Applebee

chambersburg@herald-mail.com WAYNESBORO, Pa. - Waynesboro-area residents could be "Eatin' Good in the Neighborhood" next year after the Washington Township Board of Supervisors approved a liquor license transfer for a proposed Applebee's restaurant in the Rouzerville Commons shopping center. Without any comment from members of the public and little discussion from the supervisors, the board voted to approve the transfer of the license from Greencastle, Pa., to the township, although Supervisor Stewart McCleaf abstained.

waynesboro@herald-mail.com WAYNESBORO, Pa. - A request by Applebee's of Virginia Inc. to transfer a liquor license from Greencastle, Pa., to Washington Township is scheduled to come up for discussion at a public hearing Sept. 7. The restaurant chain is planning to open a restaurant in the new Rouzerville Commons shopping center under construction off Buchanan Trail East. The shopping center will be anchored by Wal-Mart and Lowe's stores and will be filled in with smaller retail outlets and restaurants, its developer has said.

waynesboro@herald-mail.com WAYNESBORO, Pa. - An engineer presented land development plans for an Applebee's restaurant to the Washington Township (Pa.) Planning Commission on Monday. The 5,130-square-foot brick facility with 169 seats would be built off the west side of Washington Township Boulevard in the vicinity of Wal-Mart and Lowe's home improvement store. Matthew T. Allen, representing Bohler Engineering of Towson, Md., projected the restaurant could be opened in mid- to late summer if construction starts in early spring as planned.

Big Bats Cafe is in growth mode, planning a Nov. 23 opening for its latest expansion franchise in Hagerstown at the former Applebee's on Wesel Boulevard, a company official said Wednesday. The family-owned business chose Hagerstown because it is a growing city, said Nathan Garland, chief executive officer with the company based in Stevensville, Md., on the Eastern Shore. This will be the third Big Bats Cafe. The first opened in 1997 on Kent Island, Md., and one opened in Easton, Md., in spring 2004, Garland said.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Authorities arrested one of five men allegedly involved in the robbery of a confidential informant who was deployed early Friday by police to execute an undercover crack cocaine deal behind a Martinsburg restaurant, according to court records. Darryl Robert Lamont Carroll, 18, of 307 Potexaco Ave. in Baltimore, was charged with aiding and abetting a strong-armed robbery and obstructing police, according to records. He was arraigned by Magistrate Jim Humphrey, who set a $30,000 bond for the case and was in the Eastern Regional Jail.

Giant Food Stores CARLISLE, Pa. - Officials from Giant Food Stores and Martin's Food Markets have announced their largest charitable donations ever, totaling more than $13.5 million in combined cash and product contributions in 2006. The donations were given to beneficiaries of the "Living Here, Giving Here" program that includes local hunger-related organizations, Children's Miracle Network hospitals and local nonprofit groups. In partnership with its operating company, TOPS Markets, the combined 2006 contribution between Giant/Martin's and TOPS totaled $25 million.

SOUTH MOUNTAIN, Pa. -- Hours of swinging hammers and hanging drywall build up an appetite as much as they do a house. On the "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" set, that's where people such as Delane Balafoutas become involved. The owner of the Copper Kettle in Chambersburg, Pa., served hot food Tuesday morning while also checking on her restaurant and her daughter, who was in labor. "When we prepare our food, we prepare for three to four hundred," said Balafoutas, who has been stocking the VIP tent with her husband, Ted, and their employees.

ROUZERVILLE, Pa. - Bob Backer remembers enthusiasm felt in Rouzerville just before Wal-Mart and Lowe's came to town two years ago. "Once we heard they were coming, it kind of re-engerized the area," said Backer, president of the Rouzerville Business Association and a 25-year Rouzerville businessman. "I think that our growth began when we started the things with Wal-Mart and Lowe's," said Ann Backer, his wife and fellow RBA board member. The big box stores have been strategically placed to usher in an era of commercial development and draw shoppers from out of state, according to Washington Township (Pa.)

SOUTH MOUNTAIN, Pa. -- Photographs taken Saturday show Matthew and Blasia Drumm standing in front of their house with their three sons, but, for the family, another person stood with them. "She's here with us," Matthew Drumm said. "She's here," Blasia Drumm echoed. The couple were referring to Brenda Stottlemyer, their autistic boys' godmother and the woman who nominated the Drumms for "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. " Brenda Stottlemyer of Cascade died unexpectedly nine weeks ago and never learned that the Drumms had been selected for the ABC show that overhauls families' living conditions in just one week.

bonnieb@herald-mail.com ROUZERVILLE, PA. Faced with both a Lowe's home improvement center and a Wal-Mart coming into their small community, Rouzerville business owners are celebrating. That spirit took tangible form with the first Rouzerfest held Saturday at Red Run Park. "We're very excited," said Ann Backer, co-owner of Blondie's in Rouzerville. "We're letting people know we're not just 'east of Waynesboro.' We're Rouzerville. Lowe's and Wal-Mart will help put us on the map. That's why we started the Rouzerville Business Association.

SOUTH MOUNTAIN, Pa. -- Photographs taken Saturday show Matthew and Blasia Drumm standing in front of their house with their three sons, but, for the family, another person stood with them. "She's here with us," Matthew Drumm said. "She's here," Blasia Drumm echoed. The couple were referring to Brenda Stottlemyer, their autistic boys' godmother and the woman who nominated the Drumms for "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. " Brenda Stottlemyer of Cascade died unexpectedly nine weeks ago and never learned that the Drumms had been selected for the ABC show that overhauls families' living conditions in just one week.

SOUTH MOUNTAIN, Pa. -- Hours of swinging hammers and hanging drywall build up an appetite as much as they do a house. On the "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" set, that's where people such as Delane Balafoutas become involved. The owner of the Copper Kettle in Chambersburg, Pa., served hot food Tuesday morning while also checking on her restaurant and her daughter, who was in labor. "When we prepare our food, we prepare for three to four hundred," said Balafoutas, who has been stocking the VIP tent with her husband, Ted, and their employees.

PREP BASEBALL Clear Spring 9, Williamsport 2 Williamsport 200 000 0 - 2 6 3 Clear Spring 202 023 x - 9 12 2 Duff, Cline (2), Taylor (6) and Jamison. John Kehr and Morgan. WP-John Kehr. LP- Cline. HR-CS: Constable 2 (3rd, none on; 5th, none on), Mills (3rd, none on), Thurber (5th, none on). E. Pennsboro 6, Waynesboro 5 Waynesboro 300 000 2 - 5 8 5 East Penns. 202 200 x - 6 9 2 Minnich, Rowland (6) and Gray. Nye, Porter (7) and B. Nye. WP - Nye. LP - Minnich (2-1)

ROUZERVILLE, Pa. - Bob Backer remembers enthusiasm felt in Rouzerville just before Wal-Mart and Lowe's came to town two years ago. "Once we heard they were coming, it kind of re-engerized the area," said Backer, president of the Rouzerville Business Association and a 25-year Rouzerville businessman. "I think that our growth began when we started the things with Wal-Mart and Lowe's," said Ann Backer, his wife and fellow RBA board member. The big box stores have been strategically placed to usher in an era of commercial development and draw shoppers from out of state, according to Washington Township (Pa.)

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Authorities arrested one of five men allegedly involved in the robbery of a confidential informant who was deployed early Friday by police to execute an undercover crack cocaine deal behind a Martinsburg restaurant, according to court records. Darryl Robert Lamont Carroll, 18, of 307 Potexaco Ave. in Baltimore, was charged with aiding and abetting a strong-armed robbery and obstructing police, according to records. He was arraigned by Magistrate Jim Humphrey, who set a $30,000 bond for the case and was in the Eastern Regional Jail.

Giant Food Stores CARLISLE, Pa. - Officials from Giant Food Stores and Martin's Food Markets have announced their largest charitable donations ever, totaling more than $13.5 million in combined cash and product contributions in 2006. The donations were given to beneficiaries of the "Living Here, Giving Here" program that includes local hunger-related organizations, Children's Miracle Network hospitals and local nonprofit groups. In partnership with its operating company, TOPS Markets, the combined 2006 contribution between Giant/Martin's and TOPS totaled $25 million.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - Come October, one more thing will separate Waynesboro and Honolulu - an Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar. Construction is scheduled to begin next week on the restaurant in the Rouzerville Commons shopping center, and the target opening is in October, a company spokeswoman said in an e-mail Thursday. Sixteen countries and every state except Hawaii are home to at least one of the more than 1,800 Applebee's restaurants, Vikki Watson said. "The staff for a typical restaurant consists of one general manager, one kitchen manager, two or three assistant managers and approximately 60 hourly associates," Watson said.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - Obstacles tying up the development of an Applebee's Neighborhood Bar & Grill outside Waynesboro were mostly cleared Monday with the Washington Township Supervisors' decision to sign an agreement with Echo Real Estate/Development of Pittsburgh. "Does this mean I get preferential treatment for reservations?" Supervisor Carroll Sturm joked when the supervisors unanimously approved the restaurant plans nearly three months after they were first submitted. The 5,130-square-foot restaurant in Rouzerville Commons became entangled in a dispute between the township and Echo Development regarding fees imposed on two parcels of land on Pa. 16. The supervisors repeatedly tabled the restaurant plans pending an agreement regarding those two parcels - one designated as the future home of a Sheetz and the other with no definite plans.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - A proposed Applebee's Neighborhood Bar & Grill outside Waynesboro has become tied up in a dispute between the developer of the Rouzerville Commons shopping center and the Washington (Pa.) Township Supervisors. The supervisors' vote on the 5,130-square-foot restaurant has been tabled for the second time - now because the developer refused to sign an amendment to a roadway agreement for other parcels in the shopping center. Bruce Haney of Echo Real Estate/Development of Pittsburgh indicated at the supervisors' meeting Monday that he did not have a problem with the fees imposed on him through the amendment.

waynesboro@herald-mail.com WAYNESBORO, Pa. - The Washington (Pa.) Township Supervisors on Wednesday spent 50 minutes in executive session and ultimately delayed potential approval of an Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar over two words that have plagued the development of a shopping center and major roadway just outside Waynesboro - impact fees. A final land development plan presented last night for the 5,130-square-foot restaurant included no mention of traffic impact fees.