Apology

By ELLEN LYON Staff Writer KEEDYSVILLE - A conflict between Keedysville's newest councilman, James R. Kerns, and several residents was briefly resurrected and then resolved with an apology at Monday night's Town Council meeting. Town resident Anne Leffler asked Kerns to apologize for his behavior at the last council meeting on May 5. She had made the same request in a May 6 letter to the mayor and Town Council which accused Kerns of an "ignominious, unprovoked verbal attack" on his predecessor on the council, Yvonne Hope, and his opponent in the May 3 election, Frank Shifflet, during discussion of some town issues at the May meeting.

Last Saturday we published a photo on page A3 that was inappropriate for a family newspaper. The photo featured a man making an obscene gesture while making a court appearance in Berkeley County, W.Va. The decision to run the photograph was not made without discussion and was not taken lightly. Sometimes, in an effort to provide our readers with the full story, we make mistakes, as we did in this case. In retrospect, it was a decision we now regret. We apologize to our readers, especially those the picture may have offended.

tarar@herald-mail.com WASHINGTON COUNTY - Washington County Public Schools Superintendent Elizabeth Morgan apologized Tuesday to the approximately 2,500 school system employees whose Social Security numbers and other private data were posted on the Internet for up to 45 days earlier this year. Morgan publicly apologized for the mistake at Tuesday night's Board of Education meeting and said she accepts full responsibility for the error. "We owe our employees an apology," Morgan said.

During Tuesday's Hagerstown City Council meeting, Hagerstown Police Officer Casey Yonkers requested an apology from Hagerstown Councilwoman Penny May Nigh for comments she made in a recent letter to the editor. After the meeting, Nigh said she had no comment in response to Yonkers' remarks. In a letter about her first year in office, Nigh wrote about crime problems in the city. "From the police side of the picture we have apparently had a 'how to get out of car' problem and the subject of 'community policing' seems to draw fire from some police officials," she wrote.

By DAVE McMILLION Staff Writer, Martinsburg MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Laura R. Rose, an unsuccessful Democratic candidate for the House of Delegates, has sued a Berkeley County Republican Club official, claiming an editorial he wrote about her in a club newsletter was libelous and caused her to lose the election, according to court records. The suit, filed in Berkeley County Circuit Court, arose from an editorial Thomas Slater wrote about several debates between Rose and her Republican challenger, John Overington.

The basic bond between a newspaper and its readership is essentially the same as the relationship between two people. That bond is trust. Readers should trust that newspapers, whether it's The Herald-Mail or any reputable news-gathering organization, are doing all they can to print the full and complete story. Sometimes there are roadblocks to news gathering. But what we ask of ourselves and our editors and reporters is 100 percent effort each day to cover the news fully and completely.

Council approves sewer system repairs SMITHSBURG - The Smithsburg Town Council voted last Tuesday to authorize Mechanicsburg, Pa., sewer system rehabilitation contractor "Mr. Rehab" to begin addressing the town's highest priority inflow and infiltration problems. Inflow and infiltration raises sewer treatment costs by allowing groundwater into the sewer system, town officials previously have said. Repairs to those areas identified by Mr. Rehab as "Priority I" were estimated to cost about $66,000, according to a document provided Tuesday to the council.

To the editor: The purpose of this electronic mail correspondence is to address an issue that has adversely affected the entire community of Washington County. After attending the Hagerstown City Council session and witnessing Mike Shifler address council members, it became quite clear to me the community in general is in denial about the gravity and magnitude of Jeffrey Shifler's actions! To briefly recap, Mike Shifler addressed council members about the ordeal his family has been through in light of his younger brother's actions, which he explains were motivated by anger and eventually caused him to lash out at Councilmember Alesia Parson-McBean.

katec@herald-mail.com The signature line from Erich Segal's 1970 tearjerker novel and subsequent film was "Love means never having to say you're sorry. " Jay Krunszyinsky, and a lot of people whose feelings have been hurt, would have a problem with that. Krunszyinsky is author of "I'm Sorry," a book he describes as a relationship repair guide. Krunszyinsky directs a long-term care facility in Pennsylvania for people with developmental disabilities and persistent mental illness.

tarar@herald-mail.com HAGERSTOWN - Washington County Circuit Judge Frederick C. Wright III said Tuesday he didn't intend for his comments last week to the County Commissioners that alluded to their lawsuit against the City of Hagerstown to overshadow their swearing-in ceremony, but he's not sorry he made them. Wright said he discussed his statements with the commissioners on Tuesday, remarks some commissioners took as a partial apology. "I didn't apologize to anybody" for the comments, Wright said.

A 26-year-old man who was charged Tuesday in a fire that significantly damaged a vacant five-story building at 19-23 W. Antietam Street last Thursday night told a city fire marshal that he was trying to stay warm, started a fire in a bathtub, and was sorry for the resulting blaze, according to court records. Ernest Leroy Stitely Jr., said he checked on the fire in the tub at one point and opened a bathroom window to let some smoke out, said court records. Stitely said he later heard a roaring sound, went to the bathroom and noticed an “uncontrollable” fire coming from under the tub, said court records.

A Washington County Circuit Court judge sentenced a pregnant woman to four years in prison after she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary for stealing jewelry from her grandmother to support a drug habit. “To steal from your grandmother. That's pretty low,” Judge M. Kenneth Long Jr. said before imposing a sentence of 15 years with all but four years suspended on Desirae Marie Churchey, 21, of 4209 Mills Road Sharpsburg. Churchey's boyfriend, Cory Ryan Butts, was in court last week, pleading guilty to criminal conspiracy, theft and a handgun charge.

The owner of a Sharpsburg restaurant went before Washington County liquor officials Wednesday to dispute complaints from residents who alleged his business was causing a public nuisance late at night. Benjamin Brown, owner of GeGe's Place at 208 S. Church St., told the Board of License Commissioners for Washington County, known as the liquor board, that he wanted to apologize to Sharpsburg residents for any problems, but said he believed some people were calling in complaints of fighting, loud noise and public urination because they want the restaurant to fail.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Longtime Washington journalist Helen Thomas abruptly retired Monday as a columnist for Hearst News Service following remarks she made about Israel that were denounced by the White House and her press corps colleagues. The 89-year-old Thomas, dean of the White House press corps, has long been a fixture in Washington and has been lauded as a pioneering journalist who has covered presidents since 1960. Known for her confrontational questioning, Thomas apologized for comments that were captured on video and have spread widely on the Internet.

I knew the feeling. I got all squirmy watching Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder fielding questions about the poor start of the team he owns. He reminded me of one of those mimes performing that Man in a Box act. He would have rather been sitting on the right front coil of an electric range than have to defend himself. But to his credit, there was apology without blame. It's a good thing he wore that Teflon suit to the Redskins Charitable Foundation function he attended.

ANNAPOLIS (AP) -- A Maryland lawmaker has broadened his apology for a marriage proposal stunt involving Baltimore police to city residents and his constituents. Democratic Delegate Jon Cardin already had apologized to the police department for putting officers in an awkward position by asking them to use a helicopter and a police boat during his Aug. 7 proposal. On his Web site, Cardin is now making a wider apology, while also saying he hopes his mistake in judgment will not define his career.

The Board of License Commissioners for Washington County, known as the liquor board, met Wednesday with representatives of the Keedysville Country Store to discuss an incident in which an employee allegedly sold alcohol to an underage police agent. The sale occurred March 19, Washington County Sheriff's Department Deputy Ryan Socks said. The owners of the store, which is at 19409 Shepherdstown Pike (Md. 34), apologized for the incident. Robert L. Everhart, liquor board chairman, has said a business that sells alcohol to an underage person faces a maximum $2,500 fine and the loss of its liquor license, but that penalty rarely is imposed.

HAGERSTOWN -- It's not something you would typically find in a church. But there it was, a rock show Sunday night at Covenant Life Church International on Dual Highway. Concert lights were erected over the pews while two electric guitar players, a bass player, lead singer and a drummer delivered a heavy, driving sound in their own rendition of tunes from Van Halen, Joan Jett, the Rolling Stones and other groups. The Christian rock group ApologetiX played to about 150 people at the local church, taking classic rock 'n' roll songs and changing the lyrics to deliver religious messages.

HAGERSTOWN -- The owner of a Hagerstown liquor store on Wednesday apologized to Washington County liquor officials for several incidents last year in which former employees were alleged to have used the business as a front to sell marijuana and cocaine. Sovann Najoe Chum, owner of Universal Liquors at 33 E. Franklin St., told the Board of License Commissioners for Washington County, known as the liquor board, that he was unaware of any drug activity. He apologized to the liquor board, saying that the employees accused of selling the drugs no longer work there.