam Creek through education, recreation, and hands-on projects, the release said.